There's No Place Like P-Town for the Holidays
You know Dasher and Dancer and Comet and Cupid... and you certainly know the rest of those lyrics. But did you know the best place to spend the holidays this season is in Provincetown? That's right: The seaside destination and LGBTQ+ enclave known for its laid-back vibes and lazy summer days is kicking it up a notch and bringing the holidays to you with a bevy of bodacious holiday cheer.
You'll make the yuletide gay (in more ways than one) as you run down Commercial Street in your elf-themed skivvies, dance your nutcracker off at the annual Ball, eat all the treats at the Holiday Market, and welcome the New Year under a sky full of fireworks. And the best part? You'll be here with your chosen family in P-Town, the queerest winter wonderland you can find during the holidays.
No P-Town holiday cheer is complete without a jaunt through the Holiday Market, a smorgasbord of gifts and goodies, treats and drinks. As if caught in a snow globe of its own, the holiday market was inspired by European traditions, and brings the whole P-Town community together. "Around this time of year when it starts getting dark early... bright, cheer-filled holiday markets pop up across European countries," writes Rob Anderson, co-owner of The Canteen, a P-Town favorite and sponsor of the Holiday Market. Anderson was on holiday travels through countries like Germany, France, and Denmark years ago when he visited the festive markets and decided it was time to bring a similar experience to his beloved P-Town.
The market, now in its seventh year and featuring 25 local vendors, "creates a place in the best bohemian tradition of Provincetown that offers residents and visitors alike a place to gather, warm up, shop, and have fun." The marketplace prides itself in celebrating an eclectic mix of holiday traditions, including a Hanukkah celebration, German, French, and Polish dishes prepared in holiday fashion, and Santa Claus visits during its 16-day run every weekend starting from Thanksgiving through New Years. The festive energy you'll experience while strolling the streets of the Holiday Market is inspired by hygge, a Danish word that has no English translation, but shares feelings of coziness, warmth, and community. "Like freedom is in America, hygge is ingrained in the Danish way of life," and permeates the spirit of the marketplace, says Anderson.
When you're finished with your holiday shopping, you'll be ready for Holly Folly, a weekend of queer delights that will keep you entertained 'til the new year. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the holiday festival brings together everyone in the queer alphabet for dancing, performance, and debauchery. The festival kicks off the weekend (running Dec. 2-4) on Friday night with the Nutcrackers Ball, a leather/fetish themed soiree for those on Santa's naughty list.
Leave your dance moves on the floor and head over to Hung With Care, a queer holiday burlesque spectacular that happens Saturday night and only in P-Town. The show is new to the Cape, and features Broody Valentino, a self-described "teddy bear with claws," who lights up the burlesque stage at his home in New York City. "Broody's mixture of the classic and the irreverent has made him a fixture on the NY boylesque scene," writes the Burlesque Galaxy website about the seasoned performer, who will bring all his fierce energy to the stage this holiday season in P-Town. Round out the weekend with a living drag queen Nativity and a Jingle Bell Run on Sunday. Who knew you could sport your Speedo year-round? But in P-Town, anything is possible!
Your stockings will be stuffed with so many fun things to do for the holidays in Provincetown, but don't miss the belle of the ball: First Light, a New Years extravaganza that kicks off the new trip around the sun in high fashion. The festivities begin with fireworks at dusk, followed by a NYE live performance from Christine Ebersole. The Tony award-winning Broadway diva of musicals such as "42nd Street" and "Grey Gardens" will take the crowd into the new year, singing her favorite songs and celebrating new beginnings.
But don't sleep in, or you'll miss the Polar Bear Plunge! It's an annual New Year's Day event that sends enthusiasts plunging into the Provincetown harbor "to raise money for the Center for Coastal Studies and to start the new year off right," says the Facebook event page.
"Everyone can gather for First Light," Stephen Hengst, director of the Holly Folly and First Light community events, tells me over the phone. "Whether it's your genetic or chosen family, people come together for it."
With so many exciting events in the coming months, P-Town is the place to be for the holidays. "The ability to go to a [traditionally] summer place and see it light up with holiday glow in the winter months... [you can] have a beer, be with family and see all the magic around you," Hengst tells me at the end of our interview on the phone. "There's really nothing quite like it."