Memorial Day Weekend Events on Martha’s Vineyard

Memorial Day Weekend Events on Martha’s Vineyard

May 20, 2019

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer on Martha’s Vineyard, and the Island is rolling out the red carpet with gallery openings, hay rides, launch parties and other special events. Check the Complete Martha’s Vineyard Calendar for day-by-day, hour-by-hour events in every town; here are some best bets for what’s happening on Martha’s Vineyard over Memorial Day weekend:

• On Friday, kids in several of the Vineyard’s K-8 town schools take part in a tradition called March to the Sea. Local officials and first responders join the children as they walk from the school to the waterfront, where they toss lilacs into the waves in memory of the fallen as Memorial Day weekend begins.
• Friday kicks off the four-day Nature as Inspiration Environmental Film Festival at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven. Documentaries in the series include The Biggest Little Farm, a hit with moviegoers at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival earlier this year.
• Edgartown art galleries opening their doors for the season Friday include the Old Sculpin Gallery, housed in a historic boat-building workshop on Dock street, and the Nikki Sedacca Gallery in Nevin Square off Winter street. Also on Winter street, the new Kenworthy boutique makes its debut with a launch party from 5 to 9 p.m.
• Giordano’s, the landmark pizza and seafood restaurant at the base of Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs, opens its dining room for the season at lunchtime Friday.
• In West Tisbury, the Polly Hill Arboretum visitor center and plant sale area are open on Saturday with experts to answer your questions about trees, shrubs, wildflowers and perennials from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Hay rides behind a team of magnificent Percheron draft horses? You can do that at the Grey Barn and Farm in Chilmark, Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, no reservation required.
• Saturday afternoon on Chappaquiddick, dancers from The Yard give a pop-up performance at Mytoi, the gemlike Japanese-style garden on Dike Road, from 1 to 3 p.m.
• The Vineyard Artisans Festival returns to Grange Hall in West Tisbury, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• In Vineyard Haven, Monday brings the annual Memorial Day Parade and the Tisbury community picnic at the Tashmoo Spring Building, with live music from the Flying Elbows.

Find much more to do, from lighthouse tours to live music, in the Complete Martha’s Vineyard Calendar.

Text by Louisa Hufstader

Jaxon White Photo