Best Bets for August on Cape Cod!

With six weeks of summer to go, it’s time to get serious. August on Cape Cod is jam-packed with events that take all your favorite summer activities and turn them (way) up a notch.

Some favorites not to miss:

The coolest jazz night: You can always count on the Provincetown Jazz Festival (August 15 and 19) to take a great night of jazz and make it a little bit cooler. jazz-pop vocalistJessica Curran and 15-year-old gypsy jazz guitarist Henry Acker make their Provincetown Jazz Festival debuts, taking the stage on Thursday, August 15 at The Crown & Anchor in Provincetown. The action moves to Cotuit Center for the Arts on Monday, August 19, where the line-up includes acclaimed recording artist Katie Thiroux and pianist Kevin Harris.

The al fresco dinner party of your dreams: If you’ve never starred in a romance set in Tuscany, you’re about to. The annual LaTavola: Italian Feast Under the Stars (Friday, August 9) is a five-course feast on Steeple Street (in front of the Mashpee Public Library) in Mashpee Commons—featuring family-style tables, checkered table cloths, and the live Italian music of tenor Aaron Caruso and accordion player Cory Pestauro. You will eat, you will drink and you will be merry and dance.

The pool party gone wild: Every year, the weeklong Provincetown Carnival (August 15-24) is bananas, and every year, the kick-off pool party at the Brass Key Guesthouse is responsible for getting the whole multi-day extravaganza (featuring a parade, pride-flag raising, gallery stroll, dune tours, costume ball, and much more) off to a spectacularly perfect start. This year’s theme, Enchanted Forest, will be on full display at Carnival’s pinnacle event, the parade down Commercial Street on Thursday, August 22.

The big-time antiques show: You’ve got 40-plus exhibitors and six hours to peruse them all at the annual Cape Cod Antique Dealers Association’s annual Summer Antique Show at Nauset Middle School in Orleans (Saturday, August 10 from 9 am to 3 pm). It’s under the big top on the school’s front lawn, rain or shine, not that there was any weather that was ever going to keep you away from the treasure-hunting to your heart’s content at this show, one of the area’s best.

The ultimate outdoor concert: We seriously wait all year for this, and if you’ve never been to the Citizens Bank Pops by the Sea (Sunday, August 11) to benefit the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, don’t miss the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra when they hit the Hyannis Village Green. This year’s concert will feature a first in its 34-year history when actor Erich Bergen (of CBS’s “Madam Secretary”) not only serves as the guest conductor, but also  as the guest performer.

The granddaddy of scenic road races: If ever there was inspiration to keep going on a seven-mile road race, the route along the water in the New Balance Falmouth Road Race (Sunday, August 18) is it. From the picture-perfect drawbridge at Woods Hole to the bend around Nobska Lighthouse and over the beach along Vineyard Sound, everything about this classic local race (a tradition since 1973) will make you sorry to see the course come to an end. If the scenery isn’t enough to give you instant runner’s high, here’s another bonus on the Falmouth route: the home stretch is all downhill.

Sports Fans: Don’t miss the Beach Blitz soccer tournament at Kalmus Beach in Hyannis on Saturday, August 4, with leagues from across the US and Canada joining in the fun. Then, over 380 prestigious figure skaters will convene at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center August 7-10 for the 38th Annual Cranberry Open, a premier figure skating competition showcasing the best of the best. Both events are free and open to all!