PRESS RELEASE (for immediate release):
Music on Meetinghouse Green, Summer Music Festival 2021
The free outdoor concerts resume live on the Green at the corner of Middle and Church Street starting July 9th on Friday evenings at 6:00pm. Join us for the festival’s sixth season of great music, raising funds for Cape Ann non-profits via free-will offerings, and delicious food available from local vendors. Info: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
Description:
This unique free summer music festival features a different popular musical ensemble at each Friday evening concert on Meetinghouse Green and benefits nine North Shore non-profits via free-will offerings from the audience. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and your favorite libation to enjoy the music and delicious food available from local vendors while supporting the local non-profit partner of the event with cash or check donations.
Performers:
The season again opens with the acclaimed John Baboian Ensemble from the Berklee School in support of Pathways for Children. Concerts offer a delightful medley of Jazz, Punk, Rock-n Roll, and Oldies from the 50s to the 70s. Some of this season’s offerings include: What Time Is it Mr. Fox? with Brian King; singer Mari Martin; Willie Alexander’s Persistence of Memory Orchestra; The Goddesses; and The Cape Ann Big Band. The Middle Eastern group, Hye Fusion, returns with music ideal for line dancing and there are two newcomer ensembles to delight music-lovers: the internationally-acclaimed Klezmer band, Ezekiel’s Wheels and Vermont lyrical Folk duo, The Early Risers.
Schedule:
| DATE | MUSICIANS | NON-PROFIT PARTNER | FOOD VENDOR |
| July 9 | John Baboian Ensemble | Pathways for Children | Causeway |
| July 16 | The Early Risers | Backyard Growers | Common Crow |
| July 23 | Hye Fusion | Maritime Gloucester | Classic Cooks |
| July 30 | The Goddesses | Open Door | Jalapeno’s |
| August 6 | What Time Is It Mr. Fox? | North Shore Health Project | Maria’s Pizza |
| August 13 | Mari Martin | HAWC | Jalapeno’s |
| August 20 | Ezekiel’s Wheels | Grace Center | TBD |
| August 27 | Willie Alexander’s Persistence of Memory Orchestra | Gloucester Education Foundation | TBD |
| September 10 | Cape Ann Big Band | Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation | Causeway |
Location, Time and More Info:
The Green in front of the Gloucester Meetinghouse is located at the intersection of Middle and Church Street. The program starts at 6:00PM and concludes around 8:30PM. Please consult www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org for more information about the performers, non-profits and food vendors. Sign up for our email blasts to stay current, especially for contingency plans in case of bad weather. Note: parking on the Green is limited to a small area near Middle Street for persons with disabilities only.
Sponsors
Thanks to our Sponsors all the series’ expenses, such as for the musicians, are pre-paid. 100% of the free-will donations go to our non-profit community partners.
Platinum John & Janis Bell, J.J. & Jackie Bell, Cape Ann Savings Bank, J. Linzee Coolidge, Scobie Ward
Gold BOMCO, Michael & Mary Ann Bresnan, Landesign, Inc.
Silver Anonymous, Tom Burger & Andrée Robert, JoeAnn Hart & Gordon Baird, Pat Johnson & Jeff Henderson, Susan McKain & Ken Steiner, Charles Nazarian, John & Sandra Ronan
Bronze Jerry Ackerman, Karen Bell, Pamela Bynum & Henry Ferrara, Peter Calkins & Susan Casey, Frederick Cowan, Richard Gardner, Rev. Janet Parsons, Dick Prouty, Joe & Maggie Rosa, Kathleen Williams, Sarah Willwerth-Dyer
Restoration of the Green Coming Up Soon!
After many years of neglect Meetinghouse Green is in need of a thorough restoration. Last year, summer series virtual audiences contributed $7,500 towards a Feasibility Study by the firm Landesign, Inc. to improve accessibility and enhance safety. The GMF is currently seeking large government and foundation grants plus individual donations to fund this over $200K project, slated to begin this fall and be completed in time for the 2022 summer series.
About the GMF
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit modeled upon the Old North Foundation in relation to Boston’s famous Old North Church. Its mission is to preserve the landmark building as a civic hub, entertainment venue, and community center. The ongoing preservation of the building seeks to combine the highest standard of restoration with energy conservation techniques and has achieved a ‘net-zero’ building carbon footprint with the help of Reforest the Tropics and its climate-change initiative TownGreen/2025.
Building History and the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation
Completed in 1806 for the first Universalist Church in America, the grand Federal Style, 600-seat Meetinghouse with a 110’ lantern steeple and Paul Revere Bell is a jewel in the heart of the Historic District. Now well into its third century serving the people of Cape Ann, its history is steeped in the establishment of religious freedom in Massachusetts and the Constitutional separation of church and state. Home of the present-day Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church and host to The Grace Center, the building is alive with activities like concerts, family-friendly entertainment, events, symposia and civic celebrations.
Good Morning Gloucester 