Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

Hello Friends of Rocky Neck Art Colony!
We were so pleased to see this fabulous article in last week’s Cape Ann Beacon about the Cultural Center:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/gloucester/news/x1665849338/Rocky-Neck-Art-Colony-expands-with-new-Cultural-Center#axzz2FPYnKdVJ

If everyone could send this to a few friends who might share the vision of what we are doing here on Rocky Neck, please have them contact one of us on the Capital Campaign Committee.  There are many ways to support the Cultural Center – our immediate goal is to secure its purchase on behalf of the community, and we need your help! 
Seasons Greetings and best wishes from the
Cultural Center at Rocky Neck
Capital Campaign Committee

Linda Amero forwards

Help an Old Friend from Gloucester in Need this Christmas!

Myf Phillips, former long time resident of Gloucester (who lived 10 years on Rocky Neck and 6 in Lanesville), has arrived back on Cape Ann after living in NM for the past 15 years.  She packed up her car with a few belongings, her beloved dog and her 2 cats, left her long time relationship and headed back east – where she would be among good friends to support her during this difficult transition.  At the age of sixty-something, she’s finding it extremely hard to find an affordable apt. (temp or not) that will accept her and the animals.  She could pay rent up to about $850/month and has excellent local references.

She is currently living alone in a secluded, wood-heated cabin in northern New Hampshire (kindly rented to her by a Gloucester friend), but where she knows no one – lovely cabin but very isolated and remote in winter.   

Please help this friend in need to find an affordable, pet-friendly apt. and bring her back to Gloucester for Christmas or soon thereafter!

Myf can be reached at 603-787-2467

Email:  myv@earthlink.net

Pez is like the greatest invention of all times. How you open it up and it magically dispenses a piece of candy is straight genius.
Whoever designed the classic pez dispenser deserves a Pulitzer and a Nobel and a JD Powers and Associate’s Award.
I’m fairly certain that when the girls come home and I give them these, there’s a 50/50 chance their heads might explode because they’ll be so excited.
Dollar for dollar huge bang for your child bribing dollar.
#Truth!

Students in the sixth grade at O’Maley Middle School have caught a couple of really big fish – an endangered Atlantic sturgeon and an endangered shortnose sturgeon – right under the watchful eye of the National Marine Fisheries Service!
In fact, the students have been studying the endangered species of sturgeon using a set of interdisciplinary lessons created by the NMFS as the closing piece of their semester-long study of environmental science.  Social studies classes have looked into the economic exploitation of sturgeon.  Math classes have done data analysis with sturgeon statistics. Science classes have examined the sturgeons’ life cycle and adaptations, with a view to the environmental impact on the sturgeon population of river dams on their fresh water spawning behavior.  The English/language arts teachers have conducted mock public hearings on fishing and the protection of threatened species, leading up to a composition written from the point of view of different interests.
This kind of interdisciplinary project based learning is the kind of work being developed at O’Maley as part of its new efforts as an Innovation School. The lessons and activities were developed by teachers and staff from NOAA’s education branch here in Gloucester and shared with teachers from across the country, including Roger Davis, science teacher from O’Maley, at a conference at the NOAA offices in November.  O’Maley is one of the first schools to field test these interdisciplinary lessons, providing NOAA with valuable feedback.
Ms. Edith Carson of NOAA has been visiting all O’Maley sixth grade classes this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with two life-size models, one of an Atlantic sturgeon and the other a shortnose sturgeon, its smaller cousin.  Students also explored the sturgeons’ life cycle, spawing habits, and the adaptations that made it a successful species since the Cretaceous Period, over 120 million years ago.  They explored the effects of overfishing in the early 1900’s (primarily for the caviar made from sturgeon roe).  The sturgeon is now a protected species, under a fishing moratorium.
The students examined preserved samples of sturgeon collected from sturgeon fish farms, explored how paleontologists draw conclusions from fossils of sturgeon scales, called scutes, and discovered how sturgeon use their sense of smell to find their way back to their native spawning grounds such as those in the Merrimack River.  The students enjoyed the interaction and direct contact with these special materials and activities.
This special week will conclude Friday with a guest panel representing two sides of the difficult question of sustaining the fish population and the fishing industry into the future.  Mr. Peter Ferrante, a Sicilian immigrant and longtime Gloucester fisherman, who recently retired from his work on the custodial staff of O’Maley, his job after being forced to abandon fishing due to the increasing restrictions, will represent the point of view of the traditional Gloucester fishing fleet.  On the other side, Ms. Colleen Coogan, an educator and researcher on the staff of NMFS, will explain the fishing laws and regulations to the students of the sixth grade.  This will be the third year for this guest panel, and while the subject can be controversial and the discussion of conservation methods lively, the program has always helped the students understand that both fisherman and regulators share the same goal, that of preserving a sustainable fishery to feed more people and provide more jobs long into the future.

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou

New Year Eve Menu

Three course meal $55

w/ complimentary glass of champagne

Amuse Bouche

1^st course

Tempura Ahi Roll & Sashimi Chazuke sushi rice porridge, dashi broth

Beef Tartare & Chevre Crostini beet & arugala salad & beet aioli

Shrimp Meatballs grilled crostini, Sicilian soffritto, garlic white wine clam jus

Crispy Duck Confit Triangles Island mint chutney, Chinese black bean hot mustard sauce

Mac ~n~ Cheese “Two Ways” haricot vert, pickled asparagus & ricotta gnocchi

Roasted Eggplant & Porcini Crostini bell pepper soffritto, yogurt feta crème

Creamy Mussels & Potato Soup saffron fennel relish, lemon olive butter vinaigrette

Warm Goat Cheese Dates Salad blood orange, candied pistachio & pomegranate vinaigrette

2^nd course

“Surf & Turf” Pan Roasted Sea Bass braised oxtail, salsify, shemije & potato fricassee

Lemongrass Mahimahi pineapple sticky rice, chutney & sweet potato foam, coconut banana thai curry

Schichimi Seared Scallop edamame pomme puree, lomi tomato vegetable & truffled yuzu miso sauce

Herb Brioche Salmon wild mushroom & potato cassoulet, beet cabernet, radish & carrot salad

Garganelli Alla Ragu Bolognese soffritto & parmigiano, parsley gremolata

Whole Roasted Suckling Pig risotto Milanese, lemon vanilla pears & spicy pepper relish

Rack of Lamb Farcie mascarpone hash, truffle crème, fried cauliflower, ginger calamansi demi

Rosemary Filet Mignon foie gras torchon, potato alla aligot, grilled asparagus & dark soubise

3^rd course

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse banana white chocolate, feuilletine, candied caramel ice cream

Mascarpone & Chocolate Panna Cotta Cheesecake blueberry ice cream & apple vanilla caramel

Warm Pineapple Up-Side Down Tart milk chocolate mascarpone crème & ricotta ice cream

Chocolate Coffee Marshmallow Truffle Bomb dark chocolate cake & eggnog truffle shake

Check out the feature on us which aired on Chronicle http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle/From-Hawaii-to-Massachusetts/-/12523032/17395792/-/qsgl10/-/index.html

Our first dinner with our friends from Ryan & Wood was a great success.  Bob Ryan is a talented storyteller and had all us captivated. We are looking forward to the next event on Sunday January 6th at 6:00 PM.

Bradley Bass Inducted Into International Master Sales Society

Danvers, Massachusetts:  Bradley Bass, an area sales professional with Century 21 North Shore, has been inducted into the Master Sales Society™, an international association comprised of an elite group of sales professionals who have successfully accomplished the level of MASTER.  Members of this Society share an uncompromising commitment to provide the highest level of professionalism, service and integrity to their clients while subscribing to a set of essential CORE VALUES. 

This distinction is earned by the very few committed sales professionals who place value and service of their clients above all else.

On October 25, 2012, Bradley Bass completed forty-two days of training and took an oath to uphold the high standards and Core Values that the Master Sales Society demands.  Less than 1% of all salespeople nationwide have earned this select designation.

Heritage Films Schedule

Dec 25 and Dec 27 :"Gloucestermen" at 11:30a, "Civil War Life and Medicine" at 12:15 at Hollywood Hits Theater Bulding, 7 Hutchinson Dr., Danvers. $5, $4 Seniors. Info 9787772711.
"Puritans Arrival in New England" to be screened at Peabody Institute   Library, Danvers at 7pm in the Gordon Room Dec 27. Free.
Films by Dan Tremblay, Danvers Filmmaker.
All films shot in Massachusetts.

Art Haven and The Hive is kicking off 2013 with new programs.www.arthaven.org

What a way to beat the winter blues!

CAT Collaborative Auditions

CAPE ANN THEATRE COLLABORATIVE AUDITIONS JANUARY 16 and 17!

Read on for information on place and time…

Cape Ann Theatre Collaborative members look over set designs for its spring production "Becky Shaw" at the

Gorton Theatre. Left to right standing: Joey Arsenault, Mary Lou Nye, Lauren Ashley Suchecki, Marc

St. Pierre, Pat Maloney-Brown, Pia Juhl. Seated, Mary Spittle.

Auditions for the Cape Ann Theatre Collaborative’s Spring show, "Becky Shaw",  Gina Gionfriddo’s searingly funny comedy about love, marriage, blind dates from hell and the quirks of family dynamics will be held January 16 and 17 at 7:30pm at the Pigeon Cove Circle, 6 Breakwater Ave., Rockport. The show will run for 3 weekends, April 26, 27,28 and May 3,4,5 and 10,11,12 at Gorton Theatre, home of Gloucester Stage Company. Past productions of CAT Collaborative include "Rumors," "Sylvia," "Beyond Therapy," "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds," and "The Weir."  Visit our website at www.catcollaborative.org

Roles for Becky Shaw are:

Max Garrett, the acerbically funny family "adoptee" and family financial advisor -  mid to late 30’s

Suzanna Slater, Max’s "sister," neurotic and funny, redeemed by play’s end  – mid to late 30’sSusan Slater, family matriarch with a no nonsense bent with no "sugar coating" life -  60-ish

Becky Shaw, the blind date from hell  -  mid to late 30’s

Andrew Proctor, Suzanna’s naive would-be writer husband -  mid to late 30’s

Hope to see you at auditions!