As the summer season begins to bloom, the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans has some summer shows and classes scheduled that have been over a year in the making. In spring 2020, Academy Board of Trustees President Judy Hamer explained, the plan was to stage an in-person performance of “The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet.” COVID-19 soon put those plans into storage. “A year later, we're bringing it a...

HARWICH — For football players, it's the Super Bowl. For dog lovers, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been the ultimate stage to showcase all breeds of dogs. This weekend, Harwich resident Karen Smith will be fulfilling a lifelong dream as she leads her 2-year-old red Australian cattle dog Bizzie Bea into the ring for a chance to be named 2021 Best of Breed or Best in Show at the prestigious show. S...

Cape Rep Theatre is preparing to kick off its 36th season with a return to live performance under the summer stars. The fun will start on July 6 and will include two outdoor summer shows on Cape Rep's new outdoor stage, as well as children's outdoor programming throughout July and August. After the year we've had, what better way to return to live theater than with a comedy? How about a comedy about live thea...

If you love podcasts and are fascinated by sharks, you're in luck. The new Gills Talk podcast shines t he light of science on Cape Cod's most charismatic predatory marine megafauna. Living up to its motto, “Smart about Sharks,” Gills Talk is a natural extension of Gills Club, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's  STEM-based education initiative dedicated to connecting young shark enthusiasts...

Close to 15 years ago, after researcher Owen Nichols’ first season working with a fishing family, he came up with what he thought was an impressive chart that drew direct connections between wind direction, water temperature and the presence of squid. He remembers being excited it to share it with Ernie Eldredge of Chatham Fish Weirs Enterprises, whose fish weirs he was using to study squid. Eldredge looked at...

CHATHAM — If you’re among the many who didn’t get a chance last season to see the exhibits at the Atwood Museum, Home of the Chatham Historical Society (CHS), the good news is that you will have another chance to see them this season. “We’re still here,” says Executive Director Kevin Wright. “We understand that a lot of people weren’t able to get to the museum last year.” And even if you did see the exhibit...

The winter landscape is fading away. The stark grays and blacks of leafless trees and shrubs are now covered with soft greens, whites, and various shades of peach, gold, and pink. Bare branches now flutter with soft petals and colorful birds move between them like flecks of confetti against a cerulean blue sky. The beige and gray grasses of the salt marshes have given way to the new greens of this year’s growt...

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT) is back with a concise summer season, presented under the stars starting June 30. After a year without in-person performances, live theater returns on a new garden stage situated in front of the theater and in the Larry Phillips Performance Pavilion. The season starts off with an epic high seas tale, “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Amazing Adv entures of Louis de Rou...

Otis Russell of Chatham, well-known locally after 45 years in the hospitality business, has just published his first book for “edgy children,” “Sammy Finds a Home” (Wicked Whale Publishing, 2021). The 49-page hardcover combines Russell’s words with the gorgeous illustrations of award-winning artist Barbara Harmon. Harmon has made a name for herself as a biological and medical illustrator. She lives in Orleans ...

The announcement that Cape Cod Theatre Company/HJT lovers have been waiting for about live summer in-person performances is finally here. Get ready to mark your calendar, because we now have official dates and shows to look forward to. CCTC/HJT's 70th anniversary summer season will include four family shows on the new outdoor CCTC/HJT stage (under construction), sponsored by the Bilezikian Family Foundation, w...

CHATHAMPORT – What was it like to retire to Cape Cod in the mid 1660s? That was a question that archeologist Craig Chartier asked himself while overseeing excavations over the past five years at the homesite of Chatham founder William Nickerson and his wife Anne. More than two dozen people turned out recently for the Protect Our Past virtual Speakers Series presentation by Chartier, focused on what was learned...

After a very long pandemic, audiences will be thrilled to hear that the show will finally go on at the Chatham Drama Guild, as the comedy “Leading Ladies” by Ken Ludwig opens July 8 and runs through Aug. 8. Guild President Pam Banas had a difficult decision to make when COVID-19 health restrictions made in-person performances impossible last year. With “Leading Ladies” on the docket for the opening show of summer...