There's Soooo Much to Learn About Women in US History

1921 photo of Suffragettes, New York Times

Today is International Women's Day, with events, celebrations, and probably a fair number of protests also taking place in various locations the world over. In addition to this world-wide holiday held every year on March 8th, March has been declared Women's History Month in the United States, with special tributes and tidbits featuring little-known women who have shaped US history showing up on TV programs like ABC's The View and in other relevant spots in American News.
I'm going to begin to put up a photo or a quote about women or girls, something that I find interesting or provoking, as often as I can through this month, and maybe beyond that time as well. When I went to look up some facts on this world celebration, along with the convoluted history of America's still-uncompleted Equal Rights Amendment, I read various accounts of the ERA still  short of becoming the law of the land. Pages and pages and pages!
Even after all of these dozens and dozens of years in which good men and women have fought to put in writing the most basic protections for women, and to secure real rights equal to those routinely expected and afforded to men, there were so many pages to absorb that I had to give up as the afternoon slipped away from me.
On their website, at www.womenshistory.org, the  National Women's History Museum begins their timeline of women's suffrage and activism in 1840. I'm woefully unprepared to enlighten on these events, but will study up for future posts (or at least tidbits) during the rest of this month. In the meantime, I heartily recommend playing today's Google Doodle, dedicated to International Women's Day. Just go to Google, or click here and then click on the "start" arrow.
Happy Women's Day!

Leap Year Brings a Bonus to Saint Mary's: One Last Winter Community Luncheon!

Left to right are Cathy Hatch, Jean Sagara, Robin Comins Unger and Chris Keenan.
Live music is a big part of the popularity of Saint Mary's winter community luncheons.

The best part of having an extra day added to this Leap Year calendar might just be the chance it offers all of us to enjoy one last terrific “bonus” meal at Saint Mary of the Harbor Episcopal Church on February 29^th, 2020. That’s tomorrow, Saturday, from noon till about 1 PM or so, with a lovely meal prepared and served by some dozen or more volunteers, mostly from the church’s congregation. There is no charge for this wonderful meal, and all are invited.

This is a community luncheon intended to welcome absolutely everyone for a congenial meal among friends, both new and old, with Saint Mary’s stunning view of Provincetown Harbor as a backdrop, and live music for all to enjoy. It runs every Saturday during the Cape's two most challenging winter months for many of us: January and February. It’s easy to become a bit isolated when the weather might keep us from getting out and being among the humans, and this welcoming, community luncheon creates a great atmosphere for a little socializing, a lot of music, and something good to eat.

John Carroll and John Luftin made the best ratatouille I've ever tasted!

I hadn’t made it to a single lunch all season until this past Saturday, and had been missing a lot of the folks that I’ve always enjoyed spending a little bit of time with over the winter months.

Boy, did I luck out by catching a ride to the church that day...

Walking across the courtyard I could smell the divine aromas of this homemade meal from 50 feet away, and wonderful, live music was wafting on the air.

My nose led me to big baskets of crusty, really good garlic bread and a beautiful salad of mixed field greens, accompanied by the greatest ratatouille I’ve ever tasted! Saint Mary parishioners John Carroll and John Loftin baked several big pans of that delightful French stew simply brimming with fresh vegetables, in a uniquely flavored sauce that I hope to have the good fortune to enjoy again one day.

Dessert, as usual, was a lovely variety of baked goods such as cookies, brownies, lemon bars, carrot cake and the like, cut bite size so you could taste as many as you wanted, with a platter of these little sweets on every table.

This plate of excellent ratatouille, beautiful mixed salad greens and
great garlic bread was a real hit with last week's St. Mary's crowd. 

Besides great food, this weekly winter event always features live music, courtesy of two or three splendid Cape Cod musicians, together with friends they might bring along from various Cape towns and beyond, and sometimes featuring PTown tunesmiths as well.

Musicians from Eastham, Brewster and lands well beyond will venture out to the beauty of Provincetown on a cold winter's day, all for the love of the music. Diners and servers alike will often join in a sing-along, or dance to the music as it moves them.

This past week brought us Cathy Hatch, a dedicated regular traveling from Yarmouth to play guitar for us nearly every Saturday, along with Jean Sagara of Wellfleet, another regular, playing the fiddle. Our best wishes go out to John, another regular, at home, recovering from an injury and unable to play that day.

Cathy and Jean were joined by Robin Comins Unger and Chris Keenan, who both are frequent visitors to the Outer Cape, traveling from western Massachusetts to a little get-away in Truro as often as they can. They had brought their fiddles along. Each of these many fine musicians plays multiple instruments, and you never know which of dozens of strings, drums, percussion, woodwinds or others we’ll be treated to on any given Saturday.

We thank Saint Mary’s and the volunteers for another great season of food, music and comradery. The eclectic mix of friends and neighbors among the crowd, in the band, and in the kitchen, makes this a wonderful gathering for everyone, with the ambience completed by the view of magnificent Provincetown Harbor, seen from every corner of the dining hall at Saint Mary’s. This remarkable, homespun, weekly tradition should not be missed this winter, with your last chance for the season to join in the fun falling on Saturday, tomorrow, on Leap Day. Come join us in a good meal, live music, perhaps a bit of song and dance... all in a beautiful setting where everyone is truly welcome!

Don't Miss PTown's Fabulous Carnival Parade, Today Along Commercial Street

The theme Enchanted Forest will be on display during Carnival Parade in PTown.

Provincetown’s annual Carnival celebration began humbly back in 1978, having grown this year to a nine-day party with 17 official events scheduled, and dozens of less-official parties and gatherings at guest houses, homes. bars and swimming pools throughout the town.

Routinely bringing upwards of 90,000 people to this little village of some 3,000 year-round residents, Carnival in PTown has been called the best festival on Cape Cod, and is among the largest LGBTQ celebrations in the nation.

The marquee event of this shindig is our Carnival Parade, which is scheduled to begin at 3PM this afternoon in front of Harbor Hotel, in the Far East End of town, following Commercial Street all the way to Franklin Street in the West End. That gives you about two miles in which to carve out a little space for yourself, maybe set up lawn chairs with a few friends (at least two hours early,) or come late and stand behind eight rows of people crowded onto the sidewalk somewhere along the route. Either way, you'll have fun.
Typically the procession reaches the center of town about an hour after the scheduled start time, but we've been fooled before, when the parade has actually started on time, or been delayed, so be prepared to show up early, and to wait awhile. Fair warning: a handful of real parade zealots may have already shown up at 7AM to get their exact, favorite spot, armed to the teeth with reading material, coffee, pastries, sandwiches and lots of cold beverages (remember, alcohol is not allowed on public streets.) 

Those who walk in shoes like these all day long are the real heroes of Carnival..

Past parades have brought us a wide variety of floats created by local businesses; driving entrees like stars of our famous summer entertainment perched up high in the backs of stylish, open convertibles; perhaps a marching band or two; walking entries, and many others. And this year there are three Grand Marshals of the parade:
Lea DeLaria - comedian, actor (Orange is the New Black,) talented jazz singer and owner of The Club at 193A Commercial Street; Trixie Mattel - drag queen, actor, songstress, and widely known for her win on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars; David Velasco Bermudez - resident of Cape Cod and veteran of the Stonewall rebellion, 50 years ago this month.

Past Carnivals have shown off remarkable costumes like these.

You can expect to see lots of fabulous costumes, glitz-and-glamour, tiny swimsuits, and really big hair. This year's theme is Enchanted Forest, and there's just no predicting what will come from the imaginations of those in the parade, or those who choose not to march in the procession but to create marvelous costumes to wear while they simply stroll the streets or make their way to parties around town.

The gentlemen in this photo had made their own, truly unique costumes for the Carnival theme Viva Las Vegas a few years back, with flamingo codpieces. :ook closely. Fabulous!
For me, half the fun of Carnival is always just sitting on a bench somewhere and watching all of the costumed revelers walking by licking ice cream cones, or having their own little parade, day or night, in the streets.
Remember, there will literally be dozens of thousands of people all around you in Provincetown today, so don't forget - be kind to your fellow humans and animals, tip your servers well, and get out to enjoy whatever Carnival is for you.

2018 Winter Solstice Brings a Couple of Surprizes

The Winter Solstice coincides with December's full moon, called the Long Night Moon.

The 2018 winter solstice occurred yesterday, December 21st, marking both the shortest day and longest night of the year.

This is a day I always look forward to because from here on out (for the next six months, anyway,) each day will bring us an additional moment or two of sunlight as the Northern Hemisphere begins slowly tilting toward the sun once again, as it does at this time every year. But this year something unusual is happening as well…

There’s a full moon this weekend, actually reaching its peak around lunchtime today (Saturday. the 22^nd,) and clear skies tonight should show us a full moon in the night sky. The December full moon has been referred to by many as the Long Night Moon, since it happens during the time when the nights in this part of the world are at their longest. Native Americans called it the Cold Moon, since this is the beginning of the coldest part of the year. Don’t be fooled by the overnight low dipping only to about 50 degrees last night, I will be around 35 degrees late tonight.

Tomorrow night will likely bring intermittent clouds and rain, so tonight will be your best chance for a clear view of the Cold Moon. The last time this full moon coincided with the Winter Solstice was in 2010, and won’t repeat again until 2029, says one source, and 2094,says another (which one published a typo?) Either way, this is a rare occurrence. But tonight we can look for yet another little bonus…

The Ursid meteor shower will peak tonight, bringing shooting stars to the stage. The full moon will brighten the sky, lessening visibility of the meteors colliding with Earth’s atmosphere, but don’t let that, or the colder weather tonight, stop you from trying to spot them.

Here’s some advise offered through NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory: "... Bundle up if you want to watch for meteors, as it is getting late in the year! Get to a dark spot, get comfortable, bring extra blankets to stay warm, and let your eyes adjust to the dark sky. A cozy lounge chair makes for a great seat, as does simply lying on your back on a blanket, eyes scanning the whole sky."

NOAA illustration attempts to explain the Winter Solstice.

The parking lot at Herring Cove is far from any lights or tall trees that might interfere with your view of the night sky, and is one of my two favorite local spots for this sort of sky watching. The other is in North Truro, at the top of the little hill near the Salty Market (formerly Dutra’s,) looking out over Cape Cod Bay and Provincetown Harbor. From the market, at the intersection of Shore Road (Route 6A) and Highland Road, go west on Pond Road, passing by Village Pond, and take the right-hand fork in the road up a small hill to a tiny parking lot.

If you drive to either of these vantage points, you can stay fairly warm in your car while waiting for your eyes to really adjust to the dark, which experts say could take up to 30 minutes. And if you’re looking at the full moon, which will be moving across the sky as the night goes on, your eyes won’t adjust. To the darkest parts of the sky, which is where you’ll look for meteors scooting by. So this gets a little complicated. You may want to enjoy the moon for a while and then shift your gaze away, to a dark part of the sky, for your best chance to eventually spot those “shooting Stars.” 

The full moon glows above Earth in this splendid NASA photo.

Block as much light from your eyes as you can. Position your car’s visor to block the moon from view, or tape a small square of cardboard in place on your window and move it as the moon moves across the sky so you can stay focused on the darkest spots. If you’re listening to music while you’re looking for meteors, block out a  the light you can by covering all lights on your dashboard or cell phone. Keep your eyes constantly scanning up and down, left to right, like you might if you were watching for a whale to spout on the seascape.

I keep a big downy comforter in the car to keep me warm on adventures in the cold. You don’t want to run the engine to stay warm. It would kind of kill the spirit of the event. Take a thermos of hot cocoa with you, maybe a snack, because you might be out there for a while.

If all of this just sounds like too much, I’ll bet you’ll find some great photos of these events posted online tomorrow, maybe even some NASA photos. And if you’re brave and hardy enough to venture out in the cold for these events, I salute you!

It's Souper Saturday, Benefitting Provincetown's Amazing Soup Kitchen

SKIP has been serving meals in PTown since 1992.

One of Provincetown’s greatest, most delicious fundraising affairs is Souper Saturday, held during our annual Holly Folly event, on the first Saturday of December every year.

This event benefits SKIP, the Soup Kitchen In Provincetown, which will provide an estimated 13,000 hot, nutritious meals for Outer Cape residents over the winter, at no charge. To do this, they will need to raise close to $100,000 this year to help their volunteers to continue this remarkable community service.

I’m going to prime you for Souper Saturday by teasing you with photos of great soups I’ve had in PTown restaurants as I go on. Some of these will definitely be offered today from 11:30AM to 3:30 PM at Tin Pan Alley, at 269 Commercial Street, in the heart of Provincetown.

Littlenecks and fresh-snipped herbs make
The Canteen's clam chowder a favorite.

Founded in 1992, the Soup Kitchen is now open to the public every weekday from November through April, holidays included. Volunteers prepare and serve soup, salad, an entrée with side dishes, as well as beverages and desert, for around 80 to 100 people each day. Thanksgiving saw about 175 folks from all walks of life enjoy a splendid meal together, as well as the feeling of community provided by this remarkable resource. Local musicians gave us live music for the occasion.

At the end of each day’s meal, food is also packed for guests to take home, or to drop off to various folks who can’t always get to the luncheon, held Monday through Friday till the last full week of April, at the United Methodist Church, at 10 Shank Painter Road.

The Red Inn is known for their
hearty lobster corn chowder

The volunteers are looking to further expand their services this year. They’re experimenting with offering an extra, different meal on Fridays, in addition to lunch. It’s an entrée, packed and ready to go, so guests can have a meal over the weekend. As with the regular meals, there’s a meat and a side dish, with an all-vegetarian option available as well. This could prove to be a great help for a lot of people struggling with the high cost of living in Provincetown.

SKIP helps to bridge the financial gap for folks living in a seasonal economy, with the vast majority of the Outer Cape population having no employment in the wintertime. The Soup Kitchen also provides a place to meet and socialize, to connect with others in a community where people can sometimes feel isolated in the solitude of the off-season. The volunteers work hard to provide a genuinely warm, welcoming atmosphere as well as healthful, nutritious meals, and absolutely everyone is welcome.

Ross' Grill knocked my socks off one
day with this amazing fennel bisque.

You can help, too, simply by having a scrumptious lunch today, on Souper Saturday, at this fun, festive, mouthwatering event. More than two-dozen restaurants and delis are donating cauldrons of favorite soups so you’ll have a chance to taste several, if you’d like. A $5 donation will get you a ticket so you can choose a cup of any soup you’d like from a very long table with volunteers ready to serve you.

When a particular soup runs out, another variety from a different restaurant will be brought out of the kitchen, so the soups will change throughout the afternoon. There are bound to be clam chowders, lobster bisques, as well as choices for vegetarians. I'm hoping for a roasted vegetable soup or a butternut squash. Of course, in PTown, you’re likely to find a couple of Portuguese favorites like kale soup, or maybe a squid stew. There may be a beef barley, or perhaps a fennel bisque or corn chowder, or any other whim of some of the town’s best chefs. There’s no telling what delights might be offered for lunch today.

This chicken soup with Thai and Mexican
chilis made me love the Mews all the more.

I usually get two or three tickets, because I want to taste more than one soup. I’ve also seen folks who will sit down to two or three cups of the very same soup, like a favorite clam chowder, for instance. You can also come early and enjoy one variety, starting at 11:30 AM, and stop back later for another taste as the soups change during the day. Anything goes, and all of the proceeds will go to SKIP, so eat generously. The event runs until 3:30 PM.

You can also stop in at the old firehouse across the street, at 240 Commercial Street, for something new this year, and this is going to be very popular…

You can pick up cold quarts of soup for $10 each, packed “to go” for you to warm up later, for dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow.

Restaurant from PTown to Wellfleet
each brought their own version of kale
soup to the 2017 Portuguese Festival.

So that makes meals inexpensive and very easy to handle, too, as you’re busy shopping and attending Holly Folly events. Whether you live in town or have rented a condo for the weekend, you can gather friends and family and have your own soup tasting without having to cook. That will help SKIP to raise the money to continue providing a place of community, as well as thousands of free meals in the coming year.

By the way, you’ll want to do a little of your holiday shopping at the firehouse as well, where you’ll find useful items that make great gifts. SKIP merchandise such as soup or coffee mugs, tee shirts, caps, water bottles and oven mitts will be on sale there. Again, all proceeds benefit the Soup Kitchen

Some like their clam chowder thick and
chunky, like this one at Bayside Betsy's.

If you are reading this from somewhere far from Cape Cod, or are otherwise unable to attend Souper Saturday, you can make a contribution to the Soup Kitchen by check, debit card, credit card or PayPal, through their website, or simply send a check SKIP at PO Box 538, Provincetown, MA 02657. SKIP is a registered 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation, so donations are fully tax-deductible.

There's no telling which restaurants will make an appearance at this great event, and some might surprise us by bringing something unexpected, but that's half the fun of this shindig. With soups from nearly 30 Outer Cape eateries, there will definitely be something for everyone, and you may end up tasting soups from a couple of spots you've never visited. Excellent!

This spicy squid stew livened up the
Portuguese Festival one year. I believe
it was a surprise from the Lobster Pot.

I hope to meet you over a bowl of soup today at Tin Pan Alley. We thank them for their generous donation of their restaurant for the day. We thank the chefs and kitchen staffs of all of the restaurants and delis sending huge pots of wonderful soups for our lunches and dinners. Don't forget to stop at the firehouse for soup to go, and a holiday gift or two. 

And, as always, we thank the leaders and volunteers of  the Soup Kitchen  for their remarkable commitment and service to Provincetown and the greater community of the Outer Cape. Help them out… Have some Soup!