Breaking News!- Gloucester MA Becomes First City To Have More Than One Cultural District After Mass Cultural Council Approves Downtown Gloucester As The Gloucester Harbortown Cultural District

This just in from Mayor Kirk-

Congratulations everyone!  Just received word back from Springfield that we received the designation for the Gloucester Harbortown Cultural District.  This has been a remarkable effort by so many people who have come together with a common vision for our beautiful city.  Thank you all.

Mayor Kirk

We covered the process here on GMG.   At the meeting in which community leaders explained to The Mass Cultural Council Why Gloucester is so special and deserves to be the first City with more than one Cultural District-

Massachusetts Cultural Council Takes Over Downtown Gloucester- Photos At Fred Bodin’s Gallery With More To Come

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Joey C

The Mass Cultural Council came to G-Town to listen to and observe what makes Gloucester so special.  There are no other towns that have more than one Cultural District.  Gloucester already has Rocky Neck.  If approved for Downtown Gloucester, Gloucester would stand as the only City with more than one Massachusetts Cultural District.

When sitting in the room and listening to the distinguished assembly of community people that showed up it was obvious about 10 minutes in that honestly Gloucester deserves this in spades.  There is no where anywhere that is as culturally diverse, enriched and vibrant as our community.

All the people had to do was speak the truth.  It wasn’t about selling Downtown Gloucester.  Downtown Gloucester, it’s merchants, it’s artists, its community and artistic organizations sell itself.

You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not see it and I can assure you the representatives of the Mass Cultural Council that visited, Anita Walker, Meri Jenkins, Kylie Sullivan and Maren Brown are anything but deaf dumb and blind.

Huge thanks to the Downtown GloucesterCultural District Steering Committee Catherine Ryan, Lise Breen, Judith Hoglander, Robert Whitmarsh, Anne Robinson, Ronda Faloon, Maggie Rosa and David Rhinelander for laying so much of the groundwork to make this meeting possible and also to Fred Bodin for hosting this momentous event at his Bodin Historic Photo Gallery.

Melissa I love my new scarf.  You rock!

STEP AWAY FROM THE CANNOLI – PUT YOUR ARMS UP AND STEP AWAY FROM THE CANOLLI!

Gloucester Welcomes The MCC Thursday 2/21/13 Info

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Joey C

Help us Decorate by printing and posting Art Haven’s poster! (attached)

Please print out and share this wonderful poster, a unique and custom welcome for MCC, designed by Art Haven, a founding cultural partner. We’re hoping residents, businesses, and organizations throughout the district at street level or above will put it in their window or door for that day. Founding partner, the  Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce will disperse it to its members. GMG will post it to request that folks display it for us.  Fred Bodin is also reaching out to his network to encourage printing/posting! We hope all the partners print/display and share with others.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN HANDLE 8MB FILE OR PDF and thank you ART HAVEN!

Review the Itinerary

The MCC site visit will start at 10 AM with a check in at the Cape Ann Museum.  This will only be a quick stop prior to the first meeting, but will give the committee a chance to greet the delegation, distribute literature and prepare information about the venues and businesses within the proposed CD, and offer them a place to stash any items that they might want later in the day.

· 10:00 AM Cape Ann Museum steering committee will  welcome MCC/check in/home base

· 10:30 the MCC delegation will meet at City Hall with city officials, coffee and pastries courtesy Cape Ann Coffee

· 11:30 the walking tour begins and will include 7 stops (not more than 5 minutes each) with pointing and discussion along the way.

The proposed DGCD footprint very roughly spans from St.Peter’s/the Chamber side over  to Gortons, and from City Hall to Maritime Gloucester. This means it includes the Civic jewels, all of Middle, all of Main, all of Harbor Loop, our waterfront, and Rogers until Rose Baker.  It’s the same footprint used for decades and that we all know. We’ll be included in a select group that receive designation and will be marketed with 5 others on the North Shore. We will be the first town in the state with two cultural districts! It mirrors the HarborWalk’s,  the Chamber of Commerce’s, Discover Gloucester,  and Maritime Trail mapsl, etc–everyone’s efforts to maintain the integrity of downtown and historic harbor area. It will likely increase what is already great and working. Our downtown works hard to offer residents, visitors and employees fantastic experiences!