Parade floats and barbecues are all on the docket today as the Island readies for a day full of Fourth of July festivities. Celebrations are planned from Aquinnah to Oak Bluffs, but at day’s end all roads lead to Edgartown for the marquee events.

About 50 people attended an event at the Union Chapel Monday morning intended to provoke discussion about freedom of speech on college campuses, racial tension and policing.

State budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of a part-time housing counselor for the coming year. Advocates for the homeless say the position has been critical in addressing the unique problems around housing security on the Island.

The end of an ambitious fundraising campaign inched a little closer this week for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, which has raised nearly $20 million in a $28 million capital campaign.

New work by the Vineyard artist Lily Morris includes 10 large-scale oil paintings that depict scenes of contemporary life alongside constructed fantasies of fame and wealth.

Thirty years ago this week, the Vineyard was under siege by developers. Worried that the big money was winning, a group of Islanders led by the late Michael Wild decided to take their battle public in the Fourth of July parade. Steve Ewing narrates.