Ptown's Carnival Hits Pre-Pandemic Attendance Levels

Last week likely saw more people in Provincetown than in its 300+ year-history. Nearly 100,000 people crowded in the town on the tip of Cape Cod, which has an off-season population of less than 4,000, for Carnival Week, produced by the Provincetown Business Guild. The signature event of Carnival Week, the Carnival Parade, saw the largest parade day attendance since pre-pandemic 2019.

"Carnival began in 1978 as a way of welcoming more LGBTQ people to Cape Cod," said Trevor Pittinger, the PBG executive director told the Cape Cod Times last week, citing that the group started the event some 46-years ago. "But now it is one of the most diverse-looking groups in terms of age or straight vs. gay ... This event is and will always be for everyone."

Every year has a different theme. In the past it has included Land of Toys, Candyland, Mardi Gras by the Sea and Back to the '80s. This year's theme was Renaissance + Revolution. Pittinger told the Times he expects to see a lot of people honoring Revolution dressed as Madonna channeling Marie Antoinette in her circa 1990 "Vogue" performance at the MTV Awards. For Renaissance, Pittinger said, look for Beyonce look-alikes referencing her moment riding a disco ball horse on her most recent Renaissance album.

"There are no limitations on how you can present yourself. You can have fun by dressing up any way you want to. People plan costumes for a year," he said.

This year's theme spotlights an "inflection point of the current socio-political climate," Pittinger explained in a press release earlier this summer. "Queer people have a history of making change using diverse forms of artistic expression. Our beautiful and powerful artist colony at the tip of Cape Cod is filled with tastemakers, changemakers of culture, as well as revolutionaries. We are excited to showcase the fusion of those forces with parade floats, events, and entertainment. Our parade Grand Marshals also exemplify this theme through their decades of impactful work on and off the artistic, advocacy, and political stages."

This year saw three Grand Marshalls: fashion designer, singer, and notable drag superstar Kevin Aviance; runner-up on Season 16 of "RuPaul's Drag Race, Sapphira Cristál, who is a trained opera singer and composer; and Massachusetts House of Representative member Sarah Peake, who has served Provincetown and the Cape Cod district for the past 16 years.

The Parade route went from East End, starting at Harbor Hotel, down Commercial Street through downtown, and ending in the West End at the Coast Guard Station.

Along with parade participants, there were up to as many 40 floats. The PBG gave the following awards out in various categories: The Carnival Parade Winners are:

• Best Overall Float: The Crown & Anchor
• Best Large Float: Frolic Weekend
• Best Small Float: Maurice's Campground
• Best Walking Contingent: Floral Illusions
• Best Musical Group: Catnip Band
• Best Self-Propelled Float: Mid-Cape Lesbians
• Best Artist Matchmaking Float (a local Ptown artist is paired with a business to create their float for the Carnival Parade): Izzy Berdan (@izzyberdan) & Viiv Healthcare
• (NEW award in 2024) Most Sustainable Float: The Center for Coastal Studies

The last contingent in the parade announced the theme for the 2025 Carnival: Summer CAMP!
Carnival Week: August 16-23, 2025 with the parade scheduled for Thursday, August 21, 2025

To see photos of this year's Carnival Parade, click here.