Day: August 17, 2015

Seafood Throwdown is coming back to Cape Ann Farmers Market Thursday, August 20 from 4 – 6 p.m. at Stage Fort Park. This unique cooking competition brings local chefs, fisheries advocacy organizations, local food vendors, and food advocates together to talk about why local seafood should matter to us.

This year, the Seafood Throwdown will focus on the current efforts to label genetically modified foods.

The two teams going knife-to-knife at this year’s Seafood Throwdown are Mark Delaney of Common Crow Natural Market and Chef David Gauvin Dining Services Director at Addison Gilbert Hospital.

The Seafood Throwdown is a collaboration between Cape Ann Farmer’s Market, the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA) and the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association and their Community Supported Fishery project Cape Ann Fresh Catch. Seafood Throwdowns started here in 2008 and now spread up to Canada, down the east coast and up the west coast. NAMA partners with local communities to host Seafood Throwdowns in order to promote the ecological and social benefits of locally caught seafood, the impact of local fishing fleet on the local economy, and role of seafood in our food systems.

Cape Ann Farmers Market is held every Thursday from 3 – 6:30 through October 9th. Always plenty of FREE parking right across the street on Market days. Seafood Throwdown is a free event and begins at 4pm.

A spectacular sunset view from the Annisquam this evening thanks to Paul and Betsey Horovitz.

The man at the wheel has witnessed many storms like the micro-burst that hit the Boulevard Saturday evening. This photo was not taken on Saturday, but I think of it every time we get walloped.

E.J. Lefavour

Opening Hidden Doors: The Unifying Power of Art

Third Tuesdays Program Reconnects Older Adults to Art and Their Community

The Cape Ann Museum announces the beginning of a unique new program, CAM Connections Third Tuesdays, which brings Cape Ann art, culture and history to older adults in the local community, and invites individuals with memory challenges and their care partners to be part of the experience. The program offers meaningful engagement with the Museum collection through small group conversation in the galleries on the third Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

The heart of the Third Tuesdays program is to create a welcoming space for open-ended discussion, art appreciation and reflection. Art is for everyone. The Third Tuesdays museum experience of slowing down to explore the world of a painting, object or artifact stimulates wonder, and ignites new ideas and discoveries for participants. Looking at art can open the door to express an idea or feeling, find a personal vision, or unlock an instinct. After a recent CAM Connections tour, Pippy Guiliano, museum guide expressed the many ways the experience stimulated ideas and was unifying, “We had another wonder-filled visit. The level of engagement was palpable. Conversation was off and running … progressed easily covering painting techniques and composition, technology, poetry, color effects, people mellowing with age, inner and outer light.… Our souls were soothed and our minds tuned up in the warmth of camaraderie.”

Third Tuesdays promotes active engagement with the arts as a bridge to reduce isolation and offer an enriching art and culture experience. The Cape Ann Museum, a regional center of art, history and culture with a treasured collection, invites the personal and collective history of older adults with ties to the region, past or present, to be part of the Third Tuesdays experience. The role of the Museum as a community center, bringing people back into connection with their own essential history and with others, helps to form new connections in an atmosphere of mutual fun, growth and learning.

If you are interested in learning more about CAM Connections Third Tuesdays tour program, or would like to make a reservation, please call Cara White at (978)283-0455 x24 or email carawhite@capeannmuseum.org.

This is for sure one of my favorite little getaways with the boys ever.  We do lots of one night trips whenever possible and a quick trip to Mystic, CT has been one of our annual overnights.  This year we went for two nights and did much more than usual.  So, lucky you, you get to look forward to a 2nd post all about the Mystic Seaport tomorrow…but, for now…the Mystic Aquarium is a must see for families with young kids.

They simply do everything right.

Call me a hypocrite if you’d like.  I get the whole “wild animals don’t belong in captivity” argument…and what’s more, I typically agree.  I will never take the boys to go see a circus and I will not visit zoos or aquariums that do not have adequate habitats for their animals.  That having been said, if the animals are clearly well-cared for and the habitats are gorgeous…and even more importantly, the facility has a reputation and clear mission for conservation and animal aid, then I am ok.

In my humble opinion, the Mystic Aquarium does all of that and more.  It is a fantastic place for young children to learn and laugh and is an incredible facility on many levels.

Please read all about it HERE!  MYSTIC AQUARIUM

One of the boys’ favorite things to do is help feed the critters.  Finn, in particular, always seems to bond on a whole new level.