Remember bringing home a brand new record album, dropping the needle on the vinyl disc and poring over the jacket as the tracks unfolded in the sequence chosen by the artist? Often, those songs have a special resonance, an association that brings back memories whenever you hear the music. And hearing them on vinyl, rather than in the digital format more common today, just adds to that experience. Vinyl, onc...

HARWICH – Students from Sturgis East and West Public Charter Schools in Hyannis, including students from Chatham, will perform two one-act plays revolving around war and its effect on families at the Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre this weekend. “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht will be co-directed by Diana Young, Sturgis East’s theater teacher. “Dark Road” by Laura Lundgren S...

It happens often, especially if you’re looking for it, a flash of movement or color. Perhaps you catch it in your peripheral vision or the blink of an eye. Nature can be tricky like that, a hint here, a clue there. When I walk to my car in the morning I often see a flash of gray and white as the resident mockingbird lets me know the overgrown, multiflora infested forsythia is his, not mine. Many birds and anim...

It’s a common lament these days, especially among older people, that kids today are too focused on screens and structured activities with little or no free playtime. The thought seems to be that many children never get outside unless they are going from building to car and back again. This is disturbing for many reasons, but perhaps we should also ask ourselves if it’s really true. Since the beginning of t...

HARWICH — Ann Hart's interest in the arts started at a very early age, having grown up in a creative family. She said her mother was an “artsy-craftsy person” who did a lot of work with furniture and antiques, and she took notice. Observation paid off for Hart, an East Harwich resident, whose work will be on display in February at the Signature Member Show of The New England Watercolor Society on Newbury Stree...

Who doesn’t love a thriller set in the often-paranoid world of spies, where nothing is quite as it seems to be? Author Keith Yocum’s “Valley of Spies” (Time Tunnel Media, 2019) has been named to Kirkus Review’s 2019 prestigious list of Best Indie Mysteries, Crime Stories and Thrillers. “Valley of Spies” is the third book in the trilogy that began with “Color of Blood,” and continued with “A Dark Place.” All...

Winter is a great time to go beachcombing. High winds, high tides and rough seas churn up a lot of stuff and leave it on shore for the discriminating walker to find. What you find will vary with where you are on the Cape, so bring your sense of adventure, bundle up and don’t forget to bring your binoculars because you may find some pretty cool birds as well. If you’re really lucky you might spot a right whale...

Through its long history, Chatham has been known by many monikers, and now it may be acquiring a new one. “Without doubt, Chatham will be the organ town,” says the Rev. Joseph Marchio, pastor, director of music and organist at the First Congregational Church of Chatham. The church, celebrating its tercentennial this year, is joining St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church and the First United Methodist Church in...

It’s a star turn for Chatham’s Karen McPherson as she reprises her favorite role—the title role—in the 1988 Pulitzer Prize winning play “Driving Miss Daisy” by Alfred Uhry. This time, it’s at the Barnstable Comedy Club, on Route 6A in Barnstable Village, and it’s playing through Jan. 26. McPherson first played Daisy Werthan in 2011 at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans, and it’s obvious she’s not tired ...

Cambridge-based Ensemble Features Part-time Chatham Resident Allison Coleman The internationally-renowned world music and dance ensemble Libana will present a concert called “Through the Darkness: Music of Deep Winter, Earth Love, and Healing” on Sunday, Jan. 19 in Chatham. This concert, scheduled for the dark period of the winter, will be the group’s first since the release of its new sellout CD, its 10th,...

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a watcher. I’ve watched the leaves turn in the wind, the stars twinkle in an inky indigo sky and the butterflies sipping nectar from a summer flower. Watching nature is a quiet, mostly private activity that can be done at any time in any location. I’ve watched bluebirds flirt in noisy, busy parking lots, spiders build webs in the shower and mice steal kibble from a dog wit...

Here’s a fun idea for art lovers this winter: The third annual Winter Art Series, 11 weeks of shows featuring Cape Cod galleries and artists, will begin at Chatham Bars Inn on Friday, Jan. 17. The series runs through Friday, March 27. “People really come—it’s been a great social thing for people,” says Domonic Boreffi, owner of Gallery Antonia at 1291 Main St. Boreffi schedules the shows. The shows are open...