Every August, on a Wednesday on or around the third week of August, you can step back in time with an event that dates back to 1869. Grand Illumination Night in the Campground surrounding the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs is a family event that is as much fun now as it was almost 150 years ago.
On Grand Illumination Night the residents of the ginger-bread houses that make up the Campground in Oak Bluffs adorn their homes with displays of Chinese and Japanese lanterns. The evening starts with a community sing and a concert by the Vineyard Haven Band in the Tabernacle. This is followed by the ceremonial lighting of the first lantern, at which time all of the cottages turn on their lanterns providing a beautifully colorful display for all to appreciate.
Grand Illumination Night typically begins at 7:30 PM and lasts until 10:30 PM.
This is the first event in a week that also typically includes the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair and the Oak Bluffs fireworks making this one of the Island’s busiest weeks of the summer.
Video of Grand Illumination
More Illumination Night Photos
- Illumination Night Photo Gallery
- Illumination Night 2011 Decorations in the Late Afternoon
- Illumination Night 2011
- Illumination Night 2008
Other Martha’s Vineyard Attractions / Things to Do
- August Oak Bluffs Fireworks – Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
- Beaches – Martha’s Vineyard
- Black Dog Tall Ships – Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
- Camping on Martha’s Vineyard
- Flying Horses Carousel, Oak Bluffs, MA
- Fourth of July Fireworks – Edgartown, Massachusetts
- Fourth of July Parade – Edgartown, Massachusetts
- Golf Courses – Martha’s Vineyard
- Grand Illumination – Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
- Manuel F. Correllus State Forest – Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
- Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair – West Tisbury, Massachusetts
- Martha’s Vineyard Bike Paths
- Martha’s Vineyard Conservation Properties
- Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks – West Tisbury, Massachusetts
- Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby – Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
- Ocean Park – Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
- Polly Hill Arboretum – West Tisbury, Massachusetts
- Road Races – Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
- Sailing on Martha’s Vineyard
- Summer College Baseball – Martha’s Vineyard Sharks – Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
- Tisbury Street Fair – Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
[...] an event that dates back to 1869? Well that is exactly what you can to this evening at the annual Grand Illumination at the Tabernacle and Campground in Oak Bluffs, [...]
[...] third week of August is always a big one on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. It starts with Grand Illumination on Wednesday and then almost literally ends with a [...]