Fall Has It All During Provincetown Women's Week

When the chilly air drives the scantily-clad twinks back home, and the artists pack up their brushes after a season of painting seascapes, it's still not curtains for Provincetown. On October 9-18, women from across the country flock to the crown jewel of Cape Cod for the 31st Annual Provincetown Women's Week, the annual celebration of lesbian life and culture.

"We have many special events weekends in the season, right through September, but by October, the season is starting to wind down," said Lynn Mogell, head of the Women's Innkeeper Association. "There is Fantasy Fair, then Halloween in October, but this is the biggest event before that, so it puts us in a unique position."

As Mogell tells it, way back in 1984, a group of local innkeepers decided that it was a real shame that all the tourists left at Labor Day. They wanted them to enjoy the Cape in the fall. So they wrote to all their summer guests, and invited them to come back for Women's Week. The guests obliged, and a fantastic annual event began.

"Over the years, it has gotten much bigger," said Mogell. "Events are not only planned and promoted by innkeepers, but all venues are promoting performers, shows and events throughout week, from sporting to workshops and gatherings. There will be meet-ups for women who are single, and for women who live in New England, to encourage people to meet each other."

And although the Bay State Ferry usually stops their service in the fall due to rough seas, they have agreed to continue running through Women's Week, so that guests can depart from Boston. Likewise, while most accommodations will be at summer rates, some bargains can be found during this "shoulder season."

"We like to say that there is an advantage for a lesbian traveler to stay at a women innkeeper-owned inn, because we're putting on the festival and have the best insider info about what the events are, and are happy to give guests this insider view," said Mogell.

Another big draw is the Annual Kate Clinton Touch Football Classic, held in the park behind Town Hall. A team of spectators battles against a team of comedians for bragging rights, among them Karen Williams, Vicki Shaw, Kate, Mimi Gonzales, Zoe Lewis, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Holly Near and Cris Williamson.

"Two-handed touching of girls and football? What's not to like!" said Clinton about the event. "It's a happening that's still happening, a gathering and a hang-out. Not to jinx it, but it's always sunny for those two hours! The Bas Relief becomes the VIP box, and a convection oven. It's semi-organized mayhem, with no talk of deflated balls."

"Very often the performers win, which is quite shocking," said Mogell. "Best of all, almost all other tourists are gone, so you can walk down Commercial Street very comfortably, and most of the people you'll see are other women, attending Women's Week events."

That's not to say that non-women are excluded. Mogell and the other innkeepers made the decision many years ago that they would be entirely inclusive of anyone who wants to attend, so all events and shows are open to all.

"Given that, the majority of attendees are lesbians, but we welcome everyone so that everyone can still be themselves, and find their interests in this festival," said Mogell. "We try to create a diverse schedule of activities, from biking through the National Seashore or walking to the top of the Pilgrim Monument. Our hope is by continuing our tradition of being open, we'll continue to bring new people to enjoy this festival."

All event tickets are sold a la carte, so that visitors can pay for anything they want, without being deterred by a high-cost, all-inclusive pass. Mogell said that tickets are available early for some of the more popular events, like the annual dinner. Tickets go on sale on July 1 for this event, which sells a large percentage of tickets in advance.

On Tuesday, October 13, 300 people will sit down buffet-style at the Provincetown Inn for the Community Dinner, when innkeepers will award their woman of the year, Candy Collins-Bodin. By way of entertainment, the dinner allows every performer in town to do five minutes of their song or comedy act, so attendees can get an idea of who's in town and what performances they'd like to see while they're in town.

Also over past 10 years or so, a lesbian literary festival has grown up inside of Women's Week, where Mogell said "Major lesbian publishers bring authors to town to do readings and sign books and talk about them, and that has been an exciting addition!"

Likewise, art lovers will enjoy how the women-owned and-operated galleries roll out the red carpet by creating shows of women artists or women-themed shows, to promote the cultural aspects of the event.

This year, the history of Women's Week will be memorialized forever when the Provincetown International Film Fest screens "Clambake," a feature film chronicling the history of the event.

Andrew Meyerson is the genius behind the documentary, which charts the growth of the event over 30 years of archival footage, celebrity interviews and performances.

"It's true today that it's much easier for anyone to go anywhere for a vacation, but this is a unique brand of entertainment and fun that the lesbian traveler really can't find anywhere else," said Mogell.