Day: December 24, 2010

The End is Near

Posted on by S.D. Kelly

The end of 2010, that is.  Even though I’m spending Christmas far from Cape Ann, I’m dreaming of a White Christmas in New England, and of course already planning for the last night of 2010 at New Year’s Rockport Eve, the annual party (including a ball drop in Dock Square) in downtown Rockport.  Claire Franklin, the one-woman whirlwind who founded and organizes the event, works hard all year to bring all of us this event, offering entertainment of all kinds – magicians, puppet shows, and every genre of music you can think of.

Click the link for more information and the Schedule of Events.  The video is of the band BeatleTracks playing at last year’s New Year’s Rockport Eve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcmEpU3Ba7A

Thacher Island

Posted on by God's Morning

Thacher Island

Did you know that in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson was returning from the Versailles Peace Conference, which officially ended World War I, on board the SS America when the ship ran into thick fog near Thacher Island. The fog signal was sounding, but the ship kept heading straight for the island.  At the last minute Third Assistant Keeper Maurice Babcock, later the last civilian keeper of Boston Light, put the foghorn in manual and sounded it repeatedly until the captain steered away from the ledges.  This painting called “Sole Sister” is of one of the towers.  Don’t know whether it is the North or South tower (photo was taken from Atlantic Road).  Can anyone tell me which it is?

Painting of one of the twin lights on Thacher Island
Painting by E.J. Lefavour

Rocky Neck Plunge Info From Brenda Malloy

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Joey, baby, H A P P Y  D A Y  to you!
Thought it may be a good idea to give people some directions on exactly where the beach is that The Rocky Neck Plunge takes place. It is called Oak Cove Beach at the end of Stevens Way, neither of which names are commonly known to most, even on Rocky Neck!
When one is driving down Rocky Neck and bears right at Sailor Stan’s restaurant, you take the first street on the  left ‘Stevens Way’. This is a short street, 2 houses long, then you must go either right or left on Wonson St.  If you were to continue straight you go down the gravel path ahead of you, this leads to Oak Cove Beach where the plunge takes place.
Hope to see a big crowd, one and all are welcome!
PEACE!
www.ImagineRockyNeck.com

Friends of The Blog Who Said they Will Take The New Years Day Rocky Neck Plunge-

Joey

Nephew BJ (Beasley)

Paul Morrison (and his rubber ducky)

Patrick Ryan

Amanda Nash

Ed (I’m game for anything) Collard

Who Else?

New Year’s Eve with Sober Connections

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

 

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Daniel Driscoll Writes-

I‘m writing you in regards to our upcoming event called “New Year’s Eve with Sober Connections” at the Blackburn Performing Arts Center at 1 Washington St in Gloucester MA. (On the Corner of Washington & Main about the restaurant Guiseppe’s)

This Event is the vision of SoberConnections.net being hosted at the Blackburn Performing Arts Center. We at Sober Connections are striving to create activities for the sober communities here on the North shore, and hope to expand across the state. Our Social Website, www.SoberConnections.net has started picking up people from all across the country! Our goal with these events is to offer the sober community a sense of awareness that there are fun things to do without the use and abuse of alcohol and/or drugs. Our website provides a forum for people to find or share these events, whether it be simply a group of people heading to the movies, or a larger event like we are pulling together for this venue.

We are scheduled to open the doors around 7 PM to offer the live music, DJ, and Dancing from 7:30 -12:30 PM. Below is an excerpt of what we are sending people:

“Sober Connections New Years Eve Party

Come Join us for a night of Sober Festivities as we celebrate our 1 year anniversary and countdown the end of the year and usher in the New Year at the Blackburn Performing Arts Center in Gloucester, soon to be our new home for Sober Connections! This is a Family Friendly Event.

All are welcome! The only requirement is a desire to party without the use of alcohol!

Children under 10 are free!

We will be having local talented Musicians perform, like Marty Dunphy and Bob Ledger as well as others, We will be also having Dance Music, And Lee C will be organizing a few dances including a Line Dance for those of you have asked about it from our past events!

DJ DK will be rocking out the tunes with a a few songs hand picked from our younger crowd, and as always, VJ Mike will be making sure that your visual cortex’s are assaulted properly watching our 100" large video screen.

Daniel D is again gathering Gift Certificates from the local merchants and other prizes for our end of night giveaways.. looks to be a Great Night!!

We do encourage you to think about our "Sponsor a ticket" program. This was designed so that people that couldn’t pay for a ticket could get in with the donation of others. This has been very popular, and these tickets will be held at the door for those wanting to come but their budget is a bit tight. We all have been thru it in early sobriety, and have been to many wonderful events due to the generosity of others in sobriety.

We are also having a musical instrument Drive to help the Beverly School for the Deaf. They are looking for used musical instruments for the new music program they are bringing to these children, so if you have anything from a kazoo to larger instruments, please bring them to donate. They will be going to a good cause!”

Tickets can be purchased at the door, but we are hoping to sell out, so if you’re looking to come, Advanced Tickets are available thru Ticket River at:

http://www.ticketriver.com/event/872/

And if you want to promote our event to your friends, we are also located on Boston.com Here:

http://calendar.boston.com/gloucester-ma/events/show/158065785-sober-connections-new-years-eve-party

We hope to see you there!

If you have questions or need to get a hold of us, Feel free to email us back at Founders@SoberConnections.net or Call us at:

Daniel D    978-515-7036

Sheldon K  978-407-0219

Tony Gross Comes Through Again With His Famous Swedish Coffee Bread

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Every year Tony makes Frank and I a loaf of his much sought after Swedish coffee bread. I’m afraid to open it because once you eat the first bite i can’t stop til that whole sucker is gone. (I’m not sure if he puts heroin in it, the stuff is so damn addicting).

http://www.goodmorninggloucester.com Do you get it?

Things To Do!- Cape Ann Museum 2011 January Events

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to offer free admission to all residents of Cape Ann during the month of January 2011. Visit us and see what we have to offer! The Museum presents a full schedule of public programs during January.

Saturday, January 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Family Fun Day: Visit the Museum for gallery guides, art and history activities in the Education Room and light refreshments served all day.

Saturday, January 15 at 3:00 p.m.: Researching Alone at Sea: An illustrated talk with author John Morris, book signing to follow.

Saturday, January 22 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. and Sunday January 23 from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.: Winter Shorts: Cape Ann Museum docents present a weekend series of mini tours highlighting their favorites from the Museum’s collection. See website for a complete list of tour topics www.capeannmuseum.org.

Saturday, January 29 at 11:00 a.m.: Saturday Showcase: Celebration of the Sea: Revels Repertory Company. Explore the lives of the men who went to sea during the great age of sail as whalers or merchant seamen and the family and friends who remained on shore.

Guided Tours: Docent-led tours during January: Highlights of the Collection tours will be offered every Friday and Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. No reservations are required.

The current special exhibitions To Gather Together and Keep These Bonds: Highlights from the Permanent Collection and John Manship: Views of Butman’s Quarry are on view during the month of January. The Museum is closed during the month of February.

Funding for these programs was made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency which promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Museum is closed during the month of February, on Mondays, and on major holidays. Admission is $8.00 adults, $6.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Children under 12 and Museum members are free. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information please call: (978) 283-0455. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org

On the Day Before Chritmas…..

Posted on by capeannpainter

IT’S OFFICIAL!!

NORAD has confirmed that Santa and his fully-loaded, reindeer-powered sleigh took off from the North Pole and soared into the arctic sky at 6:00 a.m. EST (5:00 a.m. CST, 4:00 a.m. MST, 3:00 a.m. PST). NORAD radar is tracking Rudolph’s bright red nose, and satellite imagery is providing minute-by-minute coverage of Santa’s location.

Click on the photo below to Track Santa on the NORAD website.

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html