The Cape Coddah
Posts
☀️ 15 Months to Sell Tomatoes in Truro

☀️ 15 Months to Sell Tomatoes in Truro

Plus: This 72-Year-Old camp has no age limit

Cape Coddah
August 29, 2025

Good morning Cape Cod. We’re writing this wearing white jeans, linen shirts, and drinking rosé. None of which is apparently allowed after Labor Day. Who makes these rules anyway?

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

GPS vs. Buoys
65 years for The Pancake Man
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

🎸 Nashville Grad Brings Music City Vibes to Falmouth

When Lily Rapoza came home to Falmouth after college in Nashville, she missed having a real music scene. So she created one.

Songbird Collective hosts two monthly shows - one at Daily Brew in North Falmouth (second Thursday) and another at Coffee Obsession (last Saturday). The format varies: sometimes it's three solo acts, sometimes it's Nashville-style writers' rounds with multiple songwriters trading songs.

"We don't really have a venue here in Falmouth," Rapoza explains. "We have bars with sound equipment, but it's more about the drinking than the music."

After a year, the collective is thriving. Their recent Daily Brew show sold 88 tickets, and musicians now reach out to her instead of the other way around. Read more»

🍅 Farm Stand Triggers Bureaucratic Nightmare

Paula Erickson just wanted to sell flowers and tomatoes from a roadside stand. Simple, right? Not in Truro.

What should've been straightforward turned into a 15-month odyssey through planning boards, zoning appeals, and bureaucratic runarounds. Her 8x10 farm stand got classified as a "structure," triggering site plan reviews and setback requirements that no one expected.

"Truro is a historically agricultural town," says planning board chair Ellery Althaus. "It should be a really easy thing to put up a farm stand."

Now officials are scrambling to fix rules that make farming harder than it should be. Erickson finally got approval in August - just in time for her second growing season to end. Read more»

SPONSORED BY CAPE SZN

☀️ Your New September Uniform

Morning coffee runs just got cozier. When it's 55 degrees at sunrise but 75 by lunch, this is your move. Cape Babe energy, all season long.

Save 15% off this weekend with discount code: Labor15

🛟 GPS vs. Buoys: Cape Wins Round Two

The Coast Guard wanted to remove four key navigational buoys around Chatham - including the big "C" buoy near the harbor entrance - as part of a nationwide "modernization" effort. Their logic? We've got GPS now, so who needs all these old buoys?

Turns out, everyone. Nearly 3,000 comments poured in, plus angry letters from Cape towns and New England senators. Chatham's harbormaster pointed out the obvious: plenty of smaller boats still rely on visual aids, especially when electronics fail.

So the Coast Guard hit pause, pushing any changes to 2026 at the earliest. They tried this with the "C" buoy back in 2019 too... and backed down then as well.

Sometimes local knowledge trumps federal efficiency plans. Read more»

📸 @patrickpowerphotos | 📍Hyannis

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

🏖️ This 72-Year-Old Camp Has No Age Limit

Picture this: a 63-year-old camper planning who to ask to the prom. That's Camp Jabberwocky for you.

For 72 summers, this Martha's Vineyard camp has been a refuge for people with special needs. No age limit means campers range from 12 to 63, many returning for decades to see the same friends.

"During the year, society is not designed for people with disabilities," says Kevin Ennis, who's been coming since 2006. "Here, we really empower camper choice."

The camp runs entirely on donations and volunteers. You'll spot them around the island in their big red bus with Alice in Wonderland artwork. They've even got their own painted parking spot at State Beach.

It's tuition-free, volunteer-run, and creates something rare: a place where being different is exactly what makes you belong. Read more»

Security cameras were installed on a Cape Cod memorial bridge honoring fallen Marine Lance Cpl. William Joseph Donovan Jr. after repeated vandalism of American flags.

Falmouth's Edward Santiago, now 99, may be the last living eyewitness to General MacArthur signing Japan's surrender aboard the USS Missouri.

The summer retreat of former MA Governor Francis Sargent, key figure in creating the Cape Cod National Seashore, is for sale for the first time in 80 years at $6.25M.

Chatham's select board voted 4-1 to implement a 35% property tax exemption for year-round residents starting in fiscal 2027.

🥞 The Pancake Man: 65 Years of Flipping Tradition

The Pancake Man on Route 28 in S. Yarmouth just celebrated its 65th season, though it's bittersweet. Long-time owners Bette Crawford and Marshall Farley both died within the past year - Crawford in April 2024, Farley this past February.

But the South Yarmouth institution lives on. Farley's wife Mary Ann and sons Matthew and Doug have taken over, keeping everything customers love about the place. Same nostalgic decor, same buttermilk pancakes, same family atmosphere that draws multigenerational visitors.

"Dad strived for consistency," says Matthew Farley, who now runs operations from Colorado. They're still pushing for 1,000 customers daily during peak summer.

Some things never change. And sometimes that's exactly what people need. Read more»

Scientists discovered a massive freshwater aquifer beneath the ocean floor off Martha's Vineyard, likely formed from ancient glacial meltwater.

Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick listed his Nantucket home at 3 North Gully Road for $3.9M.

Martha's Vineyard towns are phasing out gas leaf blowers over the next four years, with new restrictions starting this fall.

Three years after Nantucket became the first MA town to allow topless sunbathing, few people have taken advantage of the law and many beachgoers don't even know it exists.

☕️ JOIN THE SUPPORTERS

This newsletter runs on caffeine, curiosity, and the occasional paid subscription. If you dig what we're doing and want to chip in, we'd appreciate it. If your budget's tight, no worries - we're not going anywhere.

Already supporting us? You're the best. 🙏

🚨 Missing Person Case Ends Near P-Town Airport

Michael Matar, who disappeared on August 22, was found dead near Provincetown Municipal Airport Sunday morning after an extensive multi-agency search. State Police located his body from the air near Hatches Harbor Trail.

The Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office is investigating but says preliminary findings show nothing suspicious about his death.

Friends remember Matar as someone who brought pure joy to watching live performances. "Seeing a performance with him was to watch two shows, he was so excited for the art, his whole body would become animated," wrote friend Frankie Consolo on Facebook.

Funeral arrangements will be announced later. The investigation continues.
Read more»

👋 Meet: Ermine
🐾 Siberian Husky
🎂 1 years old
♀︎ Female
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

FRIDAY - AUGUST 29

Magician Michael OJ @ Payomet PAC | 10 AM
Art of Milton Teichman @ Brewster Library | 10
Mudflat Mania @ CC Museum of Nat. History | 10
Science in Harbor Tour @ MacMillian Pier | 10:30
Youth Film Festival @ Wellfleet Pres. Hall | 6 PM

SATURDAY - AUGUST 30

Craft Fair @ Falmouth Marine Park | 9 AM
Craft Festival @ John Simpkins Field | 10 AM
Open Farm Day @ Farming Falmouth | 11 AM
Amplify POC Fest @ Hyannis Village Green | 11
End of Summer Party @ Charles Moore Arena | 5
Fireworks & Beach Party @ W. Dennis Beach | 6

SUNDAY - AUGUST 31

Craft Fair @ Falmouth Marine Park | 9 AM
Craft Festival @ John Simpkins Field | 10 AM
Summer is Over @ Devil’s Purse Brewing | 5 PM

SATURDAY - AUGUST 30

SUNDAY - AUGUST 31

AK Cody @ CC Winery | 12 PM
Liam Kelly Duo @ CC Beer | 3 PM
Tony Disavino @ CC Coffee | 3 PM
Dylan Weaton @ Falmouth Raw Bar | 4 PM
Greg Loftus @ The Woodshed | 4 PM
Outer Cape Music Fest @ Wellfleet Town Pier | 4
Rose & The Thorns @ Hog Island (Wellfleet) | 5
John Ebersold @ Irish Goodbye Pinthouse | 5:30
The Kingfish @ Neptune’s CC | 6 PM
Asleep at the Wheel @ Payomet PAC | 6 PM
Joe Sabourin @ Casa Del Cabo | 7 PM
The Two Broken Hearts @ Cape Melody Tent | 8
Leafy Greens Band @ Neptune’s CC | 9 PM
Boston Naturals @ The Beachcomber | 9 PM
Maddie Ryan Band @ The Woodshed | 9:30 PM

_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. We'll let you know when something's sponsored.}

Friday

73 🌡️ 59 | 🌥️ | 💧65% | 💨 SSE 15 mph

Saturday

72 🌡️ 57 | 🌤️ | 💧 4% | 💨 WNW 8 mph

Sunday

73🌡️ 55 | ☀️ | 💧 1% | 💨 N 8 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 69ºF

100 Salt Marsh Road, East Sandwich
Asking $3.9M
4 🛏️
4.5 🛁
3,024 sqft
0.76 acre lot

_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. We'll always let you know when something's sponsored.}

Thanks for reading The Cape Coddah today. If you found something useful or entertaining, please share it with someone who lives for pancakes.