If you are are a true believer, you have been praying and crossing your fingers for Hurricane Erin to hook a right and fizzle in the middle of the ocean.

Fair workers this past week have one eye focused on the Atlantic coast, following the path of the season’s first major hurricane. At this writing, the other eye is concentrated on the fragility of the fairgrounds. More than a few pairs of eyeballs are crisscrossing in the middle and who can blame them. A fair is a perishable being.

More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the fair this weekend. At the least, the weather will probably be windy.Tent flaps and packets of ketchup on open countertops could take flight. Banners and flags, displays of prospective prizes, rows of teddybears, could soar above the neighboring fields. Your hot dog may break free, propel itself out of your hand,and bolt into thin air, mustard splats on your shirt and everywhere.

The safest place in the fairgrounds may be inside the hall. The artists, crafters, bakers, gardeners and seamstresses who have submitted entries to the fair are hoping their artworks and cucumbers, patterned sweaters and wildflower bouquets, have survived the gusts and puddles. They also hope that the ribbons they have surely won have not fluttered away.

This year more than 3,500 entries have been assembled and displayed inside. The exhibit is the embodiment, the paradigm of the craftsmanship, the grace, the skills, the green thumbs of this Island’s talented population. And yes, this is what we do in the winter.

I am hoping for a gentle breeze and some soft summer rain every night after the fair’s 10 p.m. closing, and stopping just before the gates open the next morning.

Well, there is always something to worry about. How about the flesh-eating bacteria (Vibrio vulnificus) — which is as scary as it sounds — that attacked some poor soul swimming at a beach in Falmouth. In the same water that laps up on our beaches.

On the other hand, if the hurricane is anywhere nearby, the beaches will probably be off-limits. And we do need rain.

David and Joan Smith are happily expecting plenty of company during the fair. They are looking forward to the arrival of Shannon and Patrick Baudoin-Rea and their daughter Maia. Also en route are Jethro Eaton, his wife Jamie Graham and their children Liam and Cyrus.

Former Islander David Ayres visited his old friends here for a few days, staying with Ray Gosselin while he made the rounds. David travelled down from Boston in a fairly novel style. He took the train from Boston to New Bedford and then the fast ferry to Oak Bluffs. More relaxing than driving, and fresh landscapes out the windows, he reported.

Birthday greetings abound on Friday, August 22, for Ashley Medowski. Happy birthday Monday, August 25 to Margaret Maida, Sherm Goldstein and Jack Crawford. The big day for Dean Rosenthal and Katryn Yerdon Gilbert is Wednesday, August 27.

Happy anniversary Tuesday, August 26, to Dan Waters and Hal Garneau.