IT’S THAT TIME of year again, the race for island businesses to open by Memorial Day weekend. We’re opening for the 2024 season this Friday, May 24th. The seasonal shift is so dramatic for islanders, with everything flying into place near the end of May. SO many visitors and summer residents. SO many events. I bet you come here to relax, and think it’s so mellow. But the summer season feels kind of wild to us.

You’ll find a Stop & Shop that’s more than twice the size, with 16 types of feta cheese (I know this from making a family recipe a few months ago), and way more variety in everything. There’s a new roundabout down by the Island Queen in Oak Bluffs, with so many road signs it looks like a city street (don’t get Alison started). There are weekly demonstrations at Five Corners that will likely continue. And, big news – BOTH weekly newspapers have new publishers and editors-in-chief since last summer. We lost some beaches, and folks worked hard to build them back – the south side of the island got pounded by winter storms, and it’s changed the landscape dramatically.

The air smells of lilac and honeysuckle, and the sounds of hammers and saws are everywhere. Soon it will feel like the wild season, and we’ll be walking from the gallery down to Nancy’s, just to soak in the summer air, and get one of Donovan’s awesome drinks.

Click here for gallery hours, and here for our events calendar. Please stop in when you can, and say hi!