There’s not a lot of wilderness left on Cape Cod. One could make a pretty fair argument for no wilderness at all, but the sea and dunes might disagree, vehemently in fact. The land may be filled with houses, shops, cars, and parking lots but the sea is still wild and untamed, no matter how many boats float upon her. Our peninsula is small and narrow, curved and mostly flat. Our trees tend to be stunted by slas...

Richard Costello's Bequests Benefit Seven Organizations   by Amy Tagliaferri “Transformational,” “trusting,” “faith,” “a belief in you,” “thoughtful,” “a spirit of living and giving.” These are a few of the words and phrases shared among the organizations and recipients of donations from the estate of Richard W. Costello. Even for those who knew Richard, and knew of his generosity, the magnitude of ...

Late summer is one of my favorite times of year. I find myself feeling somewhat nostalgic watching the flowers fade and the birds gather on wires by the sides of roads. I also find myself thinking ahead to cooler days and longer nights. What I really love, though, is the beginning of the letting go that happens across the landscape. People drive back home over the bridges, leaving us our beaches to enjoy without ...

     September is here, and as we ease into the new season, Galley West Art Gallery in Orleans marks the arrival of fall with a new exhibition titled “Welcome Autumn.” The show, which features the work of 17 artists from the eight towns of the Lower and Outer Cape, will run from Sept. 3 to Oct. 29.      In this sixth exhibition since the gallery’s debut in October 2021, the artwork includes two dimensional art ...

'Cinemagic' To Run Throughout September Typically, the creation of a film festival requires months of planning, and even longer to properly execute. The Chatham Orpheum Theater did it in one month. The brainchild of Orpheum manager Paul Schuyler, the “Cinemagic” Film Festival, set to begin this week, is the first of its kind on Cape Cod. More than 40 classic films, ranging from “Jaws” to “Night of the Hunte...

Anyone who has scoped out real estate in the past few years knows that nobody builds small houses any more. If it's not 5,000 square feet with a half dozen bathrooms and a bonus room or two, it's not suitable for modern living. But is all that space really needed, or just a way to impress the neighbors and hide away from the world? Who stays inside their house 24 hours a day? “To me, life is outside. If we'...

As local and visiting students start to return to school, it seems a good time to remind parents, teachers, grandparents, and friends of young people to include time in nature as part of the year’s curriculum, no matter what level or grade they’re in. As someone who visited almost every classroom in grades ranging from kindergarten through middle school in every Cape town over a period of 25 years, I can attes...

“When life gives you eggs, make an omelet,” sings the Academy of Performing Arts ensemble as they close the summer season with “Something Rotten,” which premiered on Broadway in April 2015. Set in 1595 London, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom find writing plays mentally challenging. Nick needs an idea, just one hit to turn everything around after their father died at sea. How about a play about an omelet spiced ...

CHATHAM – Sour cream and onion crickets and Mexican spiced mealworms. Those were the two items on the menu at the community center Aug. 16. In “Edible Insects, an Introduction to Entomophagy,” Barnstable County Entomologist for Larry Dapsis took the attendees on an unusual journey, explaining everything there is to know about eating bugs.  The presentation started with a bang, as Dapsis informed everyone th...

The Chatham Orpheum Theater, in the nine years since its revival, has been a space for local and local-adjacent filmmakers to show their completed projects. Such screenings are often made into events, bringing in a wide range of interest and attendees from across the Cape. Jay Craven, a Vermont-based filmmaker and film professor, has benefited from the theater’s community orientation more than once. His films ...

An infamous pirate, a witch, forbidden love and more all occurred on Cape Cod in the early 18 th century as portrayed in the world premiere of “From The Heart Of The Wreck” at Brewster’s Cape Rep Theatre. Around the time Chatham was established over 300 hundred years ago, a pirate ship wrecked off the coast of Wellfleet after sailing through the Chatham fog into a violent nor’easter. After hearing the story o...

It’s traditional to applaud the set when the curtain rises on a play. It’s rare, though, for the set to be applauded several times. Yet that’s just what happened at the opening night of Agatha Christie’s classic “Murder on the Orient Express” at The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, where it will run through Aug. 27. Scenic designer Chen-Wei Liao treated a full house of masked theatergoers to absolutely beautiful i...