In many ways the third week of August is the peak of the summer season on Martha's Vineyard. Several of the Island's signature events will draw crowds this week, while elsewhere on the Island films, forums, and art shows offer something for everyone. Some say this is the start of the end of the summer season, as students get ready to go back to school and fall starts to appear on the horizon. But first, one last busy week of summer fun.

All roads lead to the fair this week. The 155th annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair takes place Thursday, August 18 through Sunday, August 21.

Check out the pet show, the chopstick knitting contest, the 40th annual woodsman's competition, and the skillet throw, meet prize-winning goats, pigs, draft horses, and chickens, peruse the Agricultural Hall to view blue-ribbon-winning jams, cakes, crafts, vegetables and art, and don't forget the carnival rides. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Click here to view the Fair Book and complete schedule of events.

All entry forms must be received at the Agricultural Hall by the end of the day Monday, August 15. Judging takes place Thursday morning and the hall opens afterward.

In a more serious vein, ticks and Lyme disease remain an important topic on the Island. This week the Martha's Vineyard Tick-Borne Illness Reduction Initiative will host two talks with biologist Dick Johnson to update the public on their work. Mr. Johnson will speak Monday at 5 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center, and Tuesday August 16 at 7 p.m. at the Chappaquiddick Community Center. And don't forget to take the survey about the tick problem sponsored by the Gazette and the Island boards of health.

Agents of Change screens on Tuesday, August 16 at the Strand Theatre, followed by a discussion with filmmakers Abby Ginzberg and Frank Dawson and director Stanley Nelson. The film looks at the 1969 takeover of the Cornell University student union by African American students.

Gingerbread houses will be aglow Wednesday for Grand Illumination Night, a cherished Camp Ground tradition for almost 150 years. The band concert begins at the Tabernacle at 7:30 p.m., and then the community sing at 8 p.m. The first paper lantern will be lit at dusk (around 8:45 p.m.), and the fairy tale scene will continue on into the night. Public transportation is strongly recommended and a free will offering will be collected.

On Wednesday evening Martha's Vineyard Film Festival will introduce the community of Sderot to the Island with a screening of Rock in the Red Zone at 8 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.

On Thursday, August 18, through Saturday, August 20, the film center will screen Life Animated, the film adaptation of the book by Ron Suskind about his son Owen, who due to autism did not speak for years until he began using Disney movies to find a way to communicate. The director of the film and the Suskind family will be available after the 7:30 p.m. screenings for a Q&A.

The annual Hutchins Forum sponsored by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, takes place Thursday, August 18 at 5 p.m. at the Old Whaling Church. Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. and moderator Charlayne Hunter-Gault will be joined by panelists Charles Blow, Donna Brazile, Armstrong Williams and Leah Wright-Riguer to discuss Race and the Race to the White House. Additional remarks by Lawrence D. Bobo. Tickets are free but limited and available at Alley's General Store, Bunch of Grapes, C'est La Vie, Cousen Rose Gallery, and Edgartown Books.

The Malpaso Dance Company from Cuba returns to the Yard in Chilmark this Thursday, August 18 at 8 p.m. They will show a new work in progress; for more information visit dancetheyard.org.

What better way to cap off a busy week — and usher in a busy weekend — than fireworks. The annual Oak Bluffs fireworks show takes place Friday, August 19. The show is hosted by the Oak Bluffs Firemen's Association, and starts out with a performance by the Vineyard Haven Band at 8 p.m. The fireworks will start around 9 p.m. Arrive early, bring a picnic, and plan travel accordingly: the Steamship Authority will be diverting ferry trips between Woods Hole and Oak Bluffs to Vineyard Haven from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday.