Coronavirus: Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Festival Canceled

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — The summer festival season is shaping up to be an eerily quiet one on Martha's Vineyard due to the coronavirus health emergency. This week, the 159th Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Fair joined a growing list of traditional events in the summer haven that will not take place due to concerns about social distancing restrictions lasting into August, or longer.

The Agricultural Fair was set to take place Aug. 20 to Aug. 23 and is regarded by many as the centerpiece of all the events that take place on the island each summer. The Board of Trustees opted to cancel event for the first time in 76 years on Wednesday out of caution for its staff, volunteers and the island community.

In recent weeks, the Tisbury Select Board chose to pull the plug on Beach Road Weekend, scheduled for July 24-26, while Martha's Vineyard Oyster Fest has been postponed to Oct. 2 through Oct. 4.

The island towns took an aggressive approach to shutting down the island in recent weeks out of fears that even a limited outbreak of community spread could rapidly overwhelm medical services. The island towns were among the first in New England to authorize fines for those who violate stat-at-home orders for all but essential services and needs — such as grocery and pharmacy shopping, and were granted an exception to the state's list of essential businesses that included the prohibition of construction and landscaping on the island.

Island residents were required to all wear cloth face masks in stores starting this week, while emergency personnel are responding to calls wearing protective equipment.

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