One day, several years ago, I sat in the office of the director of public works in Provincetown. I saw on the wall what can only be called a flow chart: it depicted the number of flushes per day in the municipal sewage system throughout the year.
There was an expected steady increase as the season progressed, but I remember there being three plateaus: the first, near the end of June, corresponding to the Portuguese Festival; the second, much higher plateau was on July 4; and the third and highest plateau was during carnival week.
The explanations for these parades go beyond the events being celebrated, each with its own parade, but there can be no argument that Carnival has been and continues to be Provincetown’s biggest visitor attraction year-round.
Let’s look at these celebrations. Sad to say, a very small percentage of people actually think about our nation’s birthday on the 4th of July. Most are in it for the fireworks, barbecue and beer. there it’s a core of dedicated Portuguese Festival attendees who know what they’re celebrating, but many others are drawn in by the flying flags, music and food, and are only vaguely aware of what it’s all about.
What about carnivals? What is it it all around? Someone told me today that it’s really just a celebration of the summer season coming to an end, but that’s not the whole story. Someone else told me it was about “being weird, being crazy and stupid, living your fantasies without fear of judgement.” Getting there. According to the director of the Provincetown Business Guild, it’s always been about “queer culture, rich art and diversity.” This is coming.
It’s about Gay Pride and the city that hosts and supports it.
The final parade was an extravaganza, full of frenzied entertainment and over-the-top decorations and costumes. A good time was had by all. Well, almost all of them. Some voices on social media and elsewhere have been less than enthusiastic, some bordering on negative, about the carnival. One comment I have heard is that the city is not designed to host 100,000 revelers. Good point, although we seem to have outlived it. Another, more serious objection is that the celebrations are not meant for everyone – that they are largely exclusive to the gay community and celebrate a way of life that is not shared by everyone.
I’m willing to take these objections seriously, although I saw many of my friends, who I’m pretty sure are open and in costume having a good time with many of my friends, for whom I am pretty sure they are gay. However, there is no denying the gay aspect of dozens of men in underwear or wearing floral or feather dresses. But not every party has to be your party.
The important thing, I think, should be that this abundance that we witness should be seen in the context of society in general outside this city. Although progress has been made in some parts of the world, homophobia is the overwhelming global norm. We are lucky to live where freedom of expression and lifestyle are celebrated, where a man can hold another man’s hand in the street, as one Bulgarian put it in Agata Storer’s August 18 article, unlike his country . We have moved beyond tolerance to acceptance. We are witnessing the abundance of emancipation.
The world can be an ugly and dangerous place. Street dancing is always a good thing.
