Provincetown

How to get there Most Boston-area travelers bound for Provincetown drive, taking Route 6 to the end of Cape Cod. Boston Harbor Cruises also runs a ferry from Boston Harbor to Provincetown. Round trip, $58. Call 617-227-4321 or visit www.bostonharborcruises.com . Cape Air flies round trip from Boston for $194.95 the first week of June. Call 800-352-0714 or visit www.flycapeair.com . What to do Couples Weekend To register, call 800-637-8696 or visit www.ptown.org . $50 per couple.

Recent bird sightings on Cape Cod (as of May 16) as reported to the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Mass Audubon's annual Bird-a-thon fund-raiser was held, bringing birders from all over the state to the Cape in hopes of big species lists. One of the highlights was a sandhill crane seen by many teams at both the Beech Forest in Provincetown and the Pilgrim Heights hawk watch. Lots of night birding produced many secretive owls and rails, including clapper rails in Wellfleet, Brewster, and Harwich, Virginia rails in many locations, a sora in Chatham, and Northern saw-whet owls in several...

The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown announced on Wednesday that its Summer Awards Celebration on July 14 will honor Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. The "Angels in America" scribe just adapted local historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's Lincoln biography, "Team of Rivals," for the big screen for director Steven Spielberg. The night will also honor the Walker family - including Berta Walker of the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown. The family has supported the Fine Arts Work Center since it was founded in the late 1960s.

LOCATED TWO BLOCKS from bustling Commercial Street in Provincetown's historic district, this enchanting retreat couldn't be in a more ideal location, says owner Robert Brown, a Boston-based stylist and brand-marketing specialist. However, it took some effort to make the tiny house — built in 1830 — perfect. "It was a gut job that involved reconfiguring the layout, new windows, doors, electrical, and plumbing," says Brown, who made sure all of the renovations had 19th-century appeal.

PROVINCETOWN -- The two guys pull up in their white convertible -- top down, natch -- and leave it running as they flip-flop into the coffee shop, leading a little cocker spaniel by the leash. It was a rare March day that hit the 60s, and they hadn't wasted any time pulling out the square-cut tank tops and sandals. "Nice hair," the barista making their iced lattes says to one of them, pointing to his platinum spikes. Walking around Provincetown in the spring is akin to scanning your otherwise-barren garden for crocuses.

Thanks in part to designer Marc Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy , Provincetown was the place to celebrate Halloween. Duffy, a part-time P-town resident and president of Marc Jacobs International, threw a Beaux Arts Ball for 900 guests at Provincetown's historic town hall over the weekend. (Boston party planner Bryan Rafanelli handled arrangements inside while flash mobs entertained for folks outside.) No one's saying how much the event cost, but with a performance by Debbie Harry (right)

The body of a lobster diver who went missing this week has been recovered. Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said the body of Sean Strakele, 37, was pulled from about 56 feet of water by State Police divers Wednesday, about two days after he went missing while diving for lobsters off the coast of Provincetown. The body was found by a fellow diver who marked the spot and alerted the US Coast Guard. It was found close to where the diver went missing and had the diver’s weight belt on. The Coast Guard is investigating.

PROVINCETOWN -- It was oddly reassuring to find a copy of "Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment" at The Masthead resort. We like tradition, and the book by Leslie Kanes Weisman , (University of Illinois , 1994 ) offered a sign that the town's historic solicitousness for the marginalized remains intact. But it was Provincetown's recently advertised pitch for family tourism that had brought us and our toddler to Cape Cod's fingertip. We were looking forward to enjoying an old town in a new way. The past is present in many ways at The Masthead.

PROVINCETOWN -- Thirty years ago, when legendary Provincetown chef and artist Howard Mitcham was cooking Haddock Amandine at Pepe's Wharf, he lived in a small apartment adjacent to the disco hot spot and leather bar, the A-House. The booming music and after-hours revelers didn't bother him one bit, as he had been deaf since age 16. "Ah sleep like a baby," he would say in his Mississippi drawl. I thought of Mitcham when staying at Enzo, a beautifully appointed inn on busy Commercial Street, at the cusp of the West...

PROVINCETOWN - At this extreme tip of Massachusetts, the population swells from 5,000 to 50,000 each summer as visitors lap up the spectacular sunsets, pristine beaches, funky galleries, and fine dining. These attractions and more are even easier for couples to enjoy once fall is in full swing and the throngs of visitors have dissipated. Provincetown is even stepping up its game to attract off-season tourists, hosting its first annual restaurant week starting Nov. 6 and an organized gallery stroll.

The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown announced on Wednesday that its Summer Awards Celebration on July 14 will honor Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. The "Angels in America" scribe just adapted local historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's Lincoln biography, "Team of Rivals," for the big screen for director Steven Spielberg. The night will also honor the Walker family - including Berta Walker of the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown. The family has supported the Fine Arts Work Center since it was founded in the late 1960s.

Boaters off Cape Cod are being urged to keep an eye out for North Atlantic right whales in waters close to shore after about 30 of the endangered cetaceans were spotted feeding off the coast of Provincetown. The state Division of Marine Fisheries issued a "high risk" advisory Wednesday due to the number of the whales, their proximity to shore, and the abundance of food drawing them to the area. "Dense concentrations of zooplankton at the surface and just below the surface are attracting the whales to this...

WHO Ana Gasteyer WHAT The former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, who recently became a series regular on the ABC sitcom "Suburgatory," turned her attention to musical theater after leaving "SNL" in 2002. Her Broadway credits include Elphaba in "Wicked" and Mrs. Peachum in Scott Elliott's revival of "The Threepenny Opera. " Tonight and tomorrow, Gasteyer performs a variation of her cabaret show, "Elegant Songs From a Handsome Woman," as part of the Broadway at the Art House series in Provincetown.

WHO: Ana Gasteyer WHAT: The former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, who recently became a series regular on the ABC sitcom "Suburgatory," turned her attention to musical theater after leaving "SNL" in 2002. Her Broadway credits include Elphaba in "Wicked" and Mrs. Peachum in Scott Elliott's revival of "The Threepenny Opera. " Tonight and tomorrow, Gasteyer performs a variation of her cabaret show, "Elegant Songs From a Handsome Woman," as part of the Broadway at the Art House series in Provincetown.

A VERY TAWNY CHRISTMAS! At: Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown, Dec. 23. Tickets: $15. 508-487-1430, www.onlyatthecrown.com Like many other starlets, the fabulous Tawny Heatherton came out of nowhere. It's almost as if she never existed until the spotlight hit her. "She was just a wig that I'd had on Halloween when I was Cindy McCain," David Drake says. That was in 2008. In August 2009, he dug out the wig to wear to Carnival Week in Provincetown. It didn't look right, so he tried putting it on backward, and Tawny Heatherton was born.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent Provincetown may be the literal end of the Massachusetts earth, and a pretty cold place in winter, but the locals there are warming up to the holiday season with several events. There are lodging discounts and such to be had as well, check out www.provincetowntourismoffice.org for more information. First up is the annual lighting of Pilgrim Monument Nov. 23 from 5-7 p.m., a yearly tradition that kicks off P-Town's holiday season.

BY half-past 5 on a morning in early May, the sun rising over Blackwater Pond had already brightened the pine woods. I stood in a wide natural path, carpeted with brown-red needles, that rises up the forested dune from the southwest side of the pond. In the high branches of the pines and beeches and honeysuckles, the birds were carrying on their racket — warblers, goldfinches, woodpeckers, doves and chickadees. But on the sandy ground among the trunks, nothing moved. Perfect stillness.

WHO: Ana Gasteyer WHAT: The former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, who recently became a series regular on the ABC sitcom "Suburgatory," turned her attention to musical theater after leaving "SNL" in 2002. Her Broadway credits include Elphaba in "Wicked" and Mrs. Peachum in Scott Elliott's revival of "The Threepenny Opera. " Tonight and tomorrow, Gasteyer performs a variation of her cabaret show, "Elegant Songs From a Handsome Woman," as part of the Broadway at the Art House series in Provincetown.

Thanks in part to designer Marc Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy , Provincetown was the place to celebrate Halloween. Duffy, a part-time P-town resident and president of Marc Jacobs International, threw a Beaux Arts Ball for 900 guests at Provincetown's historic town hall over the weekend. (Boston party planner Bryan Rafanelli handled arrangements inside while flash mobs entertained for folks outside.) No one's saying how much the event cost, but with a performance by Debbie Harry (right)

The following sites are participating in the state's pilot Narcan program, and offer counseling and referrals for opiate abuse treatment, training on preventing overdose, and free nasal Narcan: AIDS Action Committee 359 Green St., Cambridge 617-599-0246 AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod 336 Commercial St., Unit 10, Provincetown 866-668-6448, 508-487-8311 428 South St., Hyannis 866-990-2437, 508-778-1954 ...