The Felix Neck Fall Festival is turning 22 this year. It takes place on Friday, Nov. 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (raindate Nov. 24). The event can be summed up with the words; Migrate, Hibernate, Adapt. There are hayrides, face painting, live music by The Flying Elbows, food, wreath making, crafts for kids and birds of prey.

The wind blows hard as Mark Crossland and his crew assemble the last of 18 Christmas trees in Ocean Park. Mr. Crossland and Alisson Brasil tie a rope in a knot at the end of a pole, mount the pole in the ground, cable the rope down, and start wrapping Christmas lights around the six-foot tree.

The guys zip-tie the string to the ropes, and splice each light to prevent burn-out. It takes the crew about a week to fill Ocean Park with the trees, which for now look a bit naked in the sunlight.

But at night?

At 5:30 in the morning on a recent Saturday, Yann Meersseman parked his minivan outside of the Steamship Authority building in Vineyard Haven and dropped a few tokens into the yellow Boston Herald display box. He pulled open the box and changed the front copy of the Herald, placing a short stack of newspapers inside the box as he did so.

From an Island-wide relief effort that began as idle conversation during happy hour to a clothing drive and donations from sandwiches, there has been an outpouring of Island-giving for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

And for Islander Ryan Murtha, who organized an impromptu relief effort, the overwhelming response was as positive as the devastation was striking.

Basting a golden turkey, the smell of pumpkin pie baking and some cranberry sauce are all part of the Thanksgiving holiday for most Island families. But for others, the day can bring disappointment rather than thanks, particularly when one’s grocery list has to be supplemented by free community food resources available just a few times a month.

To help out, Betty Burton began organizing the Family-to-Family program eight years ago as a way to provide neighbors who face financial hardship with a traditional holiday meal.

Island Alpaca will be holding a Thanksgiving weekend open house from Nov. 22 through 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Island Alpaca is a 20-acre farm that hosts an untold number of alpacas and one llama. Visitors can wander about on their own self-guided tour through the grounds and inside the post-and-beam barn where everything alpaca, from sweaters to hats, dolls and socks, awaits. For anyone feeling especially ambitious, the alpacas themselves are for sale. After all, Christmas is just around the corner.