One of the summer’s most anticipated events is almost here. Friday, August 21 is the 40th annual Oak Bluffs fireworks extravaganza.

On Sunday, August 23, the Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts 3rd will be the guest preacher at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs.

The 147th Grand Illumination was celebrated Wednesday under a new moon and thick summer air. Lanterns from around the world, some passed down through generations of Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association families, decorated the porches of the gingerbread cottages in the center of Oak Bluffs.

The theme was owls, and last Friday at Featherstone Center for the Arts, artistic renderings of the majestic winged creatures were everywhere you looked. The theme was chosen in memory of Grace McDonnell, and this summer, thanks to a gift from her parents, 10 scholarships helped Island children attend Featherstone's art camp.

I begin with this serious reminder: bringing dogs to the Oak Bluffs Fireworks is a very bad idea. Please leave your furry friends at home, safe and sound.

The Tisbury car show — a Labor Day weekend event that benefits the town firefighters association — will go on, although now possibly at a different location. The association will now decide whether to relocate the show to the regional high school.