DOCKSIDER’S WINE TASTING FUN(D) RAISER AT THE GLOUCESTER HOUSE!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Come on down to the Gloucester House on Saturday evening, March 19th at 6pm, for the annual Docksiders’ Wine Tasting event! 

Here’s a great opportunity to support this terrific band in their continuing effort to positively represent not only Gloucester High School, but the City of Gloucester!

These kids work their rear ends off and are a worthy source of pride, but like everything, it takes a continual flow of resources to keep them going. The wine tasting, concert, and gift basket auction are a terrific opportunity to stop by and show these talented young musicians how much they are appreciated. Spread the word and bring your friends.

Tickets are $25 and are available at the door.

Please come and help make this event a success!

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Do Your Kids Need Summer Plans?

Posted on by Nichole S.

Did you know that the Harborlight-Stoneridge Montessori School in Beverly offers a wide variety of one-week summer sessions for grades 1-8 and great options for younger children too!

Think Paddle boarding, trips to museums, surfing, cinematography, BMX-biking, hiking with the AMC, soccer, rock on and join a band, geology on Thompson Island, beaches, the Sea Station Endeavour, art, theatre arts, and even camps run in conjunction with The Hive and Maritime Gloucester.  

CLICK HERE FOR SUMMER ADVENTURES INFORMATION   Including locations, descriptions, schedule, and much more

CLICK HERE FOR DESCRIPTIONS OF SESSIONS AVAILABLE FOR GRADES 1st-8th.

and see below…

Week 1: June 20- June 24

4 MUSEUMS & A SKETCHBOOK (Grades 1-8)

Learn about the history of art through four amazing museums– The Museum of Fine Arts,The Institute of Contemporary Art, The DeCordova, and our local Peabody Essex Museum.

In minimalist fashion, all you need is a water bottle, lunchbox, and *sketchbook. Develop your ability to sketch and your power of observation while harnessing the power of the masters. (*Provided)

SOCCER (Grades 1-8)

Professional coaching with Kyle Yellin will allow all players to gain a better understanding of, and continued passion for, the game.

Week 2: June 27- July 1

SOCCER (Grades 1-3)

Professional coaching with Kyle Yellin will allow all players to gain a better understanding of, and continued passion for, the game.

CLAY DREAMING (Grades 1-3)

Expand your skills working with clay at Clay Dreaming Studio in Beverly. Lessons will allow the students to work at their own pace and developing their growing understanding of the medium and ability to work through the multi-stepped process of designing an original piece.

GEOLOGY & THOMPSON ISLAND (Grades 4-8)

Hiking, geology, outward-bound experience at Thompson Island is the adventure of a lifetime! This island, located 2-miles offshore from downtown Boston, is an Outward Bound Education Center where the students will spend a full-day engaged in their science, history, and challenge activities.

Week 3: June 5- July 8

NORTH SHORE BEACHES (Grades 1-3)

Explore the north shore beaches with a new perspective. While visiting these destinations in typical fashion -sandcastles, sea glass, swimming, reading, and picnicking- we will also explore their similarities and differences in coastal science and maritime history.

THEATER ARTS (Grades 4-8)

Join our own professional playwright and performing arts director, Katie Oberlander. Learn theater games, speaking, singing and stage presence.  Put it all together in an informal performance. This week will include a trip to Canobie Lake Park, NH.

Week 4: June 11- July 15

THEATER ARTS (Grades 1-3)

Join our own professional playwright and performing arts director, Katie Oberlander. Learn theater games, speaking, singing and stage presence.  Put it all together in an informal performance. This week will include a trip to Canobie Lake Park, NH.

MARITIME GLOUCESTER (grades 4-8)

Explore Gloucester from Sea to Table with our partners at Maritime Gloucester. Travel with captains on a fishing boat, build a lobster trap, cast it and catch your dinner. Learn all about local fisherman and their quest to make it sustainable, and find your own connection between sea and table.

Week 5: July 18- July 22

ART @ THE HIVE (grades 1-3)  

The Hive in Gloucester has art facilities for all large-format and small-scale media. The gallery, classroom, and multi-use spaces are just what you need to channel your creative energy.

COSTA RICA (FULL)

Due to high demand, this adventure is already full. We will post our travel adventures and photos when we return!

CINEMATOGRAPHY (grades 4-8)

Learn the art and science of motion picture photography as you create your very own short film.  Learn cinema technique, how to use a filter and lens, and develop your ability to capture depth of field and focus.  Edit your work and utilize all the tricks of the trade from Doug Bowker, Motion Graphics, Animation, and Digital Video. Doug is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. Required: SLR Video Camera (recommended), IPOD, Digital Camera, or Smart Phone

Week 6: July 25- July 29

MARINE HERITAGE 1 (grades 1-8)

Explore Cape Ann’s rich marine heritage. Join the marine science crew aboard Sea Station’s catamaran Endeavour – take a trip on a lobster boat, visit touch tanks, and learn about the ocean and life on the seashore in a fun, hands-on, learning environment.

SMALL SWELL (grades 4-8)

Learn all about the ocean as a playground for the best summer sport – surfing! Balance, coordination, swimming, timing the waves, falling and getting back on the board.

Week 7: August 1- August 5

MARINE HERITAGE 2 (grades 1-8)

Explore Cape Ann’s rich marine heritage. Join the marine science crew aboard Sea Station’s catamaran Endeavour – take a trip on a lobster boat, visit touch tanks, and learn about the ocean and life on the seashore in a fun, hands-on, learning environment. This is a sequel to Marine Heritage 1 and the adventures and learning activities will vary.

WALK ON WATER (grades 4-8)

This session has become the highlight of the upper school summer program! Water adventures on paddle boards at local beaches, road trips along the north shore coast, and the big two-night trip to the Isle of Shoals – where you can hike, play tennis, jump off the dock, roast marshmallows over an open fire, and learn the local lore of the island!

Week 8: August 8- August 12

EXPLORE ARTS (grades 1-3)

Explore media and techniques to draw, design, and live your art through drama and music. An all-encompassing eclectic approach to tapping into your talents!

MOUNTAIN BIKING & BMX (grades 2-6)

More than enjoying a great ride through the trails, this session explores the science of a BMX bike.  Your kinetic energy + a bike and a good trail is all you need for this adventure! Try your skills at BMX Wakefield, a track specifically designed for national competition, with the option to compete at an evening race event. This session requires competency and accessibility to a two-wheeler.

GEOLOGY & THOMPSON ISLAND 2 (Grades 4-8)

Hiking, geology, outward-bound experience at Thompson Island is the adventure of a lifetime! This island, located 2-miles offshore from downtown Boston, is an Outward Bound Education Center where the students will spend a full-day engaged in their science, history, and challenge activities like their ‘high-ropes’ course!.

Week 9: August 15- August 19

ROCK ON (grades 1-3)

Join our comprehensive music experience designed to hone music performance and ensemble skills in a creative and fun environment.  Develop rhythm, music theory, and explore instruments from around the world.  Join us to jam, have fun, and perform. There will be a trip to Crane Estate for an evening picnic and concert.

MOUNTAIN HIKING & OVERNIGHT WITH AMC (grades 4-8)

Grab your pack and water bottle, a good pair of hiking shoes, and your appreciation of the great outdoors. You will be hiking some great peaks and spending a night at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Cardigan High Cabin.

Week 10: August 22- August 26

MY FIRST JOB (grades 1-3)

What does it take to have the responsibility of a job? What will your first job be? Explore the opportunities that are available to the young employee or entrepreneur!

CINEMATOGRAPHY 2 (grades 4-8)

Learn the art and science of motion picture photography as you create your very own short film.  Learn cinema technique, how to use a filter and lens, and develop your ability to capture depth of field and focus.  Edit your work and utilize all the tricks of the trade from Doug Bowker, Motion Graphics, Animation, and Digital Video. Doug is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. Required: SLR Video Camera (recommended), IPOD, Digital Camera, or Smart Phone

Week 11: August 29- September 2

SOCCER (Grades 1-8)

Professional coaching with Kyle Yellin will allow all players to gain a better understanding of, and continued passion for, the game.

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The hands that teach

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Feast of Saint Joseph Gloucester Groppo -10 Kim Smith Designs 2016The gentle hands that teach

If you would like to learn more about Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph Community Film and the real story about how the project evolved, please go to the film’s website and click on the About the Film link and the Director’s Statement link. For periodic updates about the film, you can keep in touch on the blog page of the film’s website or friend me on Facebook.

 

The Golden Calf

Posted on by God's Morning

moses and the golden calf

After giving Moses the inscribed tablets, God tells him to go down because his people had made themselves a golden idol cast in the shape of a calf, and were bowing down and sacrificing to it. God is not happy about it, and Moses is furious.

By way of backstory, this happens three months after God has led the 600,000 Israelites out of their 430 years of captivity in Egypt. These people witnessed the ten plagues brought down on Egypt which caused Pharoah to finally let them go, and then the parting of the Red Sea so they could escape when Pharoah’s army was sent to recaptue them after Pharoah realized he had just let all his slave labor go, and then manna from heaven God sent to nourish them during their journey. In short, they had witnessed amazing displays of God’s power on their behalf, and yet they still made and bowed down to a golden calf. We are still the same today. No matter what blessings in life, gifts and miracles God showers us with, we still sin (miss the mark, become forgetful, not conscious) and turn to the golden calf of our choosing.

Exodus 32:15-20

Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

(Note: The earliest recorded use of gold for medicinal and healing purposes come from Alexandria, Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians ingested gold for mental, bodily and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. Moses and the Israelites had recently come out of a long stint in Egypt, so his making the wayward Israelites drink the gold makes sense under the circumstances.)

E.J. Lefavour

www.hobbithousestudio.com

Winter Shorts on Vacation at the Cape Ann Museum

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Winter Shorts on Vacation

The mini tours you love in the winter are back for the warmer weather

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (March 12, 2016) – The Cape Ann Museum docents are pleased to presentWinter Shorts on Vacation, a series of mini tours highlighting their favorites from the Museum’s collection. These tours will take place on Saturday, April 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every half hour. This program is Free for CAM members / $10 non-members. Space is limited; first come, first served.

unnamedPhoto credit: Nicole Fandel

Spend a wonderful spring afternoon viewing the Museum’s collections with fresh eyes. Winter Shorts on Vacation offers a variety of six mini themed tours, developed and led by Museum docents. They are meant to appeal to a wide range of interests, so visitors can enjoy just a few or all of the tours if they choose. The schedule of tours is as follows:

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Wood You?

Explore the wooden objects in the Museum’s collection – from everyday kitchen implements to magnificent pieces of furniture, a cigar store Indian and several sculptures by James McClellan.

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Painting in the time of the Frog Ponders

Take a look at the paintings of Fitz Henry Lane through the lens of the Transcendentalists.

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. How Dear to Our Hearts are the Scenes of our Childhood

A quick romp through the Museum to look at several works relating to children and childhood on Cape Ann – the children who worked and those who played and those who sat still for portraits.

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Seeing the Light-Navigation & Lighthouses

During the age of sail, navigation was iffy at best. Learn why landfalls could be the most dangerous part of a voyage, and why the Fresnel lighthouse lens was a true breakthrough.

12:00 p.m.  – 12:30 p.m. Harvesting the Sea: Gloucestermen in the Heyday of Fishing Under Sail

More than 1,000 schooners called Gloucester their home port, sailing to fishing grounds as far as 1,000 miles away in search of finny gold. Both ships and men were called “Gloucestermen” — the ships tall, fast, and beautiful; the men tough, brave, tireless, and justly proud of their work.

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Fifteen Shades of Blue

Experience the impact of this favorite color during a whirlwind tour of the galleries.

 

Cape Ann Symphony’s Global Tour on March 20

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

THE 64th SEASON: A SEASON TO REMEMBER

Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director

 

Cape Ann Symphony Visits Spain, Germany & Japan in

A Global Tour Concert on Sunday, March 20

Concert Debuts World Premiere from Japanese Composer Koto &

Introduces Guitar Virtuoso Grisha Goryachev to Cape Ann

 

Cape Ann Symphony features a global musical tour with music from Germany’sBeethoven, Spain’s Rodrigo and a world premiere work from Japan’s Koto on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 2pm at the CAS performance venue at Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, $5 for Youth age 18 and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

The concert program includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor; guest artist renowned guitar virtuoso Grisha Goryachev in his Cape Ann Symphony debut playing the exotic Spanish guitar concerto, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez; and the world premiere of Araumi to Nagi (Stormy and Calm Seas) from Boston based Japanese composer Takashi Koto. Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa is eager to take audiences on this musical journey, “The fantastic musicians of the Cape Ann Symphony and I are thrilled to be able to perform such a varied and colorful program to our fabulous audience.” He is enthusiastic about the music set for the concert, “Our March concert features the fiery and explosive power of Beethoven’sSymphony No. 5 – one of the most dramatic and well known works of symphonic music ever written. It is a favorite of audiences, and we musicians love to play it! The Russian American guitar virtuoso Grisha Goryachev will join us as the featured soloist playing the gorgeous Concierto de Aranjuez by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. The concert opens with the world premiere of Boston based composer Takashi Koto’sAraumi to Nagi (Stormy and Calm Seas). Inspired by the rhythms used by taiko drummers, this exciting new work is a musical description of the sea.”

March_2016_Grisha Photo 2012 Dec Japan

Continue reading “Cape Ann Symphony’s Global Tour on March 20” →

Time To Pay The Piper

Posted on by capeannpainter

From the Urban Dictionary;

pay the piper

To pay a price that you deem high or unfair, but failing to pay the price often results in dire consequences.

Based on the story of the Pied Piper, who removed the rats from a town, and when not paid, he took their children instead!

“Don’t you know the Mafia collects protection here? If you want to run a business in this town, you have to pay the piper.”
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Live From Gloucester Crossings Market Basket with Feast of St. Joseph News! 

Posted on by Sista Felicia

  
Gloucester Crossings Market Basket Managers set up a display of St. Joseph Feast Key Ingredients at the Main Entrance! A  special thank you to all the store managers for including my St. Joseph Pasta recipe in their display again this year and for their outstanding customer service and support they show towards our communities Feast of  St. Joseph Tradition! 

Viva San Gisueppe! 

So…you’re interested in Photography?

Posted on by Bridgette Mathews

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So many people ask me “what camera and lens do you use?” or “What settings did you use on that photo?”.   I’m always happy to tell everyone I use a Nikon D610 full frame camera and my everyday lens is a 28-300, but telling people what you use is like a carpenter telling someone I used a stanley hammer and nails.   The equipment doesn’t get you very far if you don’t hone your craft.   A carpenter becomes a craftsman after absorbing and practicing as much as he can about the art of carpentry.    Same goes for Photography.  Whether you want to take up photography as a business or just as a “photo hobbyist ” (as I like to call myself), you need to put the time in behind the camera until everything about that camera becomes second nature to you.   When I got my first camera I stopped at Hunts in Melrose at their annual camera show and spoke to a very enthusiastic Don Toothaker.  Don and Robert Ring of New England Photo Workshops run some awesome Photography Workshops all over New England.  If you want to hone your skills of photography, they are the guys to do it with.   I’ve had some great experiences with Bob and Don, visiting places around New England that I probably wouldn’t venture to on my own.   They love what they do and willing to share their vast experience, whether you’ve just taken the camera out of the box or have been shooting for years, they have a wealth of knowledge for all skill levels.   The above photo was taken on Cape Ann a few years back on Half Moon Beach in Gloucester at on one of their Workshops.  Why would I take a Workshop on Cape Ann since I live here?  You’d be surprised what you aren’t “seeing” when you look through a lens.   I used to just look at the beach as a whole…now I look at the flow of the water, the shadows of the sand, the uniqueness of the scene.   That’s something you can’t get with buying the best equipment.   Bob and Don at NEPW happen to be running another one-day Cape Ann Workshop next month and have many other awesome Workshops lined up this year, so check them out if you are looking to hone your craft!

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6 Plays for the Price of One!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Six ten minute plays written by 6 local playwrights who are participants in M. Lynda Robinson’s workshop at the Gloucester Writers Center will be given a Staged Reading performed by professional actors at the Cultural Center of Rocky Neck on Sunday, March 20, at 5pm with a reception to follow. The Audience is encouraged to participate with feedback which will be given to each playwright. The six playwrights are Cape Ann’s:  Linda Finigan, Carole Frohlich,, Steven A. Levy, Nick Neyeloff, Rory O’Connor, and M. Lynda Robinson. The actors include David McCaleb, David Adams, Debbe Lewis, Tess Deegan, Phil Thompson, and Rebecca Lerman.

The GWC welcomes this opportunity to bring together writers and audience as a community event.  The writers and professional local actors, with Lynda’s direction, will present a lively show and are looking forward to response and feedback from the audience as part of developing their works from page to stage.  Providing a space in the community for voices to be heard through writing, dialogue, and the artistic process is a big part of the GWC’s mission.

 Suggested donation for the event is $10, $5 for students, and no one turned away for lack of funds.