Author: Nichole S.

Pick #1: Santa’s Arrival in Rockport!

It doesn’t get any more quintessential New England small town than Santa arriving by lobster boat in Rockport, Massachusetts.  Santa is due at T Wharf at 1:00.  He’ll then hop in “his sleigh” (umm…firetruck) for a trip downtown. The stores are open for holiday shopping and then the town comes back together in Dock Square for caroling and the annual tree lighting beginning at 4:00 pm.

READ MORE HERE

Pick #2: Christmas at Castle Hill: The Season of Carols

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Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition for many New England families. Don’t miss this year’s spectacular “The Season of Carols”. Each room in our 1920s mansion is festively decorated for a beloved Christmas carol. You’ll find live music and dance, fresh baked cookies and cider, a treasure hunt, family activities, and a visit with Santa.

Make Friday, date night with evening tour hours, a cash bar, light appetizers, and festive music.

Come with friends on Saturday for great decorating ideas, shopping in the Castle Hill gift shop and Harbor Sweets pop up cafe, and more.

Bring the children on Sunday to visit with Santa, take photos, and hunt for carol-themed items in our holiday treasure hunt.

Persons named Carol get in free! Please bring i.d.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, December 1, 5-8pm

Piano music by Robert Allison

Cash bar with beer, wine, and our own holiday punch

Saturday, December 2, 10am-4pm

Season of Carols treasure hunt

11am   Ipswich High School Chamber Singers and Bel Canto directed by Abigail Frost

12:00  String Quartet: Michael Hamill, Carlos Heymann, Alice Newell, & Ann Ward

Ipswich High School Chamber Players

12:30pm  Ipswich High School Chamber Orchestra directed by Michael Coelho

1pm          Ipswich High School Jazz Ensemble

2pm          Ipswich Moving Company’s Youth Dance Ensemble

2:30pm     Venti Players and Bright Phoebe

Sunday, December 3, 12noon-4pm

Season of Carols treasure hunt

12Noon-2pm      Visit with Santa in the second floor bay

12Noon              Ipswich High School Honors Brass

1pm                  Ipswich Middle School Clarinet Ensemble

2pm                  Brass Bells

3pm                  North Shore Ringers

Date & Time
Friday, December 1
Friday, 5-8PM, Saturday 10AM-4PM, Sunday, 12Noon-4PM

Cost
Member: Adult $10, Child/Senior $5; Nonmember: Adult $20, Child/Senior $10; Ipswich resident with i.d. $10. Tickets are available at the door only.

Contact Information
978.356.4351 x4015
tschell@thetrustees.org

Pick #3: Polar Express 4D at the Museum of Science

READ MORE AND PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Go on an extraordinary 4-D adventure this holiday season on THE POLAR EXPRESS! When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. THE POLAR EXPRESS 4-D Experience^® is based on the inspiring and beloved Caldecott Medal children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg.

Featured in digital 3-D and brought to life with 4-D multisensory effects, this is an immersive experience for the whole family to enjoy!

THE POLAR EXPRESS and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s17)

LENGTH

15 minutes

LOCATION

4-D Theater, Blue Wing. Find on map

AUDIENCE

Recommended for: Grades toddlers – 12 and adults

As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities please visit our friends at North Shore Kid

I’ve been fortunate that Paul Horovitz has shared several beautiful photos of his beloved Annisquam with me….and this is one of my favorites.  It has been neat to see the village and the river through his eyes.

This is Lobster Cove at sunset taken this past weekend.

The colors are striking…and as I played with it a bit, it took on an eerie layered feeling

I am beyond intrigued by what it must be like to live on Chappaquiddick.  While on Martha’s Vineyard this past weekend, I stood and watched the ferry load up on the mainland side, steam across the channel, allow the vehicles to disembark, load the first three vehicles in line on the Chappy side, and return.  It took 5 1/2 minutes.  Fascinating.

I tried to imagine what it must be like for residents living on Chappaquiddick to get accustomed to a lifestyle that involves that daily commute…possibly several times a day.  While the ride across is mere minutes…I can imagine that some days the time spent sitting in line waiting to board is monumental. The car ferry can only take two or three cars at one time so wait times can easily add up.

Then I started thinking about the school children who need to get across the channel to attend school…assuming Chappy doesn’t have its own school.  I’m sure there are many people who know no other way…

With a whopping 36 hour window to sneak away, my husband and I took off for Martha’s Vineyard.  We arrived on the island at 8:15 Friday night and headed home on the 8:15 ferry Sunday morning.  The Vineyard is definitely quiet this time of year, but we had a great time walking around, doing some shopping, stopping for bites to eat, enjoying local craft beer and the occasional cocktail, and listening to some great live music.

We made it home just in time for back-to-back hockey games…..which then got us back home again just in time for the Patriots game.  Feeling lucky for the opportunity to sneak away for sure!

Much thanks to Paul Horovitz for this crisp fall photo from Lighthouse Beach.  Extra happy to use it as my blog post today since in addition to giving me this photo….he also gave me some “homework” to work on for a meeting tomorrow. I had fun adding some water color filters to it.  Blog post done.  Homework about to begin.

The 25th Sal Grasso Memorial Friendship Tournament is in the books and after 24 games, lots of teamwork, and a ton of celebrating, our friends from the north are all traveling back home….but, the tournament trophy is staying here! Congratulations, Cape Ann Youth Hockey Nation.

Watching the weekend unfold was pretty special.  I know I am not alone in the fact that, while my boys only played in four of the 24 games, we watched 13 games over the course of the weekend.  Certainly there are many families who stayed, cheered, rallied, and rooted even more than we did.  Watching skaters ages 7-14 years old, at all different levels in their hockey “careers,” as they took to the ice, skated to the bench for coach talks, celebrated goals and great saves, acknowledged their goalies, took a knee during occasional injuries, and lined up to give their “good games” to opposing teams was cause for lots of warm fuzzies.  At the root of it all for the players….is a love of the game. At the root of it all for the parents (early hours, wet equipment, cold toes, nervous moments)…is the love that we have for the fact that our children love the game.  Our hockey players are linked with a unique bond and it begins very early in their learn-to skate-years.  The rink rats, the younger siblings, the runny-nosed milk crate years.  As they develop through Cross Ice, Mites, Squirts, PeeWees, etc. they spend more hours together in rinks than anywhere else.  Their bonds lead to bonds amongst the parents.  The camaraderie that exists at the rink is palpable….and it was even more so this weekend.  So, thank you Skaters, thank you Fellow Parents, and thank you CAYH.

All of Cape Ann Youth Hockey families owe the organizers, the volunteers, the coaches, and the hockey players a ton of gratitude. The work and effort it takes to pull off an event like this should not be lost on anyone.  Some of the Execution Team who absolutely won their game are Kristin Michel, Mandy Milan, Jessica Cusumano, Rob Harris, and Brendan Chipperini. Also of note is Eric Russell who coordinated referees for 25 games and Joe Loiacano who created a great atmosphere for families to gather and enjoy time away from the rink over at Cape Ann’s Marina Resort.  His generosity was much appreciated by all!  Many people offered gifts of time and talent as well.  Of note are Brian Linn, Michelle Cooper, and other parents who worked hard behind the scenes to keep hundreds of people fueled, fed, and warm.  Incredible amounts of coffee and hot chocolate were consumed. We’d also like to recognize Andrew, Claude, Michele and Jennifer from the Westmount Recreation Department. They were at the rink all day every day making sure that the Westmount families were tended to and had point people for all of their needs.  They also may have kept some of us company on the dance floor at the Mile Marker late into Saturday evening…but that’s a story for another day. 

We can’t forget to thank the staff of Talbot Rink who worked long, hard days!  That zamboni made many more than a few trips around the ice and keeping the rink clean, safe, and warm for so many people is no joke. Speaking of long, hard days…the Gloucester DPW surprised us with a “Welcome” sign at the rotary for our Canadian guests. Such a nice touch!

This year’s tournament began on Friday afternoon with opening ceremonies emceed by Michael English, a ceremonial puck drop by Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, a color guard presentation by the Gloucester US Naval Sea Cadets….featuring several Cape Ann Youth Hockey players….and both the Star Spangled Banner and O Canada sung by Alexandra Grace.  While my iPhone recording of our National Anthem isn’t the best of quality, I assure you she was fabulous.  

Next year CAYH will once again be traveling to Montreal, Canada to enjoy gracious hosting by the Westmount hockey organization, but in November 2019 we can look forward to hosting the tournament on home ice once again.  By then we should all be well rested.

Such a great event!  If you weren’t able to make it to last night’s Taste of Cape Ann, you should be sure to mark your calendar for next year.  So many of Cape Ann’s finest food establishments all under one roof….and all for a great cause….all to benefit the Cape Ann Y Teens.

The Gloucester Sea Cadets were invited to provide the color guard at the Dan Healy Memorial 5K race this past weekend in Exeter, NH. I was so honored to have Thatcher be a part of the color guard at the opening ceremonies. Having him witness and take part in an occasion to honor a fallen Navy Seal, especially so close to Veterans Day I suppose, gave way to numerous lessons about honor, courage, commitment…and respect, heartache, pride, and patriotism.  We took the long, scenic ride home and discussed the morning’s events…..and my heart broke and swelled with pride simultaneously as I listened to Thatch explain his feelings about the morning.

While I always think I know how watching this young group of Sea Cadets in action will effect me, I’m still always surprised by how it sneaks up on me.  Many of them, for the record, also rocked the 5K which is pretty cool too.  Learn more about the Gloucester Sea Cadets HERE

Dan Healy died along with seven other SEALs and 8 Army “Nightstalker” commandos when their MH-47D Chinook helicopter was shot down during a mission to rescue a four-man SEAL reconnaissance team in Kunar Province on June 28, 2005. Below is information about Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy, US Navy SEAL, as taken from the Dan Healy Memorial 5K Facebook page.  A tremendous individual and an exemplary example.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy, US Navy SEAL, BUD/S Class 196, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was born on July 17, 1968 in Exeter, NH and KIA in the Hindu Kush mountains of Kunar Province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2005 during Operation Red Wings.

SCPO Healy was lost when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard on a rescue mission crashed going to the aid of a team of four SEALs on a reconnaissance mission who were embroiled in a battle with a larger force of the Taliban. When word got back to base about their plight, their fellow SEALs went into action filling two helicopters to go to their aid. Due to his rank as a Senior Chief Petty Officer, Dan Healy did not have to go on that mission, but he insisted. Taking men off of the lead helicopter SCPO Healy told the others “Those are my men and my face is going to be the first one they see”.

For his actions, SCPO Healy was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for Valor, the Purple Heart and Afghanistan Campaign Medal. SCPO Healy’s other awards include Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Good Conduct Medal (3), and the National Defense Service Medal.

MISSION OF THE DAN HEALY FOUNDATION

TO UPHOLD THE HONOR AND DEDICATION EXEMPLIFIED BY SENIOR CHIEF HEALY IN HIS HEROIC EFFORTS BY BEING OF SERVICE TO THE SEACOAST, NH COMMUNITY THROUGH THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES:

SCHOLARSHIPS- To area students entering the military or a trade school

VETERANS- Aiding Seacoast area veterans in various ways

SINGLE PARENTS- Offering a grant to deserving single parents

This run and walk event is in honor and remembrance of Dan and his fellow teammates. It is held in his hometown of Exeter, NH. For a full line of events; register as a runner or walker, including virtually; donate to The Dan Healy Foundation; or sign up to volunteer please visit https://runsignup.com/Race/NH/Exeter/DanHealyMemorial5K

This has been fun to watch while going through downtown Rockport.  Slow and steady work to ensure that the Hannah Jumper home lives on for years to come.