Helping people move safely and easily throughout the city is a contant Gloucester Department of Public Works directive. One recent construction project with CDBG ADA funds that’s fast finishing will be a welcome addition in the neighborhood along School Street between Prospect & Proctor, before the Gloucester Fire Department and back of the library. The new sidewalks extend roughly .10 mile each side. Expect some road closure to cars and no parking through May 10th. I’ll post Before/After pictures when the work’s complete.
In the meantime, here is a completed Before/After sequence- the evolution of the Duncan Street sidewalk and road repairs September-October 2018.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Another sign of creative spring- the banners are up! Gloucester Public School 11th Annual citywide arts festival May 11, 2019 presented by Gloucester Education Foundation at Cape Ann Museum, City Hall, & Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library https://thinkthebest.org/
Schedule of events here
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Great Marsh Brewing Company expansion is well underway on the former Fortune Palace site at 99 Main Street in Essex, Ma. The brew pub makes a statement on the skyline and will have incredible views. Slated to open in the fall of 2019, the new brewery and restaurant received a five million bond boost from MassDevelopment and partnership with Webber Restaurant Group. North shore owner John Collins resides in Newburyport. If progress remains on track, the opening will sync right in with Town of Essex Bicentennial Celebrations in 2019 (see brochure below).
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Tomorrow is the last day to catch the travel exhibition Once Upon a contest in Manchester. Explore fantastic new children’s books by local authors and artists at the lovely Manchester Historical Museum. Friday will also be the last chance to catch Leslie Galacar’s temporary work consisting of a series of intricate illustrations that progress from the entry to the main gallery. Can you find this one on site?
The exhibition changes with each installation as each locale and architecture is unique and special- as are the programs and public art component. The reading and art exhibit is coming to Essex next, opening on May 4th at TOHP Burnham Library.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Trifold brochure see the front here and the back here. Donna Ardizonni, Johnanne Cassia, Bachman and Essex Heritage contributed photography for the new edition.
Woman Owned Businesses on the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway post on Facebook and Instagram. Contact Pauline Bresnahan paulinesgifts@gmail.com or Johanne Cassia jwcassia@gmail.com with any questions. Tours welcome.
7:00pm Parley SnotBot, EarBot & Drones for Whale Research
Parley Pre-Concert Talk Featuring Drs. Iain Kerr & Roger Payne, Ocean Alliance
Cyrill Gutsch, Founder, Parley for the Oceans
Join Dr. Roger Payne, Dr. Iain Kerr, and Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch as we dive into the world of whales and the new technologies that are changing the way that we study them.
8:00pm MIT Wind Ensemble 20th Anniversary Concert
Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr., Music Director
Kenneth Amis, Assistant Conductor
Stephen C. Massey, Guest Conductor
MITWE Alumni
Kathryn Salfelder and Michael Weinstein, Guest Composers
Drs. Roger Payne and Iain Keer, Guest Speakers, Ocean Alliance
Cyrill Gutsch, Guest Speaker, Parley for the Oceans
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, MITWE brings together traditional and new music, works commissioned by the ensemble, special guests, and alumni. In tribute to its recent tour to the Dominican Republic and collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, the concert features “In Praise Of The Humpback,” prefaced by remarks by legendary biologist-environmentalist and whale song expert, Dr. Roger Payne.
Renowned music educator Stephen C. Massey leads Persichetti Symphony no. 6, and legendary wind ensemble conductor-historian Frank L. Battisti will be honored by performances of three works composed for his 85th birthday in 2016, by Kenneth Amis, Kathryn Salfelder, and Michael Weinstein. MITWE’s percussion ensemble performs a new work in honor of MITWE’s 20th anniversary and “Course Sax” performs Piazzolla’s famed “Cafe, 1930” from Histoire du Tango. MITWE alumni join current MITWE members to close out the program with Gustav Holst’s amiable Second Suite in F.
Also known as bootlace seaweed, mermaid’s tresses, mermaid’s fishing line, dead man’s rope, and
“Sea Whip: Chorda Filum resembles a long whip which can be from 10 to 70 cm long and is very deep brown. it grows in a long strand from a disc holdfast. It looks much like rope or cord, and hence its name. It is found in the sublittoral area or often washed ashore after heavy wave action. It ranges from new Jersey to northern Labrador.”Sarah Fraser Robbins and Clairice Yentsch, the Sea is All About Us, 1973. Chorda filum was not present when I wrote about seaweed on Long Beach after the 2016 fall Storm Hermine.
What a dreamy, atmospheric and wide open beach this Easter morning. Prior high tide reached more than half way into post and rope refuge sites for the piping plovers, though plenty of stretches of dry sand moguls remained. The birds were foraging at the water’s edge.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Cape Ann Art Exhibit The State House and Senator Tarr will Honor Art and Artists of Cape Ann in a reception to be held at The State House in Senate Hall on May 8, 2019 at 10:00am -11:00 am.
The Cape Ann Art Exhibit portrays extraordinary talent and diversity in both media and vision. Each Artist has displayed a life of dedication to community, preserving, promoting and representing the Value of ART to our lives. This show is happening because of Karen Tibbetts. Featured artists of today and in tribute include
Once Upon a Contest is on view through April 26 at the Manchester Historical Museum for the Manchester Public Library leg of this travel exhibit. Leslie Galacar created a site specific 4 part piece that will be displayed for the length of the Manchester run.
Read Gloucester Daily Times “Manchester illustrator featured at Historical Museum” here
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to run through Dogtown’s best trails and support Cape Ann Trail Stewards! Sunday, May 19 9 AM Start 5 miles
Parking at O’Maley Middle School, 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA.
Packet pick-up from 7-8:30 AM at the race start on Dogtown Road.
Your entry earns you a 1-year membership to Cape Ann Trail Stewards, a t-shirt and 100% of your tax-deductible donation goes back into the trails on Cape Ann.
$25 pre-registration $30 race day
Information and registration at: http://www.capeanntrailstewards.org/
Cape Ann Trail Stewards helps to maintain existing trails, improve access and promote the responsible use of the Cape Ann Trail network and recreational areas. Our work area includes: Essex, Gloucester, Manchester and Rockport.
Essex news from Lee Spence and Lynne and Jay Havighurst:
ArtTalk: Conversations with Essex Artists
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2019 from 10AM – 12PM
Hosted by Essex River Cultural District
Event Location: Essex Town Hall, 3rd Floor, 30 Martin Street, Essex, MA 01929
(An accessible facility)
Get to know a diverse group of Essex artists as they share thoughts on the creative process, inspirations and influences behind their art, in a casual conversation moderated by Karen Ristuben (Program Director, Creative County Initiative at Essex County Community Foundation) with audience Q&A. Hear from poet Erica Funkhouser, whose latest book, Post and Rail, undertakes an exploration of family history, one mother’s compelling silences and our recent discovery of a way to “hear” gravitational waves that have been traveling to earth from billions of years ago. Mixed media artist Susan Guest-McPhail, passionate about the process of experimenting and starting new, explores the mystery of creating a non-objective painting. Glassblower James McLeod of The Bubble Factory uses steel or wood coupled with glass – creating tension between a very fragile material and a seemingly unbreakable, “heavy” material – to generate an emotional response and connection to these objects. Sculptor Chris Williams bends, shapes and welds metal into life-like works of art that appear caught in a moment of stillness. His process of bending and twisting the metal gives each piece a pulse. Essex Arts Collective comprises the second panel of artists. This dynamic group of women artists create collaboratively and collectively to inspire each other as they pursue their art. Featured members are Melissa Glorieux, Jen Groeber, Mallie Pratt, Jen Romans, Margaret Sweet and Alison Taylor.
Doors open at 9:30AM with complimentary coffee and cinnamon rolls by Ripple on the Water Restaurant. Following ArtTalk, clam chowder by Woodman’s Restaurant will be served. Free admission and parking.
This special event, presented by the Essex River Cultural District, is funded by a grant from the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. The event marks the recent 5-year renewal of the Essex River Cultural District designation. ArtTalk: Conversations with Essex Artists is part of ArtWeek (https://www.artweekma.org), a statewide creative festival.
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (April 10, 2019) –The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to participate in ARTWEEK 2019 by offering Yoga in the Gallery with Director of Library & Archives Molly Hardy, on Saturday, April 27 at 9:00 a.m. This program is $5 for Museum members or $10 nonmembers(includes Museum admission). Reservations can be made at camuseum.eventbrite.com. Email info@capeannmuseum.org or call 978-283-0455 x10 for more information.
Molly O’Hagan Hardy is the Director of Library and Archives at the Cape Ann Museum. Dr. Hardy previously served as the Director of Digital and Book History Initiatives at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester where she oversaw digital research and pedagogical projects, both in-house and in the larger scholarly community. Molly Hardy brings her passion of literature and history to her teaching of ashtanga-style yoga, and believes in the power of yoga to heal and to inspire. She started practicing five years ago to recover from decades of running and triathlon training, and to lift her spirits. She has completed Cape Ann Power Yoga 200 hour Teacher Training.
With support from a network of 150 statewide, regional, community and media partners, ArtWeek celebrates all forms of creativity in an affordable and accessible way for everyone who lives, works, plays and visits Massachusetts. It’s an award-winning, innovative festival that features hundreds of unique and creative experiences that are hands-on, interactive or offer behind-the-scenes access to arts, culture and the creative process. ArtWeek events span the Commonwealth’s six regions—Greater Boston, North of Boston, South of Boston, Cape Cod & Islands, Central Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts—and roughly 70 percent of this season’s events are free, making the arts accessible to everyone across the Commonwealth. Visit artweekMA.org to view the full calendar of events by town, region, price or area of interest.
Image courtesy of Cape Ann Museum.
About the Cape Ann Museum
The Cape Ann Museum has been in existence since the 1870s, working to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, two historic homes and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. Visit capeannmuseum.org for details.
The Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. For more information please call: (978)283-0455 x10. Additional information can be found online at http://www.capeannmuseum.org.
Philip Reisman’s 1928 etching depicts a family and friends gathered together reading the Haggadah at their Passover Seder.
Philip Reisman 1928 etching series scenes of NYC
About the artist, Philip Reisman-
Philip Reisman produced some sixty prints during the 1920s until 1931, mostly scenes from life all about him in New York City. Reisman studied printmaking with Harry Wickey who became a wonderful friend and guide. Helen Farr Sloan introduced Wickey to Reisman. At the time of this print, Reisman was sharing a studio with Harry Sternberg. He hadn’t sold any art work until he began to sell etchings. Later, when the “floor fell through everything” during the Depression, he applied for employment on the WPA. He was first assigned to the graphics department, and then moved on to easel painting and mural projects.
He was smart, humble, political and hopeful. A great humanist and social commentator. He and Louise, his wife, visited Gloucester often. Examples of his paintings and photography of Gloucester are included in the Cape Ann Museum.
– Catherine Ryan
I was lucky to know them both well.
Reisman was born in Poland in 1904 and from the age of four brought up on the lower east side in New York City, “a way of life and kind of scene I understand and witness. The kind of scene which arouses me emotionally and that’s why I do it and keep doing it because it hasn’t lost its meaning for me.”
“In my work I focus on people…I paint people because they have always transfixed me. What they do. Why they do certain things. I’m really puzzled why people do many things and captivated by everything about them. The way they dress, the way they act and their relationships. The architecture they build around themselves. The whole thing is an endless fascination to me.”
“My interest is in portraying life as I see it with its light moments and with its sad moments and I present it as it is…as long as I live I’ll keep painting people because they intrigue me and I have hope!”-excerpts from my interview with Reisman in 1985 before his 83rd birthday
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Gloucester Historical Commission annual awards ceremony takes place at Cape Ann Museum
The 2019 Gloucester Preservation Awards Press Release from the Gloucester Historical Commission
The Gloucester Historical Commission invites the public to attend the annual 2019 Preservation Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 19, 2 to 4 pm at the Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester. The event features a slide show of winning projects and comments by recipients.
May is National Historic Preservation Month, and each year the Historical Commission recognizes outstanding cultural heritage preservation, restoration, and education projects.
This year’s award recipients are:
Bryan Melanson – Restoration & Rehabilitation, for his cooperation and responsiveness as a developer to historic preservation on the Back Shore.
Lillian Olmsted – Stewardship, for her research and vigilance as a citizen seeking to preserve the historic character of her neighborhood.
Magnolia Historical Society – Adaptive Reuse, for the rehabilitation of the Blynman School as their headquarters and a local history museum.
Bernadette Fendrock & Alan D’Andrea– Restoration & Rehabilitation, for restoration of an architecturally significant house at 24 Beach Rd.
1623 Studios – Education & Outreach, for their programming on the history and historic preservation of Gloucester and Cape Ann.
Manship Artists Residency + Studios – Adaptive Reuse, for their rehabilitation of the Paul Manship estate as working space for artists and sculptors.
James Ryan – Preserving Gloucester History, for his annotated hand-drawn maps of Cape Ann’s granite quarries and neighborhoods.
Richard & Kathy Clark – Stewardship, for their faithful volunteer efforts on the restoration of the Civil War-era Clark Cemetery.
Annisquam Yacht Club – Restoration and Rehabilitation, for their extensive rehabilitation of a historically significant recreational facility.
Meetinghouse Foundation – Education and Outreach, for its cultural programs and collaborative preservation of a historic church building.
Appreciation Award for Individual Lifetime Achievement– To be announced.
Certificates are awarded based on the following criteria:
Preserved neighborhood history through research, writing, or art
Preserved a property that is historically significant in age, style, or use.
Restored using traditional materials or methods.
Preserved historical integrity or appearance.
Protected from present threat or future harm.
Completed project within the past two years.
Accomplished by individual, family, group, or company, or through community advocacy or fundraising
Award categories include the following.
Archaeology
Adaptive reuse
Stewardship
Education and outreach
Landscape preservation
Restoration and rehabilitation
Local preservationist
Individual lifetime achievement
Documentation of Gloucester’s history
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Good Morning Gloucester 