My View of Life on the Dock
I took a little side trip with Finn down to Islamorada in the Florida Keys before we meet up with the rest of the family up in Fort Meyers for some baseball. He wanted to hand feed the tarpon yesterday, but it turned out that the sharks were more interested in eating.
Who can name this beautiful cove? Thanks to Paul Horovitz for this fabulous photo.
Sunday morning snow was falling and Thatch and I took a quick ride down the State Fish Pier on the way to volunteering at the “Welcome Home Veteran’s Luncheon” at the Elks. The juxtaposition of the fishing fleet in the winter weather always gets me.
Two different days in two different harbors the resident ducks happily gather to be fed by their favorite human. Thanks to my husband for the photos from Pigeon Cove and Paul Horovitz for the photos from the Annisquam.
Rescheduled to this Saturday due to last weekend’s snow, this event is a rich cultural experience. Upon arriving the children will be given a passport to get stampled (stickered) as they tour through several different nations of the world. Along the way they will complete activities, try international foods, hear music, and more. At the end of the morning all “travelers” will gather to watch live entertainment provided by a Chinese dance group, A suggested donation of $10 per family.
Saturday, March 9th 9:00-12:30
Harborlight Montessori: 243 Essex Street, Beverly
One of the best fun spots on Cape Ann for sure. We are very fortunate to have Cape Ann Lanes in our community. It is such a great place to spend some time with the kids…..or time out w/o the kids!
Cape Ann Lanes should be on your short list of places to visit often, but also be sure to take this opportunity to sign your kids up for “Kids Bowl Free” now. The program runs from June 1st to August 31st. For a small one time added fee you can register up to 4 adults to also bowl all summer long! Such a great deal. I already registered Thatcher and Finn.
Register your children for “Kids Bowl for Free” at Cape Ann Lanes by following this link
https://www.kidsbowlfree.com/center.php?alley_id=6594 .
Saturday at 2:30 FREE
Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NMYO) present a free community concert on Sunday, March 3rd, 2:30 pm, at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA.
The concert will feature thirteen of NMYO’s string, woodwind, brass, and percussion chamber ensembles performing music by composers such as Holst, Mozart, Haydn, Rachmaninoff, and more.
As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities, please visit our friends at North Shore Kid
I love the background music of Gloucester. If you’re away and homesick, take a listen.
This coming Sunday, March 10th at 11:00 marks the 5th Annual Welcome Home Luncheon for Cape Ann veterans, AmVet, American Legion, and Elks members, or previous returnees! Thanks to the time of some amazing volunteers and the generosity of many local organizations and restaurants, the stage is set to welcome home Cape Ann’s very worthy veterans for the 5th year in a row.
Gloucester Elks Lodge, 101 Atlantic Road Gloucester.
Join us for a FREE Veterans Luncheon. If you are a local Cape Ann veteran, a member of the AmVets, VFW, American Legion, Elks, or a previous returnee… we would love to have you join us.
Tons of great food from many of our local restaurants.. the Causeway, Gloucester House, and Virgilios, to name a few!!
Every year we welcome home every returning veteran back to the Cape Ann Community. This year we are inviting others to join in the camaraderie and share their insights with our returnees this year.
If you ARE attending you must RSVP prior to the event. Space is limited. Email veterans892@gmail.com or confirm on the Facebook event ASAP.
For the first time in, well….forever….you can purchase beer and wine in Rockport. We’ve been big fans of Cracker Jacks in the Whistlestop Mall for years and things got extra exciting and convenient when they started carrying groceries a while back. The addition of beer and wine to their fun, ever-growing, and rather eclectic assortment of goods is the icing on the cake!
A big selection…with a little sense of humor on the side….the Bury the Hatchet Bottle Shop is open and ready for your patronage.
Stop by and check them out for sure and while there browse for a large number of other things. Yay, Rockport!!
Saturday 9:00-12:30
Harborlight welcomes you to experience their third annual Cultural Festival! This year guests can travel our halls on a journey through Spain, Peru, Australia, India, Mexico, China, Nigeria, Morocco, and the Azores. Also make a stop along the way to engage in both art and stories from around the world. Grab your passport at the main entrance and begin your adventure! Have your passport stamped in each country while enjoying art, crafts, recipes, and activities from a variety of cultures. Small keepsakes will also be given out in each country.
The morning will end with live entertainment. An amazing group of youth performers from the Chinese Folk Art Workshop will perform a traditional dragon dance, a Diablo yo-yo performance, and leave time for hands-on demonstrations. There is a suggested donation of just $10 per family and baked goods available for purchase. Fun for the whole family!
Spring is coming and the sap is running! Appleton Farms invites families experience the time-honored tradition of maple sugaring with Sugar Shack Saturdays at Appleton Farms. Spend the morning with us and see how we turn sap into sweet syrup. Start by getting creative with some maple themed crafts in the Appleton Old House then get outside and explore our very own sugar shack! Learn how we tap our trees every spring, see the evaporator in action, and taste the freshly made syrup. We will end back inside with a farm snack, including Appleton Farms cheese, apple slices, and homemade maple ice cream while we read a story about maple sugaring!
This World Wildlife Day, learn how you can protect the future of wildlife. During scheduled zookeeper chats, you’ll have the opportunity to learn directly from caretakers about some of the endangered animals that call our Zoos home. Visit an Education Station to learn more about World Wildlife Day and the species it celebrates.
As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities, please visit our friends at North Shore Kid
Yet another reason to get yourself down to Machaca tonight….or one of the next several Wednesdays.
The ORIGINAL $1,000 Singer-Songwriter Challenge returns on Wednesday, February 13th at our new home, Machaca!
Now starting weekly at 8pm, 8 singer-songwriters will perform 3 songs each before a panel of live judges. See some of New England’s hottest new performers each Wednesday at Machaca.
ABOUT THE CHALLENGE:
Machaca presents the $1,000 Singer-Songwriter Challenge: an 8-week, performance event open to all musicians. Starting in early February 2019, this weekly event will select a finalist at the end of each night for 7 weeks. On the 8th week, all of the weekly finalists come together and perform for a piece of the $1,000 cash prize.
Sign up by emailing your name, phone number and whether you are a solo artist, duo, trio, etc. to clangathianos@me.com.
How it works:
This weekly event, hosted by Chris Langathianos, will showcase musicians – solo performers, duos, trios & bands (no drums as setups must take less than 5 minutes) – allowing them to perform up to 3 songs. Performers will play before a panel of judges. The judges panels will change from week to week and will be made up of local musicians, business owners, etc. After each performance, judges will provide their live feedback to the performer and audience. A confidential score card will be kept, and a weekly winner will be announced at the end of the evening.
After the 7 weeks of preliminaries, all 7 finalists and 1 wild card will return for week 8 to perform 3 songs – at least 1 MUST BE AN ORIGINAL – before a panel of celebrity judges. 3 winners will be selected and will go home with a piece of the $1,000 cash prize. 1st place / $700, 2nd / $200, and 3rd / $100.
Other details:
1. Performers may participate on a weekly basis but may only win one week.
2. In the event of high demand for performance spots, the event host reserves the right to move previous performers further down the list.
3. All audio equipment is provided – PA, microphones, stands, and monitors.
Sign Ups:
Performers may register for a performance slot by emailing Chris Langathianos at clangathianos@me.com or through this Facebook page.
MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND HERE
Harborlight welcomes you to experience our third annual Cultural Festival! This year guests can travel the halls on a journey through Spain, Peru, Australia, India, Mexico, China, Nigeria, Morocco, and the Azores. Also make a stop along the way to engage in both art and stories from around the world. Grab your passport at the main entrance and begin your adventure!
Have your passport stamped in each country while enjoying art, crafts, recipes, and activities from a variety of cultures. The morning will end with live entertainment. An amazing group of youth performers from the Chinese Folk Art Workshop will perform a traditional dragon dance, a Diablo yo-yo performance, and leave time for hands-on demonstrations. There is a suggested donation of just $10 per family and baked goods available for purchase. Full for the whole family!
Watch the video below to view some of last year’s Cultural Festival.
This event is designed to provide kids, between the ages of 4 to 9, a completely free experience to try youth hockey. A limited amount of equipment is available to borrow. Our top coaches will be on the ice to assist your child in learning the basics. Your son or daughter does not need any previous skating or hockey experience.
Another reason to pull over and snap a few photos.
This little guy seemed to be enjoying a break on the boat yesterday. He spent the better part of the day going back and forth from the bow of Freddy’s boat to the stern.
February 9-17 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Thursday 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Friday 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Saturday & Sunday, February 16 and 17, 2019
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Included with Admission
Free for Members
Come see a rainbow colored, L-gauge model train speeding along a Brick track as it races by soaring skyscrapers, country cottages, mountainside ski slopes and much more. All features are designed with the highest degree of precision by the New England Lego Users Group. Suitable for ALL ages.
Monster Jam® Triple Threat Series™ brings adrenaline-charged family entertainment to fans across the country. These world-class Monster Jam vehicles and athletes deliver what fans want to see most…more racing, more freestyle, more donuts, more action!
Each event tests the versatility of the athletes as they go head-to-head in six different competitions driving three different vehicles — Monster Jam Trucks, Speedsters and ATVs. These athletes battle for points in challenging, fast-paced competitions that push themselves and their machines to the limit. The point leader for the series will receive an automatic bid to the prestigious Monster Jam World Finals® to compete for the title of World Champion. In a competition this big, every athlete is in it to win it!
Pit Party
The Monster Jam® Triple Threat Series Pit Party provides unprecedented access to the Monster Jam trucks and drivers. This unique experience in the world of motorsports gives you access to see the trucks up close, take pictures, meet the drivers and get their autographs.
As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities, please visit our friends at North Shore Kid
Check out Victory Designs by Vee for some unique, handmade, locally crafted gifts for friends far and wide or for yourself and your home.
I have ordered three of her Longitude and Latitude signs and they are wonderful. She takes custom orders and creates them quickly….with very fair prices! While the photos I have included are of her signs, she also designs custom apparel so be sure to scroll through the Facebook page here
I think these are such fantastic gifts for weddings, vacation homes, home buyers, college graduates (with their college/university symbol), businesses (I ordered one for the school where I work…see below), to celebrate an engagement, or honeymoon, favorite vacation destination….. the possibilities are endless!
You can contact her via message on Facebook or at the following email: DesignsByVionette@gmail.com
This is a great opportunity to learn about a large variety of summer options for your children all under one roof.
Come join us at the 4th Annual Cape Ann Summer Program Fair hosted by Kestrel Educational Adventures. Learn about opportunities to Get Outside, explore science and nature, and have wild adventures this summer. Local organizations from the area will be presenting their summer programs. The camp fair is an adventure in itself, with fun kids’ activities at every station plus bonus activities and free snacks.
Learn about summer programs from: Kestrel Educational Adventures, Glen Urquhart School, North Shore Nature Programs, Clark School, Waldorf School at Moraine Farm, Summerquest camp with The Trustees of Reservations, Appleton Farms Camp with the Trustees of Reservations, Maritime Gloucester, Gloucester Museum School Camp, Cape Ann Art Haven, Eastern Point Yacht Club, MassAudubon at Joppa Flats, Harborlight Montessori School, Waring School Summer Camp, and Cape Ann SUP (and likely other camps as well)
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL
This red lobster boat caught my eye Sunday afternoon as did the colorful backdrop of the homes and shops that dot the coast along downtown Rockport. We pulled onto Granite Pier to take a look and Thatch said, “I hope he’s done fishing in time to watch the Super Bowl.” Just as he said that the boat did an about face….hopefully preparing to head home.
As Donna mentioned yesterday, it was Truck Day at Fenway.
Fresh off a Super Bowl Championship our groggy Patriots landed in Boston to get ready for (yet another) Duck Boat Parade within hours of when the Red Sox equipment truck departed Fenway to make the 1,500 mile trip to Fort Myers.
You’ve got to love Boston. Can any other city boast that their Championship football team arrived home at the culmination of their victorious season on the very same day of the, albeit unofficial, start of the Championship baseball team’s new season?
As Brady, Gronk, Edelman, and the McCourty twins stepped onto the runway, Al Hartz stepped into the cab of the big green truck. Who is Al Hartz you may ask? He’s the guy who has carefully driven the Red Sox team equipment all the way down to Spring Training for 21 years in a row now.
Just what’s in that truck? The Red Sox tweeted out the answer to that question yesterday.
Good Morning Gloucester 