Good Morning Gloucester

After spending a hot, humid, draining morning moving our youngest into her first apartment, we sped off (waving in the rear view mirror) to get home and grab the kayaks so we could steal few hours of paddling.  It was a perfectly, beautiful, peaceful afternoon on Annisquam River!

What an intricate scaffolding job rising high above Main Street in Rockport

Welcome To Cape Ann Community Bulletin Board

Joey C ~

A place where non-profit Cape Ann organizations can post press releases directly and then those press releases will be reposted to http://www.goodmorninggloucester.com . This is not an advertising space for businesses, fitness or wellness organizations, or music listings.

The web address will be http://www.capeanncommunity.com

To have your community organization news posted here, contact Joey C who will grant access for you to post directly.

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GLOUCESTER SCHOONER FESTIVAL: NEXT WEEKEND!

August 29, 2016 ~ Joey C

This year’s Gloucester Schooner Festival will set a record for number of schooners participating. Twenty five schooners will descend on Cape Ann to participate in the 32^nd annual Festival.

In the large schooner category, Columbia returns to defend her  title as fastest schooner in the fleet, while Adventure, Roseway, Lettie Howard, American Eagle and Liberty Clipper will attempt to dethrone last year’s champion. Adventure is particularly excited about this year’s race as it seeks to celebrate its 90^th birthday with a win on Sunday. 

We welcome five schooners that have not been here before, or have not been here in some time. These vessels include Ishmael, Principles and Tree of Life in the mid-sized schooner category, and Ishtar and Malabar II in the small schooner category. A complete list of participating schooners is included with this press release.

“This is my favorite weekend of the year,” says Tom Ellis, long-time schooner captain and one of the patriarchs of the local schooner community.

The celebrations begin Friday evening. The City will be hosting a Block Party on Main Street and Maritime Gloucester, host of the Schooner Festival, will host its annual Gala, Evening Under the Spars at Gloucester’s new Beauport Hotel (sold out).

Festivities on Saturday start at 10:00 am on Harbor Loop under the First Ipswich Pavilion Tent at Maritime Gloucester. Maritime Heritage day celebrates our fishing and schooner heritage with an array of organizations offering interactive exhibits as well as local vendors and artists who will be in attendance. Heritage day is fun for all ages and is a great way to kick off Schooner Festival Weekend. Maritime Gloucester’s museum will be open free of charge throughout the day. Schooners will be located around the Harbor and information about the schooners and their locations will be available at Heritage Day. For example, the Schooner Adventure will be located at the State Fish Pier and will be open for deck tours.

Additional Saturday activities include a lobster bake at the Gloucester House Restaurant followed by the Boat “Parade of Lights” which kicks off at 7:30pm and Fireworks over Gloucester Harbor around 9:15pm

Sunday’s Parade of Sail Kicks off at 10:30 am, proceeding from Gloucester’s Inner Harbor past Stacy Boulevard to the starting area of the Mayor’s Race on Eastern Point. Key viewing areas include the Boulevard and Stage Fort Park. The Mayor’s Race starts at 1:00pm. The race is a remembrance of the rekindling of the schooner race of the 1920’s off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia between the Canadian Schooner Delawanna and the U.S. Schooner Esperanto.  A press boat is available for a limited number of photographers.

Lead sponsors of the Festival include: First Ipswich Bank, the City of Gloucester, Market Basket and Institution for Savings. For a full list of sponsors, go to the Schooner Festival website. The Festival raises much needed funds from the community by offering a raffle in addition to corporate underwriting support. Please purchase raffle tickets at Maritime Gloucester or during Maritime Heritage Day.

Maritime Gloucester is a 501(c) (3) non-profit institution whose mission is to inspire students and visitors to value marine science, maritime heritage and environmental stewardship through hands-on education and experiences. Its one-acre campus is located on Gloucester Harbor at 23 Harbor Loop, adjacent to the Coast Guard Station. For more information go to www.maritimegloucester.org or like us on Facebook.

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Author of Granite Cove Mysteries, Gloucester native, releases third book with Cape Ann setting

August 29, 2016 ~ Joey C

Hi Joey:

I wonder if you could find space to mention my 3rd Granite Cove Mystery, Laugh ’til You Die.

The “sleepy fishing village” of Granite Cove is based on Gloucester and Rockport, where I grew up. Although Gloucester is many

things, “sleepy” is not one of them.) In any event, the North Shore is the setting for these humorous and suspenseful mysteries.

Last month the Gloucester Daily Times (where I used to write) and Salem News (where I write a humor column) did a story on the release:

On September 20 I will be interviewed by John Ronan for The Writer’s Block.

I am a Gloucester native although I now live in Beverly Farms, not far away. In fact, up until a couple of years ago I had a writing/art studio at the Blackburn Building in the West End for 12 years. I’m also a cartoonist/illustrator who did all 3 covers of my Granite Cove Mysteries.

I would appreciate any space you can spare.

Best regards,

Sharon Love Cook

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8th Annual Gloucester Harbor Race September 17, 2016

August 29, 2016 ~ bedmonds67

Harbor Race

Below is the notice for the annual Harbor Race in Gloucester Harbor.  This race is held by the Gloucester Maritime Museum.  The race is held off of Niles beach on Saturday September 17th.  If you are interested in racing follow the instructions on the notice and notify Erik D, Geno M., Rick M. or Bill E. that you would like to use a dory.  There are currently three dories available for the race.  Thank you .

Good Morning, Joey!

Thomas here, Andrew Hankinson’s husband!

I just wanted to share with you on a really positive update on the work that we (@ SoulCove Center for the Arts) have been doing. This past March, we traveled to a town in South Africa to work with the children and staff involved with a music program at their community center. One of our major projects during our time there was producing a music video (also serving as a micro-documentary of our work). We hope you might take a look at it, enjoy it, and maybe share it? The community is struggling and we hope it inspires others to join the cause!

Music Video:

At little bit about the project:
What do you think the world could achieve if we all chose to believe in love?
Located in a region with one of the highest rates of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the world, the Richmond Community Center provides educational resources and opportunities to empower youth to become better and stronger citizens. Partnering with SoulCove Center for the Arts has strengthened the center’s’ ability to use music and the arts to teach the valuable life skills necessary to change the course of a struggling community.

Full (ten minute) documentary can be found here:

The song, Believe, was written by Jon Batiste.
To Learn More
To See More
To Hear More
Visit: http://www.soulcovecfa.org
http://www.hopeinsouthafrica.com

Thank you so much for reading this and for helping to support our amazing children!

Your musical servants,
Thom (and Rach)
Rach Azrak and Thom Smoker, Executive Directors
SoulCove Center for the Arts, Inc.
http://www.soulcovecfa.org
info@soulcovecfa.org

7.5 lbs less than the state record. First place for biggest shark, third place overall based on points for the two day tournament.

Two years ago a boat wreck was discovered off Coffins Beach. See the story here.

Today, Shanti and Raj re-discovered the remains at low tide.