The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society welcomed spring last Saturday with their annual potluck supper. Dale McClure, president of the society, said this is one event that requires the least amount of preparation, especially when compared to the organization’s other affairs through the year.

“It is a chance for all of us to get together before we all get busy,” Mr. McClure said.

It may be spring, but the air was cool and so too were parts of the hall. Earlier in the day, wet snow fell from dark gray skies. The Saturday night dinner was an opportunity to get warm and have a meal. The fireplace was the centerpiece and many who strayed near did not move away. The big dinner was served on two long rows of tables covered with white tablecloths. The potluck dishes ranged from Boston baked beans in a ceramic pot to a full turkey on an aluminum tray. There was lasagna and a mixed rice dish with shrimp that didn’t last very long. Ginger cookies disappeared in an instant.

Elisha Smith, 89, one of the oldest members of the farming community and the society, mixed with other farmers. He spent some time conferring with nearby neighbor, James Norton of Bayes Norton Farm, and his wife, Sonya. Others, maybe 200 in all, also enjoyed the meal, some passing a bottle of wine or brew.

Mr. McClure took to the podium after dinner and announced that the society’s 16 trustees had left a busy year behind. Last fall, he said, the society had purchased 10 acres of land that runs between the Polly Hill Arboretum and the fairgrounds. The land had belonged to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

“We have no idea what we will do with it, but we will do something,” Mr. McClure said. He also said the purchase of the property was costly and the society needs financial help both now and down the road to keep up with the mortgage.

Mr. McClure also said the society has embarked on underwriting the cost of a book on the society and its annual fair. He introduced the authors, Susan Klein, a storyteller from Oak Bluffs, and Alan Brigish, a photographer, from West Tisbury.

To set the mood for the season ahead, a slideshow of photographs was shared that may be used in the book. Mr. McClure said the two had been working on the book for seven months in collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

Ms. Klein read an 1894 poem that appeared in the Vineyard Gazette celebrating the agricultural fair. Many of the lines were as relevant today as they were when it was written more than a century ago.

The digital slide show included both photographs Mr. Brigish had taken last year and photographs taken and collected by the museum. The authors praised the museum for helping with the project and making the pictures, many of them glass negatives, available for use.

Mr. McClure said the book will tentatively be released in the first week of August.