Swim for Life Celebrates 30th anniversary September 9, 2017

Year one: September 9, 1988. There was an offshore breeze, the water was unusually cold, but eighteen swimmers showed up with just ten days notice. $6,000 was raised for the Provincetown Positive People with AIDS Coalition. The swimmers sang, “Row, row, row your boat” and took the plunge to the sound of bagpipes. When they reached Long Point there was no plan to bring them back to the Boatslip beach. Rides were hitched from passing boats.Thirty years later the event attracts 400 swimmers, 150 kayakers, boaters and volunteers. Sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact, this year’s Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla is set for September 9, 2017 at the Boatslip Beach Club and in magnificent Provincetown Harbor.The public is invited to greet the swimmers beginning at 11:00am. The Celebration of Life Concert, produced by John Thomas, will be held the evening before the Swim, and the Mermaid Brunch will follow the Swim on the Boatslip deck, open to the public and catered by Far Land Provisions. Zoe Lewis will provide the entertainment."This is a very special year for this Provincetown tradition - three decades of celebrating and supporting this spiral spit of sand we call home," states artist and director, Jay Critchley.The fundraiser builds community and provides year round funding and support for social services, youth and educational organizations that include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Health Services, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Lower Cape Ambulance, Accessible Provincetown, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Schools, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s Place.This post-Labor-Day, 1.4-mile swim has raised over $4M for AIDS, women's health and the community since 1988. This year's Swim poster and t-shirt image features the dory of the late Eddie Ritter, the last historic dory in Provincetown. The photo is by Allan MacKinnon, with the design by Andrea Pluhar. T-shirts will be available at Seamen’s Bank downtown next week.For swimmers and kayakers, personal funding pages may be set up through the Swim website: www.swim4life.org. For those unable to attend the Swim this year, they might consider a Satellite Swim in a pool or another location.Business sponsors include: Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), Seamen’s Bank (lead sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Crown & Anchor, Boatslip Beach Club, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Mussel Beach Health Club, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, and Seashore Point.Swimmers, kayakers, boaters, volunteers and friends of the Swim for Life may contact www.swim4life.org for registration, pledge sheets and volunteer opportunities.

Thirty Swims. Thirty Weeks. Swim for Life countdown to Sept 9

Since 1988 Provincetown Harbor has been activated by hundreds of swimmers, kayakers and safety boaters at the annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, raising over M. Thirty years later the event continues the mission of the Provincetown Community Compact* to nurture the well-being of Provincetown by supporting numerous community organizations, including AIDS and women’s health.Presidents’ weekend marks the thirty-week countdown to the event on September 9. From now until then, The Compact will highlight images and stories of swimmers and volunteers and organize special events with beneficiaries and other community organizations.“Provincetown is an American story. Its response to HIV/AIDS is a model of how local communities can overcome crisis when government turns its back.  As much as anything else, the Swim for Life is an event reminding us all of the power of love and compassion, and after 30 years, it's as strong as ever,” states Executive Director Jay Critchley.Swim for Life beneficiaries this year include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Provincetown Schools, Lower Cape Ambulance, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Outer Cape Health Services, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Accessible Provincetown, Cape Cod Children’s Place and the West End Racing Club.In 1993 the Swim quietly began to ask people to write names and messages on colored ribbons to honor loved ones, both living and deceased. To date there are 2800 Prayer Ribbons that are displayed at the Swim. Last fall The Compact was invited to show them at a ceremony in the Cannon Caucus Room at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. on World AIDS Day, December 1.The Compact also honored the 49 victims of the Orlando nightclub shootings at a special ceremony at Town Hall Prayer Ribbons with a distinct strand of Prayer Ribbons Orlando. Each person’s name, which was inscribed in gold on a black ribbon, was read aloud. A 50th ribbon was inscribed for those injured. This strand traveled to Orlando and was shared with the families of the victims and them installed for a week in front of Orlando City Hall.For more information go to: www.swim4life.org and thecompact@comcast.net.* The Compact, sponsor of the 30th Swim for Life this year, will be celebrating its 25^th anniversary in 2018. Its mission is to nurture the well being of the community, connecting people, place and enhancing the arts, the environment and the economy. Initiatives include the Think-ubator, which shepards grass roots projects and organizations through fiscal sponsorship and management, and the overseeing of two historic dune shack residencies in the Cape Cod National Seashore.