GMG Mug Up Food Competition – Call to all you Great Foodies Out There

Posted on by God's Morning

mug up and food competition

Now that we have re-established the GMG Mug Up tradition on Saturday mornings at 9:30 on Madfish Wharf (so our fearless leader Joey can be there!), it is time for one of our famous and fun GMG Food Competitions. Over the years, we have had many different types food competitions, and we want to come up with something that the awesome cooks / bakers out there in GMG land will clamor to be a part of. Joey wants it to be a cupcake competition (he is going to be one of the judges with his girls as assistants, along with James Eves and Richard Rosenfeld). Cupcakes are great, but we wanted to let those of you who would like to enter and have the chance of winning a coveted GMG food competition winner ribbon, and go down in annals of GMG history as the best at whatever it is you make really well, tell us what you would like the competition to be.

Please reply by commenting on this post if you are interested in being a contender, and what food you would like the competition to be. Majority will rule. There is no real prep area, so it has to be something you can bring in prepared and ready to go to the judges (with a little extra for Mug Up attendees to try). Don’t include a beverage. If Bob Ryan is game to sponsor another Bloody Mary or other beverage competition made with a Ryan & Wood Distilleries spirit, we’ll do that later in the season.

Madfish Wharf is hopping this summer. Saturday morning 9:30am come for GMG Mug Up and food competition at YUPO Gallery / Khan Studio & the GMG Gallery. Come hang with your favorite GMG peeps, fobs and Rocky Neck artists and neighbors on beautiful Madfish Wharf. Saturday, August 23rd will be our first GMG Food Competition of the season. Let’s get some rockin GMG peep/fob summer fun going while we still can.

E.J. Lefavour
http://www.hobbithousestudio.com

StageFort Park Summer Concert Tonight at 7pm

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

It is Cape Ann Community Band and North Shore Pipe Band concert tonight at the Stage Fort Park bandstand, at 7pm.

ns pipe band photo

Map update of Justin Desilva’s temporary crosswalks HarborWalk Public Art Challenge

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey

Artist Justin Desilva is more than half way through his ambitious public art installation, With Every Street There’s a Story. Remember, they’re temporary, so take time to check them out.

Some of the murals are at different stages in their installation process; you will see him going back and forth to different sites. Here’s a map http://goo.gl/maps/mc696 for any updated locations andphotographs. Walkers provide the most comments and questions, which he’s really enjoying.  They talk about Gloucester mostly and they talk about art. He’s been told that his pictures were kaleidoscopic, like stained glass, the quarries, that his red reminded them of some works by Miro, or Braque and Picasso. There have been requests for a crosswalk by their street, house, and business. People driving by have stopped to park and get out of their cars to walk back and look.

Crosswalks in this post include Gorton’s HarborWalk Story Moment #27, Birdseye HarborWalk Story Moment #33, Sea Serpent HarborWalk Story Moment #19, Stage Fort Park HarborWalk Story Moment #42, Katy (from Virginia Lee Burton’s Katy and the Big Snow) HarborWalk Story Moment #30, and Hopper HarborWalk Story Moment #28.

Mother and daughter celebrate 50th and 30th GHS reunion at Gloucester house

Posted on by Manuel F. Simoes

The Classes of 1964 and 1984 celebrated their Class Reunion at the Gloucester House on August 16th 2014, mother and daughter shared the celebration.

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Block Party ll 2014

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin
This was a great Block Party. It started busy and was jammed until 9 pm. Staying open this late was a milestone for me. Tomorrow, Sunday, will be a couch day for Fred.
This was a great Block Party. It started busy and was jammed past 9 pm. Staying open this late was a milestone for me. Tomorrow, Sunday, will be a couch day for Fred.

Community Photos 8/18/14

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Cat Ryan forwards-

Gloucester Winslow Homer Breezing Up in Times Square. Collection National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

You can see their Roy Lichtenstein’s Look Mickey in the upper right of the photo.

Here in MA, I briefly saw Hopper’s Nighthawks while driving Rt 128, over by Jordan’s Furniture

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Meg McCarthy submits-

Hi Joey, 

My dad lives in Gloucester and have been photographing it over the years. Rocky Neck has become one of my favorite places; such a gem!

Thought I would share a recent photo. 

Cheers, 

Meg

rockynetboat

coming in for a landing American egret from Jaqueline Bennett

landingegret

Community Stuff 8/17/14

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

 

Tutta la Famiglia:


A Photographic Exhibition of Community Life
in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Photographs by Paul Cary Goldberg

September 19, 2014 – January 9, 2015
John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
25 West 43rd Street, 17th Floor (Between 5th and 6th Avenues)
New York, New York 10036  
Opening Reception: September 18 from 6pm to 8pm
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm

212-642-2094
http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/calandra/

Hi Joey,

As you probably know, the Cape Ann Museum is reopening this month after a huge renovation. One of the new exhibits will feature the incredible fresnel lens that used to be housed in one of the Thacher Island lighthouses. Included in the exhibit are a series of videos about the island that will be projected onto glass next to the giant lens. We recently finished a video reel that will play between those videos with some stunning aerial footage of Thacher Island. 

Below is a link to a promotional video I created using some of that same footage cut to music. Would you mind posting to GMG?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkyrv6Fnv3M

Thanks very much,

Erich Archer
Executive Director
Cape Ann TV

Please ad this from the Gloucester United Methodist Church

Little Dresses for Africa/Britches for Boys

A new mission program is starting at the Gloucester United Methodist church and we want you to be a part of it.

Pillowcase dresses and t-shirt shorts are on the sewing machines as we make these clothing items for little girls and boys.

How can you participate?

If you are a person who sews: You can use the patterns on the website (or your own) and make as many dresses as wish.

If you want to learn to do some simple sewing: This is a great place to start. Help is available to lead you through the process.

If you don’t have the time/desire to make a dress but you have fabric or pillowcases: You can donate new or lightly used pillowcases or fabric 

(requires about one yard per dress). Someone will turn your donation into dresses for needy little girls. 

If you don’t have pillowcases or fabric, but would like to help: You may purchase fabric or notions to be used for this project. Thread, ¼ inch elastic, double wide, 

white binding tape and fabric (one yard) are all that are required to make a basic dress.

If you don’t want to shop, but would like to donate: You can help with the cost of shipping the dresses. 

If you don’t sew or have extra money but you’d still like to be involved: Your help with ironing, sizing, and/or packing the dresses would be appreciated.

An open meeting for all who wish to be involved about these projects is scheduled for Sunday, August 31st at 6pm at the Gloucester United Methodist Church, located at 436 Washington St. Contact Julie Kesterson at 978-290-9312 or go to http://www.littledressesforafrica.com/

Thank you

Julie Kesterson

GUMC Liaison

2014 Gloucester Schooner Festival Information

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

image

Labor Day Weekend– August 29-31, 2014

It’s Right Around The Corner!!!!!!

Check Out The Gloucester Schooner Festival Web Page For All The Info About The Schooner Race, The LobsterFest and The Parade Of Sails!!!!

Check Out Kim Smith’s Incredibly Beautiful Video For a Little Glimpse of The Magnificence-

Food For Thought

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Don’t Let Your Children Grow Up to Be Farmers

By Bren Smith New York
Times August 9, 2014

Bren Smith is a shellfish and seaweed farmer on Long Island Sound.

NEW HAVEN — AT a farm-to-table dinner recently, I sat huddled in a corner with some other farmers, out of earshot of the foodies happily eating kale and freshly shucked oysters. We were comparing business models and profit margins, and it quickly became clear that all of us were working in the red.
The dirty secret of the food movement is that the much-celebrated small-scale farmer isn’t making a living. After the tools are put away, we head out to second and third jobs to keep our farms afloat. Ninety-one percent of all farm households rely on multiple sources of income. Health care, paying for our kids’ college, preparing for retirement? Not happening. With the overwhelming majority of American farmers operating at a loss — the median farm income was negative $1,453 in 2012 — farmers can barely keep the chickens fed and the lights on.

Others of us rely almost entirely on Department of Agriculture or foundation grants, not retail sales, to generate farm income. And young farmers, unable to afford land, are increasingly forced into neo-feudal relationships, working the fields of wealthy landowners. Little wonder the median age for farmers and ranchers is now 56.

My experience proves the trend. To make ends meet as a farmer over the last decade, I’ve hustled wooden crafts to tourists on the streets of New York, driven lumber trucks, and worked part time for any nonprofit that could stomach the stink of mud on my boots. Laden with college debt and only intermittently able to afford health care, my partner and I have acquired a favorite pastime in our house: dreaming about having kids.

It’s cheaper than the real thing. But what about the thousands of high-priced community-supported agriculture programs and farmers’ markets that have sprouted up around the country? Nope. These new venues were promising when they proliferated over a decade ago, but now, with so many programs to choose from, there is increasing pressure for farmers to reduce prices in cities like my hometown, New Haven. And while weekend farmers’ markets remain precious community spaces, sales volumes are often too low to translate into living wages for your much-loved small-scale farmer.

Especially in urban areas, supporting your local farmer may actually mean buying produce from former hedge fund managers or tax lawyers who have quit the rat race to get some dirt under their fingernails. We call it hobby farming, where recreational “farms” are allowed to sell their products at the same farmers’ markets as commercial farms. It’s all about property taxes, not food production. As Forbes magazine suggested to its readers in its 2012 Investment Guide, now is the time to “farm like a billionaire,” because even a small amount of retail sales — as low as $500 a year in New Jersey — allows landowners to harvest more tax breaks than tomatoes.

On top of that, we’re now competing with nonprofit farms. Released from the yoke of profit, farms like Growing Power in Milwaukee and Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., are doing some of the most innovative work in the farming sector, but neither is subject to the iron heel of the free market. Growing Power alone received over $6.8 million in grants over the last five years, and its produce is now available in Walgreens stores. Stone Barns was started with a $30 million grant from David Rockefeller. How’s a young farmer to compete with that?

As one grower told me, “When these nonprofit farms want a new tractor, they ask the board of directors, but we have to go begging to the bank.”

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

Robin Williams Quote of the Week From Greg Bover

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

A reprise from March 2012

“God gave men both a penis and a brain, but only enough blood to run one at a time.”

Robin Williams (1952-2014) R.I.P.

image

A Chicago native, Williams attended Claremont McKenna College and the Juilliard School, breaking into television as the alien Mork on “Happy Days”. Mork was such a popular character that the spin-off “Mork and Mindy” ran four years providing Williams with the perfect vehicle for his unparalleled mimicry and improvisational impersonations.

A veteran of dozens of film roles from Peter Pan to the deranged killer in Insomnia, Williams received an Academy award for his portrayal of a Harvard professor in Good Will Hunting, as well as several Emmys, Golden Globes and other awards.

Williams continued to perform stand-up comedy and was active in support of myriads of charities, several connected to his battles with substance abuse and depression. Thrice married, the quote may reflect self-awareness.

Greg Bover

MUSIC & MEDITATION IN THE MEETINGHOUSE – August 31

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

MUSIC & MEDITATION IN THE MEETINGHOUSE (MMM) featuring meditation leader Brian King with cellist Kristen Miller, August 31st, 2014 in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse 

BASICS: Candle‐lit setting Meetinghouse, home of the Meditation and Music
August 31st, 2014 at 7:30pm in Gloucester’s 1806
Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church
Corner of Middle and Church Streets, on the green
Free‐Will Offering, Fully Accessible, and Everyone is Welcome with Light Refreshments, gloucesteruu@earthlink.net, (978‐283‐3410)
Social Gathering Afterwards     Church Contact: Karen Rembert

EVENT DESCRIPTION: The Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church is pleased to announce the next event of its monthly series called Music & Meditation in the Meetinghouse (MMM) that offers Cape Ann residents and visitors a unique combination of beautiful music and relaxing meditation.

Each MMM event offers the participants an opportunity to enjoy a different combination of peaceful self‐awareness through various kinds of meditation enhanced by the musical offerings. The MMM experience is intended to be comforting, entertaining and spiritual but it is emphatically not a church service. It is held in the candle‐lit sanctuary of the grand Meetinghouse, a place of gathering and welcoming for the entire Gloucester community for over 200 years. The Meetinghouse, whose lantern tower with a Paul Revere bell has guided generations of mariners safely into our harbor, is on the National Register of  Historic Places. It is the oldest surviving church building on Cape Ann.

The August event will feature meditation leader Brian King with cellist Kristen Miller.  There will be a collation with light refreshments afterwards in the Entrance House, giving participants the opportunity to meet the leaders and each other in a convivial atmosphere.

The Sanctuary is accessible with facilities for persons with disabilities via the side entrance at 10 Church Street. A free‐will offering of $10 is requested but no one will be turned away and everyone is welcome regardless of financial capability.

Find your way Sunday evening to the green at the corner of Middle and Church Streets to discover an hour of peace, enjoyment and contemplation in Gloucester’s historic 1806 Meetinghouse.

MEDITATION LEADER: Brian King is a singer, songwriter, and performer. Since a young age, he has cultivated his passion for spirituality, religion, and mythology by studying multiple traditions from Buddhism, Neo‐Shamanism, and Theosophy to Tarot, Jungian psychology and world mythology. Brian has been greatly influenced by the works and teachings of Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, and Pema Chodron. He has practiced various forms of meditation and contemplation throughout his life, and has found the chakra system to be a beautiful way to balance the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

For a decade, Brian worked in public health as director of Prism LGBT Health. He fronts the local band neo‐cabaret band, What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?

MUSICIAN: Cellist Kristen Miller is a one‐woman ensemble. She connects her antique cello to a live digital recorder to stack layers of lush cello, spoken word and singing to create a style that

Billboard writer Bobby Borg calls “romantically, hauntingly, charmingly, brilliant.” As a solo artist, Kristen has released three CD’s, all of which charted on college and community radio nationwide. Kristen is the recipient of several awards and scholarships, including Jam Magazine’s Female Artist of the Year, and the Zara Nelsova Cellist Award for excellence in performance. In addition to solo performing and film scoring, Kristen also enjoys work as a session cellist. She has appeared on records for artists as diverse and varied as Vance Gilbert, Assembly of Dust, and Grammy Award winner Irma Thomas. When she is not performing, Kristen shares the joy of cello and singing with students of all ages. She is also a practicing Shaman, trained in the Unani tradition from Malaysia.

Kristen can be found on  iTunes, CD baby, Facebook, and her official website, ic.com and her personal website http://www.KristenMillerMusic.com