Hidden history, music & kids' games: 10 top things to do on Cape Cod Sept. 23-29
There's a lot of fun to have with the kids at both ends of the Cape this weekend, as the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary opens up a new play area with a community party, and the Lions hold their own family party at the Cape Cod Canal with games and food and an underlying health message.
Music choices include both the long-together Cowboy Junkies and an equinox party in North Truro, and an unusual look at unique instruments in South Yarmouth. Like history? The Falmouth Museums on the Green have got you covered with a hidden-secrets tour, while author William Martin talks about the days just before America entered World War II from his latest book.
Other highlights include another book event, a fall house tour, and a chance to watch artists at work and buy their paintings at a Provincetown house that's a piece of art itself. Take a look:
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What’s hidden inside that closet?
The Falmouth Museums on the Green will offer a new Nooks and Crannies Tour that will take visitors inside the little-seen locations and “hidden spaces” of the downtown buildings, including remnants of old wallpaper in closets and etchings made on glass windows with diamond rings. New executive director Rachel Lovett will lead the tour in the 1790 Wicks House and 1730 Conant House and share stories of past eccentric former occupants.
When: 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23
Where: Falmouth Museums on the Green, 55 Palmer Ave.
Cost: $20, $10 for members
Information and reservations (required): https://museumsonthegreen.org/
Bands hold party for fall equinox
"Come dance for the Earth" is the invitation band Woof Woof Meow has sent out for an Equinox concert at Payomet Performing Arts Center. The opening act is Blu Central (Frank Poransky and Larry Chaplan). Saying the day is a time of a global strike for climate action, attendees are asked to carpool to the dance. All cars with more than one person will be given a voucher for a free snack. Woof Woof Meow plays original ska, funk, reggae and New Wave music as well as covers by Prince, Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, and the B-52s. Musicians are Michael Holt (vocals and keyboard), Lisa Brown (vocals and percussion), Rikki Bates (drums) Trevor Pearson (bass), and Ken Field (sax and flute).
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When: 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23
Where: Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road, North Truro
Admission: Free
Information: https://payomet.org/
William Martin to talk about new book
Christ Church Episcopal of Harwich Port will host author William Martin at a reading of his books, focusing particularly on his new novel “December ’41,” a World War II thriller that looks at various parts of the era’s history that includes President Roosevelt, Nazis in Southern California, and the first readers of the script that became the movie “Casablanca.” He’ll also discuss his 1991 novel “Cape Cod.” Refreshments will be served.
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23
Where: Christ Church Episcopal, 671 Route 28, Harwich Port
Admission: By donation
Information: 508-432-1787, christchurchharwichport@comcast.net, https://christepiscopalharwich.org/
Kids activities, games part of sight fundraiser
Family fun for a good cause is the idea behind the Lions Journey For Sight/Family Fun Day on the Canal. There will be kids’ activities, including two bounce houses, music, food, sack races for prizes, face-painting, a cornhole tournament, a touch-a-truck opportunity, and a meet and greet with the K9 Paws comfort animals. At the same time, the District 335 Lions club will do diabetes testing and blood pressure screening. Money raised will benefit the Mass Lions Eye Research.
When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Where: DCR Scusset Beach State Reservation, 20 Scusset Beach Road, Sagamore
Admission: $5 per person, $20 maximum per family
Information: 508-889-2185
Bring the kids to Wellfleet Audubon’s new nature area
It’s been months in the making, and now on Saturday, Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary will officially open its new nature play area with a community party. Visitors will be able to explore the outdoor space, listen to a children’s story read by a local author (Alice Iacuessa, “Herring River Adventure,” 10:30–11 a.m.; Barbara Brennessel, “Allie the Alewife,” 11:30 a.m.–noon), walk a trail, and enjoy aquariums and displays in the sanctuary’s exhibit hall. Nature Play at Wellfleet Bay is designed to help children engage with the natural world, create and problem-solve. The area includes a musical fence, a big bird’s nest, a tunnel inside a tree trunk, log balance beams, stepping stones and accessible picnic tables and benches. An ice cream truck will be on hand.
When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Where: Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, 291 State Highway Route 6, South Wellfleet
Admission: Free
Information: https://www.massaudubon.org/
Fall house tour offers ideas for decor
The Village Garden Club of Dennis will hold an autumn house tour of six area homes, with fall decorating designs inside. The tour is a major fundraiser with proceeds that benefit the club’s scholarships, establishment and maintenance of town gardens, and more. The tour takes place rain or shine.
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Where: Homes around Dennis
Admission: $45 in advance, $50 on the day of the tour
Information: https://www.villagegardenclubofdennis.org/events
Author to sign book set in Chatham
Local author Todd Forrest will hold a signing for his new book, "Into the Realm," a story set in Chatham about a young man who is haunted by his past and must come to grips with his family's seafaring legacy, a ruthless businessman and murder. Forrest is an artist and former commercial fisherman.
When: noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Where: Yellow Umbrella Books, 501 Main St., Chatham
Admission: Free
Information: 508-945-0144
Watch painters at work
The Provincetown Arts Society will hold a “A Model and Her Painters” live-painting event, with visitors welcome to watch local artists create paintings of local singer Mozelle at the renovated Mary Heaton Vorse House. The paintings will be immediately available for sale to benefit the society. Artists Paul Schulenburg, Sharon McGauley, Marc Kundmann, Andrea Petitto, Maryalice Eizenberg, John Clayton, Susan O'Brien, and Valerie Isaacs will be among those at work. Sales of Joyce Johnson’s sculptures will benefit the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. The event, which will include refreshments, is in connection with an exhibit coordinated by the Addison Art Gallery of Orleans, which has coordinated an exhibit through Oct. 23 at the home of the famed arts patron.
When: 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25
Where: Mary Heaton Vorse House, 466 Commercial St., Provincetown
Admission: By donation
Information: https://addisonart.com/mary-heaton-vorse/
Cowboy Junkies stop at Payomet
The alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, together since forming in Toronto in 1985, will stop on their fall tour at Payomet Performing Arts Center. The group, which has recorded 26 albums, consists of siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25
Where: Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road, North Truro
Tickets: $38-$68 (members $35-$65)
Reservations and information: https://payomet.org/
Venuti plays unusual night of music
Award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Venuti will bring his tour of “The Ultima Zone,” described as “a night of multimedia and world classical music,” to the Cultural Center of Cape Cod. The show is Venuti creating a live soundtrack using unusual acoustic and electronic instruments, setting his music to visuals he’s filmed throughout the United States. He’s become known for introducing instruments this way through popular online videos and his live shows are described as “part amazing concert, part film, and part deep-sound immersion like nothing else you’ve experienced!”
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29
Where: Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth
Tickets: $20
Reservations and information: https://www.cultural-center.org/ or 508-394-7100
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod things to do: kids games, music, hidden history, house tour
