PLACES OF INTEREST

PLACES OF INTEREST. by Marianne Ferrari

Noudays there are many places where same-sex couples can walk down the street arm-in-arm without fear; but not many of those places inbun Gay people with a sense of ownership, and a feeling that the non-Gay population are somehou incidental and part of the background.

That is the atmosphere in Provincetown, Massachusetts, though, an atmosphere so palpable and immediately felt that even the most uptight closet case is guaranteed to arrive in P-Town and EXHALE. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, Gay people from every country come to enjoy this place, turning its quaint and narrow streets into cruise heaven. And the influx of Gay women, even greater in the last four years, makes the town look like the Lesbian capital of the world.

Even the most cosmopolitan of us are not used to seeing Gay people at literally every turn, so the sheer numbers. of Gay people you encounter on your first promenade doun Commercial Street are bound to have an impact.

On my first day I'm sure I wasn't unique in feeling great exhilaration and jubilance. I had to quell a growing impulse to smile at or speak to every Gay person I sau. But then I realized that in THIS toun, evolution has gone past the point of striking up conversations with people just because you recognize them as Gay; such signalling is not necessary, and the only rules that apply are those of ordinary propriety.

And what a setting! P-Toun's the last stop at the end of Cape Cod, surrounded by harbor and ocean, and looking very very much like the old whaling port it once was. Buildings of authentic period architecture overlook streets which discourage anything other than pedestrian traffic.

Cay guesthouse owners have taken careful attention to keep their houses in harmony with the place. There are some 50 of them, most catering to both men and women, a feu to one gender or the other. Each is a picturesque retreat

where quietude reigns, and time has no substantive meaning.

Guests take full advantage of this hospitable environment, congregating on verandas where morning coffee and croissante frequently last until lunch. Gone are the petty prejudices of hometown bars. Here, we are family and when we meet, we know that it's because we're gay, and because we've come to this particular place.

Late nornings and early afternoons find most of the "family" at the Gay beaches, one on the harbor side at the foot of Winthrop Street, the other on the beach side at Herring Cove. There, besides the regular beach activities, women are known to indulge in topless volleyball games, while men pursue their particular goals behind and anong the many sand dunes.

If you arrive at this time of day, you may be surprised to see mostly straight people on the streets. These are the day-trippers, people from the Boston area who've come to spend a day shopping in the antique stores and art galleries. They leave just as the night life is beginning.

Gay bar life in Provincetown is fast, chic, and decadent for the mon. For the duration of this vacation, every last one of them becomes an unbridled pleasure-seeker who knows that no

alare clock is going to ring in the morning. If he does look at the clock it's probably to make sure he doesn't niss the tea dance at the Boatslip, which features several hundred bodies-beautiful dancing shirtless under the outdoor canopy. Any sale virtuoso miraculously absent from tea dance will surely be found later among the gorgeous numbers arrayed along the veranda at the Backstreet Bat.

On the female side, P-Toun is to "bar Lesbians" what the Michigan Women's Music Festival is to the feminists. A flood of women representing a cross section of Canadian and American Lesbianism come to see and be seen

at the small and conversational Coller Bar and the larger Pied Piper disco. Many stay at the Greenhouse, a new hotel on Pearl Street.

Wo vonon, always grumbling about the narrow field and the incestuous nature of local women's bars, are able to indulge ourselves in this brief illu sion of limitless choice.

Those who don't like bors or beaches will find plenty else to do. There are 4,400 acres of protected National Sesshore for hiking and biking your way through a tour of the dunes. Sightseeing aircraft offer panoramic vious of the Cape. Sidetrips to Martha's Vinyard are available. This years craze is whale watching from rented boats, and some guesthouses charter three-nasted schooners for daytime cruises.

There are four ways to get to P-Toun: you can drive from Boston in 24 hours; get a connecting flight from your point of origin via New York City--20 minutes, $25; take the ferry from Boston-one daily, four hours, $12; or take the air taxi from New York, $50.

PLACES OF INTEREST Gay Map Guide USA & Canada 1982 AVAILABLE AT YOUR FAVORITE ESTABLISHMENT

OR:

Ferrari Publications, PO Box 16054. Phoenix, Arizona 85011 (602) 264-5811

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