Good Morning Gloucester

The MIAA Board of Directors votes unanimously that Fall sports, those approved for participation by DESE, EEA & local school district, will start no earlier than Sept. 14, 2020 with preseason tryouts/practices. Additional guidance from DESE & EEA should be available in early Aug.

Quarry Dance Nine Takes Center Stage:

With our world, our lives and the performing arts as we knew them drastically altered for all of us in unprecedented ways, Windhover is moving forward with the creative impulse which uplifts us.  The arts in this time of crisis, gives us hope, elevates our spirits and helps transcend the difficulties facing us now.

With that idea in mind, we at Windhover have found a way to bring a new and original QUARRY DANCE NINE to all of those who want to experience the art of dance from the comfort of your own home! Here is what is happening:

Dušan Týnek Dance Theatre, the innovative NYC based company which has performed the Quarry Dances for the past eight years, is in residence at Windhover this month bringing two dancers at a time here. Dušan, the choreographer, is currently creating a new and original quarry dance specifically designed for film. Three stunning private quarries on Cape Ann, with the generosity of their respective owners, have been selected to be where the Quarry Dance Nine takes place.  Dušan is busy creating a new work at these three quarries this week. Each section of the dance at each of the three quarries will be filmed by Boston based videographer Anders Johnson, then edited into one dance.  The film will be streamed in mid-to-late August, complete with original music by jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist Russ Gershon.

This video version of the quarry dance lends a new and different perspective to this art form. As an audience member, you will be able to hover over the cliffs, immerse yourself in the quarry waters, and have that bird’s-eye view that the camera can provide.  Duets and solos on these quarry walls and waters are the building blocks of Quarry Dance Nine, as the dancers perform while being safely social distanced. It is a new and original work, and the excitement of performing outdoors is a gift to be shared with you, our audience.

During this time of crisis, the arts have been sadly affected, but my hope is to have Windhover provide a safe refuge for artists of all kinds to be able to create new and original work. Quarry Dance Nine is the first of these endeavors, and more will come. The film of Quarry Dance Nine will have a specific release date in August to be  announced soon.

If you are able to donate to Windhover Performing Arts Center to help support the dancers, musician and filmmaker of  Quarry Dance Nine, please go to the Windhover website here  www.windhover.org and use the DONATE button which links to Paypal. Or alternatively you can send a donation to Windhover, P.O Box 2249. Rockport, Ma. 01966.  Windhover is a 501©3 ORGANIZATION AND ALL DONATIONS ARE FULLY TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

Thank you for your support. It is greatly appreciated.

We also want to thank Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for their support of Quarry Dance Nine, as well as the Rockport and Gloucester Cultural Councils.

Lisa Hahnz

Executive Director, Lisa Hahn

Windhover Performing Arts Center
PO Box 2249, Rockport, Ma. 01966       phone:  978-546-3611

windhover@verizon.net

An update from the City of Gloucester website:

CITY HALL REOPENING TUESDAY JULY 21:  Gloucester City Hall and the City Hall Annex will reopen to the public on Tuesday, July 21, after closing to the public in March due to COVID-19. Residents are encouraged to continue to conduct city business online where possible or to call ahead for an appointment. Due to staggered staff schedules and limited office occupancy, wait times may be significantly increased for in-person services. Depending on volume, socially distanced queuing may be required outside of the building. Walk-ins are welcome, but those with appointments will be given priority. All visitors will need to check in upon arrival and provide their name, phone number and the department they are visiting. If needed, this information will be used for contact tracing efforts. Visitors will also be asked to use hand sanitizer before proceeding to a department for service.

Additional notifications regarding 2020 beach stickers and Vote by Mail also listed there, so check them out.  Small steps moving forward. Keep up the good work with masks and distancing.

CB (crystal ball) enjoys the summer as much as we all do and is happy to get back to some of her favorite spots: Eastern Point, the dock and the back shore.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CChTrIFnArT/?igshid=vjib6f8qoa5c

An incredible day for whalewatchers; however, a not so good day to be a sand eel! What an awe-inspiring afternoon we had today watching 5 adult humpback whales blow bubble nets and open mouth feed! As Mystery, Sprinkles, Echo’s 2014 calf, Bounce and Milkweed were busy feeding; Bounce and Milkweed’s calves were playing at the surface. The calves were practicing blowing bubbles of their own then swimming though the middle of them; as well as, tail breaching, full breaching and flipper slapping!

415 Main St
Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930
(978) 283-5110
www.seethewhales.com

I hope when/if baseball, hockey, football starts that the commentators focus on the sports instead of COVID

This is the fifth book authored by TIA President Emeritus Paul St. Germain. As a local historian he has detailed the rich history of this unique New England treasure and the efforts to preserve both its structures and natural history. He begins a thousand years ago when Indians summered there, moves to its discovery by famous explorers Samuel de Champlain and Captain John Smith in the seventeenth century, then to the fishermen, shipwrecks, and piracy around the island. From1835 to 1935, three lighthouses were built, all with fascinating stories of the keepers and their families. The island was opened to the public for the first time in 180 years in 2019 thanks to the efforts of the Thacher Island Association and Mass Audubon Society. This is the first book written about the complete history of Straitsmouth Island.

$25.00 includes shipping                

Go to the Thacher Island web site at www.thacherisland.org/product/saving-straitsmouth-island/  to order.