Orleans Chamber Rolls Out Trolley Service For First Fridays

ORLEANS – It’s First Friday. Maybe you’re grabbing dinner downtown but want to do some shopping on East Main Street.

 Leave your car. The Orleans Chamber of Commerce will take you.

 The chamber introduced a free trolley service during its July First Friday event, and will continue the service for all chamber events through the end of the year. The trolley will run from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

 On First Friday, which is organized by the chamber, local businesses keep their doors open later into the evening, allowing residents and visitors alike to enjoy all the town has to offer beyond regular business hours. Participating businesses include those downtown and others along Route 6A, Route 28 and on the east end of Main Street.

 “Because it’s such a spread-out community, you want to make it easier for people to be able to get around on a busy night and to see everything that Orleans has to offer without having to jump in their cars,” Judy Lindahl, the chamber’s executive director, said of the decision to incorporate the trolley into the event.

 Lindahl said chamber members have been clamoring for a trolley service to better connect shoppers with businesses around town. Mazzeo Construction and Mazzeo Pools and Outdoor Living on Main Street offered to sponsor the trolley, which is operated by Cape Destinations in Harwich.

 “So it just sort of worked,” she said.

 The trolley will make a loop around town beginning and ending at Cape Tradewinds on Route 6A near the rotary leading into Town Cove. The route will move from Cape Tradewinds out to the Artist Cottages and continue down Route 6A to the Alley Bowling and BBQ. From there, it will turn down Brewster Cross Road and stop at Friends’ Marketplace and continue down to the east end of Main Street. The trolley will then turn back down Main Street and onto Route 28 at Academy Place before returning to Cape Tradewinds. 

 There are 15 stops on the route, including designated “park and ride” locations at Cape Tradewinds, the Double Dragon Inn, Wild Water Collective, Orleans Marketplace and the Alley, Lindahl said.

 “I think it adds to the event by allowing people to explore Orleans without having to be behind the wheel,” she said of providing the trolley service.

 While the trolley is free, riders are encouraged to tip their driver, Lindahl said.

 The trolley will be offered at all remaining First Friday events, including Aug. 1. Trolley service will also be provided at upcoming chamber events including Outermost Friday, the annual tree lighting and the holiday shopping stroll.

 “It’s one of those things that we’re going to accommodate and try and see how we feel about it at the end of the year,” Lindahl said.

 For more information about First Friday, visit www.orleanschamber.org.