People Watching is a Pleasant PTown Passtime

Haley enjoys a little people watching from the Town Hall benches,
along with her companions Ryan and Scott.

I met Haley on Commercial Street the other day, along with her companions Ryan and Scott. Haley is a maltipoo, a combination of Maltese and poodle, although she doesn't really acknowledge that heritage, for the same reason she eschews the dog park: it's full of dogs, and she's not really convinced that she is one. Instead, she can often be found dining on the patio at the Crown and Anchor, or on the deck at Pepe's Wharf.
Haley is a frequent visitor to Provincetown, traveling here regularly from her home in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. She has a little place on Court Street, which she shares with Ryan and Scott. She's most often found taking in the sights on Commercial Street, where she enjoys an afternoon of people watching, or she can be found shopping in the local boutiques. Haley has her own clothes closet, and Ryan and Scott say that she has more outfits than Thirsty Burlington.

2014 Provincetown Year-rounders Festival Celebrates PTown's Off-season March 8th

Celebrate PTown's quiet season with community exhibits, pet events, food and drink,
raffle prizes and entertainment at Town Hall this Saturday, March 8th, 2014.

Each year Provincetown holds its annual Year-rounders Festival at Town Hall, just when we think we can't stand another minute of winter. We gather for a bit of camaraderie, enjoying food and entertainment, and we visit with friends we haven't seen all winter.
A lot of us haven't been out of the house much lately, with the frequent snow storms, bitter temperatures and howling winds we've suffered keeping many indoors much more than usual, especially during these last few exceptionally cold and snowy weeks.
Besides all that, we generally just need to blow off a little steam at this time of year, so we do it together in this celebration at Town Hall, in the company of remarkable friends, community "characters" and the altogether eccentric group of people who make up Provincetown's year-round community.
This year's date is this Saturday, March 8th. Events are scheduled at Town Hall all day and into the night. From 11 AM till 7 PM there will be a silent auction for over 100 gift certificates and items donated by local businesses, community members, restaurants, artists and more, and raffle tickets will be sold as well.
And  although I couldn't find it listed anywhere, supper usually starts around 5 PM, once the volunteers have had a chance to transform the auditorium from an exhibition hall into a banquet room, with a lineup of chowder, pasta, chicken wings, pizza and lots of other favorites donated by local restaurants.

Here's the entertainment schedule, and don't forget the pet events at 2 PM.  

There will be a variety of entertainment onstage from 6PM till roughly 11 PM, and people will definitely be up on their feet and dancing to local band The Daggers, who will play from 9:30 on. Raffle winners will be drawn and announced throughout the evening. You don't have to be present to win, just buy your raffle tickets before 7 PM. I'm told there will be a cash bar as well. Last year, for instance, Cape Cod Beer was kind enough to bring libations. I hope to see all of you there for a fun day and evening.

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...

Provincetown Year-Rounders Festival Helps to Beat the Winter Blues

During most Provincetown winters the season begins to feel a little long and oppressive around the first part of March. Around this time of year we're usually being teased with the sounds of cardinals and other birds in the trees, and the sight of crocuses sprouting up, sometimes right through the snow on the ground, along with a rather warm day or two scattered among the snow storms. This year it's been howling winds up to 40 and 50 miles an hour that have sometimes kept us cooped up indoors as the wind chill factor makes it feel like 20 degrees out there.
As usual, we've gone from the non-stop frenzy of streets crowded with summer visitors and thousands walking in the road every day to the wintertime dearth of people on the streets. In the summer there's an endless variety of entertainment to engage us and dozens upon dozens of restaurants to tempt us, and money in our pockets to enjoy both. At this time of the year many of us who work seasonally are getting eager to get back to making a living, having spent the winter pinching our pennies in order to survive the off-season with little, or no, money coming in. It's easy to begin to feel a bit isolated in these long PTown winters.
The Year-Rounders Festival comes just in time, bringing a day-long celebration of Provincetown and its people, and this year it is bigger and better than ever, with more events and activities than in past years, as well as the usual wonderful presentations by local service organizations, terrific food, and entertainment of all sorts. It all begins at noon on Saturday, March 9th, at Provincetown Town Hall.
From noon till 4 PM the Town Hall auditorium will be filled with tables set up by local community organizations who provide a variety of services and information for the public. Helping Our Women, for example, serves women from Provincetown to Eastham who are living with chronic, disabling or life-threatening illness. HOW provides medical referrals, support groups, transportation to medical appointments both on the Cape and in Boston, as well as many other service and support systems, and they will have staff on hand at the festival to tell you about their organization.
PTV will have volunteers present to get you involved with community television in Provincetown, and the Visiting Nurse Association will be happy to tell you how they can help with information on medical screenings, home healthcare issues and a variety of services and information they offer. Many other community groups will be in attendance, and new this year will be the crafts fair which will share the hall all afternoon, bringing you a variety of crafts made by local people, such as glass mermaids and other decorative objects, knit sweaters for dogs,, unique post cards, handmade aromatic sachets and many other types of arts and crafts.
There will be a pet parade and costume contest at 2 PM, with prizes for costumes in the following Provincetown-related categories:

• Fishing
• Pilgrim
• Artist
• Portuguese
• Bear
• Showgirl
• A Best of Show award will also be given

Any type of pet may be entered. Dogs wishing to compete are required to wear a collar with a current license and have vaccine info on hand. Pre-registration is not required, so there's still time for you and your snake to work up a bear costume and win a prize. All entrants receive a free raffle ticket (more about that in a minute) and winners in each category receive 5 free tickets.
All day long, and into the evening, there will be a silent auction of items ranging in value from $10 to $1,000, and a raffle as well, with items donated by local residents, artists, shopkeepers, guesthouses, restaurants, Cape Air and others. Ongoing raffle drawings will begin at 6 PM, with the auction closing at 8 PM, and you need not be present to win your bid or raffle prize. Any winners not present will be notified of their prize or successful bid.
At 5 PM local DJ Johnny Mark will begin spinning tunes as folks line up for the free dinner buffet provided by 16 local restaurants, markets and delis. We thank:

• 141 Bradford Natural Market
• Bayside Betsy's
• Ciro and Sal's
• Crown and Anchor
• East End Marketplace
• FarLand Provisions
• Fanizzi's
• George's Pizza
• Governor Bradford
• Hot L Bar and Grille
• The Mews Restaurant and Café
• Montano's
• Napi's
• Provincetown Fudge Factory
• The Squealing Pig
• Wired Puppy

Free soft drinks and a cash bar will be available, with beer for $2, courtesy of Cape Cod Beer, and Truro Vineyards will be on hand with wine for $3 a glass.
After dinner there will be entertainment on the stage, with Master of Ceremonies Rollie Skreezlet. Beginning around 6:30 PM we'll be treated to acoustic and slide guitar music by Penn Dixon Colbert. Around 7 PM rock and soul band YT will perform. 8 PM will find some of our favorite drag performers taking the stage, such as Jonathan Williams, Dana Danzel, Barbie Que, Thirsty Burlington and Anita Cocktail. The Daggers promise classy rock and roll beginning at 9 PM. Times are approximate, of course, but it may be a good idea to arrive ahead of time if you intend to come for a single event, or be prepared to wait a bit as bands set up, or as volunteers convert the auditorium form a crafts and information fair to a huge dining room. Don't forget, dinner and DJ are scheduled to start at 5PM and entertainment will follow dinner, till perhaps 11 PM.
Come and join us for this wonderful, free community event celebrating the best of Provincetown. As always in PTown, everyone is welcome.

Only in Provincetown - The Most Dog-Friendly Town in America

I don't know anywhere else in the world where you can take your dog into a public building like the post office or the bank and not only be welcomed in, but be fawned over and admired, and be offered a doggie treat to boot. Tellers at the drive-up window will ask how many dogs are in the car, so they can send out the correct number of dog cookies along with the driver's deposit receipt.
In most any other place in the so-called civilized world, you would find this sign instead loudly proclaiming "No Dogs Allowed" in menacing, red, prohibitive lettering.  In PTown dogs are lionized rather than villainized. At Seamens Bank on Commercial Street, where this photo was taken, any dog that is tall enough to reach the counter is encouraged to stand up on its hind legs and accept a dog bone from an admiring teller.
At my last inquiry I was told more than a quarter-million dollars had been privately raised for the Pilgrim Bark Park, the dog park out on Shank Painter Road. We now have a bubbler (a water fountain, for those of us born somewhere other than New England) on Commercial Street, in front of Town Hall, put there to provide a drink for dogs walking by with their humans, with the fountains included for watering the humans being its secondary purpose.
Many shopkeepers set out a bowl of fresh water for passing dogs and keep dog treats handy, and all of this prompted Dog Fancy magazine in 2010 to name Provincetown the Most dog-friendly of their top 40 cities and towns. Dog Fancy editor Ernie Slone said: "All dog owners know of a few local shops or restaurants that allow dogs, but it is remarkable to have an entire town where virtually every establishment opens its doors to dogs - even the bank."
Click on this link to find a Provincetown Business Guild article all about  bringing your dog to Provincetown.