On special days throughout the year like Middle Street Walk, the generous Gloucester City Hall Restoration Committee volunteers provide City Hall Tower tours. The weather for Saturday’s Middle Street Walk was sunny, but blustery and chilly. Joe Rosa greeted visitors. Maggie Rosa and Steve Dexter from Carroll Steel Insurance bundled up and stayed up just so guests could climb for sweeping panoramas.
John Prybot, Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free librarian, was kind enough to grab these photos. The angle and brightness of the sun favored a photographic vista in one direction: over and beyond the Sawyer Free library and Temple Ahavat Achim to the harbor and Stage Fort Park. You can see Middle Street steeples, the fire station, the lovely John and Dorothy Rando Memorial Garden and amphitheater, and the graceful balance of open space between the library, Central Grammar, and City hall. The library buildings and the temple architecture stand out and fit in.
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Man at the Wheel gift from our “engaged bipartisan leaders” Mayor Romeo Theken, Senator Tarr, and Representative Ferrante on behalf of the City of Gloucester.
Bob Quinn presented a welcome with driftwood from our beaches on behalf of the Rose Baker Senior Center board hosting the Town Hall.
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The Gloucester Stage presents Holiday Delights tonight at 7:30. Saturday and Sunday 2pm. Conceived and directed by Heidi Dallin with help this year from Sarah Vandewalle and other professionals. Amazing group!
Photographs from tech week
Sarah Vandewalle
Scrutiny
Hold up! Hold up!
Enjoy Gail McCarthy advance press in the Gloucester Daily Times Pg 01: Holiday Delights and here A Glosta holiday “Gloucesters Meagan Gallo, center, plays the role of a girl who takes a Christmas Eve journey through time in the annual production of Holiday Delights, produced by Gloucester Stages Youth Acting Workshops. Three shows are planned this weekend Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. This is a scene from Santas workshop with some of the 40-member cast of local youth and teens. For a full story of the Holiday Delights show and more photos, see Gail McCarthys…”
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Love the new wood signs heralding the Lobster Trap Tree lighting on Saturday, December 10th, just after a fun-filled day of Middle Street walk festivities.
The tree looks gorgeous already, but just wait until it’s trimmed with buoys hand-painted by children in our community under the direction of Cape Ann Art Haven and with the help of volunteers! The After is priceless and original. Thank you Cape Ann Art Haven and all who help to make this tradition happen in Gloucester. Wreaths and lights on the street lamps are readied by the City, Gloucester Downtown Association, and Ringo Tarr.
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The Cape Ann Museum was closed today and early yesterday to prepare for their incredible luncheon. This year it was throughout the museum with formal seating upstairs and downstairs and a rock star video feed. It was elegant, inspiring and fun! For more information see the earlier GMG post.
Mariposa founder Livia Cowan with Mariposa designers, Shelly Bradbury and Michael Updike, were the featured speakers. Timothy S. Hopkins catered; it was scrumptious. Tiny special red peppers looked like ornaments in our salads and were a discovery for many. The new tote bag featuring the Lee Natti chicadee print was flying out the museum shop. Kathleen Adams (harpsichord) and Dawn Pratson (flute) filled our hearts with LIVE music directly from the Jeremy Adams exquisite special exhibition. The Paul Manship tortoise was festooned for the holidays which seemed extra fitting as last year’s luncheon raised more than $25,000 towards this acquisition.
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The Cape Ann Museum is closed today for this festive and cherished women’s only soiree hosted by the museum’s active Fitz Henry Lane Society and Red Cottage Society committees in concert with the outstanding museum staff. There is ample time for lingering points of vantage throughout the exhibits, holiday shopping, and dining in the galleries upstairs and downstairs.
The 2016 gathering is catered by Timothy S. Hopkins. Mariposa founder and designers are the featured speakers. Felicia Ciaramitaro (SistaFelicia) has featured Mariposa designs in her work and on the GMG blog.
For many museum guests, it will be the last chance to visit the special exhibition featuring recent Cape Ann Museum acquisitions, closing Sunday, December 11th. The extraordinary exhibition with a modest title Voicing the Woods: Jeremy Adams Instrument Makerwill be up through February 26th.
Inspired by Joey’s and Kim Smith’s countdowns and Greg Bover’s posts, I was thinking about a GMG countdown of favorite quotable Christmas and holiday excerpts, with an extra bonus for passages with Gloucester ties. Please add or send quotes, passages, and poems that we can delight in and share.
I’ll start with a description of jubilant awakening — children bursting through doors early Christmas morning — from a 1939 book by Jan Struther, Mrs. Miniver, which for me is also a sweet reminder about my folks as they followed a similar “stocking first-presents after” routine and were beloved.
A little background: Struther’s book stemmed from her popular fiction column begun in 1937 and published every two weeks in The Times. Following the book’s smash reception, the classic William Wyler movie, Mrs. Miniver, starring Greer Garson was released in 1942. The movie is based on the book but its own story. The movie was nominated for 12 Oscars and garnered 6 including best picture. The music is by Herbert Stothart who won an Oscar for his work on the Wizard of Oz.
Mrs. Miniver on embracing positive enthusiasm:
“It began in the same way every year: the handle of her bedroom door being turned just loudly enough to wake her up, but softly enough not to count as waking her up on purpose; (her child) Toby glimmering like a moth in the dark doorway, clutching a nobbly Christmas stocking in one hand and holding up his pyjama trousers with the other. (He insisted upon pyjamas, but he had not yet outgrown his sleeping-suit figure.)
‘Toby! It’s only just after six. I did say not till seven.’ ‘But, Mummy, I can’t tell the time.’ He was barefoot and shivering, and his eyes were like stars.
I shot this photo on October 3rd. I was thinking about artists and the color green; mostly the essential May Stevens (American artist, exquisite painter, writer, activist) and some Gerhard Richter (German artist); natural abstraction and reflections. I thought about the blue on the ducks after reading a November 3 post from Martin Ray’s enjoyable blog Notes from Halibut Point: Birds of the Quarry, 3- The Mallard
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Small business Saturday – how about an original newspaper story about Gloucester’s sea serpent? Dogtown Books will have that, rare and used books, work by local artists, and more.
Dogtown Books participates annually in the Boston Book print and Ephemera show. Bob was unpacking boxes from the fair the day I stopped by.
Unique and special children’s picture books and young adult chapter books. Plenty of Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl the day I was there.
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How? Executive Director Erich Archer states it plainly: “The team at Cape Ann TV and this community make that goal possible. There’s something special and local: the characters, stories and the beauty of Cape Ann. People actively participate in this community, which is incredibly important. Plus, there’s high caliber and diverse talent.”
CATV AND COMCAST
Cape Ann TV is located at 38 Blackburn Center in Gloucester, MA, and it’s community television, local, social, and non-commercial. Unlike PBS –which produces shows for a national audience and broadcasts broadly via satellites– community television stations create, produce, and distribute content locally, via a cable provider. There are 350+ active community television stations across the country that operate with a variety of funding sources depending upon how they’re set up. *Since an FCC mandate in 1972, cable providers receive access to rights of way in exchange for funding local cable TV channels by and for the public. The cable television franchise contract fees pay for equipment, training, facilities, studio time and channels (air time). Currently the fiscal model for Cape Ann TV covers operation and capital needs. Comcast is the local Cape Ann TV cable provider. Archer said that Cape Ann TV has spent more than a year working together with local governments, area schools, partners and citizens to outline and identify what the communities wanted to include in renegotiation terms for the next 10 year contract with Comcast. It was a massive document and effort, and is currently under negotiation.
The original purpose of cable access continues to be providing TV studios and support for community members so they can make their own content. Our station, CATV, has much to offer that’s relevant. If you need video, CATV can make it for you whether you are an individual, non-profit, for profit or municipality. Make it a point to visit the station and use this invaluable resource. While you’re at it, why not
START YOUR OWN TV SHOW AT CATV
Here’s your chance. Members can use the cameras, production, and the studio to make their own TV show. You can sign up for film maker and editing classes, lunch workshops, state of the art equipment, cameras, the conference room for community meetings, editing banks, and studio time. Do it. Have fun.
CREATE YOUR OWN PODCAST AT CATV
There have been upgrades to CATV headquarters: new wall color, original art, and re-design including transposing an under-utilized lobby into a beautiful podcast studio. Podcasts are on an uptick everywhere thanks to easy on demand listening. Since the podcast studio was put in at Cape Ann TV there have been hundreds of downloads–beyond clicking and listening. Invested audiences are saving the shows to listen at their convenience. Archer notes, “We have podcasts about high school sports, one from NOAA about fishery-related issues, arts and variety, and more.” CATV encourages people to start one if they’re interested. “We’ll help them every step of the way.”
WHAT’S ON CATV?
Cape Ann TV broadcasts original programs and local coverage: area high school sports, city council and municipal meetings, community meetings, Cape Ann Museum programs, library events, local artists and art groups, Cape Ann scenics, and school productions to name just a few. Award winning programs include: The Portrait Series; Awesome Gloucester; GMG podcasts; Writers Block with John Ronan; All Things Victorian; and the Emmy-winning On the Waterfront, a series about how local seafood gets to your plate.
DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN HIRE CATV FOR COMMERCIAL CONTENT?
Does your business or organization need any professional video shot? Cape Ann TV funding sources also include for profit productions for commercial content. So, if you want to make a video for commercial purposes that will not air on Cape Ann TV, you can contract Cape Ann TV to make it. CATV can work at a high quality and any budget. Do you have an exciting event you’d like to capture? Do you need to film a board room meeting? One example- CATV produced film for a permanent display at Cape Ann Museum.
DID YOU KNOW GRANT FUNDERS AND COMMUNITY GET DOUBLE VALUE?
CATV has strategically partnered with organizations seeking grant funding. If an organization is writing a grant proposal that includes a video element, they can write CATV into the grant, and CATV will match the grant funds with in kind services. So for example Cape Ann Seafood Exchange wrote a big grant, and they won $5000 as part of this big grant to make a video. CATV matched that award which meant Seafood Exchange could make a $10,000 value video. Next time you’re writing a grant, think about ramping up the application with a video component, and plan ahead so it can happen!
A NOTE FROM MAYOR ROMEO-THEKEN
“Cape Ann Television is an invaluable asset to Gloucester and the Cape Ann community. The city turns to CATV for important local news, information and media education opportunities. The dedicated staff members and volunteers at Cape Ann Television through the leadership of Erich Archer work tirelessly to improve and broaden their coverage of public, education, and government events, keeping our citizens informed and entertained. I have been involved with Cape Ann Television for many years, sharing my views as a city councilor, mayoral candidate and finally, today as Mayor. From this personal experience, I have always recognized the value that CATV provides, allowing local citizens the opportunity to share opinions and information. It is a critical piece of our city’s democracy.” Mayor Romeo Theken, City of Gloucester, MA
DIRECTOR CATV
Erich Archer has been at the helm of Cape Ann TV for three years. He is a filmmaker and editor by profession. “I try to produce at least one original project a year that I’m proud of. The two On the Waterfront episodes are definitely in that category, as are the two Portrait Series pieces.”
Prior to running the station he worked in Los Angeles in TV and advertising. He moved back from LA for…love. His wife, Tara, is a wardrobe stylist who grew up on the North Shore. They have two children and reside in Beverly. As a boy, Archer spent summers on Wingaersheek beach with his family. His parents recently moved to Rocky Neck; his mother, Kathleen Gerdon Archer, had a gallery on Rocky Neck. That’s her original art on the walls.
