Last summer, organized recreational opportunities were scarce on the Outer Cape. Children didn’t have the daily social experiences with their friends at summer rec, and working parents scrambled to find child-care services.
Provincetown was the only town of the four that held a summer recreation program for children in 2020. It was limited to 50 participants, who did everything in strict cohorts of no more than 10.
This year is different. Provincetown’s nine-week summer rec program is at capacity with 80 children signed up, according to Recreation Director Brandon Motta. The program will run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from June 28 through Aug. 27.
Children will be grouped by age, and activities will be primarily outdoors, even the arts and crafts, magic shows, and team-building exercises.
The program includes a mix of residents and nonresidents, Motta said. “We are currently filling a waitlist,” he added, “in the event a family withdraws from the program.”
Truro’s plans appear to be hobbled. The town is offering a summer program with first priority to Truro residents who require child care so parents can work. This is because of limited staffing and Covid-19 precautions, according to the recreation dept. website. Pre-registration closed on May 28, and the link to register for other activities does not lead to any further registration option. Recreation Director Damion Clements did not respond to repeated email and voicemail messages.
The Truro website defines eligibility for in-town participation for children from 5 to 15 years old. It gives the all-day program hours as 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from July 6 through Aug. 20. Costs for Truro residents are posted as well: the half-day program costs $60 per week or $240 for the season; the full day is $120 a week or $480 for the season.
Wellfleet Recreation is offering only a morning program for children ages 5 to 14. It is set to run from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, from July 5 through Aug. 20. Gull Pond swimming lessons will run on the same schedule, for toddlers through age 14. Registration for both programs will be available every Monday from 8:30 to 9 a.m. at Baker Field.
The Wellfleet program accepts both residents and nonresidents. Resident fees are $100 for the first child in the family and $55 for each additional child per season. Nonresident fees are $200 for the first child and $100 for each additional child.
Recreation Director Becky Rosenberg did not respond to a question about participation.
A flyer posted on the Wellfleet Recreation Dept. website describes programs from pickleball to live music for people of all ages. A drawing class by local artist Neal Nichols Jr. for children ages 7 to 14 is scheduled in one-week sessions beginning Aug. 9. The cost is $210 to $240 per child, depending on the session. Many activities, including Shakespeare on demand, a tennis clinic, and Challenger British soccer camp, are still showing times and details “TBD.”
Eastham Recreation Director Christine Mickle said the town will be running a summer rec program starting on July 5 and running through August 13 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The program will be held at Eastham Elementary School.
“The program is currently full,” Mickle said in an email. “We are short staffed so only able to take 50 children this year. We are actively looking and recruiting for counselors – if we can find more counselors than we can add children who are on our wait list.”
