Sustainable CAPE Archives - The Provincetown Independent

Sustainable CAPE

RESOLVED

Where to Volunteer and Connect in the New Year

From petting cats to planning events, opportunities to help abound on the Outer Cape

By The Independent Dec 28, 2022

Walter Buckingham and Sheryl Jaffe at the Wellfleet Historical Society’s Banana Bash. (Photo by Lauren Hill)

If volunteering is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, you’ll be glad to know that many local organizations are seeking people to help. The connection to others and the sense of purpose that comes with volunteering has been shown to be healthy, too. You can do something for others and for yourself by offering your skills to one of the organizations listed here. —Abraham Storer, K.C. Myers, and Edouard Fontenot

Outer Cape

Meals on Wheels, run by Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, is in need of volunteer drivers to deliver meals to seniors in Wellfleet, Truro, Eastham, and Orleans. Training and mileage reimbursement is provided. Contact Dawn Ericson-Taylor, volunteer resource manager, at 508-394-4630 or [email protected].

Helping Our Women, a resource center for Outer Cape women living with chronic or life-threatening conditions, is looking for volunteers to take on tasks ranging from driving clients to medical appointments to making home visits, doing data entry, and helping clients with basic technology. Find out more by clicking on “Get Involved” at helpingourwomen.org or by calling 508-487-4357.

Homeless Prevention Council is based in Orleans and helps people from Harwich to Provincetown take steps to keep their housing and attain financial independence. The volunteer positions listed on its website include general office support, marketing and development, events, and even landscaping at the office. To learn more and apply, go to “Get Involved” at hpccapecod.org or call 508-255-9667.

Provincetown

AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod has community members helping with administrative duties, food delivery, and events. There is a strong group of volunteers now, but new people are always welcome. Volunteers are free to commit as little or as much time as they want. To learn more, contact the office at 508-487-9445.

Dixie Carter is one of the cats at CASAS who needs a home. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

CASAS, the Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter, is a no-kill shelter currently housing nine cats. The shelter has an all-volunteer staff. “We have some lovely cats that need some attention,” says Anita Butler, a full-time volunteer. The shelter is cage-free and volunteers are needed to sit with cats, brush them, and scoop boxes. Prospective volunteers should stop by during visiting hours (daily from 2 to 3:30 p.m.) to fill out an application. Information can be found at casasanimalshelter.org or by calling 508-487-4243.

The Council on Aging in Provincetown is always looking for volunteers, according to Chris Hottle, the director. “I like to match volunteers with what they want to do,” she says. “Some volunteers are here every day and some are on call as needed.” Some 40 volunteers work in the meals program, teach classes, and help with over 175 other programs and services over the course of the year. Hottle meets in person with potential volunteers. She can be reached at 508-487-7080 or at [email protected].

Provincetown Art Association and Museum likes to match volunteers with projects that use their skills. Currently opportunities are available for people to distribute flyers for the museum school, reorganize archives, install member exhibitions, and help with drop-off and pick-up days. Interested candidates should contact Lesley Marchessault, PAAM’s development officer, at 508-487-1750, ext. 112 or follow the “Support” link at paam.org.

Truro

Truro Historical Museum and the Cobb Archive have many year-round opportunities for volunteers interested in the history of the town and region. Although the museum is closed in the off season, archival work continues and volunteers catalog wills, deeds, newspaper articles, and photographs that document the history of the town. The archive welcomes and trains volunteers to help organize holdings. Some winter volunteers become greeters or docents come summer. Currently the archive has a need for photographers to help with visual cataloging of museum collections and a technical person who can set up a new Wi-Fi network. To volunteer, contact museum staff at [email protected].

Truro Community Kitchen fights food insecurity in Truro by delivering free, nourishing home-cooked meals to those who need them. Winter volunteers are urgently needed to help with the preparation and packaging of food in the community kitchen at the Christian Union Church from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Tuesday. Food delivery drivers are also needed on Tuesday afternoons. To volunteer, write to Wendy Lurie, [email protected], or call 973-868-7526.

Sustainable CAPE supports local agriculture and farmers and combats hunger and food insecurity by donating fresh-picked fruits and vegetables on the Outer Cape. Volunteer possibilities include gardening with the team and making deliveries for the CSA program. To become a volunteer, go to “Get Involved” at sustainablecape.org.

Carolina Marseglia volunteers at the Truro Swap Shop. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

Truro Swap Shop, located at the transfer station, is the town’s best place for repurposing unwanted items and keeping them out of the waste stream. It is in dire need of volunteers. Application materials are online at the Truro town website, truro-ma.gov, where you can click on the button for “Transfer Station” then choose “Swap Shop Volunteer.” Nancy Fenichel can help interested volunteers apply. Call her at 508-349-2591.

Friends of the Truro Library are always looking for volunteers to assist library staff in keeping the library running smoothly. Volunteers’ skills go to event planning, staffing book sales, library work, publicity, presentations, and lectures. For the library’s current needs, contact Director Tricia Ford at 508-487-1125 or [email protected].

The Food Pantry is looking for new volunteers to join its community of pantry helpers. For information or to volunteer, contact Barbara Bond at [email protected] or 617-515-4342.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article, published in print on Dec. 29, 2022, incorrectly reported that the Cobb Library in Truro was closed for the winter. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Wellfleet

AIM Thrift Shop is volunteer-run and open year-round, six days a week, except for the month of February. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits that provide health, food, and other social services. The thrift store lost a lot of volunteers during Covid, and they’re hoping to rebuild their ranks, says Jim McAuliffe, a board member. Volunteers are asked to work at least one three-hour shift a week. Interested candidates can get an application at the shop at 305 Main St.

Mass Appeal has a mission of providing free clothing to residents of the Outer Cape. Its Share Shop is staffed by volunteers who unpack donations, sort clothing, and assist customers. To become a volunteer, call 508-349-1173 or go to ccmassappeal.org and click on “Support Us” to send a message.

246 Community Kitchen’s volunteer teams prepare meals all winter on Mondays and Tuesdays. The meals are currently packaged for pickup, but they plan to return to community meals later in the winter. This winter’s teams are pretty well staffed, but those interested in helping should call Amy Carow at 908-377-0677; she says 246 always has room for enthusiastic volunteers.

The Wellfleet Food Pantry at Grace Chapel provides food to more than 150 families. Volunteers are needed to staff the pantry and serve shoppers. The time commitment can be as little as two hours per month. If interested, contact 508-349-3036 or send a message via the website, wellfleetfoodpantry.org.

The Audubon sanctuary in Wellfleet is open year-round. (Photo by Agata Storer)

Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities depending on the season. At this time of year they are seeking front desk volunteers. “It’s one of the most interesting and challenging positions,” says Director Melissa Lowe Cestaro. You’ll field questions about everything from trail conditions, wildlife, and where to go to eat, she says. Ideally a volunteer would take a three-hour shift once a week.

Volunteers for the sea turtle rescue program underway now are recruited and trained in the fall. In the spring, there will be training for volunteer naturalists to lead guided walks, protect diamondback terrapins, or help with a horseshoe crab census. See massaudubon.org and click on “Get Involved” or call the sanctuary at 508-349-2615.

Wellfleet Historical Society is looking for history buffs to join in a wide range of opportunities in grant research and writing, photography, gardening and landscaping, education, conducting oral histories, and fundraising. Schedules are flexible and “there’s something for everyone,” according to the website. Choose “Get Involved” at wellfleethistoricalsociety.org or email coordinator Sheryl Jaffe, [email protected].

Eastham

The Eastham Council on Aging seeks volunteers to be greeters at the senior center as well as activities organizers for the meals, events, and other programs offered there. Phone 774-801-3151 for information. People who have a mind for retail may also help at the thrift shop. For information on that, call 508-255-6164.

Wild Care attends to sick and wounded small wild animals. The staff is always looking for help cleaning the clinic, which includes disinfecting animal cages, washing dishes, doing laundry, and washing floors. A three-hour shift one day per week for a minimum of six months and attendance at a monthly meeting in Brewster is required. Volunteers are also needed to help with fundraising and events. For more information, email [email protected].

Nauset Warriors Booster Club at Nauset Regional High School depends on volunteers to raise funds for sports equipment, transportation, and other expenses that allow students to participate in sports without paying any fees. Volunteers work at the concession stand at games and tournaments. The minimum time commitment is two to three hours a season. Community members and students are invited to sign up. Contact volunteer coordinator K.C. Myers at [email protected] or learn more at nausetboosters.com.

The Windmill Weekend Committee’s president, Joanna Stevens, said her group has already started planning for Windmill Weekend in September 2023. The committee needs a chairperson to organize the road race, co-chairs for the raffle and car show, and a volunteer merchandising coordinator. These positions require attendance at monthly planning meetings throughout the year. Alternatively, you can volunteer just for the weekend itself. There’s a Windmill Weekend volunteer recruitment event at the Eastham Public Library on Feb. 2, 2023, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. or email [email protected].

SUSTAINABILITY

Farmers Find New Ways to Grow

Local markets gained ground during the pandemic; now farmers look to hold it

By Ben Glickman Jul 14, 2021

TRURO — When the pandemic hit and restaurants closed, Uli Winslow, a mushroom farmer in Truro, expected his sales to take a nosedive, and for good reason: about half of his business was selling to restaurants on the Outer Cape, and they were closing left and right.

But, to his surprise, his sales held steady — thanks to the local farmers markets, his other main source of business. Winslow sells mushrooms at the markets in Truro, Wellfleet, and Orleans.

During last year’s pandemic summer, farmers markets were among the few local businesses that thrived. So far this summer, demand seems to be even higher, leaving farmers and organizers wondering if they can keep up.

Alyssa Staker, the Wellfleet Farmers Market manager, said she saw a rise in visitors and vendor sales last summer. It was one of their best years ever. The Truro and Provincetown farmers markets, which are both run by the nonprofit Sustainable CAPE, experienced similarly strong seasons, according to Founding Director Francie Randolph.

Sales at the Brewster Historical Society farmers market tripled, according to Sadie Hill, who manages the market and is working to establish one in Eastham.

Market organizers are now trying to assess what made it possible for them to succeed in a season when nearly all aspects of the Outer Cape’s economy were depressed, and hoping to use what they learn to plan for the future.

Early in the pandemic, the markets had an immediate advantage over traditional stores simply because they operate outdoors, where risk of contracting Covid-19 had been shown to be much lower — even nonexistent. Staker said people just felt more comfortable at the farmers market than at big indoor grocery stores.

The pandemic also made consumers aware of the fragility of national supply chains, and that brought new attention to locally sourced food.

Stephanie Rein, selling her Out There Organics at the farmers market in Truro. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

“When you can’t get toilet paper, the next thing you think you’re not going to get is your tomato,” said Stephanie Rein, who runs Out There Organics in Truro and sells at the town’s farmers market.

Still, the farmers markets had to make changes to stay operational during the pandemic. In addition to PPE, distancing, and cleaning measures, Sustainable CAPE markets added a system that allowed buyers to order and pay ahead of time, Randolph said. Sustainable CAPE also became a Mass. Healthy Incentive Program vendor, which allows SNAP recipients to buy more from participating farmers markets. (Now markets in Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet all have HIP certification).

The online ordering and HIP certifications are here to stay, according to Randolph.

The Brewster market switched to delivery services, bringing food boxes to people’s homes, said Hill. Farmers did “exceptionally well,” she added, because they knew exactly how much to produce each week, which reduced waste. Brewster is back to a regular in-person market, but Hill said she’d like to bring what she learned about using a delivery service to Eastham when a market is up and running there.

Enthusiasm for local produce that emerged during the pandemic seems to have carried to the new season, at least according to early indicators. Randolph said on the first day the Truro farmers market was open, which was June 14, sales were triple what they had been in previous years.

Can Sustainable CAPE’s vendors keep up with the high demand? “We hope so,” Randolph said.

“I’m kicking butt at the farmers markets,” said Drew Locke, who owns and operates Hillside Poultry Farm in Truro and sells his product at the Orleans market. Part of his success has been driven by customers buying more than before — some regulars who used to purchase a single chicken are now buying two or three per visit, he said.

But, Locke said, it’s hard to react to rising demand in real time. His chickens take about eight weeks to mature — if he wants to raise more to respond to a hot market, he won’t be able to sell them until two months later.

There are other limiting factors, too: production, killing and cleaning the birds, is a bottleneck, and Locke said he has had trouble finding workers to lighten the load. On top of that, Locke has a family to take care of — days before Father’s Day he had to skip production because of the birth of his son.

“I’m not getting much sleep,” he said. “But people are still asking me, ‘Where are the chickens? Where are the chickens?’ ”

Demand this season, said Uli Winslow, has been “more than I can keep up with.” As a result, he has hired someone to sell his mushrooms at the farmers markets, at least some of the time, so that he can have more time for tending to production. Given the labor shortages in the service industries, Winslow feels lucky to have found any extra help.

Rein said her sales have doubled so far this year. She anticipated a big season, so she planted more. She also tried to be strategic — planting crops she doesn’t think others will be selling at the market, such as purple peppers and yellow cucumbers.

Randolph knows growth is not easy for small producers, but she’s optimistic about it. After all, she said, farmers markets are “business incubators” — each dollar spent there reverberates through the local economy.

GROWING SEASON

Farmers Markets Are Back, for Food and Connection

Pre-ordering online helps with needed distancing

By Sabina Lum Jun 25, 2020

After a pre-season full of uncertainty and adjustment, welcome seeds of normalcy are sprouting at the Provincetown and Truro farmers markets, though at both, new restrictions and guidelines have reconfigured what the markets look like and how they work.

The market in Provincetown, which opened on Saturday, June 13, has a new name this year, too. It’s officially the Provincetown Educational Farmers Market, a counterpart to Truro’s, with both now managed by the nonprofit Sustainable CAPE. The market in Truro opened Monday, and for this year, at least, has a new location: the Truro Central School.

Hope Willhite sets up tomato plants for Dave’s Greens on opening day at the Truro Farmers Market. (Photo Edward Boches)

In both towns, new guidelines are meant to keep vendors and shoppers safe, explained Hannah Oakland, who manages Truro’s market. That’s why “we won’t have any live music this year, at least not yet, and we won’t be able to hold as many kids’ events,” she said. Per state guidelines, visitors must wear masks at the market, so there will be no ready-to-eat unpackaged food like coffee or pastries — everything will be sold to go. Both markets have also invested in new signage and hand-washing stations.

A nationwide interest in reopening farmers markets has meant an impressive rallying of market coalitions, strengthening ties between our own local markets and those across the state, according to Oakland. “We’ve been on weekly calls with the commissioner of agriculture,” she said. “Everyone’s been making these decisions together.”

Provincetown’s market got off to a cautious start, initially limiting shopping to online pre-orders only, via Sustainable CAPE’s freshly launched website, shoplocalfood.org. That allows produce to be packed up and ready to go before customers enter the setup of stalls and booths on the town hall lawn. Shoppers need only to find their vendors and collect their ready bundles.

The pre-order only and strict one-way rules were loosened this week by Provincetown market manager Jess Drake Cook. While shoppers are still encouraged to order ahead, browsing is now permitted.

“Having one market under our belt, I felt confident about opening it up more,” Cook said. “A queue at the entrance, limiting the number of people in at one time, and keeping the vendor booths a certain distance apart from one another” are added precautions, she said.

The market is as much about community as it is about the food, Cook said. Even though state-imposed restrictions on the numbers of people gathered will reduce in-person time with vendors, “when you come to pick up your stuff, you still see the vendor you buy from. We’re still connecting with each other,” she said.

Truro’s market is also set up as a hybrid market; as in Provincetown, pre-ordering online at shoplocalfood.org streamlines things, but in-person browsing is allowed. This is largely thanks to the market’s move onto the school property, a preventive measure against the foot traffic and crowds that built up in the center of town at the market’s usual location.

One of the big concerns about the markets’ plunge into online ordering was finding a way to continue the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. SNAP card pin numbers cannot be used online.

But the website has a new feature that Sustainable CAPE Executive Director Francie Randolph says solves that problem. Shoppers who select SNAP as a method of payment on the site will be able to finalize their purchases in person when they collect their goods on market day.

Cook says she is relieved about the fix. “We wouldn’t have gone forward with the pre-order system if it wasn’t going to work for everyone,” she said.

The online system has so far been successful enough that market managers are considering its continuation in a post-Covid reality. “Our biggest concern was straying too far from the original farmers market,” said Oakland. But if it turns out that going online bolsters market access for even more people, it might be here to stay.

Pre-ordering online for the Provincetown Farmers Market is available from Wednesdays at 5 a.m. to Thursdays at 5 p.m., with pickup during market hours, Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. in front of town hall.

Pre-ordering online for the Truro Farmers Market is available from Fridays at 5 a.m. to Saturdays at 5 p.m., with pickup during market hours, Monday from 8 a.m. to noon at Truro Central School.

SIGNS OF SPRING

Farmers Markets Open, Gingerly

A push for online ordering, but SNAP customers must pay in person

By Elspeth Hay May 14, 2020

Digree Rai of Down Home Farm in Truro is participating in the farmers market in Wellfleet again this season. (Photo Elspeth Hay)

This season, the Wellfleet Farmers Market is going to be one of those places where life’s new rules seem weirdest.

The place to go to get your hands-on local produce has gone “touchless.” Additional rules to safeguard shoppers and vendors: wear your mask and gloves, don’t bring your own bag, and don’t come hungry because there will be no eating at the market. Also, come by yourself.

That last rule has to do with making sure the market never gets too crowded. “Our exact capacity will depend on the weekly market configuration and how many vendors we have,” said market manager Alyssa Staker. In the early weeks, she expects eight vendors, with a clearly delineated path through the market and flags to mark social distance spacing.

The Wellfleet market’s first day was May 13. It continues every Wednesday in the field behind the Congregational Church on Main Street from 8 a.m. to noon.

Staker and organizers at all the Outer Cape’s farmers markets are working with recently issued guidance from the state depts. of health and human services, with rules to be enforced by local health agents and boards of health. They are advising organizers to limit market capacities to 10 to 15 people per 1,000 square feet.

For Wellfleet, Staker said, that’s going to mean a maximum of 30 people at a time — including vendors, volunteers, and customers. A “one in, one out” policy is intended make compliance monitoring as easy as possible for volunteers.

The markets have been deemed essential businesses, explained Francie Randolph, director of Sustainable CAPE (Center for Agricultural Preservation and Education). To help make up for the restrictions on the number of shoppers roaming them, her organization, whose Farmers’ Market Coalition brings together the three Outer Cape markets, is setting up an online system that will enable pre-ordering for pickup.

Hannah Oakland, who manages the market coalition, says the biggest concern with the system is equity.

“One of our main focuses right now is SNAP,” said Oakland. That’s the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps. Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, applications to the Dept. of Transitional Assistance for SNAP have risen in Massachusetts by nearly 400 percent, she said, “but the DTA has not come up with a way for SNAP to be processed over the phone or online.”

This means that, in a time when residents with credit cards are making heavy use of curbside and delivery grocery options to minimize their exposure during the pandemic, SNAP users are required to shop in person.

“The issue is that SNAP technically works as a debit,” said Oakland, referring to the EBT cards issued to SNAP recipients. “Users have to enter a pin, and it is against federal regulations to share it electronically.” DTA officials say all of their resources are going to signing people up for assistance, and that they simply do not have the resources to figure out online processing at the moment.

“It’s so unfair,” said Oakland. A local solution is in the works, she added. “We’re trying to figure out how to give everyone the option to at least order ahead, so that paying is the only thing they have to do in person.”

Dave DeWitt of Dave’s Greens in Truro will be one of the first farmers to test the online marketplace, and he believes that, for produce vendors, planning ahead will be the biggest challenge.

“Most of us don’t have much experience with predicting inventory,” he told the Independent. “When someone makes a mistake and thinks they’ll have 15 bunches of carrots and they only bring 12, where will those other three come from? We’ll have to start out very conservatively.”

Victoria Pecoraro of Wellfleet, who sells eggs and cheese, said for her an online platform is “a no-brainer.” Because she already tries to keep people posted about her produce online, she thinks the new system will make things easier.

Across the board, vendors and organizers are saddened by the necessary restrictions, but ready to make the best of it. Local farmers are ready to offer their early summer produce, including eggs, local cheese, plant starts, greens, and mushrooms.

“This year’s market season cannot look like we want it to,” said Oakland, adding, “hopefully it’s only for one season.”

Markets in Provincetown and Truro will open on May 30 and June 8 respectively, with similar restrictions to Wellfleet’s.

RESILIENCE

The Role of Local Farms Gets Attention

With supply chains faltering, the right to farm here is raised

By Ed Maroney Apr 30, 2020

Even with the new emphasis on handwashing, some people can’t wait to get their hands dirty again.

Arts Briefs and Listings

Arts Briefs for March 26 through April 1

By Howard Karren Mar 26, 2020

Jim Broussard painting — The Provincetown Public Library, as painted by Jim Broussard. (Photo courtesy Alden Gallery)

Doors Are Closed, but Libraries Still Offer Services

The library is a lifeline for people who need internet access, public information, books, movies, or social contact. So, with all four Outer Cape libraries closed, what resources are available to library patrons?

Amy Raff, director of the Provincetown Public Library, emphasized that people should check the library website for updates, as information changes frequently. She can be reached by phone at 508-487-7094 during regular business hours, or email her at [email protected].

The Eastham Public Library will be staffed to answer phone calls from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and the Wellfleet Public Library will answer phone calls from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Library staff can answer questions and provide help setting up library cards, accessing online services, and providing tech help. Those wishing to reach the Truro Public Library can send an email to [email protected].

Patrons cannot check out books at this time. The Mass. Library Association cited curbside checkout services as creating an “undue risk for whole communities,” because materials cannot be sanitized.

CLAMS cardholders can check out e-books using the Libby app. If you do not have a library card, you can register online for free and access all library services at clamsnet.org.

The free wi-fi at the libraries continues to be available 24 hours a day without a password. All are welcome to use the wi-fi from the parking lot or by sitting outside the library while maintaining social distance.

All late fees will be waived during this period of closure.

Debra DeJonker Berry, director of the Eastham Public Library, said that she hopes to have some staff-led interactive programming on social media soon. She encourages people to use the many streaming services and resources for entertainment and education available through CLAMS. —Molly Newman

Ilona Royce Smithkin to Celebrate Her 100^th

Artist, cabaret chanteuse, bohemian fashion icon, and Provincetown landlord Ilona Royce Smithkin will turn 100 years old on Friday, March 27.

Ilona, who lives year-round in the top-floor apartment at Karilon house on Commercial Street, has asked friends and well-wishers to call by phone and not visit, due to the current COVID-19 health crisis.

She was born in Poland and studied art in Berlin and Antwerp, and, after emigrating to the United States in the late 1930s, at the Art Students League of New York. She has painted countless portraits of the denizens of Provincetown and Greenwich Village, where she had a rent-controlled apartment that she gave up a few years ago.

Famous for her neon red hair and red eyelashes, which she made herself, and her exuberant personality, Ilona was one of the subjects of Advanced Style, a 2014 fashion documentary about older women. She was also known for her “Eyelash Cabaret,” performed with Zoë Lewis on piano. Her artwork has been on sale for years at the Karilon Gallery/Angela Russo Fine Art.

The name of the seven-bedroom Karilon house where Ilona lives is a portmanteau of her name and her friend Karen Katzel’s. They own the cottages and apartments at Poor Richard’s Landing next door.

Curtis Speer, who took the photograph of Ilona above, said he got to know her by taking her figure drawing class at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. When he asked Ilona one Tuesday if he could photograph her, she told him, “If you wait until Friday, I will wear my eyelashes for you.”

“I wish her the very best, a happy birthday,” Angela Russo told the Independent. “I hope she lives another 100 years.”

Paul Lisicky to Give Live-Stream Reading

Paul Lisicky will read from his new book, Later: My Life at the Edge of the World, at East End Books Ptown on Friday, March 27, at 5 p.m.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the town’s shelter-in-place mandate, the store itself is closed but the reading will be streamed live on East End Books Ptown’s Facebook page.

Later is about Lisicky’s time in Provincetown in the early 1990s. It was published by Graywolf Press on March 17.

This alfresco exhibit of children’s art is at the corner of Depot and Truro Center roads in Truro. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

Children’s Art Goes Drive-by in Truro Center

TRURO — An exhibit of art by the Sustainable CAPE Children’s Community Garden Group, “Fabulous Fungi,” couldn’t be squelched by the coronavirus pandemic. Since all exhibition spaces have been closed, Sustainable CAPE set up the exhibit outdoors, at the corner of Depot and Truro Center roads, in front of Conservation Framing.

The artwork, depicting various species of mushrooms, was created by local children in the Community Garden Group, which met weekly at the Truro Public Library until it was closed due to the health crisis. A sign on the road said it all: “Social distance with a smile.”

WOMR Will Not Be Silenced

PROVINCETOWN — The threat of coronavirus may have stopped the volunteer DJs on WOMR, Outermost Community Radio, from coming in to the studio. But the show must go on, so many are learning how to prerecord shows from home.

John Braden, the station’s executive director, said he and the operations manager have put together lots of shows recently, but the technology exists to combine music and then drop in public service announcements and comments by the host from the comfort (and isolation) of home. Co-hosts are using the online platform Zoom to prerecord together from their homes, he added.

Operations Manager Matthew Dunn, a.k.a. Matty Dread, who hosts the show Soul Funky Train, also has the technology to do live shows from his house and he will try it soon, Braden said on Friday.

The importance of radio stations has been elevated now that so many people are stuck inside and there is the need to stay current in a constantly changing environment.

“We’re getting a lot of positive feedback,” Braden said. —K.C. Myers

Seventh Season of Twenty Summers Postponed

PROVINCETOWN — The five-week 2020 Season of Twenty Summers, originally scheduled from mid-May to mid-June, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis and tentatively rescheduled from Sept. 25 through Oct. 17.

The announcement was made over the weekend in an email to supporters from Kristina Kearns, the event’s executive director.

Most of the events of Twenty Summers are held at the Hawthorne Barn on Miller Hill Road in Provincetown. There are talks with writers, artists, architects, reporters, and designers, as well as musical performances and artist residencies. This spring would have been the seventh season of Twenty Summers.

In the announcement, Kearns suggested that enthusiasts of Twenty Summers programming can view past performances and talks on video at 20summers.org.

SCHOOL BREAK

Exploding Seed Balls

Hey kids — do try this at home

By Francie Randolph Feb 13, 2020

In nature, seeds get dispersed by wind or rain or they get eaten and then pooped by animals. Seed balls are probably an ancient farming idea. But these seed balls were developed in 1938 by a Japanese farmer named Masanobu Fukuoka who called them tsuchi dango, or “earth dumplings.”

Exploding seed balls — Eva Edwards, left front, Lulu Edwards, and Kela Seals, right, dig deep into making exploding seed balls. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

Fukuoka threw seed balls onto roadsides and empty lots. He added clover to his mixes because it acts as a living mulch and strengthens the soil.

You can use wildflower seeds or vegetable seeds for your seed balls. Try to choose native plants. You might even find seeds in the library’s seed catalog.

Toss your exploding seed ball into any area you feel needs wildflowers. The seeds will wait patiently for the right spring conditions to help them grow.

Exploding Seed Balls

2 parts natural or potter’s clay
2 parts compost
1 part water
A handful of native wildflower or vegetable seeds

Set up a big bucket or tub to work in.
Mix clay with water until it is about the consistency of yogurt. (You can use natural clay found in your yard or terra cotta clay from an art supply shop.)
Mix in sifted compost, plus more water if needed. Knead the mixture like dough.
Adjust quantities of water and compost so you can make balls that hold together but aren’t too sticky.
Scoop up enough to make a ball about the size of a doughnut hole.
Add a few seeds. Remember that more is not always better. You don’t want seven germinating seeds in one ball, or the seedlings will compete and won’t thrive.
Roll the earthy dough and seeds into a ball.
Set the seed balls aside on sheets of newspaper and let them air dry at room temperature for a day or two until the batch is uniformly light in color.

Francie Randolph is the founding director of Sustainable CAPE.

our picks for the week of January 30 through February 5

Indie’s Choice

By The Independent Jan 31, 2020

Outer Cape Calendar

Thursday, Jan. 30, 4 p.m.

Children’s Community Garden with Sustainable CAPE is having an opening for its art exhibition, “Seeding Our Future,” at Truro Public Library, 7 Standish Way. Free.

Friday, Jan. 31, 5 p.m.

The artists’ reception for the Wellfleet Artists Exhibit — artwork submitted from the community — will take place at the Wellfleet Public Library, 55 W. Main St. Free.

Friday Jan. 31, 6-8 p.m.

Visual arts fellow Raul De Lara will unveil new work (before shipping it off to Mexico City) at the Hudson D. Walker Gallery at the Fine Arts Work Center, 24 Pearl St., Provincetown. Free.

Saturday, Feb. 1, 11 a.m.-noon

Join a freewheeling discussion of local news stories and meet the editors at the Provincetown Independent’s Open Newsroom at the Wellfleet Public Library, 55 W. Main St. Free.

Saturday, Feb. 1, 1-2 p.m.

Provincetown Independent’s Open Newsroom (same as above) comes to the Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road. Free.

Saturday, Feb. 1, 3-5 p.m.

An opening reception for Phone on the Wind, a project curated by Dawn Walsh and designed and built by Bailey Bob Bailey, with contributions by several artists, will be at Provincetown Commons, 46 Bradford St. The booth is for communicating with dead loved ones. Free.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, noon-4 p.m.

Drop-off Day for the Members’ Juried Exhibit at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum is Tuesday. (Photo courtesy PAAM)

It’s Drop-off Day for the Members’ Juried Show at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, 460 Commercial St. There are no size restrictions or fees. Work must arrive dry and with a hanging device. All types of media are welcome; one submission per member. The juror is Nick Capasso of the Fitchburg Art Museum. Nonmembers may join on Drop-off Day.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 6 p.m.

The Eastham Public Library at 190 Samoset Road will hold an opening art exhibit reception for the annual Repurposed Book Art Contest. All are invited to meet this year’s contest entrants. Light refreshments will be served.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 7-8 p.m.

It’s Ptown Potluck/Taco Tuesday at Provincetown Commons, 46 Bradford St. Bring food and wine to share.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 10 a.m.-noon

“Crossing the Atlantic: Provincetown’s Artistic Roots in French Artist Colonies,” a talk with art historian Maura Coughlin, will take place at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, at 460 Commercial St. It’s free to PAAM members, $60 for nonmembers.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 6 p.m. (refreshments); 6:30 p.m. (talk)

Truro Town Manager Rae Ann Palmer will give a presentation on “The State of Truro,” reporting on issues facing the town, at the Truro Public Library, 7 Standish Way. Free.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 6-8 p.m.

Winter Wednesdays begin at the Provincetown Schools at 12 Winslow St. Free cab rides and free child care are available. Ten classes will be offered weekly on eight Wednesday nights through March 25. Go to winterwednesdays.org for details. All free.