HARWICH – In the years before COVID-19, We Can Team of The Gasp, a long-distance fundraising cycling event, looked forward to a day of camaraderie and celebration. Though the pandemic might have changed the face of the annual ride, it couldn’t dim the dedication of those taking part, including Team We Can. Located in Harwich, We Can is a non-profit organization aimed at empowering women through an array of uni...

If determination had an image, it would be of a cancer patient still smiling in spite of enduring harsh treatments that don’t come with a guarantee of success. Behind them would likely be family and friends in their Jimmy Fund Walk shirts, raising funds for research and taking steps they hope will one day lead to a cure. Brenda Azure and her daughters Sienna and Alexa know that walk well, for they’ve completed...

CHATHAM – It's official: Whales are more popular than sharks. Or, at least, people were willing to pay more for the painted and decorated whales on exhibit in Kate Gould Park this summer than they were for the sharks that populated similar displays in the past. Auction of the whales in this year's Chatham Merchants Association-sponsored Art in the Park brought in a total of $82,480, which beat out the previ...

HARWICH PORT – A lobster clambake, with a side of community spirit, would go a long way in filling the void the coronavirus pandemic is creating in our dining and social habits this summer. Outer Cape Health Services plans to help satiate these desires with its “Lobster Without the Fest” fundraiser. In the past OCHS has held an annual Lobster Fest gala and auction event. Because of the pandemic, however, co...

CHATHAM – The annual Chatham Merchants Association’s scavenger hunt is on, as the Oars in the Stores make waves through Labor Day in shops and businesses throughout downtown. Twenty-nine uniquely painted oars are on display in shop windows and businesses throughout Chatham. Scavenger Hunt Log Books are available at the Oars in the Stores Headquarters, also known as the downtown visitor information booth locat...

HARWICH — This year's Fall for Harwich and the town's traditional Christmas events are not likely to resemble the celebrations of the past, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the chamber of commerce board of directors decided to cancel September's fireworks and Hometown parade, centerpieces of Fall for Harwich, and indicated that the annual Christmas stroll will be substantially changed and downsized. ...

While masks have become an important piece of equipment in the fight against COVID-19, Rick White knows one thing is still certain. “You don’t have to see the smile to know it’s there,” he said. White is a member of the Dennis-Harwich Lions Club, which recently embarked on a mission to make and supply masks, free of charge, to Cape Cod residents that need them. Through the Make-A-Mask Challenge, the Dennis-...

HARWICH – On May 25, for eight minutes and 46 seconds, George Floyd cried out for help, calling for his mother, a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck until Floyd’s life ended on the street of the Minnesota city. On June 6, an estimated 1,000 peaceful protesters kneeled in silence in Brooks Park for eight minutes and 46 seconds in Floyd’s honor, the only sounds the chirping of birds in nearby trees ...

HARWICH — Given the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Harwich Cranberry Festival Committee announced the cancellation of this year's crafts fairs, music and beach day events. “Over the past months the Harwich Cranberry Festival Committee has been simultaneously planning and putting into motion all the things necessary to hold our season’s events while watching the progress and impact of the COVID-19 pa...

ORLEANS — You could feel Carol Counihan’s excitement as she and her husband Tim decorated their van in the Nauset Regional Middle School parking lot May 27. They were going to see her mother, Lillian Blakely, at The Terraces Continuing Care Community for the first time in months. And they had lots of company. More than 50 cars, vans, and police and fire vehicles gathered last week for a “Love Caravan” to the T...

CHATHAM – Each year for the past five years on the first sunny day in May, ideally a Monday, the folks at A Great Yarn hang knitted blankets in vibrant hues and intricate patterns from the sides of the building, but it’s not just a colorful treat for passersby. The annual “yarn bomb” celebrates another successful year of donating the handmade treasures to people facing homelessness. The yarn bombing began in 2...

If you see a handful of kids on bicycles out and about in East Harwich, they’re not just having a good time. They’re called the East Harwich Neighbors and they’re on a mission—helping those that need it most during the region’s COVID19 crisis. For the past few weeks, roughly since schools closed, Mercy McLardy, Abby McLardy, Paul McLardy, Caleb Escher, and Autumn Escher have been dropping off fliers around the...

CHATHAM — This year, the April Fools of Chatham Fire Department will lead their annual fund-raising plunge in frigid Nantucket Sound to benefit one of their own. The swim will take place on April 1 at 4:30 p.m. at Harding’s Beach, and hundreds of people are expected to join in. This year’s event will raise funds for 28-year-old Hayley Varin, who will soon be married to Chatham Firefighter Harry Fietz. Varin wa...

HARWICH — A gathering for to mark the medieval holiday of Epiphany will be a first for the South Harwich Meetinghouse this weekend. The historic former Methodist Church has had many different experiences, but never a Boar’s Head Festival. There will be festive pageantry, dance, song, music and animals taking the audience back to England in the 1400s to the medieval village of Harwich-on-Herring to experience E...

ORLEANS — At the town’s community building on Main Street, things are quieter than when firetrucks raced out the door, but that doesn’t mean the former fire and police station is any less busy. Many programs have activities there, and the potential of the structure has yet to be fully realized, some say. “It’s a small building, but a hub of activity,” JoAnna Keeley, chairperson of the Orleans Cultural Distri...

CHATHAM — As any seasoned First Night reveler will tell you, Chatham’s family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration wouldn’t be the same without music. But this year, they’re striking up the band like never before. Inspired by new musical acts like Chicago Total Access, a Chicago tribute band; Beatles tribute band Studio Two; and rock band The Placeholders, First Night organizers chose “Strike Up the Band” as th...