Dyke Drag Brunch Redux
For the first time in 22 years, Dyke Drag Brunch will return to Provincetown this Saturday, Oct. 15, produced by Kayla Manjarrez and I’m Baby, who have been co-hosting Dyke Drag events in Brooklyn since February.
The two began producing the Brooklyn show after noting the lack of drag opportunities in the lesbian community. Drag shows weren’t taking place at lesbian bars, and they felt the void. “I always felt like I was having to choose between parts of myself for a night out,” says Manjarrez. “I thought it would be really cool if we could merge the two worlds.”
The brunch timing is a departure from the nighttime shows that they’ve been producing in Brooklyn. “We’re really excited to kind of meld that community between elder queers and young queers,” says I’m Baby. Most of their Brooklyn shows, which took place at Ginger’s Bar in Park Slope, the last lesbian bar in the borough, had very young audiences.
The two were inspired by the Dyke Drag Brunch that ran in Provincetown from 1994 to 2000. Midge Battelle, one of its original attendees, says that she is thrilled about the return of the event. “I always felt like a third gender, not really masculine or feminine,” she says. “So, it was fun having the chance to play with gender, to get to go to that extreme.”
The event will be Manjarrez’s and I’m Baby’s first visit to Provincetown. “We’re so happy that we get to be a part of this historic thing,” says I’m Baby. See womensweekprovincetown.com for more information. —Sophie Mann-Shafir
Provincetown’s New Chamber Ensemble
Pianist Craig W. Combs and flutist Eric Maul have formed Through the Red Door, a Provincetown-based chamber music ensemble. Their first concert, “Mostly Mozart,” will be held at the Provincetown United Methodist Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16.
The debut will include three Boston musicians: violinist Betsy Hinkle, violist Jason Amos, and cellist Karlos Rodriguez. “We’re canvassing the area,” says Combs, who hopes to feature local talent in upcoming events.
Combs and Maul hope to address a lack of classical music on the Outer Cape in the off season. “This is essentially art music,” says Combs, who avoids defining the ensemble’s music as strictly “classical.” “We’re interested in not only presenting great works of music from the Western canon but also music that’s been overlooked because of prejudice,” he says.
The two say they are researching music that “reaches levels of greatness” from a diverse range of composers.
The United Methodist Church will host the ensemble’s concerts and supports the initiative with the recent purchase of a Hamburg Steinway piano. “The concert is a thank you to the church for purchasing the piano, and a way to say that we’re here and that we hope you like what we’re doing.” Tickets are $20 and are available at the door. —Abraham Storer
A Shucking Good Time
The bivalves are back in Wellfleet this year with the return of OysterFest, which had been sidelined by pandemic restrictions since 2019. Sponsored by Wellfleet Shellfish Promotion and Tasting (SPAT), this year’s fest on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 and 16 takes place at Baker’s Field on Wellfleet Harbor, a change from the Main Street site of previous years. Another change requires attendees to buy tickets in advance.
“Baker’s Field has a bigger footprint than the old festival,” says SPAT vendor coordinator Deirdre Oringer. With daily attendance capped at 7,000 — a public safety measure negotiated with town officials — the 2022 OysterFest will offer more space for shellfish lovers to sample oysters and clams from raw bars, with locally made ice cream and chocolates for dessert.
The two-day festival includes live music, fortune telling, a spelling bee, and the main stage Oyster Shuck Off, with preliminary rounds on Saturday and the final on Sunday. There will be a children’s play area with face painting and aquaculture education sessions. Vendors selling artisanal jewelry and gifts, fine art, and crafts will also be featured.
“SPAT’s mission has always been about education,” says Oringer. “It’s been about awareness of aquaculture, from seed production, to harvesting, to the way we eat oysters.” All proceeds from the OysterFest support these efforts as well as SPAT’s college scholarship programs and community grant awards.
Oringer says the tickets for the fest have been selling quickly. See wellfleetspat.org for more information, including a complete festival schedule and volunteer opportunities. —Kirsten Andersen
Celebrating the Connections of Castle Hill
The Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and it’s difficult to overestimate the influence it has had over five decades on the cultural landscape of the Outer Cape.
The milestone is being celebrated in several museum and gallery shows this season. “Castle Hill Connections,” a group show currently on view at Provincetown’s Berta Walker Gallery (208 Bradford St.), features a comprehensive roster of more than 40 Outer Cape artists who have been affiliated with Castle Hill over the years. More than half of the artists in the show or their estates are represented by Walker.
An opening section of the show features work by the three artists who have served as directors of the center since its inception: founding director Joyce Johnson; Daniel Ranalli; and current director Cherie Mittenthal, who has led the center since 1992. Nearby, a piece by Castle Hill “art nurse” Kristina Bird includes a sample of her painting restoration work.
Sarah Riley and Deb Mell’s shimmering multimedia installation Serenity and the Antic Loop 2/Watersongs is a focal point of the exhibition and a potent example of the kind of artistic collaboration that gallery manager Caitlin Dimino, who curated the show with gallery director Grace Hopkins, says is emblematic of the role Castle Hill has played in the Outer Cape arts community.
“It’s exciting to see how central Castle Hill has been,” says Dimino. “There’s so much strong work by so many important artists.”
The exhibition is on view until Sunday, Oct. 23. See bertawalkergallery.com for more information. —John D’Addario
