🐚 I found my grandfather-in-law's face on a museum wall.

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My father died before the scholarship was named after him. He believed every kid deserved a chance on the water, and then he was gone, and then the Orleans Yacht Club put his name on a fund that still runs thirty years later. He never got to see any of it.

I went in to write a summer programs guide. I found him at the start of it, my wife's childhood on Town Cove in the middle, and my grandfather-in-law's face on a museum wall near the end.

It started as a resource. It turned into something worth reading.

Travel + Leisure Calls It One of the Cape's Most Coveted Reservations. It's Been That Way for Over a Decade.

CERALDi started as an 18-seat outdoor pop-up in Provincetown, spent eleven years becoming a legend on the Wellfleet waterfront, and is now back at the tip of the Cape — on a pier, with two seatings a night and a menu that doesn't exist until Michael Ceraldi sees what the fishermen caught that morning. That's the headliner.

But this week's dining spotlight also covers a beloved Brewster coffee shop's beautiful second act, a Chatham opening that lands June 29th, and a cash-only Wellfleet raw bar with vinyl and local oysters. Read it and make some plans. →

She Hadn't Even Landed Yet

Before Shelby Greemore's plane touched down in Iowa, she was already texting her husband: We have to move there. Six years later, the family that knew nothing about Cape Cod is leaving behind the place that shaped everything — their kids, their calling, their marriage. This is their story.

Six years later, here's what she was right about.

The Summer Events Locals Actually Go To (And the One That Draws 6,000 on a Friday Night)

A 40-piece uniformed band. A free Cape Symphony concert under the stars in Eastham. World-class chamber music with no ticket required. Arthur's got the hyperlocal picks that don't show up on the tourist boards — and a few that sell out before summer even starts.

Read it now — a few of these won't hold. →

Eleven Summer Programs. One Lower Cape Family. And a Scholarship Fund My Father Never Got to See.

My father died believing every kid deserved a chance on the water. The Orleans Yacht Club agreed — and named a need-based sailing scholarship fund after him that still awards up to 72 weeks a season, more than three decades later. That fund is how this guide begins.

It also covers a 79-year-old sailing program on Town Cove where my wife learned to sail as a girl; a marine science camp on Pleasant Bay that won a national innovation award; a STEM program on the actual historic campus where the world's greatest coastal radio station once operated — with my grandfather-in-law's face on the museum wall; a nature sanctuary in Wellfleet that I attended as a child and consider formative; a circus under a Big Top most people don't know exists; and five more programs across the Lower Cape for ages three through eighteen.

Verified 2026 dates, real prices, scholarship details for every single one. Don't wait on this one.

Hello, June

The long weekend ends and the Lower Cape finds its footing. This is the week of openings: Hello Dolly! takes its first bow Thursday night at the Academy of Performing Arts. The Brewster Farmers Market opens for the season Sunday at Windmill Village. And Friday and Saturday at the Church of the Transfiguration, Gloriæ Dei Cantores and Creare Symphonia bring Bach's St. Matthew Passion — double choir, double orchestra — which doesn't land here every year.

Between those anchors: Chatham's fishing fleet gathers Sunday at the Fish Pier for the annual Blessing of the Fleet. The Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra closes its Sandbar Series at St. Christopher's with Brahms and Shostakovich. Chandler Travis brings his particular brand of eccentricity to Parish Park Saturday at 1. June has made an entrance.

🎭 Hello Dolly! — the APA opens its musical season Thursday night in Orleans Dolly Levi, her matchmaking, her mischief, and the songs audiences return to because they earn the return. This is opening-week energy — all four shows Thursday through Sunday matinee. Jerry Herman wrote it to be irresistible, and a good production doesn't resist. Academy of Performing Arts | 120 Main Street, Orleans Thursday, May 28 · 7:00 PM | Friday, May 29 · 7:00 PM | Saturday, May 30 · 7:00 PM | Sunday, May 31 · 2:00 PM

🎼 J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion — double choir, double orchestra, two nights at the Church of the Transfiguration Gloriæ Dei Cantores and Creare Symphonia perform one of the most architecturally complex works in the choral canon — two and a half hours, full forces, two nights. The church holds the sound for it. This doesn't come through the Lower Cape every year. When it does, you go. Church of the Transfiguration | 14 Depot Square, Orleans Friday, May 29 · 7:30 PM – 10:15 PM · $45 Saturday, May 30 · 7:30 PM – 10:15 PM · $45

🎵 Pop-Up Practices: Chandler Travis — Parish Park, Saturday at 1 Travis brings a smaller Philharmonette lineup to the Orleans Cultural District's outdoor series — original acoustic rock and jazz threaded with genuine eccentricity, on Main Street, in the open air, free. An hour that's hard to predict and usually worth it. Parish Park | Main Street, Orleans Saturday, May 30 · 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM · Free

🎵 Miss Emily Sings the Blues — acoustic blues at a house concert in Orleans, Saturday night House concerts are a particular pleasure: no bar noise, a performer who can feel the room paying attention. Seats reserved in advance by phone or email; doors at 7, music at 7:30. It's the right room for the blues. Brick Hill House Concerts | Orleans Saturday, May 30 · 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM · $25

⛵ Blessing of the Fleet — Chatham's fishing fleet gathers at the Fish Pier, Sunday afternoon Food, music, games, and the annual community blessing that opens the summer season for families and crews who work the water. Organized by the Women of Fishing Families. Get there early and walk the pier before the ceremony. Chatham Fish Pier | Shore Road, Chatham Sunday, May 31 · 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM · Free

🎻 Sandbar Series IV: Romance & Reckoning — Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra closes its season with Brahms and Shostakovich Piano quintets: Romantic force in the Brahms, 20th-century tension in the Shostakovich, a church built for close listening, and the focus a last concert earns. A few blocks from the Fish Pier if you're threading Sunday together. St. Christopher's Episcopal Church | 625 Main Street, Chatham Sunday, May 31 · 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM · $35

🌾 Brewster Farmers Market Season Opening — Windmill Village Sunday, with the Colonial Artillery encamped alongside The Brewster Historical Society's Sunday market opens for the season — produce, honey, baked goods, handmade work, every Sunday through September. This is the first one. The Brewster Colonial Artillery Company encamps at the same site Sunday afternoon with period dress, musket demonstrations, and colonial games — a pairing nobody planned that works anyway. Windmill Village | Route 6A, Brewster Sunday, May 31 · Market 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM · Free admission Revolutionary War Experience · 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM · Free

Also this week

🐦 Birding Field Class with Peter Trull — Bell's Neck Conservation Lands — warblers, vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, orioles at peak migration. Friday, May 29 · 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM · Harwich · $20

🌊 Guided Birding Walk with Fi Lowry — Morris Island, Monomoy Refuge — morning shorebird walk co-sponsored with Chatham Conservation Foundation. Saturday, May 30 · 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM · Chatham · From $10

🌿 Eco-Restoration Tour with Tom Evans — Cold Brook Preserve — restored wetlands, all-persons trails, and a close look at how the land is coming back. Saturday, May 30 · 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM · Harwich · Free

⛵ Your Sail, Your Engine with Gary LeDuc — sailmaker explains trim, care, and how sails actually work on the water. A practical Friday evening for sailors. Friday, May 29 · 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM · Harwich · Free

🏅 Walk for Hope — Hog Island Brewery, Orleans — Housing Assistance's annual community walk, Orleans route, finishes back at the brewery. Sunday, May 31 · 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM · Orleans · $25

🎶 J Place & His Quartet at Snow Library — blues, soul, and rock 'n' roll, sponsored by the Helen Telfair Trust. Saturday, May 30 · 2:00 PM · Orleans · Free

🎶 Outer Cape Chorale Chamber Singers: Wonder and Mystery — free a cappella concert in Brewster. Sunday, May 31 · 5:00 PM · Cape Cod Covenant Church, Brewster · Free

🎶 Outer Cape Chorale Chamber Singers: Wonder and Mystery — same program, second performance at Snow Library. Wednesday, June 3 · 6:30 PM · Orleans · Free

🧶 A Different Drummer Craft Fair — Lemon Tree Village — 20 booths of Cape Cod and New England handmade work; early preview of the summer juried craft season. Saturday–Sunday, May 30–31 · 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM · Brewster · Free

🎸 Monica Rizzio at The Barley Neck — outlaw country roots and Cape salt, Friday night Orleans. Friday, May 29 · 8:30 PM · Orleans · Free

🎸 Catie Flynn at The Barley Neck — Cape Cod native singer-songwriter, Saturday night. Saturday, May 30 · 8:30 PM · Orleans · Free

🎸 Grab Brothers Band at Hog Island Beer Co. — free Saturday rock at the brewery. Saturday, May 30 · 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM · Orleans · Free

🎸 Darling at Hog Island Beer Co. — Friday live music, 4–9 PM. Friday, May 29 · 6:00 PM · Orleans · Free

🎸 Leah Gillis at The Yardarm — part of the Wednesday–Saturday music series. Saturday, May 30 · 6:30 PM · Orleans · Free

🎸 Bounce at The Woodshed — Saturday night Brewster. Saturday, May 30 · 9:00 PM · Brewster · Free

🎸 Casamigos Summer Kick-Off at The Barley Neck — The Doghouse Tenants play 8–10 PM; lawn and tavern for the summer opener. Tuesday, June 2 · 4:30 PM · Orleans

🎬 Tuner — Chatham Orpheum — opens Friday: a gifted young piano tuner whose perfect hearing draws dangerous attention. May 29 · Chatham · From $10

🌺 Orleans Farmers Market — outdoor Saturday market at 19 Old Colony Way; SNAP/EBT and HIP accepted. Saturday, May 30 · 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Orleans

🌸 Chatham Farmers Market — Tuesday market with live music by Jim Nosler. Tuesday, June 2 · 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM · South Chatham

📖 Prohibition on Cape Cod with Don Wilding — Brewster Ladies' Library — rum running, Rum Row, and the stranger local stories the dry years produced. Wednesday, June 3 · 2:00 PM · Brewster · Free

🏛️ Chatham Lighthouse Tours — History Month Open House — Coast Guard Auxiliary-led small-group tours of Chatham Light. Wednesday, June 3 · 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM · Chatham · Free

🎭 9-Ball — final performances at Cape Rep — Art Devine's 25th anniversary production closes its run this weekend. May 29–31 · Brewster · From $30

The Drift — May 28–June 3

Memorial Day is gone. The weather still hasn’t gotten the memo.

Use Friday. Skip Saturday. Salvage Sunday.

Friday is the clean window: 63, part sun, light north wind. Good enough for a Main Street walk, a Stage Harbor check, garden work, errands, or a late-afternoon coffee run before the rain comes back after dark.

Saturday is the problem. Rain, north-northeast wind at 20–30 mph, and a Gale Watch. That is not a casual harbor day. Leave the boat alone, secure the loose stuff outside, and expect Chatham to feel raw for the end of May.

The tide is more useful than dramatic this week. We are not getting last week’s negative lows, but the morning low-tide rhythm gets better every day:

Thursday: 4:43 AM
Friday: 5:26 AM
Saturday: 6:04 AM
Sunday: 6:41 AM
Monday: 7:19 AM
Tuesday: 7:58 AM
Wednesday: 8:40 AM

That makes Monday through Wednesday the better local window for a civilized Stage Harbor low-tide walk, a shellfishing check, or just seeing the flats without setting an alarm in the dark.

Currents west of Morris Island still favor the ebb. Most morning ebbs run near one knot, while the floods stay softer, around 0.6 knots or less. Small boats, kayaks, and anyone working around the harbor should pay attention to that.

Sunday is the reset: partly cloudy, 61, west-northwest breeze. Not summer yet. But close enough to act like it for an hour.

Thanks for reading. Now close the tab and go outside.

Arthur Radtke • REALTOR®, eXp Realty
MA License #9582725