Ellen LeBow’s Swim for Life design inspired by her Haitian experience
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The creative human spirit pervades all that artist Ellen LeBow touches. There are no boundaries between her studio work and the communities she has nurtured around her, from her Wellfleet family to her long-term project in Haiti. Since 2013, she and her partner Seth Rolbein became legal guardians of two 15-year old Haitian girlsIn the late 1990s, in a village on the island of Ile de la Gonave, Haiti, she and Christine Low saw the women battling to feed their families as the men had less means to make a living in traditional farming. Thus was born Art Matenwa, harnessing women’s latent creativity to provide more economic stability for their families.From the beginning, they were challenged by the fragile ecological balance of the area with its limited wood and water.“Learning to hand-paint brilliant imagery on silk scarves offered an elegant solution,” Ellen explains. “Low-tech, unbreakable, an ideal vehicle for self-expression. And scarves are a traditional accessory for Haitian women,” she adds.
Inspired by her work in Haiti, Ellen designed this year’s Swim for Life t-shirt with an inspired Tree of Life image set in a boat. The original pencil drawing was color designed by Andrea Pluhar. The100% organic cotton shirts are available at Seamen’s Bank, downtown Provincetown.For twenty years, Art Matenwa has thrived under the sponsorship of the Provincetown Community Compact’s unique Think-ubator program, which nurtures short and long term initiatives of residents of the Lower Cape, providing administrative and strategic support and tax-exempt fiscal sponsorship. The Compact is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.Ellen will share her experiences with Art Matenwa at a special community reception at The Residences at Seashore Point on Friday, August 24 from 6:00-7:30pm. The event is free and open to the public and includes refreshments, entertainment and door prizes. Ellen also opens an exhibition of her work at Rice Polak Gallery in Provincetown on Friday, August 17 at 7:00pm.Business sponsors of the 2018 Swim for Life include: the Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), Seamen’s
Bank (lead sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort & Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, WOMR 92.1 FM, ProTools and Seashore Point.The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, which has raised $5M for AIDS, women’s health and the community since 1988, will take place September 8, 2018. For swimmer, kayaker, boater and volunteer information, go to thecompact.org
PROVINCETOWN, MA. With hurricane Irma looming on everyone’s mind, the 30th Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla welcomed a record 421 swimmers to the seasonally warm waters of Provincetown Harbor with a light northeast breeze and sunny blue skies. This post-Labor Day community celebration and fundraiser generated an estimated $225,000 for AIDS, women’s health & the community, with critical support from 150 volunteers. Swimmers hailed from as far away as London, Amsterdam and Quebec.Swimmer Shawn McNulty of Provincetown, along with his daughter Nicole, raised a record $37.000.00 in pledges from 350 individual donors.The weekend event kicked off on Friday with the inspired Celebration of Life Concert at the UU Meeting House, produced by John Thomas.
“This event highlights the importance and effectiveness of government and the community working together to assure the safety of its residents and visitors. We are grateful”, stated Jay Critchley, Director of the Provincetown Community Compact, sponsor of the event. He remarked before the Swim, “The oceans have no borders. We will be thinking of our brothers and sisters devastated by hurricanes as we swim across the harbor.”Assistance on the harbor was provided by the Provincetown Rescue Squad, US Coast Guard, Provincetown Harbormaster and the Cape Cod National Seashore, along with the Center for Coastal Studies and 75 kayakers and power boats.The Swim for Life, headquartered at the Boatslip Beach Club, included the Mermaid Brunch, catered by Far Land Provisions, with entertainment by Zoe Lewis, followed by the awards ceremony. Rex McKinsey and Luis Ribas of the Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office were honored with the David Asher Volunteer Award for their years of critical Swim support and their volunteer contributions to the community. James Cote of Brooklyn surprised his boyfriend, Keith Atchison, with a public marriage proposal, which he accepted, to the delight of the crowd.The Wellesley High School swim team presented their rousing cheers at the Boatslip and at the Swim start at Long Point. Handcrafted medallions by Christie Andresen of Taqwa Glassworks were awarded to swimmers who have swum ten times or raised $10,000 in pledges. Circle of Honor recipients include: Christopher Flynn of Boston and Reenie Desabrais of Chicopee, MA.
Seventy-two swimmers and kayakers raised over one thousand dollars each in pledges and joined the $1,000 Club, receiving prizes from local businesses totaling $10,000 in value. Following McNulty, other top fundraisers include: Jim Youngerman, Lenox, MA, $17,142; Jonathan Scott, Provincetown, $10,001; Barbara Jo Revelle, Gainesville, FL, $7,198; John MacClaren, Walpole, NH, $6,123; Paul Mast, Waldwick, NJ, $5,904; Team Chris Nagle, Eastham, $5,000; and top kayaker fundraiser, Maureen Desabrais of Chicopee at $3,000.Although not a race, times are recorded for personal best. The fastest male swimmer was Justin Burkhardt of Cape Elizabeth, ME at 28:40. Top female finisher, at two seconds behind Burkhardt, is Kristen Read of Arundel, ME at 28.42. The oldest female swimmer was Joan Nagle, 83, of Eastham, and the oldest male was Robert Callender, 74, of Tiburon, CA. Abby Walker was the youngest swimmer at nine years old, swimming the distance in a “Satellite Swim” in a pool over the summer.
Swim for Life business sponsors include: Seamen’s Bank (lead sponsor); Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Crown & Anchor, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Mussel Beach Health Club, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, ProTools and Seashore Point.Special thanks to Peregrine Theatre Ensemble, Mosquito Story Slam, DFlax, WOMR FM, Dunes Radio, Kathryn Rafter and Francey Beall, Allan MacKinnon, Provincetown Aquasports, the Funk Bus and Mayflower Trolley, Cee Jay, Dog Gone Sailing, John Salvador, Schooner Hindu, Flyer’s Boat Rentals and numerous volunteer boaters.
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 and Helping Our Women, primary beneficiaries; and 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.The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life is set for September 8, 2018.For more information: 
At sixty, living with AIDS for thirty years, Jonathan mourned the loss of many friends to the pandemic who had missed the last thirty years of their lives. They had formed a unique family that organized the annual Esther Williams Water Ballet and Bathing Suit Competition. This historic 
As a massage therapist she created a supportive healing practice, while caring for her 84 year-old father who she moved from New York City to Orleans a decade ago. Life was good.In 2015, however, things went awry. A perfect storm of serious health issues, loss of her home of fourteen years and her father’s deteriorating health left her, suddenly, homeless. The healer needed healing, but felt ashamed and vulnerable when she reluctantly walked into the office of Helping Our Women and remarked, “Other women are more deserving of help than me.” She was terrified to ask for help because she would seem weak, but was told that she deserved to be cared for. And the community responded with such generosity that her father remarked, “No one does this!”“The capacity of HOW and its safe space for bearing witness to another is breathtaking beyond measure,” she states from one of her many speeches she gives sharing her journey from independence to interdependence. “Vulnerability can change the world,” she proclaims.Along with HOW’s social service advocacy and financial and emotional support, including Cape Air tickets to Boston hospital appointments, Tracey also lived for free in three different homes while homeless. And she was given a jeep – her dream car, received gifts cards and lots of hugs, and finally, was selected for an affordable housing unit at Sable Path for her and her father.Helping Our Women, along with the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, are major beneficiaries of the Swim for Life, set for September 9 this year. Other beneficiaries include: 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 PlaceFor information and ways to participate, go to www.Swim4Life.org.
His passion is swimming. Yet William Yepes had reason to be afraid of his first harbor Swim for Life in 2010. Not only was open water swimming a challenge, but he was afraid his asthma would kick in, which it did. He hailed a kayaker over and was ready to call it quits when he asked how far was the finish line. Only 300 yards away, he was told. “I can do that!” he proclaimed as the asthma attack disappeared and off he went. “It’s surprising how strength comes from unknown places”, he recalled.He cried when he first visited Provincetown. How could this be? A place where it felt safe to be who you are? Born in Colombia with one parent Catholic and the other Evangelical, William was used to living in a fractured world, where hiding his sexual identity was survival. When he had the good fortune to attend a summer program at Harvard, friends kept encouraging him to visit the little fishing village on Cape Cod.A couple days before his return to Colombia he took the ferry to town and arrived during Family Week. The “river of gay crowds and families” stunned him. He cried all the way on his bike to Race Point Beach, where ironically, he felt comforted by more familiar families. He went back home to Colombia with a taste of what was possible.
William then took a teaching job at a private religious school in rural Florida but lost his green card after the director suspected he was gay. He decided to stay in the US and followed his instincts, discovering the Ft Lauderdale LGBTQ swim team. He found a new home.He soon returned to friends in Boston and joined the LANES Swim team, which included participation in the annual Swim for Life. One year he managed to swim the 1.4-mile distance doing only the butterfly.“There is always a time out in the water where you are alone and afraid. The only way I can conquer my fears is knowing there is a shore on the other side, and people waiting to receive me. This is what Provincetown is about.”The legalization of same sex marriage allowed William and his partner to marry in 2013, and in June he became a US citizen. And adding to that, he had the surprising fortune to bring his eighth-grade class to meet US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At an emotional meeting he had that opportunity to thank her for the important decisions she helped craft, particularly same sex marriage. He asked her what she wanted his students to take away from this meeting, she spoke, “We need to become activist and speak for the causes that are close to our hearts.” He and his students were all in tears.Join William September 9 at the 30th Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla: www.swim4life.org
A short documentary film will also be shown about the Swim for Life Prayer Ribbons* by Lise King, and their journey to the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and to Orlando Florida. In Orlando, a special strand of Ribbons was shared with the families of the victims of the nightclub shooting.For more information about the 30th Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, set for September 9, contact: 
Peregrine Theatre Ensemble, with Adam Berry as executive director and Ben Berry as artistic director, is supported by The Compact's 
Brian diagnosed the first case of HIV in the community and over three decades later he is championing the town’s planned 
As an avid open water swimmer in California and Colorado, Jane found a home here. “These are my people,” she thought as she swam across Provincetown Harbor in her first Swim for Life in 2009. **Her “friend” at the time, and now her wife, Linda Rohler, brought her to town for a visit and to a Poppy Champlin show. Sitting shyly in the back, the performer asked them how long they’d been together. Jane replied, “We’re just friends”.Well not for long. They married in 2010 and have settled onto Nickerson Street where they have lovingly remodeled artist May Hackett’s home, with the artist’s iconic typewriter prominently displayed. They first met in Cleveland, Ohio where Linda taught one of Jane’s three sons.In the winter the couple retreats to Cleveland and Breckenridge, Colorado where Jane is an adaptive ski instructor. Since moving to the Cape she has continued her interest in adaptive sports at the McGraw Center for Adaptive Sports, a Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital program at Nickerson State Park in Brewster, which she helped establish. Through yoga, biking, kayaking and swimming, she works with people recovering from strokes, paralysis, surgery, arthritis and aging.Jane has invited a close friend this year to swim with her at the 30th Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, set for September 9, to share her personal journey. If you’d like to join them as a swimmer, kayaker, boater, volunteer or to cheer them on, contact the Swim for Life at 
Thirty years later the event attracts 400 swimmers, 150 kayakers, boaters and volunteers. Sponsored by the 
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: 
The 
Christine Walker, Film Fest Director; Jay Critchley, The Compact Founder & Director; Ginny Binder, The Compact Board Chair; Lise King, filmmaker, producer.Photos: (above) Mike Potenza; (left) Mike Syers, The Compact Board member. 
