Provincetown: The Iconic LGBTQ Destination
- Provincetown, MA
Provincetown, MA
Provincetown - The Iconic LGBTQ Destination
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
Just 120 miles from Boston on a gorgeous National Seashore on the outer most tip of Cape Cod, the LGBTQ community found a home and travelers from around the world found a home away from home. For more than 50 years, Provincetown, MA has been an icon of diversity, tolerance and equality.
If you've ever enjoyed an afternoon Tea Dance, you can thank Provincetown. The Tea Dance originated here!
With tears in his eyes, Provincetown Town Clerk Doug Johnstone shared his love of Provincetown with us. "This is such an important place in American history! We were the very first state to offer marriage to same-sex couples.People come from all around the world to be married here and to be accepted and welcomed."
How accepted is marriage equality in Provincetown? "We average 350 to 400 same-sex marriages every year. Every time a couple gets married, people clap and cheer for them," Johnstone said. "People get married on the lawn of Town Hall. Everything just stops as people applaud the couples. It is a wonderful sight that still touches my heart every time."
Since gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004, Provincetown has issued over 3,100 marriage licenses!
Provincetown resident Val Marmillion and President of Marmillion & Company Media Relations told us that Provincetown is a celebration of the LGBTQ community. "This is a community that just assumes that who you are is just fine! We celebrate diversity of all kinds and celebrate our differences equally. It is not an odd thing here to see people on the street applauding same-sex couples."
If you are looking for an LGBTQ destination with plenty of dining options, Provincetown has a lot to offer. “We have great restaurants here,” Anthony Fuccillo, Provincetown’s Director of Tourism, told us. “We have 30 restaurants and the food is as diverse as the people.”
Many of Provincetown's restaurants are located on the incredibly walkable Commercial Street which runs parallel to the harbor shoreline. People even call Commercial Street "Restaurant Row." If you are looking for dining options ranging everywhere from white tablecloth dining to quaint brunch spots to beachside takeout to gourmet hot dogs to creative burgers to delicious bakeries to sidewalk cafes, this is the place!
Do you enjoy LGBTQ entertainment and hilarious drag shows? Provincetown has many to offer including The Crown & Anchor complex which itself features six unique bars including:
Provincetown is also filled with a large assortment of accommodations ranging from B&B's to Inns to hotels to motels on the shoreline! During our stay in Provincetown, we enjoyed The Brass Key Guesthouse. It offers a bar (The Shipwreck Lounge) that is very popular in the evenings, a beautiful courtyard with pool and hot tub, complimentary continental breakfast, and rooms that somehow successfully combine chic and antique.
For LGBTQ travelers who enjoy art, Provincetown is the nation's oldest arts colony and a "haven for artists in every medium – painting, sculpting, theatre, writing, and music."
World-renowned art expert Jim Bakker lives in Provincetown in a historic home originally built for Captain Caleb Cook. "Artists and writers from around the country found their way to this little seaside town. Not unlike the Pilgrims who first took refuge here and wrote the Mayfower Compact while anchored in Provincetown Harbor before coming ashore in 1620, many great American painters, including Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Childe Hassam, Marsden Hartley, and Edward Hopper, painted and passed through Provincetown. The art colony remains vibrant to this day," Bakker told us.
For those who enjoy traveling to events, Ptown hosts a number of interesting special events including -
We highly recommend Provincetown as a year-round LGBTQ destination. It has afascinating history, incredible beaches, natural beauty, whale watching, an eclectic arts and culture scene and world-class dining and shopping.
"Why Provincetown?" asked Provincetown Town Clerk Doug Johnstone. "It's all about the freedom and acceptance! It's the ability to be allowed to be who you are and were meant to be."
For more information on Provincetown tourism, visit http://www.provincetowntourismoffice.org/
Watch our Provincetown video below.
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2013 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact us: Sunny Harbor Publishing. PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956. 321-446-7552. [email protected]
Keywords: gay, gay travel, provincetown, ptown, massachussetts, gay ma, gay massachussetts, gay provincetown. gbt, lgbtq travel, lgtb provincetown, Doug Johnstone, Val Marmillion, Anthony Fuccillo, Jim Bakker, The Brass Key Guesthouse, Shipwreck Lounge, Steven Skelley, Thomas Routzong,
Provincetown - The Iconic LGBTQ Destination
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
Just 120 miles from Boston on a gorgeous National Seashore on the outer most tip of Cape Cod, the LGBTQ community found a home and travelers from around the world found a home away from home. For more than 50 years, Provincetown, MA has been an icon of diversity, tolerance and equality.
If you've ever enjoyed an afternoon Tea Dance, you can thank Provincetown. The Tea Dance originated here!
With tears in his eyes, Provincetown Town Clerk Doug Johnstone shared his love of Provincetown with us. "This is such an important place in American history! We were the very first state to offer marriage to same-sex couples.People come from all around the world to be married here and to be accepted and welcomed."
How accepted is marriage equality in Provincetown? "We average 350 to 400 same-sex marriages every year. Every time a couple gets married, people clap and cheer for them," Johnstone said. "People get married on the lawn of Town Hall. Everything just stops as people applaud the couples. It is a wonderful sight that still touches my heart every time."
Since gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004, Provincetown has issued over 3,100 marriage licenses!
Provincetown resident Val Marmillion and President of Marmillion & Company Media Relations told us that Provincetown is a celebration of the LGBTQ community. "This is a community that just assumes that who you are is just fine! We celebrate diversity of all kinds and celebrate our differences equally. It is not an odd thing here to see people on the street applauding same-sex couples."
If you are looking for an LGBTQ destination with plenty of dining options, Provincetown has a lot to offer. “We have great restaurants here,” Anthony Fuccillo, Provincetown’s Director of Tourism, told us. “We have 30 restaurants and the food is as diverse as the people.”
Many of Provincetown's restaurants are located on the incredibly walkable Commercial Street which runs parallel to the harbor shoreline. People even call Commercial Street "Restaurant Row." If you are looking for dining options ranging everywhere from white tablecloth dining to quaint brunch spots to beachside takeout to gourmet hot dogs to creative burgers to delicious bakeries to sidewalk cafes, this is the place!
Do you enjoy LGBTQ entertainment and hilarious drag shows? Provincetown has many to offer including The Crown & Anchor complex which itself features six unique bars including:
- Paramount Nightclub - the town's largest nightclub
- Wave Video Bar - the town's only video bar
- The Vault leather bar
- A cabaret venue
- A poolside bar with heated pool
- A piano bar featuring the legendary Bobby Wetherbee who has been entertaining audiences in Provincetown for 50 years.
Provincetown is also filled with a large assortment of accommodations ranging from B&B's to Inns to hotels to motels on the shoreline! During our stay in Provincetown, we enjoyed The Brass Key Guesthouse. It offers a bar (The Shipwreck Lounge) that is very popular in the evenings, a beautiful courtyard with pool and hot tub, complimentary continental breakfast, and rooms that somehow successfully combine chic and antique.
For LGBTQ travelers who enjoy art, Provincetown is the nation's oldest arts colony and a "haven for artists in every medium – painting, sculpting, theatre, writing, and music."
World-renowned art expert Jim Bakker lives in Provincetown in a historic home originally built for Captain Caleb Cook. "Artists and writers from around the country found their way to this little seaside town. Not unlike the Pilgrims who first took refuge here and wrote the Mayfower Compact while anchored in Provincetown Harbor before coming ashore in 1620, many great American painters, including Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Childe Hassam, Marsden Hartley, and Edward Hopper, painted and passed through Provincetown. The art colony remains vibrant to this day," Bakker told us.
For those who enjoy traveling to events, Ptown hosts a number of interesting special events including -
- Single Women’s Weekend
- Women of Color and Allies Weekend
- Provincetown International Film Festival
- Holly Folly
- Fantasia Fair
- Provincetown Round Up
- Mates Leather Weekend
- Swim for Life
- Carnival Week
- Gay and Lesbian Family Week
- Girl Splash
- Bear Week
- Halloween
- Fourth of July Circuit Parties
- Drag Bingo – held during the week of Carnival at the Unitarian-Universalist Meeting House
We highly recommend Provincetown as a year-round LGBTQ destination. It has afascinating history, incredible beaches, natural beauty, whale watching, an eclectic arts and culture scene and world-class dining and shopping.
"Why Provincetown?" asked Provincetown Town Clerk Doug Johnstone. "It's all about the freedom and acceptance! It's the ability to be allowed to be who you are and were meant to be."
For more information on Provincetown tourism, visit http://www.provincetowntourismoffice.org/
Watch our Provincetown video below.
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2013 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact us: Sunny Harbor Publishing. PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956. 321-446-7552. [email protected]
Keywords: gay, gay travel, provincetown, ptown, massachussetts, gay ma, gay massachussetts, gay provincetown. gbt, lgbtq travel, lgtb provincetown, Doug Johnstone, Val Marmillion, Anthony Fuccillo, Jim Bakker, The Brass Key Guesthouse, Shipwreck Lounge, Steven Skelley, Thomas Routzong,
