Each year in late August, more than 30,000 people pack the Agricultural Society grounds over four-days to get a taste, often literally, of Island farm life.
On Thursday, when the 162nd Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair opened at 10 a.m., people streamed through the gates, admiring livestock, pets and poultry of all sizes, enjoying rides, sipping pickle lemonade and donning commemorative T-shirts.
“The fair really is to me a representation of this community,” said Lucy Grinnan, the Martha’s Vineyard Agriculture Society program coordinator. “You’ll see everyone you know…. And I think especially for people who are working hard all summer, [the fair] is a chance to take a break and experience the joy of the summer.”
On Wednesday, preparations were in full swing, and judging was underway for many competition categories. Ribbons and modest cash prizes for the best produce, homemade goods and animals are coveted, but bragging rights is often the real motivator for entrants of all ages.
Herding starts early.
— Maria Thibodeau
Participants gathered Wednesday at picnic tables outside the Agricultural Hall, busily arranging flowers and laying haricots verts in perfect rows for the judges to examine. Brothers Tom and Peter Clark, who collaborate to tend Tom’s garden outside his Edgartown home, spread out jalapenos, tomatoes of varying sizes and an especially large zucchini.
“I love that it’s local,” said Peter, who has been coming to the fair his whole life.
By Thursday morning, activities everywhere were full-tilt. A parade of gargantuan oxen and cattle moseyed into the show ring with their handlers at 10:15 a.m.
Grinnan said the fair team is expanding their 4H involvement, particularly with livestock.
“It’s really exciting to see our 4Hers start to take more and more responsibility for the animals during the fair,” Grinnan said.
Eleven-year-old Juniper Begin and 12-year-old Skylar Berant held onto their two rambunctious calves while watching the opening parade of animals. Throughout the winter, both 4Hers braved the cold to raise their calves Sam and Brown Beauty.
“I like that they’re snuggly,” Skylar said.
Brown Beauty let out a moo, indicating she agreed.
“I just like hanging out with them,” Juniper said. “They have such a good vibe and you can just take them on walks.”
Perfect form at the midway.
— Maria Thibodeau
The two girls hoped to win ribbons in the meat and dairy cow categories.
Nearby, the fiber tent was abuzz with spinners and knitters. Children watched as Island women spun freshly sheared wool into tightly twirled yarn.
Debra Grant, Becky Slanders and Lynn Marqedant sat in chairs while hooking shredded wool strips into rugs the shape of a pumpkin and a fish. The group calls themselves the Island Hookers and this is the first year they have brought their rug hooking skills to the fair.
“We want to share that rug hooking is an art,” Ms. Grant said. “[The fair] is so community oriented and so many people from all over the Island get to participate in so many different ways. I think that’s the most exciting thing.”
Also new to the fiber tent was a mystery tie-dye event where fairgoers chose from a pile of a bunched-up vintage fair shirts and splattered the fabric with bright pinks, blues and greens. Grinnan said the shirts had been sitting in the Agricultural Hall attic for years, some since the early 1990s.
Fairgoers lined up outside the merch tent with cash in hand, ready to purchase this year’s T-shirt, decorated with this year’s illustration created by Traeger di Pietro. The painting depicts a family standing side by side, watching a fair ride.
A number of new events are on the docket this year. Fairgoers can do some grocery shopping at the new local farmers’ booth where North Tabor Farm, Island Bee Company and Flatpoint Farm are presenting their summer harvests. A crowd also formed on Thursday afternoon to watch the fair’s first sheepdog demonstration.
All animals get their day at the fair.
— Maria Thibodeau
To make the fair more inclusive to the Brazilian population, Grinnan said they have released fair materials in both English and Portuguese. There will also be a bilingual session on Saturday during a new morning storytime initiative held in the music tent.
“A lot of diverse communities on the Island show up,” Grinnan said. “We wanted to encourage the people in the Portuguese community and Brazilian community to be involved.”
There are also new efforts to dispose of waste responsibly. Instead of placing trash cans around the grounds, waste stations have been created with volunteers available to help fairgoers separate their trash. The Agricultural Society also purchased biodegradable containers and utensils and sold them at cost to food vendors in an effort to reduce the event’s environmental impact.
“One of the big pushes that we’ve made over the past few years is trying to deal with trash,” Grinnan said. “Waste is our largest export as an Island.”
This year, all staff members are wearing purple ribbons stamped with a golden sunflower to honor Janice Haynes, a community leader and hall manager at the fair, who died in June. The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society has dedicated this year’s fair to Ms. Haynes and created a special volunteer award for a staff member who embodies her spirit.
A memorial exhibit to Ms. Haynes is set up outside the Agricultural Hall entrance. It reads: “If you’ve walked through the hall, you’ve enjoyed Janice’s hard work. She arranged every ribbon, talked to every judge and cared for every exhibit and entry.”
In classic fair style, visitors can put their carnival game skills to the test and walk away with prizes. Lia Reznik, who is in town for the weekend visiting her Vineyard Haven friend Cali Godfrey, was adept enough at the ring toss to win a comically large stuffed banana.
Livestock take a quick rest before the fair gets underway.
— Maria Thibodeau
“I go to school in California, so I don’t know how I’m going to get [the stuffed banana] there,” Ms. Reznik said.
Ms. Godfrey said she was excited to show her friend an Island tradition she has participated in since she was a little kid.
“It’s not summer without the fair,” Ms. Godfrey said.
Everyone seemed to agree with that assessment, from casual fairgoers to those working hard behind the scenes.
“One of the things that I love about the fair is that everybody’s happy,” said event organizer Sally Rizzo. “Everyone’s having a good time, kids are on the rides, people are eating food…. It’s one of those places where you can put away all your troubles.”