Chatham, Harwich and Orleans are meccas for art lovers. In 2016 both homegrown talent and visiting artists livened up the painting, photography, film, theater, music and literary scenes. Here is a look at some of the year’s highlights. Chatham was abuzz as “The Finest Hours,” a tale of the February, 1952 sinking of the SS Pendleton, premiered at the Chatham Orpheum Theater on Jan. 28. The Disney movie was film...

One year ago, The Force Awakened. The first new “Star Wars” film since George Lucas’ ill-conceived prequels arrived with mostly positive reviews. Though I loved seeing old characters like Han Solo and Princess (now General) Leia as well as the terrific new character Rey, the movie itself – for all its good intentions – felt a bit too familiar; too much a retelling of the original 1977 film. Happily that’s not...

It's not usual for folks to have a few oysters with their beer. But what about oysters in their beer? A couple of Harwich residents are brewing up a special batch of holiday stout with Chatham oysters as the special ingredient. Devil's Purse Brewing Company's new Intertidal Oyster Stout, which will debut at a tasting event at Chatham Bars Inn Dec. 29, is enhanced by oysters from the Chatham Shellfish Compan...

“Everything She Wants” sings Sara Crewe’s father as he leaves her in Miss Minchin’s Boarding School. The Captain’s fortune will keep Sara in extreme comfort; she’ll indeed have everything she wants. Captain Crewe is going far away, back to India, where the two have lived for years. Crewe figures it’s time for Sara to get a proper education. It’s 1887, and in London the gulf between the rich and the poor is wide. ...

Volunteers at the Family Pantry of Cape Cod have no trouble explaining why clients are treated with such respect. For some volunteers, humility is a matter of faith. For others, it's easy to empathize with people who've had a financial crisis or other emergency. And for Family Pantry worker Lisa Joyce, it's because she's walked in those shoes before. Joyce and her husband owned a construction company for many ...

Once upon a time, in the mid-1990s, two founders of the Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston had a conversation. Jane Staab had just finished a successful production of her original musical “The Secret Garden,” based on the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, when Susan Kosoff mentioned that her favorite book by that author was not “The Secret Garden,” but “A Little Princess, Sara Crewe.” “I had to admit th...

First, consider a few numbers. A decade ago, the Family Pantry of Cape Cod had an average of 621 client visits each month, distributing about 20,000 bags of food in the course of a year. Last year, it handed out more than 55,000 bags of food, seeing an average of 1,149 clients every month. Consider just one more figure. As of the end of October, the Family Pantry had seen a jump of more than 13 percent in t...

Nostalgia can be a powerful force. It not only drives the storyline in the classic movie “A Christmas Story,” but it’s also the reason so many people watch the film on television annually. In fact, “A Christmas Story” is such a slice of Americana it received the ultimate distinction in 2012 when the film was included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, ...

Amanda Kosloski of Harwich had been ringing with the Handbell Choir at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Harwich Port for about 13 years when she and a church group went to hear the Back Bay Ringers perform in West Barnstable. That day in August 2014 was the first time Kosloski had heard professional ringers perform, and when she learned the group was holding tryouts for new members, she said, “I have a mus...

The 13th annual Christmas Cavalcade for the Homeless kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at the Mansion Ballroom at Ocean Edge in Brewster on Sunday, Dec. 11. After many years at the Jailhouse in Orleans, organizer/host/master of ceremonies Chandler Travis had to scramble to find a new venue when the Jailhouse turned their old function room into a brewery. Luckily, Ocean Edge came through, says Travis, after a considera...

Everyone deserves a chance. In fact, everyone deserves a chance to dance. On Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4, young dancers who have been given just that chance will gather at Betsy's Ballroom in Yarmouth for two dance performances as the Icons and Idols event raises funds for the Chance to Dance program based at Chatham's Studio 878. The pursuit of ballroom training is prohibitively expensive for many y...

If you wander into the Creative Arts Center in Chatham to see the artwork, you might depart without ever realizing that below the multiple galleries on the first floor is what one student recently described as “the little gem in town.” The basement is the place you will find award-winning potter Chelsie Starace teaching a pottery class in hand-building and wheel-throwing pots and other ceramic objects. On a re...