Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

Glad to be back from a long installation in Seattle, the QotW resumes:

“Don’t plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me – choke those little bad days. Choke ‘em down to nothing.”

Tom Waits (1949-    )

A California native, Waits is known for his distinctive gravelly voice and his superb songwriting talents. Although usually categorized as a blues musician, his music extends far beyond that genre into jazz and experimental styles. Many of his ballads have been covered by more famous artists; including Springsteen’s “Jersey Girl” and the Eagles’ “Ol’ 55.” Waits also has a 35 year working relationship with Francis Ford Coppola and has scored nearly twenty films. His unusual looks and massive cool have gotten him parts in dozens of movies, from “One from the Heart” to “The Book of Eli.” Famously anti-consumerist, Waits has successfully sued both Audi and Frito-Lay for using sound-alike musicians to flog their products. He is married to Kathleen Brennan and has three children.

Greg Bover

EARTH DAY FAIR

Presented by Greenbelt, Essex County’s Land Trust and Community Partners

Essex, MA —- On Sunday, April 26^th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Essex County Greenbelt will be hosting its second annual Earth Day festival in collaboration with numerous community non-profit organizations.  This will be a fun, interactive and informative family-friendly event at Greenbelt’s Cox Reservation headquarters in Essex. The theme of the fair this year will be pollinators. Visitors will learn more about bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, flowers and how pollination is key to a healthy environment.

The event will showcase local non-profit organizations that share a commitment to building an environmentally sustainable community. Jonathan Mirin of the Piti Theater Company will be performing his original show “The Story of My Bees” at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. This 25 minute storytelling event uses puppetry, clowning, dance, music and audience participation to tell Farmer James’ comic, tragic and ultimately hopeful story. The Piti Theater’s shows give children and adults tools for helping pollinators thrive in their communities.

Our community partners will offer hands-on activities for the whole family to learn about butterflies, flowers, bees, beekeeping and pollinators in general. Visitors will get a “passport” to have stamped as they make a bee-line around the fair learning about different aspects of the world of pollination. Those who complete the passport will get a special prize!

Some of the day’s activities and partners include:

•“The Story of My Bees” puppet show at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm

• Learn about monarch butterflies / Mass Audubon/Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

• Learn about carpenter bees /  Essex Shipbuilding Museum

• Discover pollinators in art and paint with watercolors / Cape Ann Museum

• Interactive activity / North Andover Wildlife Tea

• Plant seeds for your pollinator garden / Next Step Living

• See an observation hive / Tomten Beeworks

• Learn about hummingbirds / Kestrel Educational Adventures

• Explore bees and butterflies under a microscope /  Manchester Essex Conservation Trust

• Hear music from Tom “Satch” Kerans from 11:00-12:00 pm, The Tree House Charlatans 12:00-1:00 pm, and Olivia Gale 1:00-2:00 pm

• And much, much more!!

Bring a picnic to enjoy on the grounds. Greenbelt will offer light snacks and lemonade. For more information contact Greenbelt at ecga@ecga.org or call 978-768-7241.

Since 1961, Greenbelt has been working with local individuals, families, farmers and communities to protect the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic vistas of Essex County. Greenbelt has protected more than 16,000 acres of local land and has had a direct role in 75% of all land conserved in the last decade.  For more information about Greenbelt programs visit www.ecga.org or call 978-768-7241

HELP DEAL OUT A GREAT HAND TO LOCAL KIDS!

Looking for a fun way to support the “little school that could”? Eastern Point Day School is having a Texas Hold’ Em Tournament at the St. Peter’s Club on May 2nd! Beginners are welcomed and encouraged to PLAY!

Spread the word! Tickets can be ordered until April 28th!

Visit our event page to order tickets! 

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/texas-holdem-tournament-2015-for-epds-tickets-16362038297

http://www.onthewater.com – Bookmark  and save it to your favorites,  watching week to week as the areas of yellow and red creep ever northward toward us is pretty cool.  I’m going to make some notes as to what things in nature on land happen at the same time and if it coincides with any type of pop in lobster landings.  What would be cool is if they super imposed average weekly water temps on the map to see exactly what effect that has.
Here’s the map from this week,  go the site and bookmark it to follow them from here on out-

WHAT: Drumming sessions for young people led by Mike Morse, Mark Nelson & Jay DiPrima
WHERE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 48 Middle St.
WHEN: Each Friday in May from 3-4pm (May 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29th)
WHO: Youth ages 9-16
COST: $10 total for 5 sessions
CONTACT: Jay DiPrima – jay@stjohnsgloucester.org or call the office M-TH (9-noon) at 978-283 – 1708
WANNA BE DRUMMERS WANTED! (Ages 9 -16)
If you’ve had an interest in learning how to play a drum in a fun and friendly environment with others – here’s your chance. We will open up the church doors and let the drumming begin!
Each Friday in May, St. John’s Episcopal Church is offering a series of drum circle sessions for young people, age’s 9-16years old.  The sessions will run each Friday afternoon from 3 – 4pm (May 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29th).
The total cost for all five sessions is only $10! A specialist African drummer, Mike Morse, will meet with us on the first session. The other facilitators are Mark Nelson, Music Director and Jay DiPrima, Director of Youth Ministry for St. John’s.
We have plenty of drums to host at least a dozen drummers. First come will be first served when they sign up.  You only need to bring yourself and an interest in learning rhythms and how to drum with others. Opportunities to perform may be available as part of St. John’s children and youth services.
To sign up: Contact Jay DiPrima at: jay@stjohnsgloucester.org or call the office at 978-283 – 1708.

731 lives saved in 2014 thanks to organ donation
MA Residents personally touched by donation will share their stories

Gloucester, MA – City Hall – On Tuesday April 21st at 10:30 AM, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Senator Bruce Tarr will join individuals personally touched by organ donation and the New England Organ Bank, to celebrate organ and tissue donation and announce April as Donate Life Month in Gloucester, encouraging citizens to register as organ and tissue donors.  

What: April as Donate Life Month in MA – Lives saved because of organ and tissue donation

Who:   Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken
             Senator Bruce Tarr
             Gloucester residents personally touched by organ donation
            New England Organ Bank

Where: Gloucester City Hall, Kyrouz Auditorium

When:  Tuesday, April 21st at 10:30 AM

In 2014, 731 lives were saved here in New England because of the generosity of individuals who became organ donors.  Thousands more lives were enhanced through the gift of tissue donation.  With the need for life-saving transplants growing every day – over 123,000 patients are now on the US transplant wait list – it is crucial to educate our communities about taking action to register as donors. The celebration commemorates those who have received or continue to wait for lifesaving transplants as well as the families of individuals who chose to be donors.

There are now 110 million registered donors in the United States; still, the number of people in need of transplants continues to rise.  The solution to this problem is to continue educating the public about the lifesaving effects of donation and transplantation and encouraging them to sign up through their state donor registry.  “The state plays an important role in this process as vast majority of individuals in Massachusetts (99%) register to be an organ and tissue donor at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV)”, stated Matt Boger of New England Organ Bank.  

About New England Organ Bank: New England Organ Bank is the federally-designated, non-profit procurement organization responsible for the surgical recovery of organs and tissues for transplant throughout the New England region.  For more information and to register as a donor visit http://www.DonateLifeNewEngland.org

WHITE ELEPHANT SPRING JAM
 
SATURDAY, APRIL 18TH  1 – 6 PM
32 Main Street, Essex Ma.

Live Music 3-6 
By Jake Pardee

Name that Tune
Bingo with Prizes
Raffle and Scavenger Hunt
Food and Drinks
 
 Let’s bring warmth and sunshine to Essex and have some fun! Experts will be on hand for our own  Road Show to appraise art, coins, military items and more.
Preview our  new spring line of garden items and other great treasures and most importantly eat, drink and enjoy!
 
White Elephant Spring Jam
View this email in your browser

Our mailing address is:
White Elephant Shop
32 Main Street
Essex, Ma 01929
978-768-6901

http://www.whiteelephantshop.com

Hilary writes- Landmark School we raced today.We beat them,so we’re on a streak.

Ribbon Cutting for The Art of David Arsenault

CAPE ANN CHAMBER RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE ART OF DAVID ARSENAULT

ROCKPORT, Massachusetts – On Saturday, April 11, 2015, at 4:00 p.m. the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the grand opening for The Art of David Arsenault.  The ceremony took place at the new gallery location at 26 Bearskin Neck in Rockport, MA.

Gallery owners David Arsenault and Sue Koehler-Arsenault introduced the gallery to a crowd of spectators and celebrated by cutting the ribbon before welcoming the public into their beautiful gallery. Refreshments were served and live music serenaded the many guests who visited and viewed the artwork in the two-story gallery space.

Arsenault’s work is best known for large shapes, dramatic lighting, and strong color, which creates a compelling sense of mood, time, and place. Each piece presents a quiet exploration of everyday life.

The Art of David Arsenault will be open seven days a week on Bearskin Neck for the 2015 season.

For More Info www.arthaven.org