Category: gloucester
As Memorial Day Nears The Flags Appear On The Boulevard – photos from Anthony Marks
Thanks to Ringo Tarr and crew the flags are flying on the boulevard for the Summer!
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Montserrat College of Art and Roger Martin
Professor Ethan Berry leads a discussion about Martin’s influence as a founding member of the school.
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (May 20, 2015) – In conjunction with the special exhibition Bill of Lading: The Art & Poetry of Roger Martin, the Cape Ann Museum presents a conversation with Montserrat College of Art professor Ethan Berry on Saturday, May 30, 2:00 p.m. This program is free for Museum members, Montserrat students and faculty, or with Museum admission.
Bill of Lading explores the art and poetry of Rockport native, Roger Martin (1925-2015). A founder of Montserrat College of Art and a long-time member of its faculty, the town of Rockport’s first Poet Laureate and compiler of three books celebrating the people and poetry of his hometown, and a highly respected graphic artist, illustrator and painter, Roger Martin has long been one of Cape Ann’s most distinguished and creative individuals. Professor Berry will be joined by some of Martin’s former students for this program.
Ethan Berry is a teacher in the printmaking department at Montserrat, as well as Senior Seminar, and has been teaching at the school since 1977. A producer and designer for film, video, and performance events, he is past president of the Board of Directors of the Boston Film/Video Foundation, which was founded in 1976 to provide artists with an organizational support system for the creation of independent film and video. He is also a co-partner in ART ON DEMAND, a consulting group that provides arts programming and design consulting services. His work has been shown at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA; the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; the University of Massachusetts; the Provincetown Young Artists’ Exhibition; and the Drawing Show at the Mills Gallery in Boston.
Photo credit: Roger Martin, 2012. Photo by Al Mallette. Print res images available on request.
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The Cape Ann Museum tells multiple stories, all relating to Cape Ann. Founded in 1873, the Museum’s collections represent the history of Cape Ann, its people, its industries, its art and culture. For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.
The Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday throughSaturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $10.00 adults, $8.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. For more information please call: (978)283-0455 x10. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.
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Little Lost Cat in Magnolia
Tony Sapienza writes, “This little lost boy — our very friendly house cat, Max — wandered away from our place in Magnolia Wednesday afternoon (5/20). For those of you in the area, please keep an eye out. If anyone has any ideas, we’re all ears — we contacted the police, animal control and the area vets, as well as the Cape Ann Lost Pets FB page. Fingers crossed!”
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Get ready for the joint to be rockin! “Mr. Nick and The Dirty Tricks” @ The Rhumb Line’s Dave Sag’s Blues Party 8:30-11:30pm 5.21.2015
Dave says,
I got a new group for ya this Thursday: Mr. Nick and the Dirty Tricks, minus one, that is, since I’ll be playing instead of their bassist. Apparently he’s suffering from a French foreign lesion. Wish him well! Mr. Nick is a well known harmonicat, although not around these parts, so cheer him on! He has the Q-Tip ability to ream out the smallest spaces in your cortical processes and will create a disturbance in your mind. Believe me!
- jisilva photo
http://www.thedirtytricks.com/about
He’s bringing along his longtime gootarist in the form of Mr. “Lonely” Gus Carlson, a fine player and vocalist as well as Mr.Rick Russo, on drums and vocals, too. I brought these cats in the night of last year’s Horrible’s Parade and they tore the joint apart! Come see for yourself!
And Saturday night, I’ll be down to Carlo’s on the loop, whooping it up with that Perry Combover Award winning vocalist and jongleur, Mr. John Keegan and the local faves: Madhouse. Yes, Carlo’s is open and we expect to have a wonderful evening, since we’ve been rehearsing all winter! See you there!
40 Railroad Avenue
Gloucester, MA 01930
(978) 283-9732
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Breaking News from Carol Thistle
Carol Thistle, Senior Project Manager for the Tourism Commission, reports that fully one third of revenue collected from the hotel and motel tax will go toward promoting tourism. Carol broke the news at the joint spring meeting of Gloucester’s Harbortown and Rocky Neck Cultural Districts held Tuesday night at the North Shore Art Association.
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Eastern Point Coyote Sighting
GMG FOB Lyn submits photo of coyote on her wall. Thank you Lyn for sharing!
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Gang Of Thieves Friday May 22 @ MinglewoodAtLat43 ~ You do not want to miss this band…seriously!
These legendary Vermont Rockers are bringing the funky
fury back to Gloucester this Friday! If you missed them last time, this is your chance!
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mzx9Q8sfpJI” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
High energy is the hallmark of Burlington, VT’s Gang of Thieves. Their sound and energy is a cross between Led Zeppelin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with a funky blast of Green Mountain soul thrown in the mix. The key to their appeal is the infectious sense of fun and showmanship, delivered with a hint of spiritual and political awareness, without any of preachy self-righteousness. With a live show that will leave you screaming and exhausted from your nose to your rump, these up and coming rock stars will leave you begging for more!
These Green Mountain rockers have won over diverse audiences coast-to-coast, opening for the likes of Skid Row on the one hand, and up-and-coming jam band Twiddle on the other. The Gang was also recently nominated for “Rock Act of the Year” by the 2013 New England Music Awards, and Best Funk Group by 7 Days “Seven Daysies” contest.
“Gang of Thieves, you’ve really done it this time. Soaring guitars,
early 90s grunge style vocals, Flea level basslines, and a mix of funk and rock to make a party a rager… you [gave] us Thunderfunk and it’s just another damn level.”
-John Powell, http://www.angelica-music.com
Check them out here: http://www.thegangofthieves.com/#about-1
This will be one of the most exciting shows you will see this month!
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Wednesdays with Fly Amero @The Rhumb Line – Special Guest: Chick Marston 5.20.2015
Dinner Specials Every Week!
Wednesday, May 20th – 8pm
Special Guest: CHICK MARSTON!
Traditional and contemporary folk music. Delta and ragtime
blues. Classic and old-time country. And, of course… sea
songs. Chick Marston is a master of all, with a pulsing
thumb-bass precise as a metronome. Such an incredible
study! We start at 8. ~ Fly
Dinner with great music!
*Each week features a special, invited musical guest
Dave Trooper’s Kitchen…
Prepared fresh weekly by “Troop”… always good!
Check out Fred’s rockin’ wine menu!
Upcoming…
Dan King
Fozzie
Rocky
Visit: http://www.therhumbline.com/
Looking forward……to seeing you there 🙂
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BASKING SHARKS ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION
What makes Martin Del Vecchio’s drone footage particularly poignant is that Basking Sharks are reportedly on the edge of extinction. I wonder how often we’ll have witness to the world’s second largest fish feeding along the shores of Cape Ann. Truly an incredibly awesome capture.
The following is an interesting article written by David Suzuki about why these gentle giants have been driven to near extinction:
“The basking shark is huge—often bigger than a bus. As fish go, it’s second in size only to the whale shark. It has been roaming the world’s oceans for at least 30 million years. Mariners throughout history have mistaken it for a mythical sea serpent or the legendary cadborosaurus. Despite its massive size, it feeds mostly on tiny zooplankton.
These are some of the things we know about this gentle giant. But our understanding is limited; we don’t really know much more about them than we did in the early 1800s. One thing we do know is that they used to be plentiful in the waters off the coast of B.C., in Queen Charlotte Sound, Clayoquot Sound, Barkley Sound, and even the Strait of Georgia. Only half a century ago, people taking a ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island may have spotted half a dozen lazily swimming by. But now, reported sightings are down to less than one a year off the B.C. coast. All indications are that this magnificent animal is on the edge of extinction. It makes my blood boil!
Over the past two centuries, people have been killing them for sport, for food, for the oil from their half-tonne livers, and to get them out of the way of commercial fishing operations. Many were also killed accidentally by fishing gear.
In their 2006 book Basking Sharks: The Slaughter of B.C.’s Gentle Giants, marine biologist (and David Suzuki Foundation sustainable fisheries analyst) Scott Wallace and maritime historian Brian Gisborne note that the “pest control” methods used in the 1950s and ’60s were particularly gruesome. Basking sharks are so named because they appear to bask as they feed on plankton on the water’s surface. And even though they don’t eat salmon and other fish, they sometimes get tangled in gillnets, hindering commercial fishing operations. So fisheries patrol boats with large knives attached to their bows would slice the animals in half as they “basked” on the surface.”
Read the full article here: Exit Stage Right
See the NBC piece on Martin and watch his basking shark drone video here.
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Rock and Roll Fish Tales
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Music Around Town ~ May 18-24, 2015
Click photo for music info
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Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team Update
Rick Roth writes: “We had a nice day yesterday at O’Maley School Visiting Scientist Day. Sam Bevins and Ben Alger did a geat job as we presented some info about vernal pools, our turtle project, and some of our snakes.
Wednesday May 20, 2015 8-11am
Saltonstall School (in Salem MA) Sustainability Fair
I’ll be there with native New England snakes.
There’s still time to donate and volunteer for:
Big Giant Benefit Yard Sale for the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team and Kestrel Educational Adventures
Saturday May 23 (Rain date May 30)
Behind St. Peter’s Parking Lot, Commercial Street, Gloucester
This is how it works- You gety to clean up your house, basement, kid’s room, neighbors’ yard, etc… and bring the stuff to us on the morning of the sale between 7:00 and 9:00 am. Have something too big to bring us? Give a call and we may be able to pick it up. Please, no TVs, computers, mattresses or junk. Rick 978 281 3480.
We will need lots of volunteers to help set up, sell stuff, break down and clean up.”
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Still a few tickets left for Roomful of Blues Cruise aboard Beauport Princess on 6/13
THIS IS AN ALL AGES CONCERT CRUISE featuring the first ever appearance by these national recording stars aboard the Beauport Princess.
Dance, dine and cruise historic Gloucester Harbor with 5-time Grammy nominees Roomful of Blues aboard the Beauport Princes Cruise Ship. Your ticket includes the concert PLUS a Gloucester Harbor Cruise and Party Buffet featuring their world famous Lobster Rolls! A full cash bar is available aboard the cruise ship.
GET YOUR TICKETS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW — There are only about 50 tickets left. Don’t wait!
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Gloucester High School Selected for MassBioEd BioTeach Program
The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd) has selected Gloucester High School (GHS) as one of 10 schools awarded a BioTeach program grant in the 2015-2016 school year.
GHS was also awarded a BioTeach grant in 2009 and was recognized with MassBioEd’s prestigious Joshua Boger Innovative School of the Year Award in 2013 for inspiring students to explore life sciences careers through progressive biotechnology education and exemplary science career programming.
Through this year’s BioTeach grant, MassBioEd will provide GHS with professional development and mentoring for teachers; updated, inquiry-based biotechnology curricula; access to student career exploration experiences; and up to $12,000 for materials and equipment for school labs.
“We are honored at Gloucester High School to have MassBioEd’s support through equipment and training and look forward to providing exciting, inquiry-based lab exercises,” said Eric Leigh, Biology Teacher and BioTeach Coordinator at GHS.
“Gloucester High School is honored and enthusiastic about being awarded a BioTeach grant, said Robert Gallinelli, Dean of Students at GHS. “This grant will assist us in inspiring our students to pursue careers and educational opportunities in life sciences and biotechnology. Our teachers are eager to enrich our student’s lab experience with modern equipment and training.”
Funding for this year’s BioTeach cohort comes from a $139,999 grant awarded through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) STEM Equipment and Supplies Grant Program.
“We are thrilled to bring our BioTeach program into additional schools for the 2015-2016 school year,” said Lance Hartford, Executive Director of MassBioEd. “By providing Massachusetts students with lab experiences in high schools across the state, we hope to inspire students to pursue educational opportunities and careers in the life sciences and biotechnology industry.”
“Investing in training the next generation of life sciences workers is a critical part of the Center’s mission,” said Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President & CEO of the MLSC. “We want to create an interest in STEM careers among students all across the state, and at all levels. The Center’s investments in equipment and supplies for training at high schools, both directly and through our partnership with the MassBioEd Foundation, are increasing interest in STEM among all of our students – regardless of socio-demographics or zip code.”
The 10 schools for the 2015-2016 cohort are:
• Avon Middle-High School, Avon
• Claremont Academy, Worcester
• Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, South Yarmouth
• Gloucester High School, Gloucester
• Lee Middle and High School, Lee
• Palmer High School, Palmer
• Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, Northampton
• South High Community School, Worcester
• Springfield High School of Science and Technology, Springfield
• Weymouth High School, Weymouth
With the addition of these schools, the BioTeach program, recognized by the Massachusetts State STEM Council as a premier @Scale initiative, now reaches 204 schools in the Commonwealth. Learn more about the MassBioEd Foundation and BioTeach at www.MassBioEd.org.
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Public Conversation on the Arts Hosted By Mayor Romeo Theken
Thursday nights art’s conversation was well-attended. After the introduction and welcome speeches by Mayor Romeo Theken, Jack Clark, and Judith Hoglander the audience broke into small groups to answer three questions: 1.) What values or vision informs your thinking about the selection and placement of public art. 2.) What suggestions do you have for reaching out and including the community in the process? 3.) What criteria should we use in the selection and placement of public art? After which the audience reconvened to share the small group’s answers.
There was a shared vision and commonality in many of the responses. A strong desire for transparency throughout the entire process was stated often as was the position that our public art choices tell the story of Gloucester.
In our small group, Gloucester sculptor David Calvo shared the story of Maritime Gloucester’s humble beginnings and how it grew organically, with the full support of the community behind its development. There are a number of reasons why there is such a community-wide viscerally negative reaction to the proposed David Black sculpture and one of the solutions suggested was to put a policy in place which would allow the community to say no to an unwanted gift. Another suggestion was to identify places where we would like to see public art so that the community is not in the position of scrambling to place very large-scale works of art in very small parks.
A suggestion that resonated with many was that we investigate and learn from neighboring communities about their policies toward selecting and placing public art. The meeting was productive and we’ll be hearing more from the Mayor and Committee for the Arts in the coming weeks about Gloucester’s developing public arts plan. 
Mayor Romeo Theken and City Councilwoman Melissa Cox
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Wild, Wacky and Wonderful…Gloucester!
Story by Terry Weber
My husband and I were hiking in the Ravenswood Park area and saw this:
Yes, it appears to be part of a human skeleton, nailed to a tree. It was about 15 to 20 feet off the ground–too high for us to touch or get a closer look.
We discussed it, saying it was creepy, and hoped it was not real. We considered all the “rational” reasons part of a skeleton could be nailed to a tree: It was fake and just a prank from someone who wanted to cause a stir and obviously needs attention. Or, it was a leftover “decoration” that no one took down from a Halloween Haunted Woods event. Or, real or fake, it was a symbol, warning, or trail marker left by an unusual religious group. And last, we thought it might be part of a crime scene. Okay, maybe we have watched too many crime or zombie-apocalypse TV shows. But, we felt that there was a 1% chance it could be real.
With the 1% chance of it being real, I decided to tell the Gloucester Police. Even though I felt silly, I emailed Chief Campanello with a picture of the skeleton so he could decide if, or how, to proceed. The Chief was in Washington DC when I made the report, and he referred the situation to two of his officers. He said based on my picture it was worth looking at, but agreed it was probably just a prank.
Next thing I knew, I was meeting Lt. Joe Fitzgerald and Officer Troy Simoes at the entrance to Ravenswood Park. After looking at the map, we entered the woods from an entrance I was not familiar with, resulting in a navigation challenge while I tried to figure out where the bone was located from a new direction. We took two ATV’s that handled the wider parts of the trail well, but the trail soon became smaller and rockier. I may have screamed and cursed a few times when Lt. Fitzgerald apparently thought he was a NASCAR driver, plowing over rocks and plunging down hills at breakneck speeds. J Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I hardly cried at all.
After about 15 minutes of searching for the right spot on the trail, we had to get off the ATV’s and start walking. I told the officers that the skeleton would be nailed to a tree on our right. A few minutes later, Officer Simoes said “I see it!” and he pointed to the left. I looked up, confused, as I thought the skeleton would be on the right. It was a different skeleton, on a completely different tree! But, like the other one, it appeared to be the foot and lower leg of a human.
Upon closer inspection (this bone was lower than the one my husband and I found), both officers concluded it was a fake. They could see little seams, and said that a nail would not cause such a neat indentation in the bone. I was relieved there was no crime victim, as were the officers. We also agreed even though the skeletons were fake, they were unsightly and not a great thing for small children to see.I apologized and thanked both officers for their time, but they said it’s always better to check something out than to ignore it. Plus, there are certainly worse ways to spend your time, riding on an ATV ride through the woods on a beautiful spring day!
After discussing my story with a few people, I heard through the grapevine that other hikers who have lived here longer than me knew about the bones. There may be many more nailed to trees, but no one had ever notified the police (at least not in recent history).
The experience left me with a few questions: Real or fake, why are the bones nailed to trees? How long have they been there? Who put them there? Have you ever noticed them? And, should they come down? Share your thoughts and stories!
Special thanks to Chief Campanello, Lt. Fitzgerald and Officer Simoes. And yes, Officer Simoes is related to GMG’s own Manny Simoes.
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The Uncommonly Common Yellowthroat
Male Common Yellowthroat fluffing and drying feathers after his many baths.
Splashing, and then dashing to a nearby tree, splashing and dashing again, and then returning for yet a third bath, this little male Common Yellowthroat seemed to relish in the fresh water at our birdbath. His more subduedly colored mate stayed well hidden and close to the ground and I was thrilled to see them both. This sweet pair of warblers have been in our garden for several days now and perhaps they’ll build their nest here!
Common Yellowthroats were at one time common however, their numbers have been steadily decreasing since the 1960s. Throughout the yellowthroat’s range they are suffering from habitat degradation and loss. Because they live in wetlands and eat primarily insects they, like countless wild creatures, are adversely affected by pesticides and poor water quality.
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Don’t Miss Backyard Growers Summer Seedling Sale Tuesday May 19th and Thursday May 21st
Come down to Backyard Growers HQ (269 Main St.) on TUESDAY 5/19 OR THURSDAY 5/21 from 3-6 PM to pickup $1 seedlings.
For seedlings we will have slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sauce tomatoes, pepper varieties, eggplant, basil, parsley and more! We also have some High Mowing seed packets for sale.
IF YOU ARE A FIRST OR SECOND YEAR PARTICIPANT THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR FREE SEEDS/SEEDLINGS and shop for anything additional you may want.
Backyard Grower’s Photo
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REMINDER: IMPORTANT PUBLIC ARTS CONVERSATION TONIGHT 7pm to 9pm
Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken invites interested residents of Gloucester to join with her and the Committee for the Arts to begin a Public Conversation on the Arts on Thursday, May 14th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Kyrouz Auditorium at City Hall. The purpose of this facilitated discussion is to solicit ideas on what a public arts policy should look like. The meeting is not about individual projects, works of art, or location but about what should guide the City as it makes decisions on this important subject. “I am committed to carefully and thoughtfully considering issues related to the selection and siting of public art in the City of Gloucester and the upcoming Public Conversation on the Arts will be an invaluable tool,” said Mayor Romeo Theken.
Fisherman Memorial Painting by Paul Frontiero
Good Morning Gloucester 