Good Morning Gloucester

For your information — an update on Gloucester Cinema

NEW SEATS FINALLY WHERE THEY BELONG

            FINALLY, the sample chairs that have been sitting in the Gloucester Cinema lobby for almost a year are where they belong – in the theater ready for you to check them out.

            After months of waiting for the seats to be made, shipped and installed (not to mention theater owner John Williams single handedly removing the old seats) the comfy rockers and the sought-after recliners are in each theater.  Customers who went to see many of the Oscar nominated movies had a heightened experience when they realized they could choose between the standard rocker with plenty of leg room or the recliners located at the front of the theater.

Just in time for the new Beauty and the Beast movie, Gloucester Cinema is not only proudly announcing their upscale seats but also their new ticketing system, which will make your movie going experience a little easier.  Starting Friday, March 17, you can pick a specific seat when you buy your ticket on the website — Gloucestercinema.com.  From wherever you have internet access to the cinema’s website, online purchasing gives you the flexibility to buy an assigned seat ticket for either the rocker or the recliner.

If you are bringing guests and want to be guaranteed a ticket, it’s not a bad idea to buy your tickets online before coming to the show.  “With the installation of the larger seats and wider aisles, there are not as many seats in the theater to sell as there once was,” stated theater owner John Williams.  “So, it is safe to say that tickets for new popular movies like Beauty and the Beast will sell faster.”     Customer commentary on the cinema’s Face Book page highlights that patrons are thrilled with the switch.  According to John, “They also love that at this point there is no price difference between which type of seat you purchase.”

An online purchase gives you the opportunity to buy a ticket for a preferred seat for the specific show time you want.  If you wait to buy your seat at the theater, the computer will generate an assigned seat based on whatever is still available.

Everyone has been waiting for Beauty and the Beast and the other block buster movies scheduled to be released in 2017.  Check out Gloucestercinema.com for a list of all the shows, times, whether the movie is 2D or 3D, pricing and available seating.  As always if you are looking to book a private party feel free to call John at 781-724-5368 for details.

This summer, Montserrat College of Art is offering Youth S.T.E.A.M. week-long camps that will run July 10 through Aug. 4 at Montserrat’s downtown building, 248 Cabot St., Beverly, MA. These flexible, partial, or full-day opportunities for youth in grades 3-8 offer hands-on learning in a safe, supervised environment, led by professional faculty from educational institutions on the North Shore and beyond. Students are welcome to attend for more than one session. www.montserrat.edu/summer/

S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) classes incorporate creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and presentation. The program will be offered in lower school and upper school groupings: students in grades 3-5 will be together and students in grades 6-8 will be together. Students may choose their own courses, up to three each day. Class subjects include Cartooning, Collage, Crazy for Chemistry, Digital Photography, Drawing, Eco-Art, Geometry and Art, Horticulture, iPhoneography, Jewelry Making, Junk Box Creations, Magical Media, Nature Crafts, Painting, Sculpting with Nature, Sculpture and T-Shirt Design.

Course offerings will be: morning, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., mid-day, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m., and afternoon, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Supervised brown bag lunch and pre and after school sessions will also be offered so parents can be assured their children are in good hands all day. At the end of each session, student work will be on view in a group exhibition for families to view and celebrate. Pricing is $100 per five-day class, or $265 for a full-day, five-day per week of classes.

For more information about the offered courses, instructors or to register, visit: www.montserrat.edu/summer/ or contact Montserrat’s STEAM Director Eric Moore at steamcamp@montserrat.edu or 978.921.4242 x1717. Moore is a member of the Art Education faculty at Montserrat who has been teaching Visual Art to kids of all ages for more than 19 years.

Our home is officially for sale.

I’m not sure that making the decision to leave the house that you brought your two young children home to if ever an easy choice….and it certainly hasn’t been for us….but, it seems like it is time.

We love this little slice of paradise and it has been absolutely perfect for us for many years…sadly, we know if would be absolutely perfect for us several years from now as well…but, I’m not sure we can ride the storm for the decade or so in between.  Our boys are getting older…and bigger….and so is their stuff.

Even as I type this post, I remember carrying both boys over the threshold for the very first time and my heart breaks just a little bit.  First smiles, first words, first steps, one split forehead in the front yard and the six stitches that resulted, birthday parties, barbecues, puppies, and saying good-bye to three grown dogs….so much has happened here.  Good news, bad news, smiles, tears, laughs, fears, nerves, hopes, dreams, nightmares, little plans, big plans. Us.

Piles of sand from Old Garden Beach have been rinsed off in the yard and the quiet street has watched the boys grow from strollers, to radio flyers, to little bikes, bigger bikes, roller blades, and even an ATV.

Is it possible to not be ready at all…and to be more ready than ever….all at the same time? Because that is kind of how I feel.  If I stop and think of all of the Christmases, I may have to remove the For Sale sign from the front yard.

So, our precious little house is officially on the market and is even having an Open House tomorrow at 12:00.  If you stop by, check out the threshold to the kitchen that shows how the boys have grown over the years…it is kind of crazy.

If you know of anyone who wants a perfect little home by the beach, in the very best of neighborhoods, with great outdoor living….to begin their own history in….or to downsize and live a simple, happy life…. please share the word.

3 Smith Road, Rockport MA.  12:00 – 1:30.  Go say “hello” to Kim Jylkka Lorden from RE/MAX at the Coast and then spend the afternoon checking out the sweetest little seaside town you have ever seen.