My View of Life on the Dock
The Cape Ann Farmers Market will open for the season starting Thursday, June 1st from 3:00 to 6:30 at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester and running through October 12th. Fresh produce, meats, cheese, delicious prepared foods and local products from over 45 vendors, along with a playground, grills, and great views make this a special market. Parking is free and convenient. For more information, go to http://capeannfarmersmarket.org
I used to just flat out hate LeBron, but after really watching him play I’m not so much of a homer that I can’t admit he’s probably the best that’s ever played.
As the most dominant player in the game there’s just no need for his incessant whining. It destroys his likability. Before Bron Bron I would have said Jordan was the best Basketball player ever but there’s huge difference.
You never saw Jordan bitch piss and moan the way Bron Bron does. He’d be five times the star he is if he just manned up and played instead of acting like such a bitch all the time. You never saw Jordan flop all the time. He’s undoubtedly his own worst enemy.
Killdeer Chick
Lost of folks are asking, are the Piping Plovers nesting in the Good Harbor Beach parking lot? The answer is no, the Piping Plovers are nesting on the beach near boardwalk #3. The mama and papa, and now chicks, that are running all around the GHB parking lot are a shorebird named Killdeers. Comparatively quite a bit larger, and more commonly seen, Killdeers are related to Piping Plovers, but are a different species.
Killdeer Chicks and Parent, Good Harbor Beach 2016
That I am aware of, this is the second year in a row Killdeers have chosen to nest at the Good Harbor Beach parking lot. It is frightening to see the babies zoom in and out between the cars. The mom and dad give vocal cues to the chicks, but still they run willy nilly. Killdeers have a fondness for human modified habitats, such as the GHB parking lot, and a willingness to nest close to people.
Like Piping Plover chicks, Killdeer chicks are precocial. That is a word ornithologists use to describe a baby bird’s stage of development at birth. Precocial means that shortly after hatching, the bird is fully mobile. Plover chicks are not completely mature, they still need parents to help regulate their body temperature, but they have downy feathers and can run and feed themselves within moments after emerging. The opposite of precocial is altricial. Birds that hatch helpless, naked, usually blind, and are incapable of departing the nest are altricial. Robins and Cardinals are examples of altricial birds. 
Adult Kildeer
If you encounter the Kildeer family and would like to take a photo, or simply observe these adorable babies on-the-go, my advice is to stand quietly and don’t chase after them. Running after the chicks will put the parents into panic mode and they may lose sight of the other siblings. As the chicks mature, they will spend less time in the parking lot, and more time in the marsh and at the tidal river edge. Kildeer adults, and even the chicks, are actually good swimmers. Last year the Kildeer family crossed the tidal river and spent the second half of the season on the opposite side of the marsh.
Compare the Killdeer chick above, to the Piping Plover chick below.
Piping Plover Chick and Mom
Killdeer Family all grown up, September 2016
While taking a walk to the Maritime Center, was able to watch this cute duck jump from the rock into the harbor. Also the Alabama came into port to tie up next to the Schooner Adventure. They are both heading to Newport for an event this weekend.
Gallery 53 officially opens for the season on Friday, May 26 with an Opening Reception on Saturday, May 27 from 6 to 8pm that features creative artist-made munchies and a selection of beverages.
Housed in a historic 19th century building, Gallery 53 is a juried member-run gallery that features an original and distinctive collection of fine arts and crafts by Rocky Neck Art Colony members. It is conveniently located on the waterfront between the Studio and Rudder restaurants at 53 Rocky Neck Ave in Gloucester, MA. The gallery hosts Opening and End-of-Seasonparties, showcases work by invited New England artists in seven Summer Artist Series (SAS) shows, and sponsors engaging Artist Demonstrations on Friday evenings. All events are free and open to the public.
Six new artists were juried into Gallery 53 this year: Traci Thayne Corbett, painter; Eric Hahr, silversmith; Richard Honan, found object assemblage artist; Anni Melançon, potter; Connie Vallis, intaglio printmaker and Karen Watson, mixed media collage artist.
Gallery 53 is open daily from May 26 to October 15, from 10am to 6 pm, Sunday through Thursday, and 10am to 8pm Fridayand Saturday. For more information call 978-282-0917.
See Gallery 53 on Rocky Neck on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
It’s been eighty years since the public has had safe access to Straitsmouth Island, off the coast of Rockport, MA.
The Thacher Island Association, the non-profit arm of the Town of Rockport for Thacher and Straitsmouth Islands, is raising $300,000 for a new boat launch. Paul St. Germain, President of the Thacher Island Association, notes, “The island will continue to be maintained as a wild life sanctuary by Mass Audubon. We have created a full mile of groomed walking trails. Visitors can view the massive and unusual rock formations and a future visitor center and museum will make this a new and exciting destination for boaters and kayakers in the years to come.”
With $75,000 dollars still needed, The Art of David Arsenault Gallery has stepped up to try and make a difference. “I’ve been inspired to paint Thacher and Straitsmouth Islands a number of times. My wife and I appreciate the tremendous work the Thacher Island Association volunteers have done over the years to care for these Rockport treasures. This is one way we can give back.”
On Saturday, May 27th from 5-9 p.m. the Art of David Arsenault Gallery hosts, “Ramp Up for Straitsmouth,” a benefit with dynamic jazz saxophonist, David Arteaga and a special guest. On Sunday, May 28th from 1-4 p.m. Paul St. Germain will be sharing updates about the Straitsmouth project in a discussion entitled “What’s New at Straitsmouth?.”
Since opening a gallery in Rockport in 2015, Arsenault has created six different paintings connected to Thacher and Straitsmouth Islands: “Island Cruise,” “Straitsmouth at 6 a.m.,” “Thacher: North to South,” “Seeing Double,” “Autumn’s Early Light,” and “Early for Dinner.”
Twenty percent of sales will be contributed to the Thacher Island Association. Arsenault has created a 12×18 poster to commemorate the event and will be raffling a signed 16” x 40” canvas giclée of “Straitsmouth at 6 a.m.” St. Germain adds, “Arsenault’s art certainly captures the beauty and magnificence of this island as well as many other local sites.”
If you can’t attend but would like to help, donations can be sent c/o the Thacher Island Association, PO Box 73, Rockport, Ma 01966. Or, you can donate at www.thacherisland.org.
Jane Deering Gallery presents Drawn from Life which opens with a public reception on Saturday May 27th from 3:00-5:00pm at 19 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, next to the Cape Ann Museum. Drawing never dies. All artists drew, observed and worked from life at some point, including from the life model, as part of their artistic visual vocabulary and learning.
Drawing is an active, investigative pursuit of things we see and wish to know. It is, apparently, immortal and brings us into a different, deeper and more fully experienced relation to the object.
Artists in this exhibition include five from Cape Ann —Erma Wheeler, Celia Eldridge, Leon Doucette, Melissa Cooper and David Hruby; and four artists from California — Mary Heebner, Isabelle Greene, Connie Connally, and Linda Jones.
The exhibition continues through June 30th. Gallery hours: Friday – Sunday, 12noon – 5pm and by appointment at 917-902-4359 and info@janedeeringgallery. Works from the exhibition can be viewed on the gallery website janedeeringgallery.com.
A group show meant to inspire people to action. With grace, beauty and humor these artists use their gifts to raise consciousness about climate change, sea level rise, and ocean pollution.
Two exciting artists from ‘over the bridge’ anchor the show, both committed to art as activism.
Resa Blatman, from Somerville brings us her commitment to nature in all its power and vulnerability with work that is at once haunting and lovely. Her artistic process is filled with intention; creating layered paintings and installations using a dynamic mixture of materials. In combining paint, assemblage pieces, and intricately laser-cut mylar forms, she affects deep space and pulls the viewer in. Blatman “seeks to remind us of the precarious nature of our habitat.” Blatman’s work is complex and beautifully rendered, reminiscent of the allegorical and precise painting of the Dutch masters, and inspired by the Baroque, Romanticism, and Victorian decorative art.
Michelle Lougee is an environmental artist, sculptor, ceramicist, illustrator and teacher from Cambridge. Her work focuses on the delicate balance between nature and human society and technology. The duality of this relationship is explored in both materials and subject matter. Her signature material, post-consumer plastic bags is laboriously transformed into yarn and then crocheted into lifelike interpretations of sea life. The results are playful vibrant sculptures. Their animated details are delightful, yet jarring because of the reference to the dangerous infestation of plastics in our oceans. Lougee states, “In my art, I strive to replicate the animated quality that all living things possess. That is what makes nature beautiful. My job as an environmental artist is to capture that beauty in my work while instilling a message into it.”
The show is supported with a few offerings each from four artists of Cape Ann. Adin Murray, an extraordinary painter from West Gloucester, shares examples of his most recent series “Horizon” . For Murray, “The space where the sky and water meet is powerful, profound, and humbling….and speaks to the universal truth of constant change.” These commanding hyperrealist paintings represent in the context of the show that which we revere and take for granted. Local lawyer, musician, community organizer, multimedia artist Karen Ristuben describes herself as an environmental advocate at the core. She brings to ‘In Deep Water’ a version of her multimedia work created for the Boston Museum of Science’s show -Ocean Stories, a collaboration of artists and ocean scientists working across disciplines to communicate the state of our oceans. Ristuben’s contribution is both visually compelling and inspirational. During Mia Cross’ stint as the 2016 Goetemann Artist in Residence she spent her early mornings walking the beaches of Gloucester. There she found “scavenging for objects and repurposing them exciting, especially when the objects have carelessly been tossed and deemed invaluable.“ From the debris emerged a guardian angel of the waters. Cross offers her cleverly created physical manifestation to to bear witness to our throwaway society. To visit Rockport artist Nina Samoiloff’s studio, there is no doubt she is committed to cleaning up our shores. The mounds of flotsam divided up by color, product, or material are alarming. By arranging her collection into pleasing mosaics, she documents our excess and disrespect with a quiet grace.
With ‘In Deep Water’ Flatrocks Gallery’s aim is to stimulate discussion and inspire viewers to action, with a collection of thought provoking, inventive, beautiful artworks. In Deep Water runs May 25- July 2. A reception for the artists will be held Sunday, May 28th 4-6pm.The gallery will host the ocean advocacy group, Tidal Shift’s workshop crafting jellyfish from used plastic. for all ages Sunday, June 25th 3-5pm.
Nice read. Cape Seafoods, State Fish Pier, Gloucester, MA takes a moment to write a letter of thanks to the Mayor, to the City, to all involved with Gloucester at the Boston Seafood Shows.
“This initiative has a direct impact on our company in terms of image of course but also financially.”
Last night was the annual Stage Fort Welcoming Center re-opening party (see photos.) It’s tradition for Gloucester businesses to take 30 seconds to share new business news. I wish I wrote down everybody’s highlights. I didn’t. Please write back here to share the 2017 season Gloucester updates and special offers you mentioned last night or would have mentioned if you could have attended! We’ll make sure to fan them back out. A few businesses are transitioning to second generation family members at the helm. It’s exciting and positive to hear their news. Guess who?
Cape Ann Community Cinema and Gloucester Stage have some luminaries booked that will knock your socks off. Local fare accompanied the spiels thanks to Cape Ann Coffees, Gloucester House Restaurant, Beauport Hotel, Topside Grill, Captain Carlos, Castle Manor Inn Sea Glass Restaurant, and others.
That’s why GMG has a year round arts and events calendar, and another just for music. What if we decided upon the Same Saturdays once a month to call out some extra attention or add into special plans in the works? Gloucester Saturdays could be as simple as: Participants would be invited to submit events ahead of time– pretty much along the lines of how everyone programs already. Restaurants. Shops. Galleries. Museums. Everybody. This recurring day would give some more time for people to plan ahead or work together. It doesn’t have to be rigid. It could encompass folks who want to open early (Lee’s!) or stay extra late (Short and Main Tiki bar!) We’re lucky to have a mix of operational styles.
But which Saturday? cue unofficial GMG poll (poll closes in less than a week)
Here’s more about the Saturday option from Gloucester’s downtown Harbortown cultural district and other downtown news:
“what do you think? There are numerous requests about downtown Gloucester committing to staying open late, ONE night each month, YEAR ROUND. The most recent request is from Jo Anne Chirico, owner of goodlinens, added into a list with suggestions back when the district was formed and in response to the first survey. The discussion also recently came up in the tourism commission. Lanesville, Annisquam, and Magnolia could be featured with their own night leading into that Saturday ( if not that Saturday.) If it were a Saturday, do you have a preference for First, 2nd, 3rd, or last Saturdays? Let us know. Boston has First Fridays. Plymouth, MA, offers “first Saturdays” as does Lowell (leans mostly arts related businesses). Hillsborough plans for Last Fridays (primarily art walks). Newburyport has special events and art walks 4 nights a year. Gloucester has the 3 block parties. Some towns that program around one night or series use a signifier to indicate which businesses participate (window cling/sticker/lights on/etc). Rockport has a great solution in using their lovely lanterns NIGHTLY in season, like so Each summer (June-September), enjoy Rockport at Night where galleries and shops keep their doors open from 4-8 pm. From Main St. to Bearskin Neck–the town’s merchants welcome you with hors d’oeuvres, wine, and beverages while you enjoy the renowned talents of this creative Art Colony (participating shops will have a lantern hanging outside)”
OPPORTUNITY FOR DISTRICT Forwarded from the Mayor: There is a $500 fall-winter festival grant from the MCC. St Peter’s Fiesta received one for this summer! Email possible suggestions by June 1. We’ll toss the list back out and decide together if there’s one to put forth as the district, or maybe there’s one that’s just right for a partner, as with St. Peter’s Fiesta.
From the MCC: Festivals Taking Place September 1, 2017 – February 28, 2018
Online application available: June 2017
Preliminary funding decisions begin: September 1, 2017
Application deadline: September 15, 2017 at 5 PM (ET)
Grants announced: October 2017 “Applications to the Festivals Program will be reviewed on a “first-received, first-reviewed” basis. Regional diversity will be taken into consideration as part of the application review process.”
Nutshell: It is hoped that the cultural district name will be shortened to Gloucester’s downtown cultural district, not Gloucester’s downtown Harbortown cultural district. Also, the footprint needs to be revised to reflect all downtown. We wanted both those things from the outset, and that is the feedback we continue to receive. Loud and Clear!
http://www.rudderrestaurant.com/
73 ROCKY NECK AVENUE GLOUCESTER, MA 01930
978-283-7967
INFO@RUDDERRESTAURANT.COM
Sweet voices lifting on the wind. Video from Adam Curcuru, Director Cape Ann Veterans Services, 2017 installation Stacy Boulevard Flags, Gloucester, MA.
Bridgette Matthews beautiful installation photographs
A Special Friend of the Blog, and a frequent visitor to Gloucester from Vermont. They were headed to breakfast at Sugar Magnolias, and were thinking of trying Italiano Restaurant either for lunch or dinner. It is always a pleasure to meet such wonderful people that visit Gloucester.
Exhibit of Flowers and Elegant Objects at Charles Fine Art Gallery located at 196 Main Street Gloucester.
Exhibit will run through June 16th 2017
Featuring Artists: Bobbi Angell, Liz Ayer, Stephen Bates, David Bareford, Lorrie Berry, Eli Cedrone, Geoffrey Teale Chalmers, Anne Winthrop Cordin, Traci Thayne Corbett, Yhanna Coffin, Fran Ellisor, Bobbi Gibb, Paul George, Ellen Granter, Marjorie Hicks, Christine Molitor Johnson, Bonita LeFlore, Nella Lush, Marija Pavlovich McCarthy, Tracy Meola, Carole Porter, Judith Monteferrante, Katherine Richmond, Jan Roy, Rosalie Sidoti, Tony Schwartz, Charles Shurcliff, Deb Wolf
In The Lucy Brown Davis Pathway
By the Cannons at Stage Fort Park
Hi Joey—
Many folks in Gloucester remember my wife, Susan Bell Reed as an award-winning advertising copy writer, TV producer, independent filmmaker, author, yoga and fitness enthusiast, dog lover and friend to many. She was also one of the biggest fans Gloucester ever had, and proudly showed the town around to her friends visiting from distant places like London, Jerusalem, Buenos Ares, and Hollywood.
After a brief but brutal bout with cancer, she passed away this Monday. We will be observing her passing at 10 Friday morning, rain or whatever, at Mt Jacob Cemetery on Fernald St. in west Gloucester.
To those who can’t make it, please place her in your hearts and help us honor a talented, generous, caring person that Gloucester will miss.
Ted Reed and Susan Bell Reed posing for an article in Elle Magazine about the Sundance Film Festival
Susan with her dog Benny on Granite Pier in Rockport
Craig Kimberley photo
Ringo Tarr and his crew were up early this morning installing the flags along the Boulevard in time for Memorial Day. This year it extends down to the Tennis courts and looks spectacular!! If you’d like to purchase a flag for a veteran you can stop down to Pauline’s Gifts at 512 Essex Ave, Gloucester and they are $20.00.
Make your Memorial Day weekend truly memorable! Bring the whole family to howl with the wolves for FREE! Wolf Hollow offers a unique opportunity to view gray wolves in as natural a setting as possible. Come see how they interact with their pack members and live in a social unit very similar to human families.
This fun, family event will begin at 11am and end at 3pm.
Mark your calendars – FREE TICKETS will be available via Eventbrite, starting on May 8th.
Please be aware this event is by RESERVATION ONLY.
Guests will enjoy:
- One of a kind, educational presentations every hour.
- Fun games & activities for children of all ages.
- Delicious pizza from the Ipswich House of Pizza and other vendors TBD
- Free samples of Ipswich Soda Pops.
- AND Free samples, for Mom & Dad, from the Ipswich Ale Brewery and 1634 Meadery.
Overflow parking will be directed to one side of Route 133 West
CHECK OUT ALL OF THE DETAILS HERE
Member Child: $5; Nonmember Child: $10
Have you ever collected warm eggs from the chicken coop or seen how fast sheep will run for their morning helping of grain? Join us for our NEW weekend Hay Bale Hangout and spend the day at Appleton Farms. Stop by anytime between 10AM – 1:30PM for fantastic farmyard meet and greets! Hands on activities start at 10AM and run every ½ hour. Greet our goats, make a wool bracelet, cuddle a calf, farm story time, collect chicken eggs and more! In between activities hang out in the Carriage Barn and explore our all-day learning stations or picnic outside in the Stone Paddock!
Activities may change depending on what’s happening at the farm, but a typical schedule will include:
10:00: Feed the sheep & brush the goats
10:30: Spin wool bracelets
11:00: Collect chicken eggs
11:30: Farm story time (feel free to bring a snack from home!)
12:00: Explore the milking barn & Dairy tools
12:30: Meet a bunny
1:00: Collect chicken eggs
1:30: Brush the goats
Please check in at the entrance of the Carriage Barn to pay and receive your hand stamp. Become a Trustees member at the farm on the day of and come for free! Once you’ve paid, stay for an hour or all day! Cash only please. No additional cost for adults. We will do our very best to accommodate everyone, but some activities are first come, first serve.
We have picnic tables, bathrooms, water, and plenty of stroller friendly walking paths for you to enjoy. Parking available the Visitor Center for a shorter walk or at the Farm Store for a longer stroll through our vegetable fields.
Most towns have a Memorial Day Parade. Please check each town’s listings and attend at least one. We always attend the Rockport Memorial Day to show our respect.
As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities, visit our friends at North Shore Kid
On of our lobstermen has this ship anchor that he got caught up in his gear yesterday and he’s offering it for sale.
It’s a perfect lawn ornament. $100
Come down the dock to look at it if you’d like
Captain Joe and Sons 95 East Main St
Or leave a comment below if you want to buy it.
Free, guided Rockport Cultural District Walking Tours are offered weekends beginning Memorial Day through the last weekend in June; daily from the last week of June through Labor Day; and weekends through Columbus Day.
Tours begin at Dock Square (where Bearskin Neck and Main Street connect) on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. In July and August, tours Monday – Friday are also at 10 a.m.
Discover the fascinating history of one America’s oldest art colonies on this free, 1 hour 15 minute guided tour of downtown Rockport. Hear the stories of our earliest residents, founders, revolutionaries and pioneering spirits while exploring our beautiful, seaside village.
From the tip of Bearskin Neck and the iconic Motif #1, to Rockport Music’s world-class Shalin Liu Performance Center with its stage overlooking the Atlantic, you will see many of Rockport’s most treasured spots. Find out why international visitors make this…
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Good Morning Gloucester 