HARWICH – Hells Angels and thousands of hippies gathered in May 1972 at the Province Lands Visitor Center in the Cape Cod National Seashore for a raucous one-day rock concert. “It was a mistake,” said Bill Burke of Harwich, the National Seashore’s historian and cultural resource program manager. What was billed as a small concert turned into a melee during the course of which a part of the visitor center’s...

Harwich Elementary School   MAP Tests Online Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) will be administered in up to three classrooms at a time with portable laptops. Every student in kindergarten through grade four will taking the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) online winter assessment during January and early February. Thank you to the community for supporting the technology integration initiatives ...

More than a foot of snow – 14.5 inches was reported in East Harwich and South Chatham – fell in the area during Saturday's blizzard, leaving slick roads and canceled events in its wake. The storm also created a winter wonderland of sparkling landscapes and perfect surfaces for sledding, which kids and adults alike took advantage of at their sledding hills of choice throughout the area. Rain and milder temperature...

Chatham Elementary School Over the past two weeks, Mrs. Cleary's class conducted short research projects where students researched a winter holiday or celebration in another country. Students then gathered their research and organized it to write a five-paragraph expository essay. They also prepared a visual aid for their project that could have been a poster, tri-fold or PowerPoint presentation. We have inv...

When it opened more than a century ago, the Chatham Orpheum Theater, like most movie houses of the day, operated like a repertoire house – films were screened for a day or two before being replaced by new releases. Lengthy runs were rare. The Chatham theater, also like many other small hometown cinemas of the day, also doubled as a live venue for revues and staged plays, performed by traveling companies or loc...

It was a struggle, but with support from dozens of Cape Cod Chronicle readers – and a remarkable last-minute donation from an anonymous contributor – the 2016 “Helping Neighbors” campaign to benefit the Family Pantry met its fundraising goal. With the tally still about $4,000 short, the secret donor pledged the funds necessary to bring the campaign to its $60,000 target. The contributor, identified only as a N...

CHATHAM — In what promises to be a memorable evening, the Chatham Orpheum Theater will hold a special screening of the new feature film “Patriots Day” on Jan. 13 as part of a fundraiser for the Arrendondo Family Foundation. The evening features a reception and post-show question and answer session with authors Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge. The two wrote the bestselling book “Boston Strong,” the inspiration f...

CHATHAM – The following council on aging events are scheduled during January. Most take place at the Stony Hill Road senior center and require registration or reservations. Transportation is available for most programs. For information or to register, call the COA at 508-945-5190. Monday, Jan. 9, CCRTA Travel Training Presentation, 10:30 a.m. Paula George from the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority will be do...

Sharks.  Orcas. Bridges. A new fire station.  A new reef.   These are just some of the events of the past year.  Relive the events of 2016 in our year-end photo gallery here .

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...