We live in a world where it often feels like we’re constantly being evaluated. Are we successful enough? Attractive enough? Productive enough? Smart enough? Everywhere we turn, there are expectations to meet and comparisons to make.
Then you step into a pasture with a horse.
And suddenly, none of that matters.
Horses don’t care what you do for a living. They don’t care how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, or whether you’re wearing designer clothes or muddy boots. They don’t know how many followers you have on social media or whether you’ve had a bad week.
They simply meet you where you are.
That may be one of the greatest gifts horses have to offer.
Date and Time: Saturday Jul 18, 2026 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Location: Stage Fort Park 24 Hough Avenue Gloucester, MA 01930
Fees/Admission: Advance Purchase General Admission – $45 At the Door General Admission – $50 Designated Driver – $10 Click here to purchase tickets: blackburnbrewfest.com
Website: blackburnbrewfest.com
Contact Information: Call 978-283-1601 Send Email
Blackburn Brew Fest 2026: The current list of sponsors is:
Growler:
Discover Gloucester
Ocean Breeze Cultivators
Reverie 73
Renewal by Andersen
Cape Ann Savings
Pint:
BankGloucester
Cape Ann Motor Inn
Flight
Burgin Platner Insurance
Cape Ann Lanes/Laneside Pub & Brewery
In Kind:
Streamography
Brooks Gibson Company
Description: The Greater Cape Ann Chamber is pleased to announce the return of the Blackburn Brew Festival on Saturday, July 18th (RAIN or SHINE) at Stage Fort Park! Over 20 breweries will be convening from Cape Ann, the North Shore, and across New England to showcase their best brews to attendees from far and wide. The event will also offer live music, local food trucks and lawn games all while located at Gloucester’s historic waterfront park.
The event will also be supporting a good cause as a portion of the proceeds will support local non-profits through the Cape Ann Community Foundation, an organization established by the Chamber to award grants for projects supporting educational, social service, recreational and economic initiatives throughout the Cape Ann Community.
PLEASE NOTE: This event is 21+
For breweries interested in participating, please contact Sam Bevins at sam@capeannchamber.com.
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I used the handy Sawyer Free Library’s Cape Ann History Digital Resources link to search past newspapers for information on how Cape Ann and Gloucester celebrated historic July 4th anniversaries in 1876, 1926 and 1976. It’s always a fascinating step into the past. Here are some examples.
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The Shipyard is pulling out all the stops to make sure you (and your kids, and your family) have a great summer. Their calendar is full of fun and unique experiences for all. I can’t remember a better line up if activities…
You absolutely have to visit this preserved historic site on the shores that launched over 4000 (and counting) ships for well over 350 (and counting) years. It doesn’t get more authentic than that! Learn from the best in the shadows of giants and make your own history today. These are only some of the fun things happening in education. Check out the rest at
Join us on Saturday, July 11th from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM as Main Street transforms into a massive celebration filled with local flavor. Bring the whole family down for an unforgettable night under the summer sky! Here is what you can look forward to: 🎤 Live music across 3 separate street stages 🤸 Street performances from headline act The Red Trousers 💃 A special performance by the Cape Ann Dancers 🍔 Incredible food from local restaurants and food trucks 🎨 Face painting, local shopping, non-profit booths, and fun activities for all ages
📍 Where: Main Street (Closed to traffic from Pleasant St. to Washington St.) 🎟️ Admission: Completely FREE for the public!
Streets close for setup at 5:00 PM, and the fun starts at 6:00 PM. Tag your party crew in the comments and let us know what you’re hitting first! 👇
CAPE ANN COLLECTORS is curating new work by Theresa Bernstein with reproductions from Milton Avery’s catalog sketchbooks. Our summer show, Bernstein/Avery: Discovery Made Visible, opening Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19, 1-5 p.m., is a dazzling collection documenting an intriguing record of an earlier era in Gloucester. Both artists’ courageous spirits, attracting reverent admirers and mentees, are on view.
Theresa Bernstein (1890-2002) and Milton Avery (1886-1965) ran in the same modernist circles, summering in the same art colonies and gathering at Bernstein and husband William Meyerowitz’s home in East Gloucester – steps away from Good Harbor Beach. All three modernists walked away from abstraction, capturing an intimacy where realism and abstraction intersect – observed reality.
Bernstein sketched scenes quickly, preferring to fill in details for later works with faces of friends and family. Sketches exploded as she pursued contemporary urban life, human activity and movement. Avery filled sketchbooks daily, further developing “eye-and-hand” coordination while maintaining the immediacy of his subject. His reliance on sketches, often making quick notations of color, made art an inseparable part of daily life. Sally Michel Avery, Milton’s wife, commented that summers were “devoted to works on paper.”
Bernstein and Avery were passionately driven by both the natural world and the human figure – all in full view on Cape Ann. Avery/Bernstein Sketchbooks: DiscoveryMade Visible, opening July 18-19, is running Saturdays through August 8. Stop by to see for yourself – discoveries made visible!
Ken Tashjy submits- First photo is of a jelly fish on Oak Cove on Rocky Neck. That is a 11.5 sneakers giving it some scale. Next photos are of artist Robert Gruppe painting at Oak Cove. “One of Gloucester’s Masters back at work.”
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Last year, we made the mistake of waiting until the end of the season to have breakfast at the Oceanfront Cafe at the Atlantis on Atlantic Road. We promised ourselves we wouldn’t make that mistake again! A recent weekday morning provided a great opportunity to fulfill our promise to ourselves. It was kind of a bleak morning but inside the cafe was friendly and bright. Jim ordered fishcakes and I got the country breakfast (I really wanted that cheddar biscuit!). They were served up efficiently and were as delicious as I was expecting. It was a quiet morning there but clearly there were some regulars in attendance being fussed over by the amiable staff. We were seated by the front window, allowing us the benefit of the Oceanfront in the cafe’s name. We enjoyed our experience very much and expect to return sometime before October this year!
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GLOUCESTER, MA – The City of Gloucester will host a Housing Compass Community Forum on Wednesday, July 29, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Rose Baker Center for Aging Well, located at 6 Manuel F. Lewis Street in Gloucester.
The forum will mark the release of the draft Housing Compass Plan and the beginning of a public comment period. Community members are invited to attend, learn about the City’s proposed approach to addressing Gloucester’s housing challenges, and share feedback on the draft recommendations.
The Housing Compass Plan will guide Gloucester’s housing policy priorities for the next five years. The draft plan is shaped by extensive data analysis of Gloucester’s demographics, housing stock, and affordability metrics, as well as a thorough community engagement process designed to ground the plan’s findings and recommendations in the lived experiences of residents, workers, families, seniors, employers, and community organizations.
The draft plan focuses on how the City can protect residents facing housing challenges, preserve housing the community can afford, and encourage housing development that fits Gloucester’s needs in appropriate locations. The event will also feature a video produced by 1623 Studios highlighting Gloucester’s housing needs and the families, workers, and seniors affected by housing challenges in the community. The forum, being offered by Art Haven, is free and family-friendly, with activities available for children.
“Housing is one of the most important challenges facing Gloucester today, and it affects every part of our community.” Said Mayor Paul Lundberg. “The Housing Compass Plan reflects months of thoughtful engagement with residents and stakeholders across Gloucester, and I’m grateful to everyone who shared their experiences and ideas. This forum is an important opportunity for the community to review the draft recommendations, provide feedback, and help shape a housing strategy that will support a more affordable and sustainable Gloucester.”
So far, the Housing Compass engagement process reached more than 550 people who live or work in Gloucester between August 2025 and April 2026. Engagement included conversations with community leaders, outreach at local events, a multilingual public survey, focus groups with housing-insecure and unhoused residents, Brazilian community members, artists and creatives, and major employers, as well as a community forum attended by approximately 100 residents.
Several key themes emerged from public input. Residents consistently described Gloucester as increasingly unaffordable and raised concerns about rising rents, limited year-round housing options, difficulty finding homes that are affordable to local incomes, and the growing challenge of staying in the community. Many participants said homeownership feels out of reach, while renters, seniors, veterans, workers, artists, and families described housing instability, limited choices, and concerns about not being able to stay in Gloucester.
Participants also emphasized the connection between housing and Gloucester’s local economy. Employers reported that high housing costs make it harder to recruit and retain workers, while artists, creatives, and small business owners described difficulty finding housing and workspaces that allow them to remain part of Gloucester’s year-round community.
In March, the City held a community forum to understand priorities for future housing development. Participants supported medium to larger multifamily and mixed-use development downtown, while favoring smaller, more attainable housing types in residential neighborhoods, such as accessory dwelling units and small multifamily homes. The strongest priorities were for housing that supports improved affordability, workforce stability, downsizing options, and cultural and economic growth.
The July 29 forum will provide an opportunity for the public to review how this input is reflected in the draft plan. A public comment period will then run through the month of August for additional feedback.
We have the kind of pothole that will absolutely cause major damage to your car after a couple of tough hits. It’s like driving straight into a curb. We reported it using the See-Click-Fix App which allows you to take a picture of an issue, tag the location and send it to Gloucester’s DPW for review. pretty slick
Good Morning Gloucester 