Len Burgess shares some recent flora photos. 
Author: Kimsmithdesigns
Documentary filmmaker, photographer, landscape designer, author, and illustrator. "Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly" currently airing on PBS. Current film projects include Piping Plovers, Gloucester's Feast of St. Joseph, and Saint Peter's Fiesta. Visit my websites for more information about film and design projects at kimsmithdesigns.com, monarchbutterflyfilm.com, and pipingploverproject.org. Author/illustrator "Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden."
A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO LEONARD BERNSTEIN AT THE ANNISQUAM VILLAGE CHURCH
Annisquam Village Church
2018 Concert Series
Sunday, July 22, at 8 PM
A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Offered during the centennial of his birth, this program is a tribute to one of Massachusetts’ greatest composers, the controversial international legend Leonard Bernstein. Like other programs under the artistic direction of Beverly Soll, it adopts a trademark informality and direct communication with the audience as it explores the essence of the man and his music.
Because Bernstein himself made no distinction between art songs, operatic solos, and pieces for the Broadway stage, the performers won’t either, weaving together favorites from the vast repertoire of Bernstein’s music theatre, operatic, and art songs. Bernstein famously said in one of his first Young People’s Concerts, “Music is never about anything. … Music just is.” In this spirit, the recital opens with the first music he composed for voice and piano in which the 25-year-old composer proclaims, “I hate music, but I like to sing,” and goes on to complain about “the big, dark hall where people really don’t want to be at all.”
The program follows the wild comet ride of Bernstein’s life exploring his concerns and thoughts about social consciousness, love, and politics in songs from West Side Story, Candide, Trouble in Tahiti, and On the Town, and finally about religion, closing with the words of the street priest in Mass, “Sing God a simple song … for God is the simplest of all.” In a 1950s “This I Believe” NPR radio broadcast essay, Bernstein said, “I believe in people. I feel, love, need and respect people above all else.” His music reflects this incredible honesty and a search for a better society.
Performers are soprano Tiffany Baxter, mezzo soprano Angela Jajko, and baritone Mark Morgan, with artistic director Beverly Soll and husband Andrew Soll at the piano, all of whom are active professional musicians well known on the North Shore and in the greater Boston area.
Tiffany Baxter, Angela Jajko, Mark Morgan, Andrew Soll & Beverly Soll
The concert features a brief guest appearance by Les jeunes émissaires de Jeanne d’Arc (young students and campers from the CAPE ANN ARTS ALIVE program) in a reprise of their pageant based on the creation of Anna Hyatt Huntington’s iconic equestrian statue of Joan of Arc. Bernstein’s incidental music for Jean Anouilh’s play, The Lark, marks a moment when the tide had turned for France under Joan’s banner and her ‘emissaries’ celebrate her victories. Sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington’s studio was on the causeway between Goose Cove and Lobster Cove, just footsteps away from the Village Church.
Settled in 1728 as the Third Parish of Cape Ann, the historic Annisquam Village Church offers ideal acoustics in an intimate, New England setting. Located at 820 Washington Street (corner of Leonard and Washington Streets), the church is 3 miles from Grant Circle)
Handicap accessible.
General admission: $20 at the door or in advance with Brown PaperTickets: https://tributetoleonardbernstein.brownpapertickets.com Students $15. (at the door only)
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GOOD MORNING GOOD HARBOR BEACH BABIES!
The Good Harbor Beach Killdeer Family has hatched a second clutch of four chicks!
The first nest was located in the dunes, the second on the edge of the parking lot. The staff at the GHB parking lot placed two large stones on either side of the nest. A week or so later, an orange cone.
Nesting patiently and well hidden in the scrubby parking lot growth.
Mama and Papa Killdeer successfully distracted many a beach goer from getting too close to to the nest with their broken-wing distraction display.
Killdeers are a species of plovers, as are Piping Plovers, Semi-palmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, and Wilson’s Plovers. It takes about the same amount of time for the eggs to incubate, approximately 24-28 days.
Both male and female Killdeers brood the eggs. It is not easy to tell the difference between the male and female unless side-by-side. The male is typically a bit larger than the female.
Three of the eggs had hatched by nightfall, the fourth hatched early the next day. This new little Killdeer Family safely made it out of the parking lot the day after hatching, heading into the marsh, just as did the brood that hatched earlier in the summer.
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REMINDER: ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING TONIGHT AT 6:30
PIPING PLOVERS ARE ON THE AGENDA
ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
THURSDAY, JULY 12TH AT 6:30 PM
3RD FLOOR CITY HALL
Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover Chick Three Days Old
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PIPING PLOVERS ON THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA THURSDAY NIGHT
ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
THURSDAY, JULY 12TH AT 6:30 PM
3RD FLOOR CITY HALL
PIPING PLOVERS ARE ON THE AGENDA
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NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE OF CYRANO OPENS AT GLOUCESTER STAGE
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE OF
CYRANO
OPENS AT GLOUCESTER STAGE
A New Version of the Classic Tale with a Contemporary Spin
Gloucester Stage Company continues its 39th season of professional theater with the New England premiere of Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers’Cyrano from July 13 through August 11 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Gloucester Stage Artistic Director Robert Walsh directs this adaptation of Rostand’s 1897 classic, Cyrano de Bergerac. According to Walsh, “Cyrano, a new adaptation of the famous play by Edmond Rostand (Cyrano de Bergerac), by Brenda Withers & Jason O’Connell, is a fast-paced, contemporized version featuring a small cast breathing fresh life into this large-scale classic. Witty, clever, insouciant and fully enjoying the poetic bravura through a modern-day lens and very approachable language, this New England premiere will be perfect for Gloucester Stage! A beautiful tale told with panache.”
A cast of five plays a multitude of roles in this imaginative retelling of the classic story of Cyrano and his love for Roxane. Acclaimed Boston actor Jeremiah Kissel makes his GSC debut as Cyrano. Andrea Goldman last seen at GSC in 2016’s The Last Schwartz, returns to play Roxane. Salem resident Paul Melendy, last seen at GSC in 2016’s The Last Schwartz with Ms. Goldman and in 2017’s Bank Job returns to play DeGuiche. James Ricardo Milord and Erin Nicole Washington both make their GSC debut as Christian and LeBret/Duenna. Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers’ Cyrano had its world premiere in February 2018 at Amphibian Stage Productions in Fort Worth, Texas.”
Artistic Director and Cyrano director Robert Walsh has worked at Gloucester Stage as both an actor and director for over 20 years. Most recently, in 2017 he directed Bank Job, in 2016 he directed Songs For A New World and in 2015 he directed the Elliot Norton Award winning The New Electric Ballroom and starred in Gloucester Blue. Walsh’s other GSC directing credits include North Shore Fish, FightingOver Beverley, The Widow’s Blind Date, The Primary English Class, and Our Town. As an actor he has appeared on the stage in Gloucester in Sins of the Mother, The Subject Was Roses,The Barking Sharks, and Two for the Seesaw. He has also served as the Producing Artistic Director at the American Stage Festival where he directedBus Stop, Intimate Exchanges, Jacques Brel…, andLend Me a Tenor, among others. As Artistic Associate at Actors’ Shakespeare Project he has directed As You Like It, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Coriolanus, Twelfth Night, andMeasure For Measure. Other productions directed include:Othello with Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Round and Round The Garden, Table Manners, K2, Later Life and HolidayMemories at Merrimack Rep; Rancho Mirage, Race, Speed-The-Plow, andTrue West with New Repertory Theatre; The Secret of Sherlock HolmesandThe Goatwoman of Corvis Countyat Shakespeare & Co.; MisallianceandA Life in the Theatre at Two River Theatre Co.; I Hate
Hamlet with StageWest; The Little Foxesat Barter Theatre; and Of Mice and Men at Stoneham Theatre, among others. His roles in recent feature films include Black Mass, Patriot’s Dayand the upcoming, Altar Rock. Mr. Walsh directed the on-field ceremonies for the ’99 All-Star Game at Fenway Park. He is on the faculty at Brandeis University.
Jeremiah Kissel makes his Gloucester Stage debut as Cyrano. Winner of the 2003 Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence, Mr. Kissel is a thirty-five year veteran of Boston’s professional theaters, and has played leading roles for The Huntington, American Repertory, Merrimack Rep, as well as The Lyric Stage, Shear Madness, and various out of town companies when they passed through Boston. His recent appearances include Old Money and King Lear for Commonwealth Shakespeare, and Fiddler on the Roof and Two Jews Walk Into a War for The New Rep. He is the winner of Helen Hayes, IRNE, Hatch, Graniteer and Arts Impulse Awards as well as several Elliot Norton Awards including most recently, Best Actor for playing Bernie Madoff in 2014, and most notably, the very first Norton Award given to a local Boston actor in 1990. His screen credits include The Town, The Fighter, Joy,Stronger and The Wrong Car, and he can be seen in the upcoming Hulu series, Castle Rock. The last time he was in Cyrano, it was as Christian at The Theater at Monmouth, in 1983.
Continue reading “NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE OF CYRANO OPENS AT GLOUCESTER STAGE”
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JUST ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Gloucester Harbor Panorama
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PIPING PLOVER UPDATE – WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Pip, the day before he was killed.
You may be asking, “where are the Good Harbor Beach Piping Plovers now?” Surprisingly, they are still around! After the night the last chick was killed (tracks point to a skirmish with a dog and several people in the nesting area), two Piping Plovers were reported at Cape Hedge Beach the following evening. Rockport resident Gail, who first reported the sighting, and PiPl volunteer monitor Laurie Sawin and I, found one at Cape Hedge the next morning, and by the next day, two had returned to the roped off area at #3 boardwalk!
Everyday since, either Greenbelt’s Dave McKinnon, my husband Tom, Deborah Cramer, or myself have spotted at least one in the cordoned off #3.
Recent PiPl sightings at the Good Harbor Beach nesting area.
Our thoughts are to leave some part of the roping up as long as the Piping Plovers are still using it as a sanctuary during high tide when the beach is crowded. For a second and even more important reason, many of us would like to see part of the cordoned off area stay in place for the simple reason it is helping with dune recovery.
You may recall that during late winter we had back to back nor’easters, which had a devastating effect on Good Harbor Beach in that much of the beach’s sand was washed away. The beach dropped about ten feet, which now causes the tide to come up high to the edge of the bluff. Beach grass and beach vegetation will help prevent future washouts. Because the area around #3 has been roped of since mid-April, a fantastic patch of beach grass has begun to take hold!!! If we leave a narrow strip roped off from the public, about ten to fifteen feet wide, running the length of the beach and around the creek bend, this simple step alone will have a marked impact on the overall health of the dune habitat.
Beach plants help prevent erosion while also providing shade and shelter for tiny shorebirds.
A pair of one-day-old Least Tern chicks finding shade.
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REMINDER: KIM SMITH PROGRAM AT THE ROCKPORT ASSOCIATION AT 6PM MONDAY EVENING
This new, more conservation-oriented talk is based on my ‘Friend of the Earth’ speech at Salem State University.
The event is free and open to the public. I hope to see you there!
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SAINT PETER’S FIESTA SUNDAY AWARDS CLOSING CEREMONY
Congratulations to seine boat race champions Iron Village, Rowgue, and Uproar, congratulations to Greasy Pole winners Frankie Tarominga (Friday), Mike Sanfilippo (Saturday), and Randy Sweet (Sunday), and congrats to all the proud family members!!!
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JULY 20% OFF SALE AT CEDAR ROCK GARDENS!! THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Hello,
Happy 4th of July! We are sure you all enjoyed the enormous amount of sunshine this week, very thankful for this bit of rain today!
We are having a 20% off sale on all our plants this weekend (July 7th & 8th). Below is a list of what we currently have in stock.
We have a great selection of hanging baskets and window boxes with annual and perennial herbs and flowers. We also have our new wave of fall vegetables ready to go into the garden for succession planting. Our native perennials selection is stocked up and attracting all the pollinators you can imagine – bring them home to your gardens!
Hope you are having a wonderful summer!
All the best,
Elise and Tucker
Cedar Rock Gardens
CedarRockGardens@gmail.com
Products in stock
Coast of Maine Potting Soil
Coast of Maine Garden Soil
Black Earth Compost
North Country Organics ProGrow
Neptunes Harvest Crab Shell
Neptunes Harvest Fish Emulsion
Neptunes Harvest Rose & Flowering Formula
Neem Oil
Captain Jack’s Dead bug
Inseticidal Soap
Diatomaceous Earth
Row Cover
Hay Bales
Seeds
Fruits
Raspberries
Vegetables
Broccoli arcadia
Broccoli Imperial
Brussels Sprout
Cabbage Faro 1
Cabbage Mix
Cabbage Napa (minuet)
Cabbage Red Express
Cauliflower Purple of sicily
Cauliflower Snow Crown
Celery Tango green
Cucumber Diva
Cucumber fanfare
Cucumber Marketmore 76
Cucumber Tasty Jade
Eggplant Beatrice
Fennel Fino
Greens Our mix
Kale Red Russian
Kale Toscano
Kale Winterbor’
Lettuce
Melon Cantaloupe Sarah’s choice
Melon Halona
Melon Watermelon Sugar Baby
Pumkin New England pie
pepper Poblano
Pepper Ace
Salanova
Squash Winter Acorn Jet
Squash Winter Buttercup Burgess
Squash Winter Butternut Waltham
Squash Winter spaghetti
Squash Summer Multipik
Squash Zucchini Alexandria
Squash Zucchini Bush Baby
Squash Zucchini cocoselle
Squash Zucchini Costata Romanesco
Squash Zucchini Spinless Perfection
Cabbage Rubicon
Summer Squash Zephyr
Asparagus
Tomatillo Toma Verde
Tomato Big Beef
Tomato Black Cherry
Tomato Brandywine red
Tomato Carbon
Tomato Carmello
Tomato Celebrity
Tomato Cherokee Purple
Tomato Glacier
Tomato Jaune Flamme
Tomato Juliet
Tomato Mr Stripey (Tigarella)
Tomato Paul Robeson
Tomato San Marzano Gigante
Tomato Stripped German
Tomato Sungold
Herbs
Arugula
Basil Compatto
Basil Genovese
Basil Lemon Mrs Burns
Basil Lettuce Leaf
Basil Mixed paks
Basil Purple Osmin
Basil Spicy Bush
Basil sweet genovese (perfume)
Basil Sweet Thai
Basil Kapoor Tulsi (Holy Basil)
Bronze fennel
Catmint (Nepeta mussini)
Catnip
Chamomile
Chives Garlic
Cilantro
Cutting Celery
Dill Fernleaf
Dill Superdukat
feverfew
Lemon Balm
Lovage
Oregano
Parsley Forest Green Curly
Parsley Italian Survivor
Sage Pinapple
Salad Burnett
Scarlet Bee balm
Summer Savory
Sweet Marjoram
Thyme English Winter
Thyme Garden ( Winter)
Thyme White Creeping
Thyme red creeping
Valerian
Winter Savory
Zino Fino Fennel
Horse Radish
Jerusalem Artichoke
Lavender Elegance Purple
Lavender Hidcote Blue
Lavender Munstead
Lavender Provence
Lovage
Lemon Grass
Sage Salvia Officinalis
Salad Burnett
Variegated pineapple mint
Perennial Flowers
Asclepias Tuberosa
Penstamon Digitalis
Geranium “Karmina”
Geranium Maculatum
Echinacae “Sombrero Flamenco Orange”
Echinacae “Cheyanne Spirit”
Baptisia “Carolina Moonlight”
Aster Divertata “Eastern Star”
Verbena “Homestead Purple”
Agastache “Blue Fortune”
Seedum “Aurumn Fire”
Coreopsis “Sunkiss”
Rudebekia “Prairie Sun”
Yarrow
Joe Pye Weed “Big Joe”
Beardstongue “Rondo”
Columbine “Origami Bue”
Echinope Ritro
Flowers
Ageratum Red Flint
Ageratum Tall Blue Planet
Alyssum purple/ lavender mix
Alyssum Snow Crystals
Angelonia Angelface Blue
Angelonia Angelface Perfectly pink
Angelonia Angelface Wedgewood Blue
Angelonia Super Blue
Angelonia Super Pink
Begonia Dragon Wing Red
Begonia Bossa nova Orange
Begonia Solenia Red
Browalia endless sensation
Calibrachoa superbells Blue Moon Punch
Calibrachoa superbells Double Orchid
Calibrachoa superbells Double Ruby
California poppy champagne and roses
California Poppy Thai Silk series Apricot Chiffon
California poppy double solar flare
California poppy orange king
Celosia Cramer series burgundy
Celosia Flamingo Feather
Celosia Fresh look gold series
Coleus Big Red Judy
Coleus Gnash Rambler
Cosmos Bright lights
Cosmos Double click mix
Cosmos psyche mix
Cosmos Sea shells
Cosmos Sensation Mix
Cosmos Diablo
Dianthus Ideal Select Cherry Picotee
Dianthus Ideal Mix
Gomphrena Globosa QIS White
Lantana Bandana Cherry Sunrise
Lantana Luscious pinkberry blend
Lantana Bananarama
Lantana Lucious berry blend
Lantana Lucious citrus blend
Lobelia Riviera Rose
Marigold Giant Yellow
Marigold Snowball Hybrid
Mariold Giant Orange
Nasturtium Empress of India
Nasturtium Kaleidescope Mix
Nasturtium Wbird Cherry Rose
Nasturtium Wbird Golden Yellow
Nasturtium Wbird Mahogany Red
Portulaca sundial Fuchsia
Portulaca sundial Gold
Portulaca sundial Mango
Portulaca sundial Peppermint
Portulaca sundial scarlet
Salvia Coral Nymph
Salvia homium rose
Salvia Victoria White
Sunflower Autumn Beauty
Sunflower Pro Cut Orange
Sunflower Sunrich gold
Sunflower Firecracker
Sunflower Florenza
Sunflower Soraya
Sunpatients vigorous majenta
Sunpatients vigorous orange
sunpatients vigorous white improved
supertunia bordeax
Supertunia rasberry blast
Supertunia royal Magenta
Supertunia Vista Bubblegum
Supertunia Vista Silverberry
Supertunia Picasso in pink
Verbena superbena Royal Chambray
Verbena superbena Royal Peachie Keen
Verbena superbena Tucana Raspberry
Verbena superbena royal whitecap
Vine MG Cardinal climber
Vine MG Heavenly Blue
Vine MG Moonflower
Vine MG President Tyler
Zinnia BG Purple
Zinnia BG Orange
Zinnia Dreamland mix
Zinnia Profusion double Fire
Zinnia Profusion White
Zinnia Profusion Yellow
Zinia Profusion Apricot
Zinnia State fair mix
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“CHEFS AT SEA” ABOARD THE BEAUPORT CRUISELINES EVERY WEDNESDAY EVENING
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SAINT PETER’S FIESTA SUNDAY GRAND PROCESSION -By Kim Smith
Loved seeing the smile Fiesta Committee member Al Millefoglie was wearing as the Procession got underway.
Photos from Saint Peter’s Fiesta Sunday morning Procession, and a splendid and grand procession it was. There were so many beautiful moments. Thank you to the Saint Peter’s committee for a magnificent Fiesta. Viva!
Thank you to the Saint Peter’s Fiesta Committee President Joe Novello and to all the Fiesta Committee members for making this year, and every year, a truly beautiful and unique tradition for Gloucester. The committee members are as follows, and if you see them around town, please thank them:
Joseph Novello – President
Michael Linquata – Vice President
Anthony Cusumano – Treasurer
Rose Aiello – Clerk
Christopher Palazzola – Committee Member
Salvatore Ferrara – Committee Member
Ralph Puopolo – Committee Member
Carlo Barbara – Committee Member
Rose Aiello – Committee Member
Alphonse Millefoglie – Committee Member
Tom Favazza – Committee Member
Lucia Sheehan – Recording Secretary
Photos from Saturday and from Sunday’s closing ceremony are still to come, and then there will be time to go through the footage and we can post the winning walks.
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REMINDER: KIM SMITH PRESENTATION AT THE ROCKPOST ART ASSOCIATION
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Additionally Sherri Casey from the Rockport Garden Club writes: All RGC members and guests are welcome to attend our July 9 evening meeting at the Rockport Art Association. This should be a beautiful, informative talk by Kim Smith titled, “Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly.” The evening starts at 6:00 with a wine and cheese reception followed by Kim’s presentation. If you would like to attend but do not drive at night we can arrange for a ride. Please contact Sherri Casey.
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IRON VILLAGE YOUR 2018 MEN’S SEINE BOAT CHAMPIONS!
Huge shout out to underdogs Iron Village for winning the most nail-biting, neck-in-neck, toe-to-toe men’s seine boat race ever seen in the history of the Saint Peter’s Fiesta races. Congratulations Iron Village!!!!
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ROWGUE YOUR 2018 WOMENS SEINE BOAT CHAMPIONS!
Congratulations to team Rowgue for their fantastic victory!
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FATHER TO SON: LET ME SHOW YOU MY RUBY SLIPPERS
When Greasy Pole Walkers become fathers – more inspired Dad costumes.
Saturday Greasy Pole Walker Brian Barrett
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CARE BEAR CHEER BEAR SATURDAY WALKER FRANK PACHECO
Inspired Greasy Pole Dad costumes –
Saturday Greasy Pole Walker Frank Pacheco with his adorable son Xavier
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SUPER EXCITING NEWS: BEAUPORT HOSPITALITY GROUP MAJOR NEW SPONSOR OF THE 2018 GLOUCESTER SCHOONER FESTIVAL!
Gloucester Schooners – The Adventure, Thomas Lannon, and Ardelle
2018 Gloucester Schooner Festival Friday August 31st to Monday September 3rd
Beauport Hospitality Group Major New Sponsor of the 2018 Gloucester Schooner Festival
Maritime Gloucester is proud to announce an exciting one-year sponsorship deal with Beauport Hospitality Group in support of its annual Gloucester Schooner Festival. This establishes Beauport Hospitality Group as the premier corporate sponsor for the event. The partnership between Maritime Gloucester and Beauport Hospitality Group will have far-reaching implications for community access at the Festival. Now in its 34th year, the Festival seeks to expand its public engagement through additional public dockside access to visiting Schooners. This significant support from The Beauport Hospitality Group will help to underwrite Maritime Gloucester’s plans to construct sets of temporary dock space for the duration of the festival. These floats are expected to provide dock space again next year and for many years to come.
The Gloucester Schooner Festival is an annual event scheduled each Labor Day Weekend. This year’s dates are Friday, August 31 to Monday, September 3, 2018. Once again, this year’s Schooner Festival will be an historic event for the Cape Ann Community, with the arrival of Nova Scotia’s recently restored Schooner Bluenose II and the breathtaking replica of the 1923 Essex-built Schooner Columbia. Along with 26 other schooners coming from Maine to Maryland, the Festival hosts tens of thousands of people for a unique and inspiring four-day event.
Whether through the award-winning marine science initiatives offered at Maritime Gloucester or the Schooner Festival’s Youth Scholarship program, the Schooner Festival’s impact is felt beyond its four-day span. A true city-wide celebration of Gloucester’s maritime heritage, the festival captivates the imagination and provides opportunity for community engagement. The Beauport Hospitality Group’s Sheree Zizik expressed particular interest in this impact on the Cape Ann Community beyond just the event. “Beauport Hospitality Group has grown on a foundation of community involvement. We cherish the City of Gloucester, her history and her devotion to the education of her children. We are proud to be a part of the Cape Ann Community, who holds on to her heritage so dearly and yet is moving forward into the future with ever-changing maritime innovation. We are proud to contribute to the Gloucester Schooner Festival and be a part of its continued growth, and to see the educational and scholarship programs develop even more.”
Being part of the community and celebrating the people of Gloucester has been the bedrock of this Festival from the start. Each year, since 1985, the Mayor of the City of Gloucester has welcomed the arrival of the schooners, a magnificent link to the story of Gloucester and the community and vessels that fueled the economy of a growing country. This year Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken will again officially welcome the schooners on Friday evening, then present the Esperanto Cup for the winner of the Mayor’s Race onSunday, Sept. 2.
“As the mayor of America’s Oldest Seaport, I take pride in honoring our rich maritime history. It is an honor to serve such a proud and vibrant community, especially when unique collaborations bring people together. The Gloucester Schooner Festival celebrates our cultural and maritime heritage; it honors our fishermen and the sacrifices they and their families have made. The historic schooners in Gloucester Harbor for our festival will provide cultural enrichment for citizens and visitors to our wonderful city.”
The Festival is coordinated by a committee of volunteers plus the staff of Maritime Gloucester. Michael Costello, former Executive Director of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, served as the original coordinator of the festival, now chaired by local author and folklorist Daisy Nell. Finding a partner who sees the value in not only the event, but also the community engagement around the event, is a key component for Chairwoman Nell. “I am so grateful for this gift of support from the Beauport Hospitality Group. This will allow us to offer more opportunities for people to experience, up-close, a variety of schooners. They can see why these authentic vessels still matter in today’s world. We want to show our young people that we have a meaningful touchstone to history, in a way that is thrilling and engaging.”
Michael DeKoster, Executive Director at Maritime Gloucester agrees. “The love of our collective maritime heritage and the sense of place that we celebrate resonates through the spirit of this festival. I have been an avid attendee for years, along with thousands of other locals and visitors from far and wide. A signature weekend in America’s Oldest Seaport, this is a must-see event for all. With the excellent and generous backing of our local partners, and now The Beauport Hospitality Group, festival-goers will be able to see more, do more, and engage more than ever before. It is a real pleasure to be working with partners who share our community goals.”
The City of Gloucester and many local banks, businesses, and individuals, make annual gifts of support and services, without which this festival could not take place. The Gloucester Schooner Festival wholeheartedly thanks each of its sponsors, and warmly welcomes the Beauport Hospitality Group as this year’s primary sponsor. For more information on the 2018 Gloucester Schooner Festival, please visit www.maritimegloucester.org or www.gloucesterschoonerfestival.net
Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, MA 01930
Friday, August 31, 2018 to Monday, September 3, 2018
Maritime Gloucester
A 501(c)(3) non-profit institution, Maritime Gloucester’s mission is to inspire students and visitors to value marine science, maritime heritage and environmental stewardship through hands-on education and experiences. Its one-acre campus is located on Gloucester Harbor at 23 Harbor Loop, adjacent to the Coast Guard Station.
About Beauport Hotel Gloucester
Situated on the Gloucester waterfront, with sweeping views of Gloucester Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, Beauport Hotel Gloucester is the quintessential New England seaside getaway. With uncompromising service, beachfront location and world-class amenities, the 94-room Beauport Hotel Gloucester is the perfect setting for guests to escape the everyday and experience a unique, authentic perspective of the North Shore and Coastal Cape Ann. Luxury features include a seasonal rooftop swimming pool overlooking Gloucester Harbor, award-winning waterfront restaurant and bar with al-fresco dining, business center and fitness facility, oceanfront event spaces featuring floor to ceiling glass walls and decks with spectacular vistas of the harbor and more. Beauport Hotel Gloucester is located at 55 Commercial Street, Gloucester MA 01930. For more information, please call (978) 282-0008 or visit www.beauporthotel.com.
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GOD BLESS AMERICA
God Bless America – In thinking about our beautiful country of immigrants and wondering, how does it feel to be a new immigrant in the America of today? History is again repeating itself in the horrendous mistreatment of the Central American refugees.
“God Bless America” was written by Irving Berlin one hundred years ago (1918) while Berlin was serving in the Army, but he set the song aside at that time. Berlin, born Israel Baline, was the son of a Jewish cantor fleeing persecution in Russia. With the rise of Hitler, in 1938 Berlin felt the time was right to release “God Bless America,” as a peace song. The backlash was immediate. Critics said a Jewish immigrant shouldn’t get to celebrate America as his (Berlin also wrote “White Christmas,” “Easter Parade,” and the popular Thanksgiving song “Plenty to be Thankful For.”)
In 1940, an American Nazi sympathizer wrote in his organization’s pro-Nazi newsletter “(I do) not consider G-B-A a ‘patriotic’ song, in the sense of expressing the real American attitude toward his country, but consider that it smacks of the ‘How glad I am’ attitude of the refugee horde of which Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘We wish no further additions to the persons whose affection for this country is merely a species of pawnbroker patriotism – whose coming here represents nothing but the purpose to change one feeding trough for another feeding trough.”
Does this response to Irving Berlin’s beautiful, patriotic, and now much beloved song sound familiar? Whether emigrating from Europe to America to escape religious persecution (the Pilgrims), starvation from the great potato famine (Irish), abject poverty, exploitation, and violence (Southern Italians and Sicilians), oppressive legislation and poverty (Eastern European Jews), or gang violence and rape (today’s Central American refugees) America is a country of immigrants and refugees. This is our past, our present, and our future. Irving Berlin arrived in America when he was five years old, the same age as many of the children being torn away from their mothers and fathers, some without any hope of ever being reunited with their parents. Imagine if Israel Baline had been torn from his mother’s arms, would we have the beautiful musical legacy given this country by one of her most famous sons?
God Bless America!, a phrase of gratitude young Israel Baline often heard uttered by his immigrant mother.
Good Morning Gloucester 