The Tisbury Street Fair that was held last night is an annual summer celebration, crowded and casual, that brings all manner of people together. But it marks a moment in history as well, for it was on July 8 in 1671 that Tisbury was allowed to incorporate. The street fair is a birthday party, and all the more enjoyable for that.

The incorporation of Tisbury did not come without a price, however. Thomas Mayhew was required to pay Governor Francis Lovelace of New York two barrels of good marketable fish as yearly rent. All right, we were outrageously over-charged, but we don't regret it for a moment. Over the centuries Tisbury has evolved into our most bustling year-round town, Holmes Hole has become Vineyard Haven, our principal year-round port of entry, and the active commercial and recreational harbor there is the first and last thing most visitors to the Island see. It's a town that's as varied as the seasons, as lively as a summer breeze, and beloved of us all.

Happy 353rd birthday.