Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla raises $200,000; 404 swimmers, 75+ kayakers, 150 volunteers participate

Warm but choppy water and a warm southwest wind greeted 404 swimmers, 75+ kayakers and safety boats and 150 volunteers on Saturday at the 27th annual Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, which raised an estimated $200,000 for AIDS, women's health & the community. As a good omen, a pod of dolphins appeared in the harbor, east of Long Point, the start of the Swim. The Boatslip Resort, which has been hosting the event since 1989, received the David Asher Volunteer Award for their committment to the community.US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sent a letter of support, wrote: " I wish I could be with you in Provincetown to celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of the Swim for Life and its contributions to the Provincetown community. I'm glad to be able to participate in this small way to help commemorate your work improving the lives of Massachusetts families."The event is produced by the Provincetown Community Compact and organized by director Jay Critchley.Circle of Honor recipients, whoo have swum ten times or raised $ 10,000, and received a handcrafter medallion by Christie Andressen of Taqwa Glassworks, include: Carolyn Placke, Philadelphia, PA; Rhoda Grasberger, Ashland, MA; Jackie Palmer, Acton, MA; Michael Lynch, Dorchester, MA; and Chris Triebert, South Newfane, VT.Forty-one swimmers and kayakers raised over one thousand dollars each in pledges and joined the $ 1,000 Club and received prizes from local businesses totaling $ 10,000 in value. Top fundraisers include: Fred Youngerman, Lenox, MA at $ 12,012; Joel Stahl, Larkspur, CA, $ 6,420; Jonathan Scott, Provincetown, $ 6,100; Peter Mellett, North Truro, MA, $ 5,055; Gene Elizabeth Landis, Amesbury, MA, $ 5,000; Paul Mast, Waldwick, NJ, $ 4,775; Mark Bastian, Boston, $ 4,055; Jane Barber, Breckenridge, CO, $ 4,000; and Ed Moore, Boston, $ 3,385. Abby Walker, 5 years old, swam the 1.4 miles distance in a pool and joined the $ 1,000 Club, along with Kim Oler, who raised pledges for his Rocky Mountain climb.Although not a race, times are kept for swimmers. The fastest swimmer was Brian O'Connor from Washington, DC at 35:35. The fastest female was Katy McCully from Eastham, MA at 36:123. Swimmers hailed from across the country and from Bulgaria and Canada.All participants received a guest pass to the Provincetown Art Association & Museum, celebrating its Centennial, which offered a 1916 etching  by BJO Nordfeldt for this year's Swim design.Other weekend events included the exhuberant Celebration of Life Concert the night before the Swim at the UU Meeting House, produced by John Thomas, and, the Mermaid Brunch on the Boatslip deck following the Swim, catered by Far land Provisions. Zoe Lewis provided entertainment, and the awards ceremony was assisted by Mary Jo Avellar, Town Moderator, and Tom Donegan, Chair of the Board of Selectmen. The 2015, 27th Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla is set for September 12, 2014.Special thanks goes to volunteer crews from Helping Our Women, AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Outer Cape Health Services and Far Land Provisions, Wellfleet and Cape Cod National Seashore lifeguards and support from Provincetown Rescue Squad, US Coast Guard, Provincetown Harbormaster, Funk Bus, Ptown Trolley, Provincetown TV, transport boats Tracey Rose, Cee Jay, Dog Gone Sailing and Dream Catcher, along with Flyer's Boat rentals.Swim beneficiaries include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Provincetown Schools, Youth Art Reach at Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Lower Cape Ambulance, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Outer Cape Health Services, The Compact Community Fund and Provincetown Rescue Squad.Business sponsors include: Lead Sponsor, Seamen's Bank, Media Sponsor, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi's Restaurant, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort, Marc Jacobs, Harbor Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Mussel Beach Health Club, Berta Walker Gallery, Shawn Nightingale Productions and Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S., with support from the Provincetown Visitor Services Board.

Boatslip to receive the David Asher Volunteer Award at Swim for Life, Sat 1pm

 Terry McCumber, general manager, and Marion Sharp, majority owner of the Boatslip. For full schedule: www.swim4life.org                

From a pool to a mountaintop

She’s five years old and she’s doing the Swim for Life - in a pool. He’s turning 60 and he’s climbing the Rockies for the Swim for Life. While neither will test their abilities in the waters of Provincetown Harbor on September 6, for both, this post-Labor Day tradition has been an inspiration.Abby’s dad, Jeff Walker, has done the Swim and he inspired her to do it herself. However, she is only five years old and doesn’t know how to swim. So she learned last winter in Cambridge and invented her own Swim for Life - 91 laps in a pool, the equivalent of the 1.4 miles across the harbor. Spending most of the summer here, she continues her laps in pools at the Provincetown Inn and Harbor Hotel, swimming well beyond her goal. And she is now adding donations above her 00 pledge goal as well.Kim Oler (my brother-in-law), who has participated in several Swim fundraisers, was invited by college friends to hike the Rocky Mountains on the 80-mile Colorado Trail, up to 14,000 feet. So he began training for the high-altitude climb by traipsing through his Long Island neighborhood and mowing his lawn carrying a 40-pound backpack. He decided to make his heroic effort a benefit for the Swim for Life and has raised over 00 in pledges from family and friends.All are welcome to join us for the 27^th annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla on September 6, 2014, a benefit for AIDS, women’s health & the community. Info and videos at: www.swim4life.org. Swim t-shirts are available at Seamen’s Bank, downtown, Venture Athletics and the Art Association & Museum. Swim beneficiaries include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Provincetown Schools, Youth Art Reach at Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Lower Cape Ambulance, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Heath Services, The Compact Community Fund and Provincetown Rescue Squad.Business Sponsors this year include: Lead sponsor, Seamen’s Bank, Media sponsor, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort, Marc Jacobs, Harbor Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Mussel Beach Health Club, Berta Walker Gallery, Shawn Nightingale Productions and Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S., with support from the Provincetown Visitor Services Board. 

Swim celebrates the town's art & culture

Provincetown is a crossroads, luring people from across the planet to this spiral spit of sand. From the Portuguese in the 1800s to the artists who flocked to New York and here after WWI, it is a fertile place. During a decade a century ago, 1910-1920 - the “Centennial Decade” - Provincetown became the national epicenter of cultural transformation.Framed by the dedication of the Pilgrim Monument in 1910 and the 300^th anniversary of the First Landing of the Pilgrims in Provincetown Harbor in 1920, was the founding of the Provincetown Art Association & Museum (PAAM) in 1914 and the birth of modern American Theater in 1915. The Provincetown Players included Eugene O’Neill, Neith Boyce, Susan Glaspell and John Reed, a communist journalist who wrote the famous account of the Russian Revolution, “Ten Days That Shook the World”. This was the Progressive Era sweeping the country.One of the artists who lived here during this dynamic time included painter and printmaker Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt, a Swede whose family moved to the US in 1892, and also a founder of the Provincetown Players. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and lived in Paris, London and Taos, New Mexico. During his three years here - 1914-17 - he discovered a new way to print color woodblocks from a single block of wood, introducing the innovative white-line block printing method now called the Provincetown Print.BJO Nordfeldt’s delicate etching from PAAM’s collection for the Swim, “Boats on Shore”, 1916, shows a family on the shoreline with two of the many wharves in Provincetown Harbor, and the sand dunes in the distance. The boats are being repaired, the children are at play. One hundred years later the Swim for Life connects this legacy of art, environment, industry and community. The waterfront is our identity.Join us for the 27^th annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla on September 6, 2014, a benefit for AIDS, women’s health & the community. Please contact: www.swim4life.org.Business Sponsors this year include: Lead sponsor, Seamen’s Bank, Media sponsor, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort, Marc Jacobs, Harbor Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Mussel Beach Health Club, Berta Walker Gallery, Shawn Nightingale Productions and Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S., with support from the Provincetown Tourism Fund.

Swim survey response highlights community

Over the cold, snowy winter we poured over the results of the questionnaire we sent to swimmers and kayakers from the 2013 event and found some great suggestions and heartwarming responses like the one above. The long passionate 26-year history of the Swim for Life has created a unique tradition that supports our year round community. Past surveys have focused on the quality of the experience and water safety, this one also included questions about fundraising and the Swim’s economic impact on the town.“I don't need to decide to do the swim. I already have. I will do the swim every year. It is a very important day for our family. I swim in memory of my oldest friend who I spent many happy vacations with in town. I Love, love, love that this is a fundraiser. I feel so happy to hit my friends up for money to aid people in this most beloved place.”From swimmers we received an admirable 15% return rate (156 of 1,000), from kayakers, 27% return (27 of 102). The most surprising result was the response to the question: Is the Swim primarily a fundraiser or a community/memorial/athletic/other event? Of course, some would see it as all of the above, but when asked to choose, 73% of swimmers saw it primarily as a community event, while 52% of kayakers saw it as a fundraiser.1997 Swim, Donna Flax. While swimmers raise the majority of pledges, it is significant that they see the event in the broader context of the community, which reflects the mission of the Swim’s sponsor, the Provincetown Community Compact (The Compact), whose mission is to support the health and well being of the community. Kayakers recognize the importance of their role on the water in support of swimmers. Most significant in terms of economic impact, the average off-Cape swimmer and kayaker (75% of participants) stays 3.4 nights in a hotel or B+B and brings along 4 people with them; a large number stay 1-2 weeks, and some bring dozens of friends with them. This, along with the $200,000 in pledges collected by swimmers and kayakers (75% from off-Cape) creates a huge economic impact in the town."It is a great fund raiser for several important causes, the whole community is involved...they know what I'm talking about when I bring it up, and have pride in it."Join us for the 27^th annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla on September 6, 2014, a benefit for AIDS, women’s health & the community. Please contact: www.swim4life.org. Swim t-shirts are available at Seamen’s Bank, downtown, Venture Athletics and the Art Association & Museum.Business Sponsors this year include: Lead sponsor, Seamen’s Bank, Media sponsor, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort, Marc Jacobs, Harbor Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Mussel Beach Health Club, Berta Walker Gallery, Shawn Nightingale Productions and Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S., and support from the Provincetown Tourism Fund.

2014 Swim poster by BJO Nordfeldt (1916)

Swim for Life celebrates the town’s art and culture.Download + print poster.Provincetown is a crossroads, luring people from across the planet to this spiral spit of sand. From the Portuguese in the 1800s to the artists who flocked to New York and here after WWI, it is a fertile place. During a decade a century ago, 1910-1920 - the “Centennial Decade” - Provincetown became the national epicenter of cultural transformation.Framed by the dedication of the Pilgrim Monument in 1910 and the 300^th anniversary of the First Landing of the Pilgrims in Provincetown Harbor in 1920, was the founding of the Provincetown Art Association & Museum (PAAM) in 1914 and the birth of modern American Theater in 1915. The Provincetown Players included Eugene O’Neill, Neith Boyce, Susan Glaspell and John Reed, a communist journalist who wrote the famous account of the Russian Revolution, “Ten Days That Shook the World”. This was the Progressive Era sweeping the country.One of the artists who lived here during this dynamic time included painter and printmaker Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt, a Swede whose family moved to the US in 1892, and also a founder of the Provincetown Players. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and lived in Paris, London and Taos, New Mexico. During his three years here - 1914-17 - he discovered a new way to print color woodblocks from a single block of wood, introducing the innovative white-line block printing method now called the Provincetown Print.BJO Nordfeldt’s delicate etching from PAAM’s collection for the Swim, “Boats on Shore”, 1916, shows a family on the shoreline with two of the many wharves in Provincetown Harbor, and the sand dunes in the distance. The boats are being repaired, the children are at play. One hundred years later the Swim for Life connects this legacy of art, environment, industry and community. The waterfront is our identity.Join us for the 27^th annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla on September 6, 2014, a benefit for AIDS, women’s health & the community. Please contact: www.swim4life.org.Business Sponsors this year include: Lead sponsor, Seamen’s Bank, Media sponsor, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort, Marc Jacobs, Harbor Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Mussel Beach Health Club, Berta Walker Gallery, Shawn Nightingale Productions and Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S.

27th Swim for Life set for Sept 6, 2014

Please join the hundreds of swimmers, friends and paddlers from across the United States who consider Provincetown, Massachusetts their spiritual home, and return to participate in the annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, Sept 6, 2014.This fundraiser of the Provincetown Community Compact supports vital year round services for AIDS, women's health and the community. Come share with us the special relationships we have established and the community we have created through the healing waters of Provincetown Harbor.Thanks to those who are challenging themselves and joining us for the first time, and those who return year after year, bringing along family and friends.The community is grateful2014 Swim design: BJO Nordfelt, etching, 1916, in commemoration of the Centennial of the Provincetown Art Assn & Museum