COURTESY OF SAVE THE GAY HEAD LIGHT COMMITTEE
The Gay Head Lighthouse was built in 1856.
AQUINNAH – The Gay Head Lighthouse in Aquinnah will be re-lit tomorrow, two months after it was moved from its former location.
Members of the Save the Gay Head Lighthouse Committee will be hosting a celebration of the re-lighting of the 160-year-old lighthouse in the Aquinnah Circle.
The re-lighting will end the longest period of darkness in the history of the iconic beacon and is the culmination of an island-wide effort to save it in a campaign that spanned several years.
“I live within a sweep of the lighthouse and have missed it for the last two and a half months,” said Gay Head Lighthouse Relocation Subcommittee Chair Len Butler. “Once that beacon is coming through my bedroom window at night, I’ll feel that my job is finally really done.”
The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. and will include live music from island musicians including The Black Brook Singers, Good Night Louise and Isaac Taylor, singing “Red Queen,” an original homage to the Light.
The lighthouse has been dark since April 16 when it was turned off in preparation for its 185-foot move from the edge of the Gay Head Cliffs.
The move was completed on May 30, after committee members raised more than $3 million to fund the effort.
Butler said that the Vineyard is abuzz about the Lighthouse’s move.
“Islanders I run into in the supermarket and on the street, everyone is just full of congratulations for a job well done,” said Butler. “It’s very gratifying to have accomplished this quite historic feat.”
Fundraising is continuing to address unanticipated environmental expenses.
For more information about the project and to donate, go to gayheadlight.org.
Congrats on a job well done. A BIG,THANK YOU and to all involved.