Island Time, July 4-7: Go Fourth!

July 4, 2019

The glorious Fourth is here at last, when Island celebrations start early and go on long after the last embers from the fireworks have fallen into Edgartown Harbor. If you’re heading to Edgartown for the parade, or just the pyrotechnics after dark, keep in mind that parking will be closed at 3 p.m. on Main street, North Water street, Fuller street and Morse street, and at 4 p.m. Main street and North Water street will be closed to traffic. Main street will reopen after the parade and North Water street will reopen after the fireworks.

For a list of other activities and events happening today, click here. And read on for some great suggestions for things to do over the holiday weekend to come.

Friday, July 5 | Stretch Out

Why not start your day with outdoor yoga? You can choose from Vinyasa Yoga under the oak trees or in a tent by the Trinity Park Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, or Yoga on the Beach at Lobsterville Beach in Aquinnah. Both hour-long sessions start at 8 a.m. There’s also a Kaiut Yoga class at 10 a.m. at Peaked Hill Studio in Vineyard Haven.

Stretched and refreshed, what’s next? The Grange Exchange runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Grange Hall in West Tisbury, where you can shop antique, vintage and modern goods with Island themes and connections and grab something to eat from a food truck.

Downtown Vineyard Haven hosts its monthly First Friday celebration from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with live music and pop-up vendors in multiple spots along Main street and more musicians playing in Owen Park. From 5 to 6:30 p.m., the Chilmark Community Center welcomes families to a Family Dance-O-Rama with DJ Shizz, the first of its summer dance parties with mvyradio. Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish play on the Trinity Park Tabernacle green from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with dinner available from the Smoak food truck.

At the Capawock, the weekly screening of Jaws starts at 4:30 p.m. and Spider-Man: Far From Home begins at 7 p.m.

Saturday, July 6 | Market Time

The West Tisbury Farmers’ Market at Grange Hall is staying open an extra hour today, running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. instead of the usual noon closing time. At the Tabernacle, the annual Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association Flea Market is also taking place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and there’s no telling the treasures you’ll find.

The Farm Institute in Edgartown is having an Open House for its teaching kitchenfrom 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. As you watch, house chef Meave McAuliffe will prepare and share buttermilk strawberry scones, a veggie frittata, breakfast sausage and salad.

Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center in West Tisbury hosts weekly, 30-minute Open House Tours of its barns and pastures, where horses live in social groups instead of separate stalls. Tours start at 10 a.m.

The Oak Bluffs Arts District hosts its monthly stroll from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with receptions at galleries along Dukes Gallery avenue including Alison Shaw and the new Knowhere Art Gallery, which is holding its grand opening during the stroll with an exhibition by Boston-based Artists for Humanity.

Other receptions today include Timo Elliott’s “American-modern art with an Island twist,” from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Chilmark Free Public Library and Elizabeth Langer at the West Tisbury Public Library from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

If you love the music of the Beatles, do not miss Yesterday, which plays at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center at 7:30 p.m. after a sold-out screening opened the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival last week.

Sunday, July 7 | All About the Art

If you haven’t had your fill yet of hunting for Island finds, the Oak Bluffs Open Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Washington Park and the Vineyard Artisans Summer Festival is happening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Grange Hall.

Starting at 4 p.m. at the Portuguese-American Club in Vineyard Haven, a cookout and silent auction conclude this year’s Fluke for Luke benefit fishing tournament, commemorating an Island fisherman who lost his life on the water.

In Vineyard Haven, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center‘s lobby art gallery is showing never-before-seen paintings by Gretchen V. Feldman, with a reception from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Old Sculpin Gallery in Edgartown celebrates its current group show from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the Granary Gallery in West Tisbury is also holding a 5 p.m. reception, for artists Ken Vincent, Cindy Kane and Bob Avakian.

On Island screens, the Capawock has Toy Story 4 at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Yesterday repeats at the Film Center at 7:30 p.m.