Big weekend for local music stars: Tonight @ 7:30, Tomorrow AM @ 9

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

HenriCDCoverTonight at Beverly’s Larcom Theatre, Gloucester’s Henri Smith releases his first CD in a decade (recorded live at the Larcom in March) with a concert celebration that will, of course, include dancing a traditional New Orleans Second Line parade in the aisles.

Vickie and I produced the CD and Vickie designed the CD case and disc.

This will be your last chance to get your CD signed by Henri and the band before the holidays.  Very good seats still available in the balcony (here) and a few good seats also left in the orchestra (here).

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L-R: Allen Estes, Aurelia Nelson, Charlie Farren

Tomorrow morning Allen Estes & Charlie Farren are Aurelia Nelson’s guests on her 104.9 show Curtain Up at 9am (Worth getting up for!)

You get to hear a new song and a taste of the Solstice experience you can expect next Saturday 12/20 when they perform with young, rising Boston Blues star, Danielle Miraglia in a benefit for Gloucester’s UU Church Meetingbouse Restoration.  This will be a festive night of original rock, blues and Americana music with a few traditional holiday sing-along favorites.  Tickets are still available.  Get them here.

 

2014 Middle Street Walk Is Today! Here’s Your Schedule of Events

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

CLICK MAP FOR ENTIRE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS,Performances and Presentations!

I count no less than 38 events!  This is one of the top 4 Gloucester Events of the year and is not to be missed.

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Two Days Left To Subscribe To The GloucesterCast For A Chance To Win A 2015 Dinner Dealer Deck

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

GloucesterCast Podcast New Subscriber Contest #4 Will Win A 2015 Dinner Dealer Deck. A Dinner Dealer Deck Will Go To One Of The First Ten New Subscribers To The GloucesterCast Subscribe to Enter Here (winner picks up Dinner Dealer Deck at the dock)
To purchase Dinner Dealer Decks Direct From Dennis and Jess and Emerson – https://www.dinnerdealer.com/decks/

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Subscribe to Get The GloucesterCast Podcast by Email For Free

Listen To The 12/7/14 GloucesterCast Here

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Passports is the Perfect Restaurant for Your Holiday Shopping Respite

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

When out and about checking off your holiday to-do list, stop in to Passports. The food is always prepared and cooked to perfection, with extra generous helpings, and the ambiance is warm, comfy, and inviting. 

Passports Restaurant India, Laila, Dawn ©Kim Smith 2014India, Laila, and Dawn

Today I met my friend Catherine there and we had a luxuriously long chatty lunch. Despite the hours spent catching up, Laila, our beautiful waitress, never once made us feel anything less than entirely welcome. Catherine had the sumptuous cobb salad, topped with chicken salad, and I had their wonderfully delicious Caesar salad, with perfectly grilled shrimp. Even Passports regular coffee is rich and full flavored!

Happy Dining and Shopping Main Street!

Passports Cobb Salad ©Kim Smith 2014Passports Cobb and Chicken Salad

Passports Caesar salad ©Kim Smith 2014Passports Caesar Salad

Shopping Local @ Blue River Diamond

Posted on by Sista Felicia

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Have you stopped by Blue River Diamonds on Main Street lately? The store is stocked with gorgeous jewelry, and the staff is incredibly helpful!  My son BJ was impressed with their selection, and was thrilled to find exactly what he was looking locally on Gloucester’s Main Street. Check it out for the holidays !    

Cape Ann Winter Solstice – The Tradition Continues Next Sat 12/20 – VIP seats still available

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

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Last winter we started a Gloucester Tradition – The Cape Ann Winter Solstice – a tremendously successful kick-off to our Meetinghouse Benefit Concert Series, culminating in a memorable evening with 60s icon John Sebastian, the first ever Gloucester appearance by a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

This winter we continue the tradition featuring three of the area’s top acoustic artists: Boston rock star, Charlie Farren, of Joe Perry Project and Farrenheit, rising Boston Blues star, Danielle Miraglia (whom you may have seen at our Celebrate Gloucester benefit for The Open Door featuring James Montgomery this summer) and Gloucester’s iconic singer/songwriter Allen Estes.

Just like last year, a portion of the proceeds support the Meetinghouse Restoration Project.

There are still a few VIP seats left.  VIPs get premium seating in the first 5 rows of the center section, exclusive early entry and a commemorative VIP laminate.

Get tickets here.

Enjoy a festive night of original music, traditional holiday favorites and a few surprises as you help Gloucester’s Meetinghouse become a world-class concert and performance venue.

Here are some videos to give you a taste of what you can expect:

Ready, Get Centered Street, go! 1 Center Street is open for Middle Street Walk

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey,

Get centered during Gloucester’s Middle Street Walk this Saturday. One Center Street is open and filled with friends, social imagination, wellness and artistry! Glance at the list of tenants at Kate Seidman’s building—many GMG readers are already big fans and customers. 

1 Center Street, 3rd floor:
Ten Pound Studio silk painting studio with classes every Tuesday

Bradley Royds music recording studio

Jennifer Lee Levitz Studio and Reikki practice

1 Center Street, 2nd floor:

Loren Doucette, Art Showroom, Studio and Teaching Lab ( beginning Artist Way course to discovering recovering your creative self in 2015 along with private art lessons) 978-879-6588, Lorenadoucette@gmail.com Loren Doucette adds: “We are looking for teachers and students to be a part of this great creative cooperative space! Our goal and mission is to practice, teach and share creative well-being!”

Jeffrey Marshall, Art Studio. Jeffrey was invited to have a January show at the Cape Ann Museum and will be the First Cape Ann Artist of Distinction in Residency 2015 – for the Rocky Neck Art Colony

Goetemann Residency Program

Stephen Baglioni, LMT, clothed sports massage office, http://www.massagetherapyunlimited.com/

Bob Tobin, weekly Kempo Karate classes (Wed & Sat)

Sarah Slifer Swift, rehearsal space, AND she runs Monday Morning Dance Rave 8:30-10am each week. Very fun!

Yoga with Peter Martin starting in January 2015.

Street:

Kate Seidman’s Art Room Boutique

IF YOU GO

What: OPEN HOUSE at ONE CENTER STREET

Where: 1 Center Street (between Main and Middle)

When: Middle Street Walk 2014, 10AM-4PM

Who: Loren Doucette, Stephen Baglioni and Peter Martin are hosting an OPEN HOUSE as part of the Middle Street Walk. Stop by!

Kate has owned 1 Center Street since the early 1990s. Challenge for GMG readers: Do you know the prior occupant(s) and story of this historic building? Write in your comments if you know!

Family and Friends Day At POP Gallery

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

A Weekend of Family FUN!

After Saturday’s festivities with the Middle Street Walk and the Lobster Trap Tree Lighting in downtown Gloucester, be sure to come back down to Main Street on Sunday for Family & Friends Day from 12 to 5 pm! 

POP will serve FREE cocoa for the kiddies and Yule Fuel for mom and dad! Santa will also make an appearance at our store after 4 pm! 

We’re very excited to offer 20 % OFF select sale items and clothing! Plus, 10% off ALL PURCHASES of $50 or more!

There are many great gifts for young and old at POP, so make sure you come take advantage of this SALE at 67 Main Street, THIS SUNDAY!

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Backyard Growers Final Stretch For Push For Global Headquarters

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

We need a Backyard Growers Headquarters

Help us expand our GARDEN EMPIRE!

Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States Food

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BREAKING NEWS! Generous donors have stepped up to offer a 3:1 match to help us reach our $15K goal! For every $10 you give, our matching donors will give $30!
Backyard Growers has become RADICALLY AWESOME. Here’s why—In five short years we have evolved from providing a handful of neighbors with backyard gardens TO THIS:
  • Over 1,300 Gloucester elementary school students plant, harvest, and eat from their school gardens each year.
  • Built O’Maley Innovation Middle School’s first school garden with over 200 6th graders to support the science curriculum.
  • Built West Parish School gardens at Burnham’s Field. When West Parish moves, the gardens will join Burnham’s Field Community Garden, which will be managed by us!
  • Expanded the Gloucester Preschool garden, providing early hands-on gardening and healthy snack experiences to over 90 preschoolers.
  • Providing afterschool programs through Gloucester U at the high school, O’Maley Academy at the middle school, and at Beeman and Veterans Schools through the YMCA.
  • We now serve the entire Gloucester school district—from preK to high school. Other school districts have expressed interest in adopting our model!
  • Since 2010, 150 new gardens built in Gloucester for families, community groups, organizations, and schools, helping hundreds of people learn how to grow their own food.

What we need and how it will benefit the people we serve

Backyard Growers is a small, scrappy non-profit organization. We know how to do a lot with a little. Our main base of operations is my house. And when I say my house I mean my kitchen table, my small office, the hall, the living room, the bedroom, the basement, the yard, the driveway, and sometimes spilling out into the street. Backyard Growers also exists beyond my house! Thank you to The Open Door for providing space for our FoodCorps service member, and to the city and school district for storing some of our stuff.

All of this to say, we have officially burst our seams and are in need of an OFFICIAL BACKYARD GROWERS HEADQUARTERS. We are currently looking for a space. We need to raise $15,000 to pay for the first year of rent and associated costs. Our own space = centralized operations = more efficient program and operations management = strengthened programs/more people served/strategic organizational growth.

Commencing Countdown, Major Sean

Posted on by Nichole S.

That was my little tribute to Major Tom…in case you missed it.  Bygones.

I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the Curtis Family…Sean, Erin, Lydia, Brityn, and baby Henry for the excellent public service announcement they are kind enough to bestow upon the town of Rockport during the holiday season.

While, ahem ahem, it was a bit later than usual this year…it did not disappoint once finally arriving. Contrary to disappointing, actually, it is new and improved and really quite fantastic!

You see, the Curtis family has been helping to spread the holiday joy in the children of Rockport….and pure panic in the hearts of the grown-ups…for the past several years.

Formally, a giant snowman helped to count down the days, hours, minutes…and even seconds…until Christmas.  After taking an unfortunate tumble, the large cold one was placed on the DL (that’s the disabled list).  And, yes, I’m talking to you….the one who thought the World Series Trophy on our Christmas Card several years ago was a menorah.  (see below)

At any rate, with Frosty down and out, an even better (in my opinion) countdown clock has taken his place!  My boys get such joy out of seeing it each afternoon on the way home from school/work!  It is pretty awesome…even if it does cause me some major anxiety.

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Can You Ever Have Too Much Fun? More weekend picks!

Posted on by Nichole S.

While actually writing my Thursday “Weekend Picks” post is not difficult, narrowing down the choices and trying to be mindful enough to find activities that appeal to different likes/tastes/hobbies can be.  That having been said, I won’t sleep tonight if I don’t add a few more activities to this week’s list!

The most near and dear is the fantastic Middle Street Walk!  Hopefully you’ve already read about its awesomeness in other posts here on GMG, but just incase you haven’t…. you should!  As Joey says, “It’s insane”  (and he means that in a good way).

Check it all out here!  It is really a not-to-be-missed day here in town!!! If you’re not in the holiday spirit yet…this is just the medicine!

Middle Street Walk website is here too

 

Also, The Gallows Hill Theatre in Salem is playing “A Very Grinchy Holiday Special”.  How awesome does this look!  Again, the Schraffts will be doing this for sure!    Gallows Hill Theatre

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In addition, a friend of GMG was kind enough to remind me that Smolak Farms is always a great bet!  Thanks so much, Erin!  We’ve been there several times…and Finn’s class just had a pumpkin picking field trip there in October.  It is truly a great spot.  This month, in particular, they are offering great activities.  Cookie making on Tuesdays and Fridays, Tea with Mrs. Claus, and Santa’s Workshop (meet and greet, craft making, and more!) are highlights.  Be sure to check out their website and mark your calendars.  Next week, for example, they are offering a great Gingerbread House Workshop!

Smolak Farms

 

My Holiday Lights of Love

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin

My favorite holiday decorations this year were on the Beauport Ambulance at Addison Gilbert Hospital’s “Lights of Love” cancer care fundraiser. Beauport was the major sponsor of the event. In the past ten months, I’ve been transported by ambulance maybe 50 times to medical appointments from hospitals and nursing/rehab homes, because I was incapable of sitting on a bus seat. This doesn’t include emergency rides, two of which were under life threatening circumstances. Ambulances, which I always thought of as an inconvenience while driving, are now my flashing “Lights of Love.” They may be saving someone’s life, and I say a prayer as I pull over to the side of the road to let them pass.Ambulance5292wm

Gloucester Stage Company Holiday Delights Dec 19-21

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Purchase Tickets

A must-see holiday tradition
for the whole family!

GSC’s Youth Acting Workshop’s Holiday Delights is a year-end showcase of student talent from YAW’s winter, summer, and fall workshops.

The 2014 edition of Holiday Delights is the all-new journey of a young girl who discovers the spirit and the joys of the holiday season.

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Conceived and Directed by Heidi Dallin 

Musical Direction Helen Greene
Choreography Carol Burnham
Stage Manager Annika Rosenvinge
Costume Design Lara Jardullo

Purchase tickets online or call the Box Office 978-281-4433
Adult: $15     Senior: $12
Student: $8   Child under 6: $6

SPONSORS

Barry and Susan Weiner   CTI Cabling Technologies  Cape Ann Savings Bank