Temple Ahavat Achim (86 Middle St., Gloucester) is hosting a Musical Shabbat with a special guest Joshua Nelson aka "The Prince of Kosher Gospel" this Friday, August 3rd at 7 pm.
This event is free and all faiths are welcome to attend!

Check out Joshua Nelson’s music here
"Gloucester Daily Times" has featured this event here

This Saturday’s Festival By The Sea is expected to draw crowds of visitors excited to experience the best of the Cape Ann art, music, and food scenes in downtown Manchester by the Sea. With art and food vendors extending from Town Hall Common, through town center and down to Masconomo Park, there will be something for everyone. From painters and photographers to jewelers and crafters, visitors will have the opportunity to shop the local arts at a variety of price points.

While taking in the work of local artists, visitors will be treated to a special afternoon of live music on 2 stages. The Town Hall stage will feature soloists and duos including Charlee Bianchini, Janice Fullman with Izzy Attenborough, Bradley Royds, Joe Wilkins, and local music staple, Dan King. According to Co-chair and Musical Director, Chris Langathianos, “each musician will play about a 45 minute set.” He added, “we really wanted the opportunity to feature as much of the local talent as possible. I don’t think a lot of people recognize how lucky we are to live on the North Shore – Cape Ann, in particular. If you love live music, you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else in New England with the depth of talent that we have on Cape Ann.”

The waterfont stage in Masconomo Park with feature a separate lineup of musicians, including Henry Allen & The New Swingset, Just Like Newman, The Dejas, Marina Evans with Jack Tomiaolo, and Chris Phillips. The day will end with an extra special, 2-hour finalé concert by The Chelsea Berry Band from 6 to 8pm.

Speaking of the evening’s finalé concert, Langathianos said, “This is one of the things that the Festival committee really set out to do when we created this event – we wanted to cap it off with a special, family-friendly, musical event in Masconomo Park. We were very fortunate to sign on Chelsea Berry and her band fresh off of opening up for Chris Isaak at The North Shore Music Theatre last month. She is a gifted songwriter and performer and she is backed by a top notch band that includes, Michael Thomas Doyle, Pete Iannitto, Michael Feingold, and Renee Dupuis.”

The Festival came together pretty quickly when it was announced that The Manchester Arts’ Festival was taking a hiatus in 2012. A group of local residents came together and formed a committee to explore creating a new event that would bring visitors to town to support local businesses while shopping from local artists and hearing the music of local musicians. With the support of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, Festival By The Sea was born.

Co-Chair, Michael Storella said, “we felt that a summer festival in Manchester was essential, not just for the businesses in town, but it has also become a summer rite of passage. We were troubled by the thought of a summer without an event like this in town.” After some quick preliminary planning and a speedy approval by the Board of Selectment, a date was set and the wheels were in motion. Storella added, “we were able to get things moving along quickly thanks to the instant support of Singleton Plumbing & Heating, who immediately stepped up with a generous donation to get the event off the ground. That coupled with the support of The Chamber of Commerce and local businesses made this event possible.”

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 4th from 11am to 8pm. Artists will be set up from 11am to 6pm and from 6 to 8pm, action will shift to Masconomo Park for the Chelsea Berry concert. Event maps and music schedules will be available at local shops at the end of the week or by visiting www.facebook.com/festivalbythesea.