MCC Adams Grant Task Force

Economic Development Council

Meeting: May 15, 2007, 2:00 pm

Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum

Present: Acting Assistant Town Manager/Grant Administrator Michelle Jarusiewicz, Bill Schneider/Administrative Director of Tourism, Chris McCarthy/PAAM, Jim Bakker/PMPM, Ellen Burbank/PMPM, Laurel Gaudazno/PMPM & VSB, Hersh Schwartz/VSB, Alix Ritchie/Banner, Lisa Bowden/Cultural Development Coordinator

MCC Adams grant 2007:

Meri Jenkins and Christina Hogan from the Massachusetts Cultural Council attended our meeting yesterday at the Monument [thanks to Monument staff for hosting us!!] following the recent award of $30,000 under the 2007 program for “Wayfinding & Storytelling.”  A good cross-section of the partners attended and we had a terrific informal dialogue with Meri about where we are and where we might be going. I found it invigorating and felt very motivated to continue with our efforts! Not only has Meri worked with us [the MCC Task Force] for now nearly 3 years and with Campus Provincetown before that, but she works with varied groups across the state on similar projects. She had a great way of telling us that we are doing just fine, that all efforts like these evolve over time with peaks and valleys.

Meri offered examples of similar projects that we may want to connect with such as Block Island Reservations, the Hyannis art shanties, the Worcester Streetscape project. She offered to return to Provincetown for any type of discussion that we would like, be it for the new Board of Selectmen and Administration or for some other gathering. She also offered technical assistance if we want such as facilitators, marketing assistance, etc. We discussed the Streetscape report and the need to pick it apart and choose what pieces we want and what to put aside.

We also had a dialogue about today's travelers -- the older "booming" population and the types of travel experiences that they want that we might want to focus on. What can we do now with what we already have. For example: focussing on our "hidden" assets, what is behind the scenes that might be of interest [think of garden and house tours that PAAM & PMPM have already started], look for the unusual, combine choices of eco/green adventures with arts. Note that PAAM is hosting a green tourism workshop on June 11th with MOTT.

She also suggested that we might want to aim for an article in the Boston Globe by mid-July for a fall push, but needs a hook -- PMPM Centennial, Dickinson show at PAAM, T. Williams Fest... what is the added value that we have to sell?

Adjourned 4:00 pm

MCC Adams grant activities funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council Adams grant and a grant from the Cape Cod Economic Development Council.