TRURO CONNECTIONS

TRURO CONNECTIONS LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAMMING CONCEPT THIS SUMMER

Summer on the Outer Cape is about to get a lively boost from four Truro non-profit organizations in a new joint programming endeavor called “Truro Connections.” The initiative is meant to stimulate an exchange of ideas that is both educational and enriching. The kickoff event for “Truro Connections” will take place at the Payomet Performing Arts Center on June 27 on the theme of “Keeping Truro Sustainable: Planning for the Future.”

The sponsoring organizations– Friends of the Truro Meeting House, the Truro Historical Society & Highland House Museum, The Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, and the Payomet Performing Arts Center–will each host one or more programs throughout the summer and into the fall and winter, which will be tied to the Truro Sustainable theme. The schedule currently includes ten programs with more to be announced later.

Elsa Tarantal, co-president of Castle Hill, stated “The collaboration grew out of a desire to spotlight a single important topic and develop it through multiple programs that reflect the niche each partner organization occupies in the town’s cultural community.” In future years milestone historical events on the Outer Cape such as the 400^thanniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, the worldwide impact of our illustrious writers and painters, and past local disasters and social challenges will be explored as thematic topics.

“Truro Connections’” debut on June 27 will feature a panel of distinguished speakers who will each briefly address a key aspect of “Keeping Truro Sustainable,” followed by a moderated discussion and audience participation. Former Truro Select Board Chair Paul Wisotzky will comment on the current rewrite of Truro’s Comprehensive Plan. The panel will also include Barry Bluestone, the Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy at Northeastern University, who has analyzed a survey on elder issues for the Town of Truro. The Chair of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Anita Walker, will define the place of the arts in community growth and vitality. Patricia Nadle, CEO of the Outer Cape Health Center, will represent healthcare issues. Lauren Barker, Executive Director of Cape Cod Young Professionals, will address the housing and workforce crisis on Cape Cod. The environment, and in particular water resources, will be represented by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. Newly elected Truro selectperson, Kristen Reed, will speak on civic engagement and what inspired her successful run for office.

Following the kick off, subsequent programs on the Sustainable theme will include one of today’s most talked about conceptual artists, Mark Dion; Brian Carlstrom, the incoming superintendent of the Cape Cod National Seashore; topographer Mark Adams assessing the damage to Truro’s ocean beaches; Truro Water Resources Board Chair Kevin Kuechler reporting on recent studies outlining wastewater threats to Truro’s water resources; a workshop on End of Life decisions, held by Reverends Anastasia and Chad Kidd, pastors at the First Congregational Church; and the Emmy Award-winning nature documentary, “Sonic Sea.”

“Truro Connections” partners hope this unique approach to cultural programming will find their audiences co-mingling as they attend different programs at different venues. By coordinating summer events, the sponsors hope to reduce scheduling conflicts and broaden their outreach. Most events will be free.

Schedule of Talks & Events

June 27, Wednesday, 6:30 PM, Payomet Performing Arts Center. “Keeping Truro Sustainable: Planning for the Future,” A Panel Discussion.

.July 10, Tuesday, 6:00 PM, UU Church, Provincetown.

“How Storytelling Taught Me at that Talking About Death is Part of Living a Great Life,” Raymond Barfield, Professor of Pediatrics and Christian Philosophy, Duke University. (Sponsored by Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill).

July 12, Thursday, 5 PM, Truro Meeting House (Congregational Church).

“It Ain’t Easy Being Green: A discussion on clean water challenges in Truro.” (Sponsored by Friends of the Truro Meeting House).

July 18, Wednesday, 7 PM, Highland House Museum. “The Erosion of Truro’s Ocean Beaches,” Mark Adams, cartographer and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) specialist, National Park Service. (Sponsored by Truro Historical Society).

July 26, Thursday, 7 PM, Truro Meeting House (Congregational Church).

“Choices and Challenges for Truro Elders,” Barry Bluestone, Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy, Northeastern University. Sponsored by Friends of the Truro Meeting House).

August 8, Wednesday, 6PM, Preservation Hall, Wellfleet.Woody English Lecture: A Talk by Mark Dion, conceptual artist and the Woody English Distinguished Artist & Writer’s Chair, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill. (Sponsored by Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill).

August 21, Tuesday, 6 PM, Back Deck, Castle Hill. Lecture on the arts by author, journalist and academic Stephen Kinzer. (Sponsored by Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill).

August 29, Wednesday, 7 PM, Highland House Museum. “Impressions and Vision for the Future of the National Seashore and the Outer Cape,” Brian Carlstrom, Superintendent, CCNS. (Sponsored by Truro Historical Society).

September 15, Saturday, 10:30 AM, Truro Public Library. A workshop on end-of-life decisions, Anastasia and Chad Kidd, pastors, First Parish Congregational Church, Truro.

September 12, Wednesday, 7-9 PM, Payomet Performing Arts Center. “Sonic Sea,” Emmy Award-winning nature documentary on ocean noise pollution. Q&A with Christopher Clark, Truro resident and bioacoustics expert. (Sponsored by Payomet Performing Arts Center).

The Cobb Archive houses maps, charts, books, photographs, family memorabilia, and other historical documents. This 1912 building was designed in the Arts and Craft style and originally served as the town’s first public library. Located in Truro Center, the Cobb Archive is accessible to the public for research.
Open by appointment, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 AM-12 PM
13 Truro Center Road
508-349-0200
To schedule an appointment, send an email to [email protected].

A joint project of the Truro Historical Commission and the Truro Historical Society, this guidebook was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in Cape Cod Bay in 1620 and is an update of the 1984 guide that celebrated the 275th anniversary of the founding of Truro.

Click here to download the guidebook: Historic Truro Tours

This program was supported in part by a grant from the Truro Cultural Council, a local agency that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Funding for printing was also provided by the Truro Chamber of Commerce, Truro Part-Time Resident Taxpayers’ Association, and Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod. Chuck Steinman, Editor and Graphic Design, Truro Historical Commission.

Our Support for Racial Justice

The Truro Historical Society (THS) supports the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice that is taking place in the United States and around the world. “Liberty and justice for all” means justice for Black and Indigenous populations, and for all people of color.

Museums and archives are not neutral spaces. Because we interpret history, we have the responsibility of presenting the past as fully and accurately as possible, including painful and uncomfortable aspects. The past feeds into the present, and when a community actively engages with its past, it can use its understanding to make a better society.

Truro was founded on land that had been inhabited by Native People for thousands of years, but these people were displaced by English settlers. There were enslaved people and indentured laborers enduring near-slavery conditions in Truro. In 1754, the town’s first minister, Reverend John Avery, bequeathed to his children three African-American enslaved men and “my Indian Girl Sarah.”

After reflecting on the “settler privilege” that most of us enjoy, the THS decided in late 2019 to mark the 400^thanniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival with a decolonial exhibition celebrating Truro’s first inhabitants, the Wampanoag Nation, from its origins to today. During the postponement caused by the coronavirus, the THS will continue to consult with Indigenous scholars and community members. We will increase our commitment to diversity and inclusion. As a token of our commitment, the THS wishes to share the Land Acknowledgment we have prepared in consultation with members of the Wampanoag Nation. This statement will stand at the entrance to the Highland House Museum’s permanent exhibition about the Paomet and the Wampanoag peoples.

Land Acknowledgment

The Highland House Museum stands on the traditional homeland of the Paomet Tribe, members of the Wampanoag Nation, who have inhabited Cape Cod for more than 12,000 years and who knew this part of Truro as Tashmuit. The Truro Historical Society acknowledges the displacement, suffering, and forced assimilation of the Wampanoag and other Native Peoples caused by European contact and colonization. We honor the struggles of the Wampanoag, People of the First Light, and support their resilience, and we ask museum visitors to reflect on our shared responsibility to maintain social justice.

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