If you spend any time with small children, you know they love to play the copycat game. They will repeat everything you say and mimic every action you make. Their eager joy in the game will easily outlast that of any grownup, sometimes to the point of annoyance. Older brothers and sisters are the usual targets of this game and it doesn’t always end well. Copying is a natural way of learning, not just for o...

Unusually Large Numbers Gather East Of Chatham It's not unusual to see whales in the waters east of Chatham. For the past several weeks, however, there has been an unusual number of whales off the town's coast, dozens of them feeding on a heavy concentration of their favorite meal, sand lance. “Probably the biggest whale show on earth is east of Chatham,” said pilot Norman St. Pierre, who sees the whales wh...

Between her mean TV-obsessed parents and a cruel school headmistress (“You Maggots!”), Matilda Wormwood has it pretty tough. What’s a five year old child to do? Why, read books of course! You see Matilda is smart, really smart, and has a powerful mind in more ways than one (think telekinetic!). Her teacher, Miss Honey, sees it and nurtures her student. But both she and Matilda have the awful Mrs. Trunchbull to co...

Zany! Crazy! Hilarious! Amazing! “The Unauthorized Musical Parody of Summer Blockbusters” opened at Cape Rep last week for its East Coast premiere, where it’s sure to get the same raves the parodies experienced in Los Angeles. The creator of the show, Kate Pazakis, is no doubt thrilled to be here as she’s very familiar with this stage. She performed on it over 25 years ago. A huge TV screen with a Simpsons-...

Parents and children alike can struggle with conforming to society’s demands while still maintaining their individuality. In his latest musical “Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience,” popular children’s book author Mo Willems explores this idea of fitting in while still being true to oneself. The entertainingly silly story is set underground in Grandpah’s tunnel, where every naked mole rat is proud...

CHATHAM — If you were in Chatham in the summertime in the ‘90s, you might remember the antics of Otis Russell and Tim Wood in the annual Art of Charity pro-am charity art auction. Backed by a team of volunteers, they raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children’s charities, producing an evening filled with surprises, fine art, community spirit and frequently off-color humor. “We used to be funny,” Ru...

Band Concerts, Weekly Music Festivals Begin Once again this summer, music lovers can take in a different show just about every night of the week, many of them free. While national acts are on display at venues such as the Melody Tent and the Payomet Performing Arts Center, many of the local shows provide an opportunity to hear Cape musicians that play in a variety of genres and styles. Along with the tradit...

While on average four people each year are killed by sharks, over 100,000 sharks are killed by humans. In fact, 32 percent of open ocean sharks, including the scalloped hammerhead and the whale shark, have been hunted in such high numbers that they are now in danger of going extinct. These are some of the facts behind ocean conservationist William McKeever’s new book “Emperors of the Deep: Sharks—the Ocean’...

Steve Smith began playing drums at a young age while growing up in Whitman. He spent many summers practicing in the basement of his family's vacation home. While his main interest was jazz, he incorporated rock techniques and eventually became the drummer for the band Journey. Along with playing with Journey and such noted musicians as Jean-Luc Ponty, Smith has pursued a number of side projects, one of which h...

CHATHAM - As a part of its two-year “Celebration of the Arts” program, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Chatham will sponsor a benefit concert called “For the Love of Music: Emotions Galore!” followed by a garden reception on June 30. “I refer to it as an emotional roller coaster ride,” says Barbara Reed, a lyric coloratura singer with undergraduate and graduate degrees in music who will direct the concer...

CHATHAM — For Monomoy Regional Middle School science teacher Nancy Gifford, learning isn’t just something she inspires. It’s a way of life. “I apply for every program for science teachers that sounds interesting and fun, and jump in with both feet. I am hoping my students will learn from this and not be afraid to take risks and try new things,” she said. “I attend interesting programs every summer. Last summ...

Elementary School Students Bolster Lessons With Real-world Experience Nancy Goward stood in a room dwarfed by clear tanks filled with water of varying earth-tone colors at the A.R.C. Hatchery in Dennis. “This whole entire room is just food,” said Goward, an algae supervisor at the shellfish facility. About half a dozen children, clipboards pressed against their chests, watched as she lifted a heavy tire ...