If you have been wanting to take your children to see live theater, perhaps for the first time or after a long hiatus due to COVID, Cape Rep’s summer-long professional children’s show “The Fantastical House of Maya Mouse” is the perfect opportunity. The 50-minute, truly nonstop comedy centers around Maya, a movie-obsessed mouse with an imagination almost as big as her over-sized ears. After staying up all nigh...

BREWSTER — In 1921, Cape Cod was a rural place. The canal was only five years old, and the Cape’s first hospital had only opened the year before. But there was already concern about animal welfare, and the Animal Rescue League of Boston stepped in to meet the need. The first part-time agent, William Irwin of Cotuit, helped countless animals, including community cats and livestock, and visited schoolhouses to t...

NORTH HARWICH — When Jennifer Wiley of Brewster stepped onto the former Sea Horse Farm in Harwich during the winter of last year, the place had been in disrepair for a while. Snow was falling through the roof of the indoor arena, the paddock fences were falling down and the grass was overgrown “to our shoulders.” But Wiley and her husband Mo saw past all of that. They saw potential. Six months later, the Wi...

The authors of two new mysteries with backgrounds set in Cape Cod’s fascinating history will present their books this week. Paul Kemprecos will speak on “Killing Icarus” (Suspense Publishing, 2021) and Barbara Eppich Struna will sign copies of “The Old Cape Blood Ruby.” Kemprecos has written his first mystery with a female protagonist — Abi Vickers, an art historian and gallery owner who moves into a borrow...

Like many others, I often seek solace in familiar places where I’ve enjoyed solitude and refreshment of my spirit, if not enlightenment. Recently I was checking out possible locations for my outdoor painting class in Brewster. It was quite early and the sun, which would bring miserable heat later in the day, was still low behind the trees. Landscaping crews were out in force, and I wasn’t able to access the ar...

The summertime is filled with song as the third season of CranFest in the Courtyard continues. A concert will be performed in the Harwich Cultural Center courtyard every Thursday evening through Aug. 26, with award-winning singer-songwriter Diana Jones taking the stage on July 15. Jones has performed at events such as Cambridge Folk Festival, Galway Arts Festival and has received awards from Kerrville Folk Fes...

CHATHAM – Ever wondered what it's like to be behind the scenes at the PBS long running hit program Antiques Roadshow? Ken Gloss, owner of Boston's renowned Brattle Book Shop, one of America's oldest and largest antiquarian bookstores, regaled 45 attendees with stories of rare book appraisals, sales and the Roadshow at a lively virtual program on rare books sponsored recently by the Eldredge Public Library. ...

The long pandemic silence has finally broken, and members of two local a capella groups are so excited about it they're raising their voices in song. Hy annis Sound, an all-male professional a cappella group comprised of 10 college-aged men from around the country, and Cape Harmony, an all-female a cappella group of 10 talented young women from across the nation, have both announced their return to a week...

Steve Cass’ trust in Sony dates back to his high school days, when he was involved with his school’s television program. When it came time for Monomoy Regional High School’s TV and digital media department to upgrade its equipment, Cass, who serves as a digital media/TV production teacher and oversees MRHS-TV, knew what brand to rely on. “I was lucky enough to have a TV program similar to what the students hav...

T he Artist Cottages at Orleans Market Square are now open and ready for visitors at 15 Old Colony Way, and soon there will be music to enjoy along with the visuals. With a wide variety of art to enjoy, artists to meet and a lovely space in which to relax and have a snack from Little Beach Baker, The Food Truck or a treat from the Hot Chocolate Sparrow, the cottages are a perfect family-friendly destina...

With a nod to the old 1966 movie and theme song that were ubiquitous in a time long ago and far away, this phrase has popped into my head more than a few times this past week. Nature is tough, man. It sure has its good, but there’s plenty of what we may think of as bad and ugly, too, like the dead baby bunny left on my sidewalk yesterday by one of the neighborhood feral cats. Wild animals, birds, and plants...

The Crafty Chics celebrated their 15th anniversary during a luncheon on Harding’s Beach last week. About 25 of the roughly 75 members basked in the sun on a windy 68-degree morning to make plaster-of-Paris sandcastles, share their latest projects, swap craft supplies, enjoy a catered lunch and just, well, be together in person after over a year of meeting mainly via Zoom during the pandemic. “I have to dres...