A few photos from the birthday party last night at Giuseppe’s:
Thank you, Mayor Kirk, for your service to the city of Gloucester!
Happy birthday, Mayor Kirk!
Author: Matthew Green
I am a translator, origami artist/teacher, and photographer, a blogger, former philosophy professor, and I love to sing.
You can see my photos on Flickr and buy prints of some of them on Fine Art America.
You can find me on
Instagram, Twitter (@mehjg), and in various and sundry other social media sites on the web.
Hanukkah Party; St. Ann School Concert
Last Saturday was the final day of Hanukkah, and our Jewish community gathered to celebrate at the Temple! As a Roman Catholic priest, I am not Jewish of course, but I was invited to come along and had a great time (as well as learning a lot – but they will have to forgive me if I am inacurate in my terminology or description of the event…).
It started with some music by a band of members of the congregation, including traditional songs, dancing, and even some rap in Yiddish by David Wesson! Then some children (students of Henry Allen) presented a short play on “The Miracle of Hanukkah”.
Things got more serious with a commemoration of the fire that destroyed the previous temple building. However, the focus was positive. Carole Sharoff and Lou Goldish told how an elaborate and historic hanukiah (given by leaders of the state of Israel to the American embassador in the 1960’s), was saved from the fire by being kept an extra day or two in the Unitarian Universalist church to which it had been lent. Wendy Betts, a very talented performer, then sang a selection from the work “Voices”.
Rabbi Steven Lewis gave a brief and very interesting “D’var Torah” – a commentary on the festival, based on the Torah and commentaries. (I used some of what he said in my homily at Mass the next day, giving due credit to the Rabbi, of course). The ceremonies ended with the lighting of everyone’s hanukiot (a.k.a. menorah) that they had brought from home, starting with the aforementioned historic one. Then we all ate latkes, jelly donuts, and other finger food!
A few photo highlights are included below. For more photos, click on the thumbnails below.
Here are some highlights:
And although Hanukkah is over, here is a great Hanukkah song:
And don’t forget:
Urban Voices: A Choral Music Initiative from the Metropolitan Opera Guild
This program is made possible by a generous gift from the Popplestone Foundation.
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St. Ann School Christmas Concert
All are welcome to join us for our annual
St. Ann School Christmas Concert!
It will be held on Thursday, December 20 at 1:00 pm in St. Ann Church
(60 Prospect St. in Gloucester).
The children have been working very hard to prepare for this year’s concert, which includes many traditional Christmas carols.
We hope to see you there!
Thank you,
Michele Butler, Principal of St. Ann School
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Lighting the Menorahs
On the last day of Hanukkah, I had the privilege of participating in a Hanukkah party at the Temple Ahavat Achim. I haven’t had time to get all the photos ready yet, but here’s one to give you a taste of the evening. More will be forthcoming. Here, the members of the congregation are lighting the candles of the menorahs they brought from home.
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The coolest candy “art” I’ve seen on Cape Ann
I bought this at The Cave on Main Street on Men’s Night (last Thursday). It’s all candy, even the (very convincing) “beach stones”!
Coming soon: more photos from “men’s night”, and of the great Hanukkah party at Temple Ahavat Achim!
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Origami from Friday night, on the tree
On Friday night I taught these four holiday decorations at The Hive. From top to bottom: a relatively simple Santa, a star-like ornament, a menorah, and a modular cube (made from six modules, each folded from a square of paper, and joined together without glue).
The origami class time for Tuesday at Art Haven is going to have to change from the 6:30 time slot I mentioned before, but I don’t have the details worked out yet. I will put up the info as soon as I have it.
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Fishmas tree progress report
Mary Ann and David are getting the fish onto the tree! Today I received a whole school of more than 200 wonderful origami fish folded by the students of St. Ann School (huge thanks to Gemma Amero Flavin, their art teacher!). I don’t have an exact total count yet, but with these new additions and those folded throughout the week, we probably have close to 700! Keep folding fish to help us reach our goal of 1000!
I’ll be folding a star for the top sometime in the next few days.
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More origami ornaments
I will teach one or two of these at during my class tonight at The Hive tonight. (Apparently the class fee is $10, not $15 as I previously mentioned – and folding will start at 6PM. Fish first, then other ornaments).
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The lion does NOT sleep
“I said, no photos!!”, this lion seems to say.
I “shot” him in front of the church of St. Sulpice in Paris.
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Fish folding!
We had fun folding fish for the Gloucester Origami Fishmash/Christmas tree on Saturday! We got more than a third of the way to our 1000 fish goal in just a few hours, thanks to lots of visitors, including a few who folded fish fast and furious!
We still need more fish, though, so if you know how to fold origami fish (no cutting, fish preferably no more than 3″ or 4″ long when folded), please fold some and bring them to The Hive during its open hours. Any origami sea life, from simple (anyone can do it!) to complex (Dr. Carbone, I’m talking to you!) are welcome!
In the back you can see the origami tree, which ended up a good size!
Here I am folding fish with friend, GMG contributor, and FOB Rick Isaacs:
We hope to start hanging the fish on the tree soon (maybe by the time this post hits the web)!
– Fr. Matthew Green
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Ivy
Ivy on the walls of the Abbey of Solesmes, where I spent two days during my vacation in France. The abbey is located about 2 1/2 hours southwest of Paris.
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Chorus North Shore’s Christmas Concert
On Saturday night, I went to Chorus North Shore’s Christmas concert at Our Lady of Hope in Ipswich (almost Cape Ann), which featured Vivaldi’s Gloria, “Christmas is Coming: a festive cantata”, and other songs of the season.
Chorus North Shore (which includes many Cape Ann residents) performed together with the Honors Youth Choir and the Festival Orchestra.
Gloucester resident Don Roby, besides singing in the choir, had a reading part and headed up The Boar’s Head carol (pun intended):
Either the boar’s head is hollow (or made of styrofoam), or maybe Don has been hitting the gym. He held that huge boar’s head aloft until the whole verse was over.
Alexander Thompson (of Ma’s Brands fame, who has an amazing voice, but does not sing in this choir) was in attendance with pencil and paper – not taking notes, but drawing:
The concert was great! Kudos to all the performers, the director, the technicians, etc.!
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The Louvre seen from Les Tuileries
Another of my photos from Paris…
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Fish Folding, and Candles in St. Sulpice in Paris
Hope to see you today for fish folding at The Hive! (Buoy painting is going on at Art Haven, so we’re keeping the paper and the paint separate.) The origami tree is practically ready! David, Mary Ann, and I added more layers last night to get it to a good height. We’d go further but we ran out of the right kind of paper…
So, now it’s fish time! Although we’re recommending the “twist fish” by Gay Merrill Gross because it’s quick and easy, any origami fish folded from one uncut piece of paper will be accepted.
I am working little by little through my photos from vacation in France… This one is appropriate for today, Dec. 8, on which Catholics celebrate a Marian feast day, the Immaculate Conception.
A beautiful church!
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Under the Arc de Triomphe
Shot during my vacation in Paris. We should get one of these in Gloucester.
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Christmas, 1000 Origami Fish, and You!
Help us decorate Gloucester’s first (annual?) origami Christmas (or “Fishmas”) tree with 1000 origami fish!
For years, people have been decorating Christmas trees with origami for public display in cities around the world. For example, New York City has two famous origami-decorated trees every year: one in the American Museum of Natural History, and another in the Japan Airlines offices on 5th Avenue. I met with David Brooks of Art Haven and The Hive, and he loved the idea of doing one here in Gloucester! The current plan is to display it in the front window of The Hive on Pleasant Street.
Our project has two special characteristics. First, we are making the whole thing – tree included – out of origami. It’s not the first time it’s been done, but it’s not so common! Secondly, we want it to be Gloucester-themed, so it will be decorated with origami fish. This honors both Gloucester’s spirit and history as a fishing port, and the ancient Christian tradition in which the fish is a symbol of Christ, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.
We want to get as many people involved as possible. In the spirit of the Japanese tradition of folding 1000 origami cranes, we are aiming for 1000 fish, so, we need a lot of help! Come to The Hive on Saturday, starting at 10AM, to help us fold origami
fish! We are folding a specific origami fish model – the “Twist Fish” by Gay Merrill Gross (from her book Minigami). It’s very easy to fold. I will be there teaching for a few hours, and I will teach a few other people so they can teach others when I’m not there. We will have plain paper at The Hive that you can use, but you can bring your own paper too if you want to use fancier origami paper. (You can get paper at Island Art and Hobby on Main Street, or at other art and craft stores.) Also, you can decorate the fish after you fold it – draw a face or scales, paint it bright colors, or whatever!
The tree itself is already in production. I spent several hours yesterday folding with David Brooks and Mary Ann DeLouise to get our origami conifer off the ground:
Plus, next week I will be teaching two classes on origami holiday decorations! We will fold Christmas and Hanukkah themed models and geometric decorations (the variety of models depends on how we do for time). Folding materials will be supplied.
- Here are the dates:
- Friday Dec. 14, 6:30-8PM at the Hive, for teens and adults ($15)
- Tuesday Dec. 18, 6:30-8PM at Art Haven, for children ($10)
I will try to post a more detailed menu of models I hope we can fold.
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Stained glass in Notre Dame cathedral
Another jewel from my vacation in Paris!
P.S. Coming soon: details on holiday origami classes next week at The Hive (Friday Dec. 14, 6:30-8PM) and Art Haven (Tuesday Dec. 18, 6:30-8PM).
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Free Advent-Christmas Concert at St. Ann’s Church
Advent-Christmas Concert at St. Ann’s Church
The choir of Holy Family Parish will be offering
its 8th annual free Advent-Christmas Concert
on Sunday, December 9, at 2PM.
In addition to the parish adult choir and the children’s choir, the pastor, Fr. John Kiley, will present some organ pieces. Not wanting to be left out of a musical event like this one, GMG contributor Fr. Matthew Green will also sing with the choir.
No tickets necessary! Come and enjoy the music!
Holy Family Parish is located just north of the intersection of Prospect Street and Pleasant Street. The entrance to the parking lot is on Prospect.
Be careful to avoid parking in the lot for Savour Wine and Cheese, which is across Pleasant Street from the church parking lot. Unless maybe you stop in to Savour and pick up some treats beforehand, and ask permission to stay in the lot…
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Holiday Specials at G33K
All the way to New Years, G33k is offering holiday specials:
There are also Boardgame Sundays (not just during the holidays), which are a lot of fun! There are usually a lot of different games to play, from the simple to the complex, and a very friendly atmosphere. People are always willing to teach you a new game if you want to try it!
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Cape Ann Museum Holiday Bazaar
One of our local treasures, the Cape Ann Museum, had their Holiday Bazaar.
The museum’s gift shop was present, of course:
I really liked these “lynzariums“:
“Each lynzarium is a uniquely designed piece of art containing found natural elements. prices start at $20 and a range of different shaped plants and vessels are used.” They actually had some at lower prices too; I bought one! They are living plants, but need minimal care. And yes, if the name is supposed to be like Latin, the plural would be “lynzaria”, not “lynzariums”. Anyway, they are beautiful, alive, and easy to keep! They have great photos on their website.
Mimi (a gallery in Manchester) also had a table:
Among the other vendors, this display caught my attention:
There were other interesting things too, but a big crowd arrived and it got hard to take photos…
Good Morning Gloucester 