Sisters in the Name of Love: A Benefit Performance Supporting Two Essential Provincetown Health Organizations

Sisters in the Name of Love is always one of the greatest romps of the year in PTown entertainment!

Since the late 1980s one of the most highly anticipated, "must see" PTown shows has been the annual fundraising extravaganza known as Sisters in the Name of Love. It's safe to say that every drag queen in town will be on stage at some point during the evening, whether professional, amateur, hobbyist or complete novice, and that's all part of the fun of this mammoth evening of entertainment.
Seasoned performers as well as those less familiar to us will entertain a packed house at the Crown & Anchor this Tuesday, June 6th, beginning at 8 PM. There may be singers, along with comics, musicians, you name it… any sort of entertainment at all may turn up, with a particular emphasis on comedy and drag. There will be lots of big hair, sequins and boas, not to mention attitude. These queens are here to wrench the cash out of your hands for a very good cause: the health, support and wellbeing of hundreds of clients who depend on a little help from the ASGCC and HOW.
The Aids Support Group of Cape Cod began as a little Provincetown organization, among the first in the US to address the AIDS crisis back in the 1980s. It has now been greatly expanded, depending largely on a dedicated league of volunteers, and currently serves clients throughout the entire Cape and Islands. They provide counseling and support; testing, prevention, screening and nutrition services; rides to medical appointments; assistance with housing and utilities, and a host of other services.
How is Helping Our Women, another volunteer-based organization that started with a handful of women responding to the lack of services available to a friend newly diagnosed with cancer in 1992. By 1993 they had raised the money to incorporate as a full-fledged nonprofit, opening a resource and referral center for women in Provincetown who were facing the illness. By 1994 they had expanded to offer services to local women with all types of chronic, life-threatening and/or debilitating illnesses, and now offer those services and many more to women in the towns of Truro, Wellfleet and Eastham, as well as in PTown. A small monthly stipend for complimenting therapies, alternative treatments, or even utility assistance is also available to women meeting income guidelines.

These are two wonderful organizations, depending largely on funding from contributions by the general public. This yearly benefit provides a good bit of their annual budgets, as well as rollicking entertainment for our community, so be there or be square! Doors open at 7 PM, so you'll want to come a little early for a good seat and a cocktail, or two, and a bit of socializing before the show. There's likely to be an auction or two at some point in the evening, perhaps for souvenirs of the show or sometimes for priceless memorabilia, so bring your checkbook along as well.
The suggested donation for admission is just $10 at the door, but you'll want to bring fistfuls of dollar bills as well. It's customary to tip drag queens for superior entertainment, and you'll certainly want to show your wild appreciation for the outrageous costumes, performances and personas of the evening. The entertainers, in turn, will donate all their tips - every last dollar. Every crumpled, beer-soaked, martini-dripping dollar will go to providing services to clients of HOW and the ASGCC. Lets hope they're still counting the cash the next morning. See you there!

PTown Carnival 2015 Gets Underway

Join us in Provincetown for our 2015 Carnival from August 15th through 21st, celebrating a Candy Land theme. 

August 15th through the 21st is Provincetown's annual Carnival, with Candy Land as this year's theme.  Go to http://ptown.org/carnival to find out what's in the works and to learn about the history of Carnival. There will be a number of parties, an opening reception, a boat cruise, a flag raising ceremony, a costume ball, and of course, our legendary annual parade on Commercial Street, with renowned entertainer Sandra Bernhard as the Grand Marshall. Ms Bernhard will also give a live performance in Town Hall, with award-winning songstress Anne Steele as her opening act.

Learn about events and order tickets on the PBG Carnival Tickets page, along with Tee-shirts, and candy bars promising a total of 25 Golden Tickets, à la Willy Wonka. Trips to Las Vegas and many other PTown and Vegas prizes will be going to folks who find a lucky ticket when they unwrap their candy bars.

Watch for people in costumes to start popping up on Commercial Street as the week progresses, especially on parade day (Thursday) and for Drag Bingo as well, which is a fundraiser for the UU Meetinghouse, where this venerable event is held.

The Spectacular Provincetown Sky, Opus 2

The Provincetown breeze forms a series of rolling waves in the clouds as the sun sets over the rooftops.

If I had turned the corner from Carver onto Commercial Street 30 seconds earlier, or later, I'd have missed this shot of an insistent breeze gently swirling the clouds into a series of rolling ocean waves.
I happened into a crowd that had gathered spontaneously in front of the Aquarium Marketplace, at the beginning of Provincetown's West End, where people were looking up over the rooftops toward the western sky, exclaiming over the sight they were seeing as they fumbled for their cameras. The wind was twirling the clouds into neat little curlicues as it blew them along the horizon. I heard someone say there was a name for this phenomenon, but no one seemed to know what it was.
You might think these clouds have been "photoshopped" into the picture, but there is no trickery here. This is simply Mother Nature doing what she does… turning the natural elements around us into  stunning, elegant little displays that magically appear wherever you go in Provincetown.

UPDATE: My thanks to a reader who e-mailed me a name for these clouds, enabling me to look up some information on them. It turns out this sort of cloud formation sometimes results when there is more than one layer of air above us, moving at different speeds on a windy day. A thinner layer of air might move more quickly over a denser, heavier layer, rolling a bank of clouds into a shape that resembles a series of cresting waves.
These cloud formations are known by a number of names around the world, and are often called "Kelvin-Helmoltz" clouds or billows. They were named for Lord William Thomas Kelvin, a Scottish physicist and mathematician, and for Hermann von Helmholtz, a German physicist, physician and philosopher (say that five times really fast,) both of whom were born in the 1820s.
"Shear-gravity clouds" is another monicker for these whimsical swirls of condensed water vapor that most often indicate instability in the atmosphere, and are a predictor of likely turbulence for airplanes. And they make a dandy bit of sculpture in Mother Nature's sky.

On PTown Streets During Carnival Week...

Eddie and Jamie, from Connecticut and New Jersey, made their fabulous costumes,
and are frequent visitors, always looking forward to Provincetown's Carnival week.

Carnival always brings lots of great costumes and characters to Commercial Street. Eddie and Jamie, above, hail from Connecticut and New Jersey, are fairly frequent visitors to Provincetown, and try to make it here for Carnival every year. They don't miss many. They made their wonderful, whimsical costumes, and get extra points for a look that is topical (Viva Las Vegas!) funny, and sexy.

Emily and Jeff, still best friends since college. 

Emily and Jeff were best friends in college a number of years ago in Texas and have remained close through the years. Both are now architects. When Emily and her husband stumbled into Provincetown during Carnival last year, they couldn't believe they hadn't known about this beautiful place and this week-long party, and, it turns out, neither had Jeff. So this year Emily brought Jeff here for his first visit to Provincetown, dressed in a tank top and pants featuring the King of Hearts and other playing cards, and Emily made her hat of giant playing cards. I found them making their way to Tea Dance, Jeff's first, but he'll certainly be back to PTown for more.

Rick and John exhibit all the showmanship of
legendary Las Vegas icons Seigfried and Roy.

Siegfried and Roy (AKA Rick from Denver and John from Boston) are also frequent visitors and love Carnival week in Provincetown.
I found them on Commercial Street on their way from a party, and heading up Masonic Place toward the A-House. They were quite the showmen, and their iconic outfits with plunging v-necks, big rings and even bigger hair were completed with tigers, one biting Roy's neck, illustrating the tragedy that ended Siegfried and Roy's long-running career on the Vegas Strip, 10 years ago this autumn.

Steve nails the essence of Phyllis Diller.

Steve owns Wardrobe, a popular women's clothing store at 213 Commercial Street, and put together the perfect outfit as he morphed into legendary Las Vegas performer Phyllis Diller, a groundbreaking comedienne who appeared regularly on Vegas stages from 1964 until 2002. Steve completely nailed her charm, mannerisms, and her look, from her foot-long cigarette holder to her frazzled, trademark mop of shaggy blond hair.

There's never been enough money printed in the history of the
world to get me to don a pair of shoes like this for even 10 minutes.

When I met Chris, from South Boston, it was after midnight, and he was barely able to walk, having worn these shoes for hours as he made his way around town to a number of parties and events, traversing Commercial Street several times this evening.

Townies or visitors, players or spectators,
everyone turns out for Drag Bingo.

A wide range of characters will turn out for Drag Bingo every year, a benefit held on the lawn at the U. U. Meetinghouse. Many fundraisers take place over the course of Carnival week, raising money for local charities and non-profits, and Drag Bingo is a favorite of visitors and Townies alike, whether they are players or spectators.

What's another
word for sexy?

Costumes for Drag Bingo can be simple or elaborate, and some are even quite provocative. These folks are definitely turning heads as they make their way along Commercial Street as the bingo hour nears.

Bingo, anyone?

These two have transformed into the perfect pair of Vegas slot machine grannies, taking a break from the one-armed bandit to play a little bingo. A bit of padding, a few simple accessories and a really bad wig make these outfits flawless. These two could blend right in at any casino on The Strip, and they are certainly dressed for Drag Bingo. Viva Las Vegas!

Only in Provincetown - A Dog's Life

A dog and it's human companion are kayaking on a very high tide in the marsh.

This kayaker and dog are enjoying a truly gorgeous day on the sparkling waters near the breakwater in the Far West End of Provincetown.
In 2010, Dog Fancy magazine said that PTown was the most dog-friendly spot in the country.
Merchants all around Provincetown put out bowls of water for thirsty dogs, and we've got a bubbler (that's Yankee for "water fountain") for dogs and their humans in front of Town Hall. We've got a pet resort on Shank Painter Road, we have a pet appreciation celebration, and we have a cage-free, no-kill animal shelter that operates on fundraising events and contributions from the public, staffed almost entirely by volunteers.
Provincetown has 15 dog-friendly restaurants with outdoor canine dining areas, and 30 guest accommodations, cottages, campgrounds, hotels and inns accept pets. Dogs can go sailing, swimming or whale watching with Captain Rory and her crew aboard the Moondance II. They carry life vests on board for small and medium-sized dogs who might not be great swimmers.
Dogs visiting Provincetown and the surrounding area can get their hair done, have a massage, and have their portrait done by half-a-dozen artists and photographers. They can meet new friends in doggy daycare. They can take a narrated tour of the harbor on the Viking Princess.
Dogs can fly with their humans between Boston and Provincetown for $10, and leashed dogs can take the fast ferry between Boston and Provincetown for free. Find more dog-friendly information on the website for the Pilgrim Bark Park, PTown's quarter-million-dollar dog park and playground that's still fundraising for more improvements.
Dogs who take the tour of the town on the Provincetown Trolley get a treat at the end of the tour, and those walking by the trolley while it's parked in front of Town Hall can stop and get one, too. Dogs who visit Seamen's Bank get a treat from the tellers while their humans get a lollipop. In what other place on the planet are dogs not only allowed on public accommodations and in public buildings, but are even encouraged to visit?
Only in Provincetown...

It's Furniture Season in Provincetown

Throw the right bedspread over this couch and it will blend into
all but the most formal living rooms. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

I recently wrote a post about what I have called "hors d'oeuvre season" in PTown, where many restaurants are throwing opening parties and offering tidbits and samples from their menus as they open for the season. It is always followed closely by furniture season, when you can walk down any street in town and find a couch, a desk, maybe a microwave or a window fan that's yours for the taking, or the hauling, left by someone who is making a seasonal move to different living quarters for the summer. It happens every year, and can actually be good fun.
Furniture season rolls around like clockwork, twice a year, in the spring and the autumn. Perfectly usable items in good condition can often be picked up right on the street, free of charge, when the previous owner moves to a smaller apartment for the summer, or perhaps returns to another town for winter employment after working the summer season in Provincetown. Guesthouses and motels may set out chests of drawers, kitchen tables, TVs, even entire bedding sets of mattresses, frames and headboards when refurnishing rooms at the beginning or end of the season. The comfiest bed I've ever owned was a furniture season find. I set it out for someone else to use when my apartment was condo-ized and I had to move to a smaller place.
I generally try to make use of something that's been previously owned or used, rather than buying something new, which cuts down on the amount of energy and raw materials used to manufacture and ship consumer goods around the country each year. And besides all that, I just prefer the look and design of something old rather than new. Give me the rounded corners and retro look of an old toaster every time, rather than the rectangular shape and square angles of a new one.
The other day I spotted a roll of "FREE brand new" carpeting, according to the sign taped to it. Minutes later, by the time I returned with my camera to get a photo for this article, it had already been snapped up. Not only can we all save a little money while finding cool furnishings for our homes and apartments, but repurposing household items and furniture also saves fuel that would be used to haul off and incinerate objects that haven't yet reached the end of their usefulness.

Refrigerators, courtesy of a local guesthouse.

Typically, household items at the edge of the road are up for grabs, going to the first person who walks by in need of the item, or to the first person to borrow a truck and a pal to help wrestle a couch or dinner table or other large piece of furniture into the truck. Often there's a sign of some sort to identify free items, but if there's no sign, and you have the least little doubt about it, a knock at the door can confirm that the floor lamp and mirrored medicine cabinet leaning on the fence are indeed meant to be carted off to a new home. Just be a little careful about electrical items, or appliances that may have sat out in wet weather. 
Some folks may feel a bit odd about taking home things that have belonged to someone else,, but we try to do it around here whenever possible. There hasn't been a landfill in Provincetown for about 20 years or so. We ran out of space to bury trash long ago, so anything cast off has to be hauled out of here to be burned, which is expensive, terrible for the environment, and a crying shame when items that are still useful are wasted this way.
So keep an eye out for something you can use, refinish or adapt to fit a need, and don't be shy. Take it home and give it a new life. Happy furniture season!

A Cloud With Square Corners? Only in Provincetown

This photo was shot through the window glass while driving through the Provincelands, out toward the Visitor Center. This is another one of those examples of the sort of naturally occurring sights often found in the Provincetown sky where it makes me think that if you were to paint this sky, people would think you made it up.
What sort of wind would have to come along to swirl the end of this cloud into a square corner?
The sky around us never ceases to amaze me, and the shapes formed by the endless variety in the sorts of clouds rolling overhead every day show me something absolutely spectacular every single time I venture out.