In Provincetown, Halloween is Practically a National Holiday

The White Wind Inn always gets in the spirit of things, decorating their porch and grounds.

With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, more East Coast and New England residents will likely have the day off, and decide to travel to Provincetown to join the festivities here as we celebrate America's biggest unofficial holiday. Any excuse to get dressed up in Provincetown… Thousands of people will rise to the occasion.
Over the last couple of weeks we've seen a variety of decorations, both spooky and whimsical, popping up in windows, yards and gardens of homes and businesses throughout the town. It's been fun going down Commercial Street many times over the last couple of weeks and seeing what new features would appear daily as decorations went up a few at a time. Every time I passed the Sommerset House Inn I would look for another bat in the tree or a new ghoul in the garden.
To really appreciate all of these decorations, you'll want to take a spin through PTown in the daylight, as well as after dark. For example, while the light-up displays at the White Wind Inn and at the Boatslip take on a new dimension after dark, the macabre display at the Sommerset House might be better appreciated in the daylight.
Look for parties, events and costume contests to be found all over town. The annual Spooky Bear celebration brings all kinds of bears, along with a number of events and parties. This evening will bring a costume contest to the Crown & Anchor, along with Halloween videos at the Wave Bar. The Heaven or Hell Ball at Town Hall promises some great costumes, with awards for the best. Any bar in town will be festive, and full of people dressed up for the holiday.
As usual, just wandering along Commercial Street or sitting on the benches at Town Hall will provide sightings from the simplest of costumes to the extremely clever and elaborate ones. With the theme of good and evil taking over the town for this holiday weekend, we are quite likely to see a Pope Francis or two on the streets and in the bars.
I wonder how many revelers will dress up as Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples? Will someone be Minnesota's Walter Palmer, dressed in a dentist's smock and carrying the head of Cecil the lion? The most offensive of all (the more offensive the better, in this case) might be someone who shows up as Martin Shkreli, the odious Brooklyn businessman who raised the price of a life-saving AIDS and cancer fighting drug by 5,000 percent. That's pure evil.
Whether you simply don a wig or a pair of devil's horns at the last moment, or have spent weeks stitching an elaborate costume and jeweling your tiara, or simply want to watch the parade of costumes going by, there's great fun to be had in Provincetown tonight.
Happy Halloween!