Canceled: Grand Illumination Night, Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard

151st Grand Illumination

 Of the Gingerbread Cottages

 “The Campground” in Oak Bluffs

America’s Boating Club – Cape Cod is again running their annual Grand Illumination Cruise Night to Oak Bluffs from Falmouth Harbor and cordially invite anyone and everyone from the district and beyond to join in the fun and festivities. Illumination started in Oak Bluffs on Aug. 14, 1869, initially intended as a way of marking the visit of the Governor of Massachusetts. Thousands of Island residents and visitors enjoy Grand Illumination each summer and this year we are celebrating the Sesquicentennial of this cherished annual event. In keeping with our District attempts to provide some fun events that are not time- or cash-consuming in hopes of seeing more people participate, this is a one-night-a-year event that is not to be missed! Our cruise is the only way to see it without an overnight stay. All public transportation providers make their last trip and stop running too early to witness the Grand Illumination finale.

We will leave from the Patriot Fishing Boats dock at the north end of Falmouth Harbor (use ‘110 Scranton Ave’ on your GPS) at 6 PM on Wednesday, August 19 (check in at 5:30) and return approximately 11 PM. Parking in Falmouth is free and there is no admission in Oak Bluffs. So the entire evening adventure is yours for $22 per person, your share of the boat charter. Oak Bluffs will be teeming with people that night, marking the approaching end of the summer season. It is their busiest night of the year – touted as the Crown Jewel of the Oak Bluffs summer season. Most of us have learned to skip the crowded restaurants and bring a picnic supper or nibbles to share, whether along the water front before heading up the hill or by staking out a spot on the lawn outside the Tabernacle. Once dusk approaches, the music program and sing-along starts about 7 PM and the Grand Illumination follows at full darkness, between 8:30 and 9. That leaves plenty of time for strolling the Campground admiring the old paper lanterns that have been handed down along with the cottages for generations. Enjoy it while you can: tradition dictates that all lanterns be removed, and all traces of the Illumination must be gone by daybreak the next morning. Then maybe a stop for an ice cream cone on the walk back to the boat dock.

To ensure your place on the boat, contact Valentina Bizunok at 617-417-5009 or by email at v6174175009@gmail.com