Last week our AOK family spent a week in Wellfleet for our annual vacation. The Cape Cod trip is a celebration of family, community, and relaxation. We have communal meals, trips to arts and cultural events, and simple beach days spent relaxing with one another.
Some core highlights of the trip included an evening at Citizen Cope’s show at Payomet, a trip to Provincetown Theater to see our very own Tati in the theater’s production of Sweeney Todd, and the tradition of spending an afternoon whale watching.
This year was particularly special because we had the opportunity to celebrate the beginning of our artist residency program in Wellfleet. Tati is the first AOK Artist-in-Residence in Wellfleet, and Bella is starting a three-week residency working with textile as vacation winds down. We had the first of many Thursday Night Dinners at Kathy and David’s new home and the site of the residency program, bringing a warm AOK welcome to our Wellfleet friends and community members as well.
Above all, the beauty of our vacation in Cape Cod lies in the individual memories and experiences that we all take away at the end of the week.
At the end of the week everyone shared some of their favorite memories from the trip.
“My favorite part about the trip was being able to forget about my worries and be present enjoying the blissful peace,” Craig said.
Kesari said, “It was a sweet gift to be surrounded by nature at the Cape. I definitely feel recharged from spending a week away from the city. Being in the water is always the most cherishing part of going to the Cape.”
The trip is a reminder of how refreshing it is to disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other. We all leave with new memories, inspirations, and hopes for our work as creatives. The quiet and peace of the Cape renews our ability to view our creative work in a different light, encouraging us to pursue new ideas for our art work and return to our everyday lives with renewed energy.
We would like to thank everyone who made our vacation this magical week possible through their individual donations and all the Cape Cod businesses who donated to make our trip so fun and exciting: Scott Cunningham at Scottcakes, Mac’s Shack, Bill Meadows at Ptown Bikes, Pete Bullis and Mauricio Zuleta Vega from The Captain’s House, Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch and Idle Times Bike Shop.