Just because summer’s over, doesn’t mean Martha’s Vineyard has shut down!
Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons on Martha’s Vineyard, the crowds have left, the rentals are cheaper and the sun is still out! But what is there to do? You may ask.

There’s a lot, including the Martha’s Vineyard Food and Wine Festival.

The MVFWF is an annual non-profit event that promotes local farms and seafood as well as wineries from all over the world. Most of the profits benefit The Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Edgartown. The Festival is October 17-19, 2008.

A few of the events scheduled are:

• Small Plates from the Grill Grates featuring BBQ masters Andy Husbands and Dante de Magistris.
• Duckhorn Wine Dinner at Atria hosted by Michael Brehart from Duckhorn Wine Co.
• Grand Tasting hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Museum features a variety of island chefs and guests including Kevin Crowell, Howard Imber,  Antonio Saccoccia, Christian Thornton.
• Chocolate and Dessert Wines hosted by the Christina Gallery Featuring Lee Napoli’s handcrafted chocolates.

So if you love food, wine, chocolate and Martha’s Vineyard, be there! Tickets are on sale now.

For a complete listing of the events and times and to purchase tickets visit the website!

Every September as the island quiets down, school picks up and the summer folk head to the mainland, the Vineyard community has a fall festival at the Ag Hall and fairgrounds in West Tisbury. It’s a pretty special festival, full of locals. One annual vacation renter told me the following story:

“We switched our vacation rental two years ago from our usual two weeks in June to two weeks at the end of September because our son was due in early July. We loved being on the island at the start of autumn, and our favorite part was the fall festival. There was so much to do and we felt like we not only got a glimpse, but were actually part, of the island’s unique year round community.”

The 2008 festival was called Living Local and featured everything local including: food, farmers, herbs, tonics, teas, tinctures, wool, clothes, furniture, bees, honey and more. There was also tons of information from local and regional providers of alternative energy, alternative waste and sustainability. There were speaker panels, workshops…and loads of great local food!

And, like that renter said, autumn is a special time to be on Martha’s Vineyard. The life of the island is happening, you get to wear wool socks at night and go to the beach during the day! Notably, the rental costs decrease after the peak months of the summer…a great time to book your slice of paradise.