Author: Sharon

Knitting is again gaining popularity as a growing number of residents are getting together to share their projects. To that end, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library will present a program Monday at 6 p.m. in the Friend Room titled “Know Your Knitting (K)Neighbor — The Ecological Knitter.”

This will be an evening of talk and demonstrations on ways to reclaim, recycle, reuse wool, cotton, cashmere, silk yarns and fabrics. The public is invited to bring their own projects or just come and chat. At the last knitting event, a woman shared with the group how she would buying hand-knit sweaters in thrift stores, unraveling them to reuse the yarn. This sparked a discussion about reusing fiber, both yarn and fabric.

Rose Ann Hunter, an Old Sturbridge Village Craftsman, will bring examples of projects she makes from fabric recycled from garments and thrift stores. Kathleen Valentine, author of “The Mermaid Shawl & Other Beauties: Shawls, Cocoons & Wraps,” will bring two of the shawls featured in the book, made from reclaimed silk.

Call Leslie Wind for more information at 978-546-6539, or e-mail inquiry@parlezmoipress.com.

Wine tasting and music

The Rotary Club of Rockport is holding a wine tasting at Rockport Golf Club this Saturday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Requested donation is $30; tickets are available at the door or at the club’s Web site at http://www.rockportrotary.org. The evening of wine sampling includes hors d’oeuvres provided by Classic Cooks and live jazz and blues music by Alek Razdan and the A-Train. There will be a silent auction. There will be more than 100 wines to sample, including those from California, Washington state, France, South America, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal.

‘Suessical’ in Gloucester

“Seussical,” a musical based on the books of Dr. Seuss that made a Broadway debut in 2000, will performed by the Department of Performing Arts of Landmark High School, opening tonight at 7:30. Shows also are tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. Show are at Fuller Auditorium in Gloucester. This popular show is for all ages and will be accompanied by a professional orchestra. Tickets are available at the door for $5, general seating, and $15 for special VIP seating.

Pete Lindberg CD release

Tomorrow, The Dog Bar will host Pete Lindberg’s first CD release party. Lindberg spent the last few months recording his first solo CD with Bradley Royds at his Cape Ann studios. Royds described Lindberg as “a gifted storyteller with prolific talent — a true bard.” He is part of a growing musical family, which includes his father Mike Lindberg, who plays with the Irish/Celtic group O Brien’s Boru. The new CD features his songs, accompanied simply by guitar and harmonica. The show begins at 9 p.m. The Dog Bar is located at 65 Main St. in Gloucester. There is no cover. For information, visit http://www.myspace.com/plindberg or http://www.dogbarcapeann.com.

Gloucester Maritime celebration

The Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center is host a three-day celebration, today through Saturday, to celebrate the opening of its new Gorton’s Seafoods Gallery and the start of the 2009 season. All events take place at the center, located at 23 Harbor Loop in Gloucester.

Bud Ris, president and CEO of the New England Aquarium, will present a free slide lecture, “The New England Aquarium Today and Tomorrow” at 7 tonight.

Erik Ronnberg, renowned New England ship-model maker, will present a free slide lecture, “New England’s Earliest Otter Trawlers,” includes slides of the Surf he built for marine artist Tom Hoyne, tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The center will host a “Demonstration Day” on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Events include an Historic Postcards slide show, seafood cooking demonstrations, live music by Not That Blonde, storytelling by Fred Dodge, and presentations on whale tagging, shipwrecks and sustainable fisheries. Ongoing demonstrations include net stripping, sail making, dory building, and ship model construction. Visitors can explore a simulated shipwreck with Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary maritime archaeologists and observe a boat being hauled out of the water on the center’s 19th century marine railway. Children’s activities include fish printing, compass making and knot tying. Sea Pocket Lab, the center’s outdoor aquarium with touch tanks, will be open.

Visitors can also explore the first exhibit, which focuses on the shoreside industries that supported the local fishing fleet at the dawn of the 20th century. Displays feature ship models, and artifacts ranging from oilskins to foghorns to sailmaker’s tools. Chart your course to the Grand Banks. Experiment with the interactive marine railway model. Watch vintage film footage of fishing schooners. For more information, call 978-281-0470.

Cape Ann Community Cinema

Joaquin Phoenix plays an emotionally unstable man who must choose between Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw in the film “Two Lovers,” showing at Cape Ann Community Cinema through Sunday at 7:15 p.m., with a bonus show tomorrow at 5 p.m.

There will be two benefit screenings of “The Breast Cancer Diaries” on Saturday and Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38, Ann Murray Paige sets up a video diary camera in her bedroom. The result is an unvarnished first-person account of her nine-month battle, punctuated with humor, poignancy and romance. Part of the proceeds benefit breast cancer awareness and The Breast Cancer Diaries Foundation. Tickets for this special event are $10 each.

Opera on the Island features “Benvenuto Cellini” on Saturday at 1 p.m. with this French opera written by Hector Berlioz in the 1830s. It is described as complex, richly detailed and prolifically imaginative, and which Berlioz’s contemporaries often considered unplayable. This production came from the 2007 Salzburg Festival, with a cast accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic and its chorus. Tickets $12.50 all seats.

A free show takes place Saturday at 9:30 p.m. with “Sita Sings The Blues,” a film about a goddess separated from her beloved husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by e-mail. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this animated interpretation of the Indian epic “Ramayana.”

The films are shown at Gloucester Stage Co. at 267 East Main St. in Gloucester. For tickets and show times, visit http://www.capeanncinema.com.

Salute to Spring

Chorus North Shore sponsors the Honors Youth Choir’s concert “Salute to Spring” this Saturday at 7 p.m. at First Parish Unitarian Church, 225 Cabot St., Beverly, in a concert dedicated to spring. Twelve Cape Ann youth are members of choir, comprised of 33 students representing 20 North Shore schools. Those students are Katherine Boucher, Emily Daily, Matt Favaloro, Katherine Maddox, Sophie Palmer and Katrina Tuck, all from Rockport; Christine Anderson, Lara Carney, Carly Curcuru, Olivia Francis and Elisa Smith, from Gloucester; and Nancy MacMillan of Manchester. The event is described as a choral choreography including narration, choral gesturing, duets, solos and more. Under the direction of conductor Sonja Dahlgren Pryor and accompanied by Robert Littlefield, the program includes music from early Baroque to the present day. The program is designed for a wide audience including families. Tickets at the door are $10, children under 12 are free.

Gentle yoga

ACI-Cape Ann’s Dr. Pat O’Brien has created a beginner’s gentle yoga class that meets every Saturday at 9:15 a.m. at the Vajramudra Center, 154 Granite St. in Rockport. She designed the class to provide an understanding of how yoga works and how it helps work out aches and pains. The classes are open to all, suggested donation is $10. For more information, contact O’Brien at yogaclinic@hotmail.com or visit http://www.aci-capeann.org.

Local music and Mother’s Day events

The Seaward Inn will host a Mother’s Day jazz brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., kicking off the Sunday Morning Live Series. Performing will be Al Boudreau on vocals and drums, Barbara Boudreau on vocals and Jack Senier on the piano. Reservations encouraged, no cover. The inn is located on the coast at 44 Marmion Way in Rockport. For information, visit http://www.seawardinn.com.

The Linda Amero Trio featuring Steve Heck on piano and Bronek Suchanek on bass will play a Mother’s Day Lunch on Sunday at Captain Carlo‘s from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. For reservations, call 978-283-6342. On May 15, the jazz vocalist will perform at the Franklin Cafe “Supper Club” at 118 Main St. in Gloucester from 7 to 10 p.m.

To kick off the sailing season, the schooner Thomas E. Lannon is offering free sails to mothers on Sunday, when it sails from 1 to 3 p.m. from Seven Seas Wharf at the Gloucester House restaurant in Gloucester. Reservations suggested. For more information, go to http://www.schooner.org or call 978-281-6634.

Museum announces guided tours

The Cape Ann Museum will provide weekly guided tours led by docents trained in teaching the public about the museum’s art and history collections. Eleven docents recently completed a five-month training program in preparation for leading public tours this spring. Starting this month, the docents will lead tours of the Highlights of the Collection, the Captain Elias Davis House, and the Fitz Henry Lane Collection. Tours are free with the price of admission. Tours for May are as follows:

Highlights of the Collection: Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.; Captain Elias Davis House on May 16, May 30 at 2 p.m. and the Fitz Henry Lane Collection on Saturday and May 23 at 2 p.m. Visit http://www.capeannmuseum.org for further details. The museum also provides tours to private groups through advance reservation. For more information to book a private tour, contact Jeanette Smith at 978-283-0455, ext. 11.

Spring jazz concert

Jazz in Rockport presents “Swing into Spring” with Kendra Shank and Quartet. She performs as part of the Jazz in Rockport concert series, introducing her new CD release “Mosaic” on May 16 at 8 p.m. at the Rockport Art Association. The jazz vocalist was described by The New York Times as an artist with “effervescence, depth” and “integrity.” There is a discount for those also attending Rockport Art Association’s Arts and Flowers event on May 15. For information, call 978-546-6604 or Brickhouse Productions at 978-546-8474. Tickets on sale at Rockport Art Association, Toad Hall Bookstore and The Book Store of Gloucester.

Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000, ext. 3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com, or fax to 978-281-5748.