Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

Date: Saturday, June 18, 2022

48 Bearskin Neck, Rockport, MA

Gallery open: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm daily

Grand Opening: Saturday, June 18, 11:00 am  – 4:00 pm

Ribbon Cutting: Saturday, June 18, 1:00 pm

Free and Open to the Public

Rockport  MA—Loren Doucette Studio at Seven Suns Gallery announces its Grand Opening Saturday, June 18 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm with a Ribbon Cutting presented by the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce at 1:00 pm. 

Seven Suns Gallery features paintings by Loren Doucette and jewelry by Ann Schlecht.

The gallery will showcase original paintings, giclee prints, posters and a new line of greeting cards by Loren Doucette. Ann Schlecht, of Gilded Lily Designs, will feature her one-of-a-kind jewelry with wax seal charms, beach stone and sea glass earrings, necklaces and bracelets. 

We will softly open our doors for customers Saturday, May 28, 2022 for Labor Day Weekend. Seven Suns Gallery will be open 7 Days a week from 10am -6pm. 

The public is invited to celebrate the grand opening of Loren Doucette Studio at Seven Suns Gallery on Saturday, June 18 from 11:00am to 4:00pm with a ribbon cutting celebration at 1:00pm. See the new gallery, view the art, meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments, drink and conversation. 

Note from Loren: 

“A Dream Come True”

In 2000, I moved to Cape Ann with my four year old son, Andrew Widtfeldt to make my way as an artist. My journey has been rich and varied; I opened and maintained a gallery in downtown Rockport in 2000, then turned my full time focus to family and painting. In 2006 I devoted myself to completing my art degree, graduated in 2013 and founded Loren Doucette Studio. I am thrilled to bring Loren Doucette Studio to Rockport and to announce The Grand Opening of Seven Suns Gallery at 48 Bearskin Neck. My son Andrew, now 24, is my partner in this new venture-truly a dream come true! 

                                                                                                               -Loren Doucette

What to expect at Seven Suns Gallery: 

Loren Doucette Studio at Seven Suns Gallery is open year-round servicing patrons of the arts with paintings and jewelry from May to January run by a team of three: Loren Doucette, Andrew Widtfeldt and Ann Schlecht. From January to May, the gallery will be open for specialty classes and painting workshops. The gallery will also be home to artist talks, local musicians, sound healings and other cultural events. 

The Artists

Loren Doucette

Loren Doucette received a BFA in Drawing and Painting in 2013 from Montserrat College of Art where she participated in Montserrat’s study-abroad program in Italy. It was there that landscape painting became a stabilizing force in her work. Using Acrylic, Pastel and Gouache, her work includes architectural landscapes unique to Gloucester’s harbor, vibrant floral paintings, emotional figurative work and abstractions that come from the bones of all three subjects. Her paintings are prayers hovering between realism and abstraction and celebrate the sun, flowers, people and color of this world. Her work can be viewed at her gallery seven days a week from June to January from 10am to 6pm where she offers art mentoring and classes during the winter months. Seven Suns Gallery offers her original artwork, giclee prints and a large assortment of her greeting cards. All of Loren’s work can be viewed and purchased on her website and online store as well. Website: Lorendoucette.bigcartel.com and lorendoucetteart.com

Ann Schlecht 

Jeweler Ann Schlecht began creating jewelry at a very young age and had formal silversmith training at age 14. With designs that have evolved over time, her most recent focus has been on simplistic, organic jewelry that she creates with local sea glass and beach stones. It is Ann’s intention to make unique and affordable pieces that are suitable for almost any occasion and will be enjoyed for many years to come.

Today, Mayor Greg Verga announced the creation of the Covid Local Recovery Funds Listening Group that will be charged with convening several listening posts to engage residents, local organizations, and businesses on this federal funding opportunity. The panel will solicit public input on potential uses of local funds resulting from the passage of last year’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Under ARPA’s local funding provisions, Gloucester’s allocation totals approximately $23 million.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunity, and I want to ensure our residents have a voice in the process,” said Mayor Greg Verga. “We want to use this funding on projects that will do the most good for the most people over the most time.”

The group will work closely with Gloucester’s City Councilors to invite and engage their constituents to participate in these discussions. Gloucester residents, organizations, and businesses are invited to attend all listening posts. This collaborative effort will encourage an active and respectful outlet for our residents to provide feedback and input.

“The impact of Covid-19 has been felt by virtually every household, every business, and every non-profit organization. Government at all levels has played a critical role in providing resources for a post-pandemic economic recovery. Gloucester is fortunate that it has been allocated local funds to address negative economic impacts and mitigate health and public safety impacts. Funds are also available to invest in ‘vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.’ The Verga Administration strongly encourages public input and panel members look forward to receiving comments and providing a report on interests and opportunities,” said Carl Gustin, who will chair the panel.

Following the sessions, the Listening Group will synthesize their findings from the public and build recommendations to report back to the City’s administration. The sessions will be held in a hybrid format, with the public joining remotely. Information to access the listening posts will be available on the City website: https://arpa.gloucester-ma.gov/

To learn more about the Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, please visit: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds

Members:

●      Carl Gustin, Chair

●      Tony Gross, Councilor-at-Large

●      Kelly Brancaleone, Member, Capital Improvement Advisory Board

●      Joel Favazza, Member, Capital Improvement Advisory Board

●      Paul Romary, Member, Capital Improvement Advisory Board

●      Tom Balf, Member, Gloucester Economic Development and Industrial Corporation 

●      Jerrold Oppenheim, Member, Gloucester Economic Development and Industrial Corporation

●      Gretel Steeley, Resident, Gloucester Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (pending appointment)

Initial Schedule for Covid Local Recovery Funds Listening Posts:

●      Tuesday, May 17th at 6:00pm

●      Wednesday, May 25th at 6:00pm

●      Tuesday, May 31st at 6:00pm

●      Monday, June 6th at 6:00pm

●      Thursday, June 16th at 6:00pm

About The City of Gloucester, Massachusetts

America’s oldest seaport, the City of Gloucester is known throughout the world as an authentic, working waterfront community, a place of spectacular natural beauty, and home to a diverse population of approximately 30,000 residents. Its sharp focus on economic development has helped build its reputation as the ideal location to live, work, and play. An important center for the fishing industry, Gloucester is also proud of its vibrant cultural life and rich art heritage. Gloucester is a destination for thousands of visitors who visit the harbor and its beaches during the summer months. The City will be celebrating its 400th Anniversary in 2023. For more information, please visit www.gloucester-ma.gov.

Saint John’s Episcopal church collected 277 pounds of food and other necessities for the Open Door. Submitted by Claudette Chmura

“Water Shuttle Seasonal Passes”

  $75 for the whole season!

available online now

65 Main St

Gloucester MA

www.castawaysvintagecafe.com

Count the steps. Am I taking crazy pills? I count 5 steps here.

In their tweet, InvestInYourself thinks this is a great offensive play. I guess it certainly is if the refs continually allow it.

The problem I have is that they only allow it for Giannis.

They allow him to take two or three set up steps and then two or three more going around the defenders. They allow him to clear out wildly with his elbows on every offensive possession. They allow him to barrel into defenders chests on every possession. BUT THEY DON’T CALL IT THE SAME WAY ON THE OTHER END OF THE COURT.

Airing at 6am and viewable at your leisure thereafter, check out 1623 Studios’ deep dive on the sawyerfree2025.org philanthropic campaign to fund a comprehensive renovation and modernization of Gloucester’s public library. Celebrate, Donate, Elevate.

Looks like he’s almost half way to his destination leaving from Tortola and heading to Exuma, Bahamas

Everyone needs socks and underwear but …

You can’t buy socks and underwear in a thrift store! They’re essential but too personal to be handed down. From May 15 to 31 the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church will join forces with the Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport and local clothing stores, Nelson’s in Gloucester and the John Tarr Store in Rockport, to collect donations of new socks and underwear for children and adults. Nelson’s and the John Tarr Store will generously offer sales on donation items to support the collection drive.

 All donations will go directly to families and individuals served by two local organizations: Pathways for Children and The Grace Center. Pathways for Children is a nonprofit providing support, education and childcare for low income families on the North Shore. The Grace Center is a Gloucester day resource center serving adults in need of support. The Grace Center is part of Lifebridge, a regional organization providing shelter services in Gloucester, Salem and Beverly.

Collection bins for donations of new socks and underwear for adults and children of all sizes and ages will be located at the side door of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester, outside the Rockport Society, 4 Cleaves Street, Rockport, and also inside Nelson’s, 248 Main Street, Gloucester; and the John Tarr Store, 49 Main Street, Rockport. Those who prefer to support the cause with financial contributions may mail checks made out to the Gloucester Church with “Socks and Underwear” on the memo line.

Last year’s socks and underwear drive brought in $550 and 769 items of clothing. “Respect for the worth and dignity of every individual is a central tenet of Unitarian Universalism,” said Holly Tanguay, Co-President of the Gloucester church. “It’s hard to think of a better way to support individual dignity than by providing clean new undergarments to those who need them.” Frank Freedman staff member at the Grace Center reports that, “Underwear, socks and toiletries are the essentials most requested by our clients.”

Kathy Wilson, volunteer coordinator at Pathways, spoke about how important community support is to fulfilling their mission, “Pathways for Children depends on our collaboration with partners and community to meet ongoing needs, especially during these challenging times.  Donations such as socks and underwear provide much needed help for children and families impacted by economic inequity.” Questions about donating may be addressed to the Gloucester church at  info@gloucesteruu.org.

CAMPAIGN FAST FACTS

Ways to Reach Us

sawyerfree2025.org

Facebook: Sawyer Free 2025

Instagram: Sawyer Free 2025

YouTube: Sawyer Library Foundation 2025

info@sawyerfree2025.org

media@sawyerfree2025.org

Call 978.225.0915 

Text to donate to Sawyer Free 2025: Text “325182” to 1-855-575-7888 

Checks to: SF2025, 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930. (Pay to the order of: “Sawyer Library Foundation”)

Campaign Bullets

✓ What is Sawyer Free Library 2025?

Sawyer Free 2025 (visit sawyerfree2025.org) is a philanthropic capital campaign to fund a comprehensive renovation and modernization of Gloucester’s existing library building, designed by local architect Don Monell. The project will preserve the original exterior and also double the size of the existing library’s footprint by constructing a 15,000-square foot addition that extends the library toward School Street. 

The project’s design principles are grounded in the human experience and a mission to put people first. The newly renovated and expanded Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library will stand as an exemplar of what a 21st century educational, cultural, civic and community hub can and should be in terms of architecture, accessibility, sustainability, the use of natural resources and light, layouts, lines of sight, air quality and public safety. The interior will comprise three, seamlessly navigable floors featuring multimodal wayfinding, state-of-the-science embedded technology and customized acoustical elements.

Sawyer Free 2025 constitutes a once-in-a-lifetime transformational investment in a vital community resource that will exponentially amplify the library’s ability to deliver critical services and outcomes not only for Gloucester, but for communities across Cape Ann and the North Shore as a place of equity, inclusion, connection, creation, compassion, renewal and advancement. 

The project’s total projected cost is $28 million, a sum that includes built-in inflation costs through completion of the project in 2025. The completion of the new facility will result in a  25-percent increase in annual visitors, a 25-percent increase in the number of public programs offered each month and a 50-percent increase in the number of programs hosted at the library by partner agencies.

To learn more, find the “Visit Our Future” tile at sawyerfree2025.org, which goes live on May 10.

✓ Who put forward the building design?

Oudens Ello Architecture, which won a national AIA/ALA Library Building Award in 2018 for its design on the Eastham Public Library and a 2021 AIA New England Merit Award for its design of the Norwell Public Library. 

✓ Who is paying for the Sawyer Free Library renovation and addition?

The project is structured such that no public funds will cover any costs once the campaign is complete. Sawyer Free 2025 will ultimately be fully funded by philanthropic donations set in motion by an integrated media capital campaign under the direction of the Sawyer Library Foundation.

The Sawyer Free Library 2025 campaign employs no full-time paid staff and every member of the Sawyer Library Foundation Board is a volunteer. Campaign marketing costs are a pre-budgeted component of the campaign. Accordingly, 100 percent of donations will go to fund the library renovation and expansion project.

A provisional award of a $9.3 million matching grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will account for just over one third of the project’s total projected cost. Including the MBLC grant, the campaign has already raised $14.1 million in pledged donations.

✓ How Will The Campaign Roll Out 

The campaign will employ traditional methods to engage the community and raise awareness via print and digital earned media as well paid media, including television advertising on Comcast cable and streaming platforms, sponsorship spots on WBUR-FM broadcast and streaming channels and other local radio advertising. 

Sawyer Free 2025 will also deploy robust, state-of-the-science assets across digital and social media, including an interactive campaign website built by a user-experience designer, text to donate functionality and other easy ways to give electronically, SEO-optimized campaign pages on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, SEM-optimized social media ad placement, contests and staged crowdsourced events designed to go viral and targeted email marketing. 

Other traditional campaign-awareness tools will include visibility assets (signage, banners, mailers), campaign-awareness community events, a public display of the project and even broader outreach made possible by the library’s more than 100 North Shore nonprofit and civil service providers, including Wellspring, Pathways for Children, The Open Door, The Cape Ann Museum, the Cape Ann YMCA and the City of Gloucester, among many others.

The principal agency behind the Sawyer Free 2025 integrated media plan and strategic marketing campaign is GloWEST Communications, LLC. Supporting agencies include Simplicity Lab, DGA Productions, Clyde Media Productions, Octocog, Armstrong Brand Consulting and Tracy Davis PR.

✓ How do I know the Sawyer Library Foundation is tax-exempt?

View the Sawyer Library Foundation’s Determination Letter as a 501(c)(3) organization issued by the IRS at sawyerfree2025.org. Our EIN is: 84-2837206. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

✓ How does Sawyer Free Library 2025 keep payment data secure?

The Sawyer Library Foundation uses the Donorbox.org payment gateway for online donations. Payment gateways encrypt credit card information to process payments, protecting donors from card data theft and fraud. Donorbox serves the non-profit and charitable endeavors sector exclusively. Gifts can also be made through PayPal and Venmo within the donorbox gateway.

Recognized as a Capterra “Shortlist” top-performing fundraising software in 2021, the Donorbox platform is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard-compliant. This is the most stringent level of certification available in the electronic payments industry. Donorbox also features an added layer of protection by using an independent vendor—the Stripe Radar fraud detection system—which is one of the world’s most secure and trusted payment providers, currently used by Twitter, Shopify, Kickstarter and Lyft.

✓ Are There Other Ways to Give to Sawyer Free 2025?

• Visit sawyerfree2025.org
• Text to donate: Text “325182” to 1-855-575-7888 
• Checks to: SF2025, 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930 (Pay to the order of: “Sawyer Library Foundation”)
• Volunteer! Reach out if you want to pitch in at the library or on behalf of the capital campaign, either in person or virtually. Help your neighbors, serve your community and share your expertise. No matter what kind of volunteer work you do for us, you are contributing in invaluable ways.