Off-Season
Best
Kept Secrets: December on
By John Piekos, December 2007
I’ll
let you in on a little secret. Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, but the
off-season months on Martha’s Vineyard are as special and magical, in fact,
more magical than the sun-filled vacation months of July and August.
Even though I am partial to any month of the year that offers great
fishing on ‘my Island’, I have found that December is undoubtedly the most
magical month of all on
December, like most off-season months, offers the most to those who crave the outdoors regardless of the weather. Actually, the weather is often milder than on the mainland, and you can golf, hike, beach comb, scallop or horseback ride in a hassle-free environment without crowds and traffic. Ferryboat tickets are easy to come by, so getting here is virtually stress-free. And as a bonus, prime parking spots are easily found in town, or within several yards of pristine beaches. Did you know practically all the town beaches are wide open during the off-season? But what makes December doubly special for me is the “Christmas in Edgartown” holiday weekend.
Christmas
in Edgartown, scheduled for the second weekend in the month, offers a cornucopia
off holiday activities for all ages and interests.
Edgartown and Vineyard Haven each have a long schedule of activities well
documented in the MV Times and Vineyard Gazette.
For the past several years, my girlfriend and I have participated in many
events. What I thought I would do
here is summarize some of my favorite activities.
)
on the nursery grounds we are led under wreath-lined archways, serenaded by
romantic and festive holiday music, all the while marveling wide-eyed at the
multitude of lights and decorated trees,
After
a glass of wine at the wine, cheese and eggnog tent, we stopped at one of
several outdoor fire pits to warm our hands. We exchanged holiday
greetings with several Islander friends who pass by and then we ventured inside
the main greenhouse. It is within the main building that the Island spirit
of this holiday comes alive. Each year my first reaction upon entering is
total enchantment. Under a sky-like layer of twinkling lights (video
),
guests snack and socialize between the many expertly decorated Christmas trees.
Hundreds of seashell candles ring the shelves and tables. Santa and his Elf sit
in the corner eager to listen to this years holiday wishes. Several
Angelic beings glide past me as I mingle with the other guests. No, I am not
hallucinating. This year’s theme was Angels and finding your angel within. I
find that many have found their wings, literally. Donaroma’s provided
several sets of costume Angel wings that guests were modeling.
The
Evening of Enchantment wasn’t so much a night of commerce for Donaroma’s,
rather it was a large holiday house party, and it seemed like everyone on the
Island was in attendance. If this
was the only holiday activity I participated in this weekend, it would have been
well worth the trip. But this was
just the start of the weekend.
On Saturday, we started off the morning with a
nice cup of hot coffee from Mocha Mott’s, originator of my favorite
).
The crowd favorite and always a parade staple were Santa’s animals, a
small army of dogs and ponies that had everyone pointing out their favorite
animal. The parade ended with an
eagerly anticipated visit from Santa Claus (video
)
who arrived in Vineyard Having by Ferry earlier in the day.
After the parade, there are
many craft fairs, Inn tours, and open houses, but many revelers begin shopping
the numerous 50% off sales offered by most local shops.
While I am not a shopper, I am always on the lookout for a Vineyard
bargain. I was able to pick up a
very nice Menemsha Blues sweatshirt and hat, both 50% off, and found several
antique Martha’s Vineyard postcards to add to my growing collection. A limited
edition Ray Ellis Fishing Derby print, at a reasonable price, still eludes me.
We
headed back to Donaroma’s for their Boxwood Christmas tree centerpiece
workshop. This is always a lot of
fun. All day Saturday Donaroma’s offers a workshop on wreath-making and
centerpiece creation. These wreaths
and centerpiece trees can sell for $100 to $150, but for $30 you can rub elbows
with fellow Islanders and make one yourself.
Fear not, if you run into trouble you can always enlist the expert help
of the many nursery staffers to help you create a unique holiday decoration for
your home. For the second year in a
row, my girlfriend and I have created quite the Boxwood tree centerpiece and we
had a ton of fun in the process.
No festive weekend would be
complete without the traditional tree lighting and caroling that accompanies the
event. What better setting for such
a tradition than downtown Edgartown? That
evening we gathered with approximately 100 other revelers to see the Christmas
tree lighting in the Edgartown village green. We listened to local carolers
flexing their vocal chords while attempting to coax everyone else to join and
sing along. Thankfully for everyone,
I was manning my Flip Video camera (video
- sorry about the poor video quality!) and did not feel obligated to add my
voice to the cacophony.
We capped off our
holiday-cheer filled Saturday with a delicious early dinner at Alchemy, one of
the best restaurants on the Island and also, notably, open year-round.
No visit to the Vineyard
would be complete without a mandatory stop at South Beach and a stroll along the
quiet shoreline. In the off-season,
nature reshapes the sandy Beach and dunes as if it were an Impressionist
painter’s canvas. Virtually every
time I walk along the beach it looks different, and this weekend is no exception
(video
).
The beach has grown over the last month taking the shape of an
interesting sandbar/bowl, yet it still shows steep erosion approaching the
dunes.
This weekend South Beach
is particularly gorgeous, very tame with no wind the surf.
We share the near-deserted beach with only a handful of people, walking
along the dunes, taking photos and enjoying the beauty and serenity only found
here in this magical place. In the
off-season I always say it is crowded if I see more than two people on the
beach.
It’s Sunday morning, and after a delicious
breakfast at Linda Jeans, we are off to Vineyard Haven for last-minute bargain
hunting before our return ferry back to America and reality. Thank
you