Provincetown at the very tip of Cape Cod is a gay mecca with approx 3000 full-time residents that swells to some 300,000 every summer. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau officially declared Provincetown, to be the Gayest City in America in 2011. There has been a gay presence in the town as early as the start of the 20th century as the artists’ colony developed, along with experimental theatre. Drag queens could be seen in performances as early as the 1940s, and now some mid-summer nights on Commercial (Main) Street seem to be wall-to-wall bewigged glamourous stately figures barking to get audiences for their cabaret shows.
Each summer week has a ”theme’ such as Circuit Boys, Bears, Girls Splash, Gay Family etc … and as we write it is actually Shark Week !!! Most of them are major successes with slightly different LGBTQ+ demographics until someone decided just a few years to introduce the Town’s first Gay Pride. The timing was not good as it seems like every town, big and small, in the US, has its own version which is the highlight of its annual calendar. However here in PTown with a very uninspired program that always seems like an afterthought, most of us here didn’t even realize it’s actually meant to be an event.
However, pride is something we celebrate every week here in a very big way with the highlight being Carnival Week, and particularly the Parade, in August. It started way back in 1978 and its sheer popularity has made it the largest event of its kind on Cape Cod There is always a ‘theme’ …last year as seen above it was Myths and Monsters, and this year it will be The Land Of Toys. Each theme somehow allows and encourages gay men in particular, to decorate the skimpiest outfits they can. There is an Official Parade with a few of the local businesses manning celebrated floats but they pale in comparison to the small and big groups of men who have coordinated very impressive, inspired and so often hilarious costumes. They spend the best part of the afternoon making their own mini processions ensuring they are seen (and admired!) by all
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
If you have any energy after spending the day on the street there are several events for the rest of the week. A favorite one of the whole Queerguru Team Drag Brunch at Patio American Grill on Friday 18th August, It’s the one Drag Brunch in town where EVERYBODY is expected to dress up. Its also a Fundraiser for HELPING OUR WOMEN (and can sometimes raise as much as $100K )
To see the full list of activities check out https://ptown.org/calendars/carnival/
The queer community of PTown is not just
proud but very creative too 
Labels: 2023, Helping Our Women, Land of Toys, Patio Drag Brunch, Provincetown Carnival
