Provincetown News for January 2009

Mid January in Provincetown

Bundle up from head to feet in winter attire if you dare brave Commercial Street. The winds are howling, houses are shaking from the gusts and fireplaces are alive with dancing flames. The bay is pretty cool with whitecaps holding a winter festival of their own.

This winter, the businesses in Provincetown have really expanded their offerings of things to do for townies. This is great for those who have been impacted by the recession and will be sticking around all winter.

Monday. The Mews is the place to be. Coffee House at The Mews brings out singers and songwriters from all over. Ron Robin, owner of The Mews, even flies talent in from New York City, courtesy of Cape Air. This open mic night is a benefit for WOMR radio in Provincetown, is hosted by local luminary Peter Donnelly and Provincetown’s east end café, Wired Puppy, provides free coffee. There is no reason not to go.

Tuesday. The Wellfleet Movie Theatre is open and playing first run movies. The last scheduled flicks of the day are usually around 7PM. 

Wednesday. Bistro at The Crowne Pointe offers 2 for 1 entrees. What an affordable way to dine and relax in a comfortable and elegant atmosphere. Fine dining made available for all. Ain’t the off season great?

Napi’s Restaurant will host an open mic night of it’s own every second Wednesday through June. An open donation is requested to help with the costs. Celebrity writers are expected to be featured.
Thursday. Back at The Mews it’s 2 for 1 entrees. The atmosphere, friendly staff and great food make this another fun and cheap night out.

Friday. Michael Shays, Bayside Betsy’s and Fanizzi’s all offer affordable fish fries.

Saturday. Joe Mama’s at The Art House will start airing award winning movies from the past. There is no schedule as of yet, however, this is a great place to hang out with friends and chill, catch a movie and a bite to eat. 

The A-house is open for dancing.

Counter Productions at The Provincetown Theatre offers plays. You can plan on the run occurring the last two weekends of each month. 

Sunday. Get out of bed and get to Fanizzi’s or Michael Shays for an amazing brunch.

Comfort food at Bayside Betsy’s is where you can crash any diet. Delicious southern food, served up starting at only $9.95 is a nice way to end the weekend. If you desire a bit more fine dining, than Bistro at the Crowne Pointe offers Italian specials.

It appears that the owners of the building where George’s Pizza is located will resume the practice of making pizzas for us. They had rented the restaurant to a group that did not pay taxes for the past four years and were, shut down. They are expected to open in February.

That’s it for this week. Have fun, play it safe and send me an email if you’d like mike.dubour@verizon.net.

The First Week Ends

A year of change is falling on Provincetown.

The restaurant industry has been impacted immensely. Clem and Ursies, Level and The Landmark restaurants will most likely not re-appear on the menu of dining choices next summer. It is pretty definite that these eateries are gone and tables cleared for good. But spontaneous resurrections have been known to happen in the Provincetown restaurant scene.

The year round pizza joint, George’s Pizza, was closed due to non payment of taxes back in November. It is rumored that the doors will open soon and home deliveries will be made. It’s fun to sit at the full bar and enjoy a drink, meet townies and weekend visitors and indulge in tasty food. Or you can sit by the window and watch locals trudge down Commercial Street. This is a winter favorite for many of us, so it will be nice to get it back.

Joe Mama, the restaurant that was located at The Aquarium Mall in Provincetown and made famous this past summer for Panini sandwiches and great tasting bagels, has been seriously busy since moving to The Art House and filling in at the Frappo space for the winter. They’ve been so busy with breakfast, lunch and dinner that they have run out of food a few times and had to close…much to the dismay of their fans. As a side note, Rick, the owner of Joe Mama, will be screening old movies throughout the winter. Hey… it’s something to do.

A bit of old news… Stop and Shop has taken over the Grand Union space. What a coat of whitewash will do. There is also something that just seems more organized about the Provincetown grocery store…the intangible. At some point this year, some say next month, some say next fall, Stop and Shop will absorb the vacant retail space to the left, facing the store. This was the area occupied by a Provincetown gym, a liquor store and most recently a store to buy beach items.

Counter Productions, located at The Provincetown Theatre, will be producing one play each month of the winter. Local Provincetown talent will make up the cast. This month the play, “Philadelphia, Here I Come” will be featured. You can visit www.counter-productions.org for more information. BTW auditions are held monthly for those who would like to try acting in the New Year. 

A personal observation: I’ve met a lot of folks who made the decision to move here in 2009.

Surprisingly, the age demographic is wide. After seeing an influx of the more mature crowd enter the Provincetown population over the past six years, I’ve met twenty five year olds who want no part of hum drum jobs, guys and gals in their thirties who are achieving the dream of moving here and retirees who finally stepped out of the corporate world. It seems that the allure of Provincetown is still strong.
I’ll touch base next week and let you know what’s going on. Check back here on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. 

Have a great weekend and play it safe! Email me feedback at mike.dubour@verizon.net.

To New Beginnings

The year has come to an end and what a year it has been. I’ve met so many new friends and incredible people this past year. I also experienced many new things. Most of which can be read right here. Trips to Atlanta, a small town in Tennessee, Savannah, New York City, Westhampton, MA, Puerto Rico, Vieques, Boston and Providence have truly been fun.

I start my 6th year, January 1st, on the sandbar that is Provincetown. How strange to think that it has been that long. In that time, I started a business and sold it, renovated a house, continued my real estate career in perhaps the worst market since the great depression, explored my creative side through writing and created and hosted radio and television programs. I even raised an Italian Greyhound I never anticipated having. Everything combined seems so unreal, yet a little too real.

The intense summers followed by equally vacant winters take their toll on a single guy out here. I even thought about leaving a few times. New York City has been a big draw, in fact, most people I know who live here are from the big apple.

But now, no matter where I visit, I realize that Provincetown is my home. I’ve come of age here.
I know I’m home when every other face I see on the street or in the store, says “hi.” It is comforting and I feel as if I‘m Jessica Fletcher walking the streets of Cabot Cove. I giggle to myself when I hear the grocery store still referred to as the A+P after years of being the Grand Union and is now a Stop and Shop. Change is not an easy thing here but it happens constantly. 

I smile when I see Ellie singing in her fur coat in front of a fenced off, vacant town hall in the dead of winter and says “hi mike.” I know I’m home when the clerk at the candy store knows my order as I’m walking in the door, or the post office clerk has the stamps ready for me because the only time I visit the counter is for postage.

I anticipate the arrival of my friends from off-cape on Friday the weekends they come out. And I watch their sad faces when I hug them goodbye on Sunday, knowing what they feel and knowing I will most likely not have to feel that again. Leaving this magical place is not easy.

Free movie nights at The Cape End Inn, Town Meetings, High Tide in the east end during storms, Taco Tuesday, Joe Coffee, Comfort Food Sunday at Bayside Betsy’s, Sunday brunch at Fanizzi’s, Coffee House at The Mews, Tea Dance, Drag Shows, Choral Concerts, dinner parties, great restaurants… my goodness the list goes on and on…and only here.

This New Years Eve, after being away for the past two, I will visit Herring Cove Beach to watch the sunset and say goodbye to a truly incredible, exciting, sad and happy year. 2008 brought much personal growth and was the start of a new chapter in my life. I learned to let go of the past and extend gratitude to what has been. I now look forward to what is yet to be.

I hope you have a happy and healthy new year! Thanks for reading my blog this past year and sharing in my experience. This blog will be dedicated mostly to Provincetown news in 2009.

Feel free to send me an email at mike.dubour@verizon.net and remember to play it safe!

High Tide, East End

Holly Folly, Holiday Parties and Linda Eder

This past weekend was Holly Folly in Provincetown and from what I hear, it was a success. I say from what I hear, because I wasn’t here.

There were many concerts, caroling and guesthouse tours. Retail businesses report to me that they did well.

The Art House is doing very well with Joe Mama pumping out sandwiches for dinner. It has become the hang out for many. Great atmosphere.

There is news that the young volunteer firefighter who flipped the ladder truck was OUI.

The Grand Union has closed and renovations for Stop and Shop have started.

The Lands End Inn in the West End opened its doors Friday for a townie party. Michael, the owner, served delicious food and beverages all night. It was packed with familiar faces and some peeps who I’ve never seen before. It was a good time.

On Saturday, I left town for a holiday party in Bolton at the very lovely home of my friends Jay and Jose. The atmosphere was festive, guests were friendly and good times were had by all. Plenty of folk from New York and Boston mixed it up in holiday flavor. There was a lot of tasty food…most of which was homemade.

On Sunday, Brian and I went to see Linda Eder at The Wilbur Theatre in Boston. She sang a mix of Christmas carols and songs off her new cd “The Other Side of Me.” The songs are fun and a bit country. She looked fantastic and sounded wonderful. The Wilbur was almost sold out. I must say, she is back!

That’s it for this week. I hope your holiday season is going nicely.

Please email me at mike.dubour@verizon.net and remember to play it safe.

Holidays Are Here

The holidays are officially upon us. Provincetown ushered in the season by the lighting of the monument Wednesday night. Bright white lights are hung down the sides of the Pilgrim Monument and make it appear is if it is a huge tree when viewed from afar.

I enjoyed a feast off cape for Thanksgiving with some friends who I had not seen in awhile. It was a treat.

I also viewed the movie “Milk” which is about the first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk. He was a city supervisor in San Francisco and assassinated in 1978.
This movie is a must see for everyone. Many don’t know who Harvey Milk was…and I must admit, knew briefly of him, but, now know more. I can’t speak enough about this movie. 

This past weekend was busy in town. Many visitors came down for the holiday.

Join the owner of The Lands End Inn this Friday in Provincetown for a holiday open house party. Let the parties begin!

Catch me next week and thanks for reading. Send me an email if you want mike.dubour@verizon.net.