Just after 12 p.m. on December 12, 2012, Eric Gaudette and Stacy Northrop were married atop the East Chop Lighthouse.

A handful of friends and family joined them, including long-time friends Barry Stone and Rebecca Cohen.

“They told us three weeks ago ‘We’re getting married on 12-12-12,’” said Ms. Cohen. “Eric said, ‘Barry, you’re going to be the best man, and Rebecca, you’re going to stand in as my mother.’”

A mechanical Santa wrote with a quill inside Moonstone Jewelers window, a mannequin fashioned a poinsettia dress in Alley Cat’s and a toy train zipped around photographs of snowy Vineyard days inside Island Art Gallery.

All were admired by the crowds assembled on Main street in Vineyard Haven on Tuesday, but Mix’s storefront — adorned with vintage toys stuffed in coffee cups — earned the best window award, given by four high school art students.

Parsnips, celery root and house-made bacon swam alongside the “usual suspects” in Matthew Safranek’s clam chowder at the 27th Great Chowder Contest in Edgartown on Saturday.

Mr. Safranek, a chef at Atria, joined 10 other contestants in the annual Christmas throwdown, a fundraiser for the Red Stocking Fund that has been sponsored by radio station WMVY for the past 10 years.

Along the streets of Edgartown, garlands twist up the lamp posts, lights string along shrubs and wreaths hang on the stores’ front doors. For 31 years the town has celebrated Christmas with a Main street parade, and come Saturday morning, the sleigh bells will be ringing and the children singing as Santa makes his way down the street, with 45 other floats following behind.

But these days the event is much more than just a wave from Santa’s sleigh.

Architects presented five design options for renovation and expansion of the Tisbury School this week, ranging from $43 million to $45 million.

In 1999 Marsha Winsryg traveled to Africa with her two daughters. In Victoria Falls in Zambia they passed through the Mukuni village, which had a bustling craft market.“The people are all wood carvers and famous for it,” said Ms. Winsryg. “It’s all they do, but nobody makes a living from it. They just can’t sell enough.”