HARWICH — The town has received a $10,000 Communities Cultural District Initiative grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to establish two cultural districts, in Harwich Center and Harwich Port. Harwich over the past year has become very active in focusing on cultural activities as a means of driving the local economy. The conversion of the former Harwich Middle School into the Harwich Cultural Center h...

HARWICH — The second annual Harwich Cape Verdean Festival will enliven Brooks Park on Saturday. The festival showcases Cape Verdean culture and contributions to the community from residents who have come from the 10-island archipelago located 380 miles off the west coast of Africa. Last year's festival was considered a great success. The day-long event included performances by Cape Verdean International singer...

HARWICH — In an effort to implement the Green Communities program approved by town meeting in May, selectmen approved the initial reading of a fuel efficiency vehicle replacement policy Monday, but stalled when the administration sought to put the first vehicle on the road. Town meeting adopted the Stretch Energy Code and put in place a bylaw for large scale ground mounted photovoltaic arrays in May, said Town...

HARWICH — The piping plover chicks nesting on the east end of Red River Beach have fledged, and the town will soon remove concrete barriers placed across a section of the parking lot to protect the state and federally protected species. “I have some fantastic news to share,” Rebeca Linhart of the Massachusetts Audubon Society informed Conservation Administrator Amy Usowski on July Fourth. “When visiting Red Ri...

HARWICH — The town will not be moving forward with developing additional parking at the Schoolhouse parking lot this summer, but town officials are considering a number of short and long-term approaches to address parking in Harwich Port. Those include encouraging people to park in satellite parking lots such as the former fire station on Bank Street and the cultural center on Sisson Road – with possible shutt...

EAST HARWICH — Not many kids become a pilot at 16 years of age, and even fewer of them built an airfield in their backyard. But Charles P.H. “Chief” Bascom attained both those accomplishments. Few people remember the East Harwich Airdrome which operated in a limited fashion for close to 50 years, with planes taking off from the dirt runway over Orleans Road (Route 39) or Church Street, depending upon wind dire...

HARWICH PORT– Faced with opposition from neighbors to a proposal to expand the Schoolhouse parking lot, town officials withdrew the request last week. Town officials were before the planning board seeking a waiver to a site plan issued in 2002 for the parking lot and construction of the chamber of commerce building. Based on the opposition and planning board members' determination that a waiver wasn't the prop...

NORTH HARWICH — Everyone looks forward to Independence Day, but perhaps none so much as clients of the Family Pantry. Still, for many, the day they don’t need help putting food on the table can be elusive. The majority of Family Pantry clients – 63 percent – are working one job or more, and many are employed during the busy summer season. But during the off season, the low wages and few hours available mean ...

HARWICH — The planning board last week unanimously approved the site plan review and use special permits for the new Cape Cod Regional Technical High School. The project is scheduled to get underway in December and is estimated to cost $128 million. The new school will be located on the east side of the 69.46 acre lot that presently holds the existing Cape Tech school in the Pleasant Lake section of town. The ...

A new light is about to shine on Harwich's cultural stage as a result of a collaboration between the Harwich Cranberry Arts and Music Festival, Inc., and the Harwich Cultural Center, located in the former Harwich Middle School on Sisson Road. Starting on Thursday, July 12 and continuing through Thursday, Aug. 23, Cranfest In The Courtyard will offer a series of acoustic concerts to be held, weather permitting,...

HARWICH — It has been a long time coming, but the former gas station property in Harwich Center could be heading for major renovations. The historic district and historical commission will conduct a certificate of appropriateness hearing in two weeks for a proposal for a new convenience store and two apartments on the site. The 27,441-square-foot lot, which has a small, dilapidated structure that housed the...

HARWICH — “Errors were made, but nothing that rises to a major level,” Interim Assistant Town Administrator Robert Lawton told selectmen Monday night regarding the use of funds and the decision-making process for the pet burial ground project on Queen Anne Road. “There was no intent to hide anything,” Lawton said. After speaking with Cemetery Administrator Robbin Kelley, Lawton said he found she understood ...