ALVIN FOSTER AND THE SOUL ECLECTIC BAND ROCKS AT FINAL
GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE CONCERT
Friday, September 6 free concert on Meetinghouse Green
Alvin Foster and his Soul Eclectic Band will have you boogying to the beats of Motown and Soul, at the final concert of the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation’s summer concert series, Music on Meetinghouse Green, on Friday, September 6, from 6:30 PM to 8 PM. Foster and his band will take you back in time to the 60s, 70s and 80s. “We will play soul music underpinning Black people’s courage to be happy and celebrate life, love, spirituality, and growth, in the face of racism,” explains Foster.
Boston-based Foster found his musical passions through youthful immersion in Hip-Hop, Soul, and Jazz. His musical influences include Miles Davis, James Brown, Lou Rawls, Anita Baker, and Aretha Franklin. He has been performing to great acclaim in the Boston area for over ten years. Foster and the Soul Eclectic Band use timeless gems to deliver a fun-filled and thoughtful musical experience.
Alvin Foster is a vocalist, music director, songwriter, and faculty member of the Berklee College of Music, his alma mater, where he teaches Ensemble. He has arranged, directed, or performed for events honoring Berry Gordy, Harry Belafonte, and Lena Horne to name a few. He currently serves as Executive Director for SaveOurSelves Productions, a multi-faceted musical platform that produces live concerts, studio recordings, publications, and educational clinics.
Each week Music on Meetinghouse Green partners with a different non-profit organization to raise awareness for the services they provide to the local community. At the September 6 concert, the audience is invited to contribute a freewill donation to the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation, founded in 2015. The mission of the Meetinghouse Restoration Project is to complete a historically informed but fully functional building restoration, both to preserve this important landmark and to be a cultural gathering place for all of Gloucester and Cape Ann. Gloucester-based restaurant The Causeway will provide delicious seafood.
The Gloucester Meetinghouse, home of the Unitarian Universalist Church, is located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets. The concert is handicapped accessible. Event parking is available on the green and at additional parking lots nearby in the Historic District. Folding chairs will be provided or bring your own beach chair or blanket. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held inside the Meetinghouse.
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is grateful to our 2019 sponsors who made this series possible:
Hero: Scobie Ward
Platinum Tier: J.J. & Jackie Bell, Cape Ann Savings Bank, Harry & Mary Hintlian
Gold Tier: John and Janis Bell, Bomco, Michael & Mary Ann Bresnan
Silver Tier: Anonymous, Gib and Sarah Carey, JoeAnn Hart & Gordon Baird, Charles Nazarian, John and Sandra Ronan
Bronze Tier: Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, Bill & Rose Hausman
All 2019 Music on Meetinghouse Green concerts are dedicated in honor of Linzee Coolidge and the late Beth Coolidge for their vision and generosity.
Donna Ardizzoni / Circle Consulting Group 978-526-9222
THE DOGTOWN WRITERS FESTIVAL: FINDING WORDS IN PLACE Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, 2019. The Dogtown Writers Festival is an event that the Gloucester Writers Center has designed to provide multiple creative opportunities for writing in unique venues, ensuring that all voices are heard. Join us and other fellow writers in exploring and celebrating PLACE, with Cape Ann as a microcosm of the global macrocosm. The festival will be looking at what shapes our progressive future without losing “grounding” in our cultural roots and the history we grow out of. We will develop our personal connection with the “geography of our being”—the place in which we live, work, and create, whether that place is Cape Ann or beyond. It is what poet Vincent Ferrini referred to as the “Holy Local,” a lens through which to look at the world. Our workshops, keynote speakers, and panel discussions will explore, through dialogue and writing, the themes of: “Words in Place,” “Words Over Time,” and “Words in People—Voices of Cape Ann.” “What cannot be taken away-/the/Temple/outside/me/ in me/ I am inside /of life is the poem.” ~ Vincent Ferrini “Exploration of the HOLY LOCAL, the inner and outer worlds that we are all heir to.” ~Henry Ferrini **THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE FOR THE FESTIVAL IS LISTED BELOW THE WORKSHOPS. WORKSHOP OFFERINGS:
Democracy. History. Community. Environment. Throughout his life in Gloucester, historian and writer Joseph E. Garland advocated for a fully engaged citizenry to preserve the city’s integrity, authenticity, and transparency as a democratically participatory community. Joe recognized that the very fabric of Gloucester’s cultural identity was at risk of dissolution in the face of larger industrial shifts fundamentally changing its socioeconomic landscape. His impassioned writing served as a community conscience, prodding citizen involvement in preserving Gloucester’s history and heritage. The Garland Legacy Project arose from the vision of Helen Garland and family members to ensure that Joe’s central values would continue to inspire and guide key endeavors which were dear to him. The Garland Legacy Project honors Gloucester’s history, culture, and natural environment by providing support to innovative Gloucester programs that advance citizen self-governance, historic awareness of place and purpose, leadership in ocean and all environmental stewardship, preservation of the “commonwealth,” the importance of the written word, the literary arts, and the pursuit of peace. The Garland Legacy Project strives to ensure that these defining values embraced by Joe and Helen Garland remain vibrant and relevant, serving to promote a just, compassionate society, a transparent accountable government, and a sustained healthy planet. ************************************************************************************************* The Gloucester Writers Center and the Dogtown Writers Festival committee thanks the Mass Cultural Council for their generous grant and the following organizations and friends for their donation of locations for our workshops and discussion panels. We appreciate their generosity and spirit of community!
Good Morning Gloucester 