Year: 2012

Hearts all over Town

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Ken Belanger writes-

Joey,
I could not help notice yesterday all the full page hearts posted all over Gloucester and Rockport yesterday.  Someone is spreading the  Love I guess.  Very Nice!  Do you know who is behind this?
see few pictures attached.

Cape Ann Beach - Notice BoardLaneville Post OfficeWulla Store

No I don’t know who was responsible but I kinda like the mystery of it all.  Like it’s better that we don’t know and get the little unannounced surprises, right?

Visiting Gloucester

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey, 

My girlfriend (laura) and I just visited Gloucester and some of Cape Ann for the first of I hope many times. Its just an amazing and new landscape for both of us to experience, having just relocated here from Nashville we are in awe of Cape Anns beauty. Laura is a writer and I am a photographer. We have been traveling together and collaborating on travel and essay projects for the last year. We took this photograph overlooking Rafe’s Chasm on the morning of our visit, on our way into town.Fred Bodin encouraged us to submit it to you for possible inclusion in your blog. We would be honored if you would consider it! We love Gloucester and intend to haunt there often.

Regards Jeff

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Laura wrote;

Wherever Jeff and I travel, we make friends. We make friends with people and we make friends with places: the places through the people who are their ambassadors and the people that give the places their character and spirit. This photo is of us at Rafe’s Chasm on our first morning in Gloucester, greeting the sea that is the port city’s power and sovereignty. To our left, the ancient Atlantic is surging up in a cleft and then lowering itself, again and again, in the richest dark green you could ever dream to see, veined with white froth and deepening to black. The twisty pale woods are behind us.

We must have made a good impression on the ocean because Gloucester welcomed us: the friendly folks hanging around the entrance of the Saint Peter’s Club; Fred Bodin at his historic photo shop, the prints a lovely counterpoint to his narration of the city’s history; Bob Ritchie at Dogtown Book Shop, who not only sold us lovely books about birds and codfish but told us the stories of the books themselves; Geno Modello with his Saturday-afternoon Dory Shop crowd, cooking sausage on his great iron stove, wood shavings everywhere from the gorgeous hull he is shaping, who gave us a Shipyard Ale and shared the inside skinny on The Perfect Storm. At the old-school Pilot House Jeff burrowed into a fish-and-chips and I had a big vegan spaghetti. It was a perfect day.

Everything wants us to come back. Everything in us wants to come back. Good morning, Gloucester! We love you.

~ Laura Marjorie Miller

GMG Inside The Numbers- Almost A Million A Month 912,756 Views for January 17th-February 15th

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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By the growth we’ve been experiencing we should be doing well over a million a month by summer.

Do you subscribe?

It’s free and it comes to your email around 8:30PM each night with an aggregation of the day’s posts.

You can subscribe to Good Morning Gloucester by clicking this link

If you don’t subscribe don’t blame me when you hear everyone around town talking about something we posted and you missed it. Smile

February Vacation at The Y

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Dear Joe,

A lot of parents have been asking us if there is a way we could post some of the awesome stuff happening during February Vacation at the Y. We were wondering if there was any way you could post some of our programs for us. Here are our “open time” schedules:

Open Gym

Monday               6:00pm-7:00pm

Tuesday               3:30pm-5:00pm MIDDLE SCHOOL PICK UP

                                6:00pm-7:30pm

Wednesday        3:30pm-6:00pm HALF COURT

                                6:00pm-7:30pm

Thursday             3:30pm-6:00pm HALF COURT

                                6:00pm-7:30pm

Friday                    3:30pm-6:00pm HALF COURT

                                6:00pm-9:00pm

                                9:00pm-11:00pm TEEN NIGHT

Open Swim

Monday               12:00pm-2:00pm

                                4:30pm-9:00pm

Tuesday               12:00pm-2:00pm

                                4:30pm-7:15pm

Wednesday        12:00pm-2:00pm

                                4:30pm-6:00pm

Thursday             12:00pm-2:00pm

                                7:30pm-9:00pm

Friday                    12:00pm-3:00pm

                                4:15pm-9:00pm

                                9:00pm-11:00pm TEEN NIGHT

Open Gymnastics

Monday-Thursday           11:30am-1:00pm FAMILIES 7 & UNDER

Monday-Thursday           5:00pm-6:00pm CHILDREN 6+

Friday                                    9:00pm-11:00pm TEEN NIGHT

We will also be running two family programs- a carnival and a magic show. If you could post some information on these two programs it would be awesome! Here is the info:

Family Carnival

Ages 3-12

Spend some awesome fun time at the Y! We’ll have face painting, carnival games and a big bouncy house! Every family participant has a chance to win a free program of your choice for next session! Don’t miss the chance to kick off your vacation in style! Monday, February 20 @ 4:00pm-6:00pm

Fee:

YMCA Family Memberships: FREE!

YMCA Youth Memberships: $5 per child or $10 for the family

Community: $5 per child or $15 for the family

Magic Show

Ages 3-12

Come join our after school kids and be amazed by some magic tricks! This magic show will entertain kids of all ages! All children attending must be supervised by a responsible adult. Friday, February 24 @ 1:00pm. The magic show will be located at 67 Middle Street (one door down from the YMCA!)

Fee:

YMCA Family Memberships: FREE!

YMCA Youth Memberships: $3

Community: $5

Thank you so much for your help! We all really appreciate it at the Y!

The Great Rubber Duck Mystery of 2012

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

So I get back from my time off and sitting on my desk is this box. Zip Code 01581

If anyone has any information on how this wayward duck made it to the dock let me know and you will be rewarded with a shout out on these here pages!

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Take advantage of Gloucester’s #1 tourism marketing asset for FREE

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

GloucesterMA

By now, everybody probably knows that the Web is the number one source of tourism information and referrals.  That’s why Tracey Muller and Jan Bordinaro, who started PR for Gloucester, organized a group of volunteers to save the City owned GloucesterMA.com from being turned off.  They asked Peter and me if we’d re-design the site to accomplish 4 major goals:

  1. Promote Gloucester’s authentic natural beauty, maritime & cultural heritage, food, music and arts.
  2. Build a database-driven engine and admin-system that empowers volunteers to ensure every Gloucester business is represented.
  3. Code the site in a way that helps to boost it’s search engine position.
  4. Make it work on a smartphone.

We agreed — and we donated our time along with many others to accomplish these goals.  Plus we added one more goal: promote the site.  For that we asked our good friend Joey C.  And what a job he did!  He gave us an ENTIRE WEEK of videos, podcasts and write ups!  I can’t imagine how he got any other work done that week.  THANKS JOEY.

Just in case anyone wonders, the City of Gloucester still owns, and has always owned, GloucesterMA.com.  The city of Gloucester offers the free listing as a public service.  GloucesterMA.com is managed by the volunteer group at no cost to the City.

It’s been just about a year since we launched.  Here’s what’s happening:

  • Traffic for 2011 was about 5 times the traffic for 2010.
  • The vast majority of traffic comes from Google & other search engines and nearly 80% of traffic is from new visitors.
  • GloucesterMA.com is the first or second search result for almost every search phrase containing the word “Gloucester”.
  • Percentage of mobile visitors shot up from 6% when we launched in March to 16% by the end of the year.

If your business serves travelers to Gloucester, you want to be sure your listing on GloucesterMA.com is up to date.  Notice the last bullet about smartphones?  In case you were wondering, smartphone usage is skyrocketing!  And if your phone number is on GloucesterMA.com, all smartphone users have to do is tap it and their phones will dial your number automatically!

So check www.GloucesterMA.com and be sure you’re listed.  If you’re not listed or your listing needs to be updated, click here:  and a volunteer will fix things as soon as we can.

Please remember, this is an all-volunteer effort to boost one of the three pillars of Gloucester’s economy.  We need your help to keep the information fresh and current.

A Very Cool Story! Keep ‘Em Coming!

Posted on by S.D. Kelly

Yesterday I asked for submissions of your favorite vintage item: a snapshot along with an explanation about why the item is meaningful to you. In response, Ann Kennedy sent a photo of a portion of her collection of a 40-year correspondence between her mother and grandmother – a letter a week (2,000 in all!). Here’s what she says:

My most beloved old thing is my letter collection–nearly 2000, written over almost 40 years by my mom, to her mom.  We found these when my grandmother passed away in 1979.  The letters are from 1941-1976, one a week, every week.  I post 2 of them per day on my blog.  I love them because they are such a terrific social history, such a good portrayal of my mom and what interested her.  The box shown is about half of the letters.

Ann Kennedy’s collection of correspondence from her mother to her grandmother.

Be sure to check out her blog where she posts the contents of the letters. She’s right — even without a sentimental connection, the letters are fascinating to read as social history. You can find the letters at www.annbkennedy.blogspot.com

PLEASE keep your submissions coming in! I love reading your stories and I need to collect as many as possible for The Roving Home’s upcoming gallery show! Click HERE to submit.

Moonrise Over Wingaersheek

Posted on by God's Morning

I had nothing for today so thought I’d share one of my new glass paintings.  It is the moon rising over Wingaersheek from River Road in Annisquam.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

Chris Leahy at the Sawyer Free Library

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Chris Leahy is a fantastic speaker and I am looking forward to attending his lecture next Thursday night at the Sawyer Free. Chris holds the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at Mass Audubon. He has been a professional conservationist for more than thirty years and served as Director of Mass Audubon’s Center for Biological Conservation. His interests in natural history are comprehensive, and he is a recognized authority on birds and insects. His published works include Birdwatcher’s Companion to North American Birdlife, The First Guide to Insects, Introduction to New England Birds, An Introduction to Massachusetts Insects, and The Nature of Massachusetts. He grew up in Marblehead and has lived in Gloucester with his family since the 1970s.  ~ Information found on Mass Audubon website.

 

Rubber Duck washed up on a foreign shore today

Posted on by paultmorrison

You’re not from around here are you? (Weird looking Homies no?)

But the locals are very friendly.

Yes, beverage please.

Rubber Duck is very sad (can’t you tell by that face) that she won’t make it back to the Sunday morning GMG Mug-Up so she is drowning her sorrows. Mostly with drinks with little umbrellas.

Q: Who are the Wild Tchoupitoulas?

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

HenriThurs

A: Charles Neville’s Mardi Gras Indian tribe.  In this video, Henri Smith talks about bringing Charles Neville to Gloucester on Tuesday for Mardi Gras.

The video has some of the traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian music you’ll here as part of their concert to help raise money to send local teens to New Orleans for the third year of their service-learning trip led by Rick Doucette.

Show starts at 7:30pm at Minglewood Tavern (the front of Latitude 43).  Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.  Seating is limited.  Call 978-281-0223 for tickets.

Teens currently scheduled to travel to New Orleans are:
Brian Amero, Courtney Ashwell, Katharine Boucher, Colby Ferris, Shannon Gallagher, Tyler Hurst, Alex Jones, Nick Lucido, Jared Marshall, Joey O’Brien, Emily Ohrtman, Zoe O’Leary, Emma Ottenheimer, Zeke Pasquarelli, Kevin Redmond, Mariah Salah, Evan Shay, Jenny Sonia, Ali Steer, Rina Takahashi, Steven Verga, Zachary White, Andrew Widtfeldt, Brittany Williams, Nikki Williamson and Caleb Wnorowski.

Don’t wait till Tuesday to go out and hear some great music – see tonight’s lineup.

The Rhumb Line ~ Tonight at the Dave Sag’s Blues Party ~ 9:00 to 12:00

Posted on by Joanne


Dave Says,

It’s Hadron Collider Week at the Rhumb Line and in keeping with the Blues you can use, allow me to introduce The Earley Birds. No, not led by the riveting saxist you’re used to, but by yet another Marque Earley. This Marque is a fine and dangerous vocalist and top-notch harmonicat. He’d rather drink heavy water and sleep in a hollow logarithm. He won’t take any answer for an answer.
  He’ll be backed up by that fine glitartist, vogelist and tree surgeon: Mr. Larry Sortwell or “Lawrence of Ipswich”. His torpedo tube style is sure to please. I like it. He laughs at all my jokes, even when I’m not kidding. Formerly with that great north shore ensemble “Grapevine Road”, now he’s on easy street playing with us. John Loud , drumb octopus, another GV gold medallist will be beatin’ those skins. Of course, Greg T. will be armed and dangerous and so will I, still suffering from chronic euphemism, puttying up the cracks. It’ll be swell! Free admission with prosthetic device!

Julia Garrison Carrying On At The Sarah Elizabeth Shop

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

JuliaSarahElizabeth

Dear Joey,
I love what you do. I’m writing you because you seem to be a more important source of news in Gloucester than any other blog or publication around. Many people have come in to the shop since Kathy posted Isabel Natti’s Sailor’s Valentine telling me that they came because they saw the shop mentioned on "Good Morning Gloucester". There are a lot of people who are inspired by what you do and by your enthusiasm and I want to thank you for sharing it online.
I wanted to let you know that Isabel’s son and her partner Italo asked me to carry on printing her work and my own on the Acorn Press at 5 Whistlestop Mall in Rockport. I am a decorative painter, printmaker and fabric designer and have been using her press to do my work off and on for 12 years. I grew up with her nephew Matt Natti in Lanesville and had been a friend of hers since about 2000. Right now, I’m working on restructuring the business in a way that honors the traditions of her work but also brings it to a contemporary audience. Because I have another career as a set painter for film and television, this is something I do when I’m not busy working. I plan on keeping weekend hours but directing the majority of the business to the web. Her cards and other work are being carried by The Cape Ann Historical Museum Gift Shop, Alexandra’s Bread, Toad Hall Books and Turtle Alley in addition to the Sarah Elizabeth Shop in Rockport and the website http://sarah-elizabeth-shop.com
Isabel’s work continues to be made and block printing in this area has not died with her. The press and shop are an important mainstay of the area that I am determined to keep open one way or another. So please visit the shop again and see what I am trying to do there. I’d appreciate it if people knew the continuation of her story and continued to support this very special, native craft.
This is a photo of me taken by Kathy Chapman 3 weeks ago, about a week after the family gave me the keys. I’m very happy and honored to be given the opportunity to print a very talented woman’s art as well as my own. Thank you to the Natti family for their dedication to the art and to her.
Thanks for all your good work for the community.
Regards,
Julia Garrison

Sunrise- Skip Montello

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Glad your back, looking forward to coming down to the dock for some morning coffee…

Cape Ann sunrises just rock with explosive color this time of season; Loblolly Cove

Skip

IMG_6137_sunrise at Loblolly

North Coast Angler www.northcoastangler.com

Skip Montello Photos www.skipmontellophotos.com