PROVINCETOWN — Jay Critchley led the 42nd Re-Rooters Day ceremony on the beach in the East End, at a spot he says he chose for its embrace of the harbor and sunset view on a windy, ice-cold Jan. 7. The event follows the consumption-laden stretch Critchley calls “the 12 Days of Stockpiling.” Items on his list this year included drone swarms and panda chatbots.
About 150 nearly frozen congregants gathered to skewer moguls while purging themselves of their own worldly attachments. Mostly scrawled on paper, these included things like unanswered phone messages, says Critchley, “and one year, someone let go of an appendix.” They also sang a carol for which Critchley composed the lyrics. “O Holy Night, Divine!” honoring the late actor, singer, and drag queen who would have turned 80 this year.
The 2025 theme, nobraC derutpaC shcragilorB (deciphered by reading backwards: Carbon Captured Broligarchs) parodied “a gaggle of bromancing Robber Barons tripping over oil derricks spewing ‘Carbon Capture, Carbon Capture,’ ” Critchley said. “They are captured by carbon and don’t know it,” he says.
“There is laughter, but that’s part of a very serious healing process,” says Critchley, from the effects of “overconsumption, extreme concentration of wealth, and destruction of the environment.” —Teresa Parker
