Just a week out from the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair, farmers are eyeing their vegetables, Island artisans are putting the final touches on their wares and cooks are honing their recipes in search of first place blue ribbons.
Just a week out from the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair, farmers are eyeing their vegetables, Island artisans are putting the final touches on their wares and cooks are honing their recipes in search of first place blue ribbons.
Held annually by the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society at its grounds in West Tisbury, the fair kicks off on August 21 and runs through Sunday August 24. The 163rd annual fair will welcome tens of thousands of people who come to enjoy the rides, sample fair food and compete in dozens of different competitions throughout the four-day event.
The fair is the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society’s biggest fundraising event of the year; entry fees and merchandise sales make up 40 per cent of the annual budget.
For staff and volunteers, the fair starts much earlier. In October, they make more than 100 ferry reservations to ensure spots for the carnival rides and off-Island livestock that trek over to the Vineyard.
Lauren Lynch, the agricultural society executive director.
Lauren Lynch, the agricultural society executive director.
Honoring tradition while keeping the fair engaging for today’s generation is an artful balance, according to Lauren Lynch, the executive director of the Agricultural Society. The effort extends beyond the administrative level, and the fair is a collective expression of every Islander’s time, talent and dedication to community.
“It really takes a village,” said Ms. Lynch said.
Calculated in that balance this year are several changes, the largest being the vendor who supplies the rides. Cushing Amusements, who has provided the rides for the last 50 years, said it could no longer service the Vineyard.
“I think the logistical challenge of getting here took it’s toll, and they had a show to do in Maine on Labor Day weekend,” Ms. Lynch said. “It just became apparent that this [was] not something they wanted to continue doing.”
The society announced in July that it entered a five-year contract with Fiesta Shows, a family-owned New Hampshire-based company. The company supplied rides for the fair in the 1960s. In recent years it is known for working the Topsfield Fair and the Marshfield Fair.
“[We’re] very excited to be coming back over to the Island,” said Gene Dean, Fiesta Shows owner. “Our motto is ‘making memories’ [and] we try to live with that motto in everything that we do.”
Mr. Dean said there will be 14 rides including a merry-go-round, cliffhanger, twister and swinger. The Ferris wheel will be absent due to a scheduling conflict.
“Next year and moving forward we have one scheduled,” Mr. Dean said.
With the new vendor comes new fair dates in the ensuing years, which does shift the fair away from the same week as the Oak Bluffs Illumination and fireworks, the traditional end-of-summer trio of events.
Next year, the fair will be held from August 13 to 16. The fair is scheduled to be held from August 12 to 15 in 2027, August 10 to 13 in 2028 and August 9 to 12 in 2029.
Fun and games are a big draw.
Fun and games are a big draw.
Islanders everywhere have been hard at work preparing their fair entries.
Casey Mazar-Kelly, a co-owner at Fire Cat Farm, a flower farm in Vineyard Haven, said she’s been keeping a close watch on their flower beds. She’s particularly hoping their asters, which bloomed early this year, will have enough uniformity to impress the judges.
“I really value the fair for being able to step back and appreciate the fruits of our labors,” Ms. Mazar-Kelly said.
There are new deadlines for hall entry to help volunteers set up in time. Non-perishables entry drop off is from Saturday to Sunday between 1 and 6 p.m. Junior perishables entry items are due Wednesday by 5 p.m. and adult perishables are due by 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
Susanne Cronin, the fair’s hall manager, said she is looking forward to seeing all the creativity on display, especially the junior art where kids submit fairy houses and hand-sewn goods.
“When the hall doors open and people start coming through, they are making connections with their neighbors that maybe, because it’s summertime, they don’t get to make,” Ms. Cronin said. “There’s all these little conversations that go on that are so organic and it’s just so beautiful to witness.”
New categories include wampum jewelry for Indigenous artists only. The category will be judged by a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
The livestock barn will be filled soon.
The livestock barn will be filled soon.
Another category will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jaws which took place in June. Ms. Cronin said anybody who makes something Jaws related, perishable or not, can enter.
A new sheep shearer, Kathleen Markiewicz from Vermont, will be doing both machine demonstrations and traditional blade techniques.
There are still many volunteers needed, said Lucy Grinnan, the society’s program coordinator. Some will be part of the Green Team, helping fairgoers sort their waste into bins, and others are needed at the education area, which has been moved out of the barn and into a separate space by the fiber tent.
The agricultural society has also added a golf cart shuttle system for people with mobility issues. The golf cart, dubbed the Fair Mooover, was donated by Mark and Rachel Forbus, who run a generator company called Event Power MV, LLC.
This year’s skillet toss competition will be dedicated to John (Chip) Mancuso who died in January. Mr. Mancuso volunteered at the oxen and horse pulls each year, led 4-H clubs and served on the Agricultural Society’s building committee.
“He was a really long-time member of the agricultural community on the Island,” Grinnan said.
Along with the traditional skillet toss will be a new competition called the rubber chicken toss. The event takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday beside the show ring.
Garrison Vieira, chair of the society’s board, said the fair is eye-opening for visitors, many who visit from cities where they may not have the opportunity to interact with farm animals and agricultural land. He said the heart of the fair is education and the events help teach people where their food comes from.
There will be many new booths selling food.
Jefferson Monroe, who previously owned and operated The Larder MV in Vineyard Haven, will be serving his fried chicken out of the Twin Beaks food trailer. After a year-long hiatus, Paul Moreau will be selling his strawberry shortcake.
Bring your sweet tooth.
Bring your sweet tooth.
Paulo Miranda, owner of Island Fresh Pizza, will be vending his first fair. Instead of pizza, he’ll be serving Brazilian churrasco kebabs. Rachel and Matt Lucier will be serving tater tots out of a new food booth called Nomad.
Astrid Tilton, the gleaning manager at Island Grown Initiative, grew up on the Island and said the fair is one of her favorite times of the year. As a kid, she said it was magical walking around the fairgrounds, and when her art projects won blue ribbons, she felt valued by her community.
Now as a farmer, she said the fair is an annual celebration of the agricultural community’s hard work, one that takes on a new sense of whimsy.
“I’m so lucky to see so many other farms on the Island and I recognize so much of their produce that is getting ribbons...” Ms. Tilton said. “I really like seeing a lot of beautiful produce and [an] abundance of the natural world around.”
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