For my first Barn Raiser’s Ball here on the Vineyard, I took the “ball” to heart. I walked into the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall carrying my dessert contribution to the potluck wearing a red tutu-like skirt, a black lace long sleeve top, a heavy silver belt and red cowboy boots. I was met with a sea of flannel, muck boots, clogs, a range of denim and Carhartts. The tunes of Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish seemed to dim as heads turned and I thought — what have I gotten myself into now?

“I remember that outfit,” a friend of mine said to me recently.

What does a horseshoe crab have to do with Burning Man (the annual creativity event held in the Nevada desert), an Island psychologist and the lost wax technique? These are some of the bits and pieces that make up Sumner Z. Silverman.

A transplant to Vineyard Haven from Cambridge, Dr. Silverman’s passion for both his art and his work as a psychologist began more than 40 years ago. During his childhood he was always sketching and he began carving at age nine. A toy derringer and knife were his first creations.

Vineyard design doesn’t have one flavor or medium. The range in style, materials, aesthetic and use is as varied as the Island itself. But twice a week during the summer and periodically throughout the fall and spring seasons, the Vineyard Artisans Festival offers a unique opportunity to see close-up a large variety of work created by local craftspeople.

The Martha’s Vineyard Songwriter’s Festival touches down on the Island this September for the third year. Previously promoted and hosted by BMI, this year the country music festival has been organized by New England to Nashville (NETN), a group founded in 2012 by Matt Casey. The event includes a songwriting workshop on Sept. 14 and 15 and a concert at Flatbread on Sept. 14.

Just after a Labor Day tradition of breakfast at Art Cliff Diner with friends, Don McKillop and Susan Davy sit together on a navy leather couch in their living room. Paintings cover the walls, sculptures rest on end tables and a rack of postcards stands tall in the corner. In addition to this being their living room, it is also the Dragonfly Fine Arts Gallery which the couple owns and operates.

Columbus Day weekend will mark an end and herald a beginning for Mr. McKillop and Ms. Davy.

Save the date for Tivoli Day, arriving in Oak Bluffs for the 36th year on Saturday, Sept. 14. The celebration of summer’s end, or the beginning of the shoulder season, is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and takes place all along Circuit avenue, which is closed to traffic for the event.