My View of Life on the Dock
Update submitted by Bill Wrinn regarding the generous sponsors for the upcoming Annisquam Village Players production of “Gloucester Story”. Coming to the Maritime dock in August! Stay tuned. More information at http://www.annisquamvillageplayers.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ANNISQUAM VILLAGE PLAYERS ANNOUNCE SPONSORS FOR “GLOUCESTER STORY”
Generous Contributions by Local Businesses Enabling Free Shows for Community
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (May 31, 2023) – The Annisquam Village Players, America’s longest continually running community theatre, announced today it has secured the top sponsorships for this summer’s production of “Gloucester Story,” being performed Aug. 10-13 in honor of Gloucester’s 400th+ celebration.
Securing the Presenting Sponsor is Andrée Robert of Engel & Völkers. She and her team of real estate experts specialize in the brokerage of premium residential property and commercial real estate. As a leading global service company, E&V currently operates in over 1,000 locations in more than 30 countries spanning five continents. More information about her services can be found at https://andreerobert.evrealestate.com .
Cape Ann Savings Bank and Seashore Comfort Solutions both secured Stage Level Sponsorships to support the shows.
These sponsors join Gloucester 400+ and Maritime Gloucester, who have also pledged support for this historic production.
Established in 1846, Cape Ann Savings Bank has been a mainstay in Gloucester’s local economy and has become an integral part of Gloucester’s story. Today, with over $900 million in assets, the bank continues to meet the needs of its customers, standing as a safe and sound mutual savings bank. They continue to strive to offer the modern and convenient products and services today’s modern banking customers require. More information about Cape Ann Savings Bank can be found at https://www.capeannsavings.bank.
Seashore Comfort Solutions, provides a full range of heating and cooling services to residents and businesses around Cape Ann and Boston’s North Shore. The team of highly trained licensed professionals offer expert service with years of experience in the heating and cooling industry. They specialize in heating and cooling system installation, service, repair and maintenance. More information about Seashore Comfort Solutions can be found at https://seashorecomfortsolutions.com.
Additional sponsorships are available, including show program ads, “Shout Outs” to cast and crew, and a special Schooner Level sponsorship in honor of the 400th+ celebration.
“We can’t say enough how much our sponsors make all that we do possible,” said AVP Director, Terry Sands. “The passion and support for the arts by the businesses in Gloucester and Cape Ann is very strong. And we feel very lucky to benefit from their generous contributions. Because of our them, it’s going to be a great show!”
“Gloucester Story” was performed in Gloucester several times in 1953 and in subsequent years. And, for a short period of time, it became a popular pick for summer stock theaters. This summer the AVP will transform the original two-act play into a musical for the first time. In keeping with the celebration’s community theme, the show will incorporate original musical numbers from local musicians Daisy Nell, Peter Souza, and Corey Wrinn. Longtime AVP Music Director Marcia Groom will lead the musical effort. Free tickets are available starting July 10.
Known as the Plumber Playwright of Gloucester, Stockbridge (1895-1973) crafted “Gloucester Story” to reflect the Cape Ann fishing industry in 1905 when schooners still ruled the seas and dory fishing claimed many lives. It tells the tale of a young son of a fish merchant dreaming about a life at sea, only to get his wish and some of the tragedy that came with it.
The play was published in 1953 in response to a 1952 Cape Ann Festival of Literature and Drama competition, sponsored by Broadway Playwright/Librettist Russel Crouse, for the best play about Gloucester from a resident of Gloucester. A life-long upper Main Street resident, Stockbridge had spent his youth working on the fishing docks before becoming a career plumber. He drew upon that experience, local lore, and the environment to create a story that genuinely depicts the livelihoods, personalities, and superstitions of that era. It is entirely fictional but the names, businesses, and plot motivations dealing with the folklore are all factual.
For more details about “Gloucester Story,” the life of Clayton Stockbridge, or the upcoming auditions, please visit www.annisquamvillageplayers.org.
This evening. Join us! -> 21 Main St -> 6pm
Hey all, I’m hosting a Songwriter showcase at the Sawyer Free Library this Thursday evening! it’s FREE, it’s early, and it’s open to the public – please do stop in! This month’s guest is Hayley Reardon! Joe Wilkins
Please note this will be held at the library’s temporary location above Mystery Train at 21 Main St in Gloucester
Hayley is a critically acclaimed folk pop artist and a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. Her songs serve as postcards from an artist brave enough to take the road less traveled. The songstress made the decision to begin living life boldly when she left Nashville to tour the world playing her music. In addition to having recently been based in Dachau, Germany for a six month artist residency program awarded by the city, she has spent the past 5 years carrying her songs and guitar all over the globe — gathering experiences, inspirations, and soulful connections along the way. The artist masterfully channels her colorful stories through music, capturing even the most subtle nuances of the human experience with a striking clarity.
Reardon recently made a splash with her single, “Losing From Within,” grabbing the attention of Spotify Editorial Playlists like Fresh Folk, Folk Pop, Morning Coffee, and Today’s Singer/Songwriters. Her latest EP, In The Good Light, was recorded in Barcelona with Catalan collaborators Pau Figueres (one of Spain’s finest guitarists) and Aniol Bestit Collellmir (recording engineer) at The Sound of Wood Studio. The EP embodies Reardon’s essence with a kiss of Spanish flair on certain tracks. The artist discovered a new piece of home in Spain while recording the EP, “It was amazing to travel across the world and work with people who were essentially strangers from an entirely different culture,” she says, “and feel so deeply and effortlessly understood by them.”
Raised in Massachusetts, Reardon dove head first into music at the young age of 15. She has now been honing her craft for a full decade now, sharing the stage with acts like Lori McKenna, Rodney Crowell, and Anaïs Mitchell, among others. Her raw artistry boasts a lyrical and melodic weight far beyond her years, being described as “brilliantly moving folk/pop with a lyrical depth and soul” (Performer Magazine) and “a melancholy little masterpiece” (American Songwriter Magazine). No Depression writes “Reardon is truly a treasure.”
Giving the people what they want! Gloucester Music- Boat Vibes- On The Deck- Don’t Fight It! Let It Wash Over You! Deck Music Is BACK at The Former Captain Carlos!
This should be celebrated in a big way!!!!
Pat D’s Photos has a new product we think you will like very much. Limited quantities of these 6″ x 6″ marble trivets with scalloped edge and cork backing are now available for free delivery to the Cape Ann area. These are great for your drink glass or for hot dishes. Also just a cool decoration or gift. Check them out online at Pat D’s Photos or on Facebook at Pat D’s Photos and Adventures. They are fairly solid and I can ship them if needed but shipping costs will be a little higher than they normally are.
Red Chair on Good Harbor Beach Trivet
6″ x 6″ marble trivet with scalloped edge and cork backing. Free delivery to Cape Ann area or plus shipping.
$30.00
Fisherman Trivet
6″ x 6″ marble trivet with scalloped edge and cork backing. Free delivery to Cape Ann area or plus shipping.
$30.00
Footbridge Under Pretty Sky Trivet
6″ x 6″ marble trivet with scalloped edge and cork backing. Free delivery to Cape Ann area or plus shipping.
$30.00
What are you gonna wait and then have to battle the crowds? Or are you the type that’s going to blow it off til the last minute and get something really shitty after everything your dad has done for you? Your answer is here. Guaranteed he’ll love it and you’ll have the peace of mind that you didn’t wait til last minute all stressed out.
Dad love Gloucester? We have Gloucester Apparel.
Dad love to fish? We have Gloucester 50 SPF Fishing Hoodies.
Dad like to grill? We have Gloucester BBQ Delegation Caps.
Dad love the blog? We have GMG old School Caps.
Dad think that the Plovers should not be artificially inseminated to make our beaches bird sanctuaries? We have Eat more Plover Towels and a couple of XL quarter zips.
LINK TO PURCHASE- HTTPS://GLOUCESTERAPPAREL.SQUARE.SITE/
Local Historians Share the History of
Gloucester Families and Legends
June 10
Morning (10-Noon): Cove Hill 1720 – Joyce & Walter McGrath will share with you the family history of the early settlers of northern Gloucester as well as the local history of Lanesville.
Afternoon (1pm): Families of Lanesville – Melissa & Russell Hobbs will share with you the local history of those families that lived in Lanesville in the 1800s.
July 8
Morning: Tragedy During the Victorian Era
Afternoon: A Travel Through Time
Aug 12
Morning: Families of West Parish
Afternoon: Their Hearts Belonged to the Sea
Sep 16: Drama in the Cemetery
Oct 14: Bad Choices & Bad Luck
Oct 21: Oak Grove
See the link below for information about these tours and other upcoming events
https://www.gloucesterma400.org/calendar/list/
Sharing news from the Willow Rest Facebook page. We thank you and will you well!
Peony Parade…
20 Lexington Ave Magnolia MA
978-526-0443
Leading into the holiday weekend, a sellout gathering of 80 attended a Sawyer Library Foundation Women’s Luncheon at Oak to Ember restaurant to benefit the Sawyer Free 2025 capital campaign to renovate and expand Cape Ann’s oldest public library. The fully philanthropic sawyerfree2025.org campaign further elevated the daytime fundraiser’s profile by formally announcing the latest gifted naming opportunities available for the new library building, which will celebrate its groundbreaking this fall.
“We’re almost 400 days into the public phase of this campaign and the overwhelming response to this event on the eve of the holiday weekend was humbling and offers a great deal of hope,” said Sarah Oaks, the Foundation’s campaign manager. “We’ve got more work to do and more ground to cover in order for this project to become a reality, but it’s becoming clear how passionately people believe that Cape Ann deserves this library.”
Community philanthropist Kate Stavis was part of the luncheon’s five-member host committee, which billed this past week’s event as an unofficial kickoff to the Cape Ann summer season. Liza Featherstone, a Manhattan-based columnist for the Jacobin and The New Republic, delivered the keynote address. She discussed the ideal of an inclusive library in a democratic society, reflecting on the novelist Virginia Woolf’s account of her humiliating experience of being excluded from Oxford University’s library, and learning that women could only enter with permission from a man.
Featherstone, who has close family ties to Cape Ann and has been a lifelong visitor to Sawyer Free Library, recalled that her own mother had a similar experience at Gloucester’s Sawyer Free Library as recently as the early 1970s—when a librarian there told her she needed her husband’s permission to apply for a library card. There was an audible gasp from the luncheon’s audience.
Featherstone, whose mother, Helen, was a writer prior to her death in 2021 while living on Eastern Point, noted that while today’s libraries are open to all, their inclusiveness “has made them a target (of book-bannings and other restrictions).” Today’s ‘gatekeepers,’ she said, know they can’t go back to the days when women weren’t allowed to use the library, so instead “they seek to abolish the library itself … But we won’t let them win.”
During the course of the event, many of those gathered exchanged stories about the role public libraries played in their personal and professional growth, and the crucial contributions of modern public libraries in support of women and girls. Gloucester attorney Meredith Fine addressed the assembly and described the life-altering role her local library played as a new home away from home after her family relocated during her middle school years. She characterized the Sawyer Free 2025 capital campaign as “the most important” fundraising effort currently underway on Cape Ann.
A LASTING LEGACY
In conjunction with the fundraising luncheon, the release of the Sawyer Free 2025 campaign’s new list of naming opportunities confirmed that nearly half of currently available donor-recognition opportunities have been reserved. That leaves 13 which remain available, including the Main Floor Reading Room, the Main Floor Atrium, the Teen Room, the Dale Avenue portico and the Fountain Plaza, among others.
Prior major gifts by donors have secured naming rights for the Children’s Room (the Institution for Savings), the Children’s Program Room (Bank Gloucester), the Teen Creation Space (Sudbay Automotive Group), the Digital Makerspace (Cape Ann Savings Bank) and the Library History Center (Gorton’s), along with several others still to be announced.
The Women’s Luncheon host committee’s members featured Stavis, Frederica Doeringer, the Vice Chair of the Sawyer Free 2025 campaign, Stephanie Cuff, Sally Bradley-Golding and Oaks. Five silent auction items were snapped up, including combinations of restaurant gift certificates, a gift certificate for Beth Williams jewelry items, Gloucester Stage Company tickets, lunch at a private club, and car service to dinner driven by mystery chauffeur in an elegant, luxury vehicle.
The event raised about $10,000 toward the construction of the new library. For more information about the new library or to get involved, visit sawyerfree2025.org.
Burnham Boat Builder. Iconic Essex.
/par
We were excited to learn that Salt Water Grille on Washington Street is back in the game! We recently visited and were very happy with our experience. Rosanne was our helpful server and we were additionally greeted by Mike, a friendly face behind the bar. We had potato skins as an app and Jim ordered the Salt Water Burger. I ordered the Vodka Penne, which was yummy with the generous portion of grilled chicken. The bar area was at capacity and it seemed to be everyone greeting someone they knew (lots of hugs!). I tried the Prickly Pear Margarita for the first official Margarita Monday of the season. Delightful experience and we’ll be back soon! Check it out!
What are you gonna wait and then have to battle the crowds? Or are you the type that’s going to blow it off til the last minute and get something really shitty after everything your dad has done for you? Your answer is here. Guaranteed he’ll love it and you’ll have the peace of mind that you didn’t wait til last minute all stressed out.
Dad love Gloucester? We have Gloucester Apparel.
Dad love to fish? We have Gloucester 50 SPF Fishing Hoodies.
Dad like to grill? We have Gloucester BBQ Delegation Caps.
Dad love the blog? We have GMG old School Caps.
Dad think that the Plovers should not be artificially inseminated to make our beaches bird sanctuaries? We have Eat more Plover Towels and a couple of XL quarter zips.
LINK TO PURCHASE- HTTPS://GLOUCESTERAPPAREL.SQUARE.SITE/
The Mallard ducklings are here in force at Niles Pond and Brace Cove. They are in need of education.
