Tag: Cape Ann Museum

Captains Courageous Festival a Full day of Activities

Posted on by Manuel F. Simoes

Captains Courageous Festival presented by seARTS March 6th.  A full day of activities from 9:00 AM through 9:30 PM.   Reading by a cast of many at Cape Ann Museum, Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, and Cape Ann Art Haven. 

Link to  Play slideshow

Cape Ann Community Cinema presented the Three Sheets to the Wind,  The Cape Ann sea Shanty Singers & Musicians  and Captains Courageous (1937 film) with Spencer Tracy & Lionel Barrymore.

Videos of the Readings and the Cape Ann Shanty Singers.

Sorry for the long posting, but I will be on holiday for the next two weeks.

Check out seARTS  http://www.searts.org/events.htm

 

Cape Ann Museum Re-Opens

Posted on by Sharon

Windward Leeward: Peter Vincent Paintings

March 6 through May 30, 2010

Opening Reception

Saturday, March 6 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This program is free and open to the public.

‘Windward Leeward’ exhibit blows into Cape Ann Museum

By Gloucester Daily Times Staff

On Saturday, March 6, Cape Ann Museum sails back from its winter hiatus with a reception to mark the opening of “Windward Leeward,” a stunning exhibition of ‘Dory Era’ paintings by one of New England’s most highly regarded contemporary maritime artists, Peter Vincent. His still, starkly composed images of Gloucester’s long-gone seafaring world are the artist’s reverent and powerfully moving tribute to his subject matter, and have won him numerous awards, including Mystic Seaport Museum’s first annual Thomas Hoyne Award. His “Men who go down to the sea” do not just inhabit, but haunt his works, as they continue to haunt their native harbor. The painting’s flat, muted tones suggest the calm before the storm; the perilous power of the sea to be at once livelihood and graveyard.

Read more of the Times article here.

Things To Do- SAT, January 16: Gordon Goetemann – Gallery Talk, 10:30 am at the Cape Ann Museum

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

From Rocky Neck News-

Gordon Goetemann

Gordon Goetemann will talk about his work and Mahler’s 2nd Symphony as an inspiration. In conjunction with the exhibition A Narrative of Life and Glory: Mahler’s 2nd Symphony.
This program is included with Museum admission.

Reservations are required. Please call 978-283-0455, ext. 11

Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town -Book Signing & Reading

Posted on by Sharon

Cape Ann Museum

Book Signing & Reading: Elyssa East, author
Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town
Saturday, January 9 at 2:00 p.m.


Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), Study for Whale’s Jaw, Dogtown Common. Ink on paper, c. 1931.
Cape Ann Museum collection.

From Publishers Weekly

[Signature]Reviewed by Joyce Carol Oates

This is a work of narrative nonfiction in which I attempt to tell the story of a landscape—Gloucester, Massachusetts’s Dogtown. The author’s succinct description of her fascinating, richly detailed and remarkably evocative exploration of a long-deserted colonial village amid a 3,600-acre woodland doesn’t do justice to the quirky originality of Dogtown. Part history of a most unusual region; part commentary on the art of the American Modernist painter Marsden Hartley; part murder mystery/true crime police procedural; and part memoir, East’s first book is likely to appeal to a varied audience for whom Dogtown, Mass., is utterly unknown.East was initially drawn to Dogtown through the landscape paintings of Hartley—a gifted and undervalued contemporary of Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove and John Marin. Led to investigate the landscape Hartley painted, East soon finds herself, like the protagonist of a mystery, ever more deeply involved with the colonial ruin—is it a place of mystical wonder, or is it an accursed landscape? In colonial times, Dogtown was a marginal area of Gloucester said to be a haven for former slaves, prostitutes and witches; in the 20th century, it was largely abandoned and became a sort of uncharted place where, in a notorious 1984 incident, a mentally deranged sex offender murdered a young woman teacher in the woods.East is thorough in her descriptions of the attractive young victim and the loathsome murderer—a devastating portrait of the type of predator of whom it’s said he would never hurt anyone. Though the true crime chapters—which alternate with chapters presenting the tangled history of Dogtown—are inevitably more interesting, East gracefully integrates her various themes into a coherent and mesmerizing whole. In her admiration for Hartley, East kindles in the reader a wish to see his works, as well as the allegedly mystical landscape that inspired them; it would have been a good idea to include color plates of some of Hartley’s work, juxtaposed with the landscapes. Also, the true crime chapters—written with appalled compassion—and the detailed portraits of individuals involved—the murderer, the victim, the victim’s husband and his family, several police officers—would benefit from photographs as well. Late in Dogtown, as if the author’s inventiveness were flagging and her material running thin, there are digressions into local politics that will be of limited interest.Dogtown is surprisingly spare in personal information. We learn only a few facts about the engaging young writer whose life was so changed when she first saw Hartley’s paintings that, five years later, she was led to the adventure of Dogtown, which would involve her for 10 years. This is most unusually self-effacing, particularly in our rabidly confessional times. Some readers will appreciate the author’s vanishing into her subject, which is certainly strong enough to stand alone, while others might feel an absence in this evocation of, as Hartley described it, one of these strange wild places… where the chemistry of the universe is too busy realizing itself.Joyce Carol Oates’s latest novel is Little Bird of Heaven (HarperCollins/Ecco).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Old Schooner Dory at Cape Ann Museum

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

I know I seem like I’ve been harping on it for teh past week but I still can’t believe how many treasures are to be discovered from Gloucester’s past at The Cape Ann Museum.

Check out the website for hours and more info-

http://www.capeannhistoricalmuseum.org/

Schooner Dory at Cape Ann Museum, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

Chickity Check It! Deb Clarke’s Work At The Cape Ann Museum

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Deb Clarke is a fabulously gifted artist who works with glass.  She is one of the Bananarettes from the early days and also updates her work on her blog Another Magpie’s Nest.  Check out here blog here

click the pic to see her visually stunning work full sized-

click the pic for the full sized version

Exhibit at Cape Ann Museum

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Here’s just one of the number of incredible exhibits to see at the Cape Ann Museum.  This is what the flake yards looked like.  The cod would be split open , de-boned and laid out in triangle shapes flat on drying racks.

When I was about 12 years old at our dock we were splitting and salting cod for a Norwegian company.  Frank and my job was to pull off any globules of blood or liver after the cod got split and de-boned.  We had a big stainless steel tank and the triangular shaped cod would come down the conveyor to us and plop into the stainless tank.  Usually up around the nape of the cod rack there would be a liver still attached that we would need to rip off and give the rack a good washing to get nice and white before salting.

After that we would lay the whale cod split flat onto pallets, pour the salt over them and stack them up.  I can remember the whole cooler being stacked up with pallet upon pallet of salted cod waiting to dry and then for the trailer truck to pick them up.

Exhibit at Cape Ann Museum, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

click for full size picture

GMG Featured On Boston.com Homepage Today

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

The hit counter was spinning this morning.  When I drilled down on where they were coming from- lo and behold it was none other than the front page of the Boston.com site.  They had picked up on my post about the Cape Ann Museum.  Nice!

2009-12-14_1025, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

Our Lady Of Good Voyage Statue At Cape Ann Museum

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

I’ve been kicking myself for a good long while now for missing the Charlie Lowe exhibit as well as the St Peter’s Fiesta exhibit at Cape Ann Museum.  It had been probably about 30 years since I’d been in the Cape Ann Museum- what a mistake.

Well the Middle Street Walk was the perfect opportunity to reacquaint myself with the joint.  What a treat.  What a treasure. Go and see for yourself the beautiful artifacts within.  I loved seeing Deb Clarke’s beautiful fish on glass.  This old statue which I assume was the original that stood atop Our Lady Of Good Voyage Church.  The Old Republic- Howard Blackburn’s boat in which he sailed by himself across the Atlantic in record time after he had lost his hands to frostbite (I think that’s right).  The Fitz Hugh Lane Paintings.  The old dory and the tools used to make sails and mend nets.  The models of the Gloucester Waterfront accurate with the Flakeyards and all.

Bottom line is that if you haven’t been- GO.  You won’t be disappointed.  I also would tell you that if you have relatives or friends in from out of town- send them here as well as the Maritime Heritage Center and the Judith Sargent Murray House.

To check out the rest of the GoodMorningGloucester blog click this text

Our Lady Of Good Voyage Statue At Cape Ann Museum, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

click this picture for full sized version
click picture for full sized version

25th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival Next Weekend!

Posted on by Sharon
25th Annual
Gloucester Schooner Festival
September 4 – 7, 2009

The Festival is sponsored by the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce
(Schedule will be updated as events are confirmed. Last update: 8/17/2009.)

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Friday, September 4, 2009

All Day Arrival of Participating Vessels.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Cape Ann Museum visiting hours.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Essex Shipbuilding Museum visiting hours.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center visiting hours.

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Mayor’s Reception for invited guests.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

10:00 a.m.
Skippers Meeting for all Traditional Small Craft, at Solomon Jacobs Park, immediately adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Harbor Loop.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Deck Tours aboard the Adventure and Children’s Activities dockside at Cruiseport Gloucester.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Bluenose II Open House at Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Gloucester Maritime Heritage Day at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center on Harbor Loop. Free to all.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Cape Ann Museum visiting hours.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Essex Shipbuilding Museum visiting hours.

12:00 noon – 4:30 p.m.
Open House at US Coast Guard Station, Harbor Loop.

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Start of Sailing Races for Traditional Small Craft, off Eastern Point Light.

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Search & Rescue Demonstration by the U.S. Coast Guard off Harbor Loop.

6:00 p.m.
Festival Crew Party for invited guests. Gloucester House Restaurant.

7:30 p.m.
Boat “Parade of Lights”.

9:15 p.m.
Fireworks Display over Gloucester Harbor. (following Parade of Lights, time approximate)

Sunday, September 6, 2009

8:00 a.m.
Skippers Meeting for all Schooners sailing in Mayor’s Race at Solomon Jacobs Park, immediately adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Harbor Loop.

9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Shuttle Bus to Eastern Point Light, from Eastern Point Gate (Eastern Point Boulevard at Farrington Avenue) to watch the start of the Mayor’s Race. Free of Charge.

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Parade of Sail as Schooners proceed from Inner Harbor, past the Fishermen’s Memorial on Stacy Boulevard, to the race starting area off Eastern Point.

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Deck Tours aboard the Adventure and Children’s Activities dockside at Cruiseport Gloucester.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Essex Shipbuilding Museum visiting hours.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center visiting hours.

11:00 a.m.
Start of Mayor’s Race for Esperanto Cup, Ned Cameron Trophy and Betty Ramsey Trophy off Eastern Point.

1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Cape Ann Museum visiting hours.

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Reception and Awards Ceremony for contestants and invited guests at the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Harbor Loop.

Monday, September 7, 2009

“Rain Day” for recovery from postponements caused by inclement weather. ONLY IF REQUIRED.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center visiting hours.

For more info, click here.

GMG Local Music Aug.19 – Aug.23

Posted on by Sharon

Wednesday August 19

Dan King plays Roots Rock Wednesday, TONIGHT at Lat 43, featuring very special guests, 9pm!

Pete Lindberg playing at the Dogbar tonight. 9-12 Come down

Open Mike with Fly Amero Wednesday at the Rhumb Line

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Thursday August 20

Dave Sag’s Blues Party Thursday 9-12

“This thursday at the Rumline I’m proud to present that dynamic duo: Mr. Mario Perrett, cutie pie saxist and vogelist xtroidinaire, backed up with Mr. Edd Scheer, the diaphaneous drummer and vocalizer. One of my favorite combo plates. Of course, Greg T. and I will be there, too.”

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Harbor Loop

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Friday August 21

Music at the Cape Ann Museum on Fridays at Noon

The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present free noontime concerts in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden on Fridays during the month of August. Performers for the remainder of the month will be James White on August 21 and The Aspidistra Drawing Room Orchestra on August 28.

The Pleasant Street Tea Company and Lark Fine Foods have generously donated beverages and cookies for these events. In the event of rain, the performances will take place inside the Museum.

James White, now a resident of Gloucester, is originally from England. He has been writing music since the 1970s, playing and performing in both Europe and New England as well as doing session work with his first instrument, the electric violin.

The Aspidistra Drawing Room Orchestra is based in London, England. The orchestra specializes in the type of light classical music from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century that is usually referred to as Palm Court Music or Salon Music. The ensemble consists of a string quartet, piano, flute and oboe.

Funding for this program was made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Museum is closed during the month of February, on Mondays, and on major holidays. Admission is $8.00 adults, $6.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Children under 12 and Museum members are free. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information please call: (978) 283-0455. Additional information can be found online at http://www.capeannmuseum.org.

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The Glostafarians WICKED LOCAL REGGAE Captain Carlo’s

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Saturday August 22

From Dave Sag

“Saturday nite, Madhouse will be cranking it out at the Rockport Art Association building  for their annual Greek fisherman hat festival. It’s a costume party. We played it last year and it really was a blast, so, c’mon down!”

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Groove      Saturday     Rhumb Line

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Sunday August 23

Antonio Gentile Memorial Bandstand Summer Concert Series
Stage Fort Park
Gloucester
August 23, 2009

7pm, Old Cold Tater, acoustic bluegrass more

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Remember you can subscribe to GMG Local Music by clicking on the link on the sidebar.There’s lots of good music in Gloucester this week. This post will be updated as info comes in.

Elliott’s

Latitude 43

Dog Bar

Rhumb Line

Capt. Carlo’s

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Gloucester Doors- Captain Elias Davis House

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro
The Captain Elias Davis House is part of Cape Ann Museum.
From the Cape Ann Museum website-
“The Captain Elias Davis house, built in 1804 by one of Gloucester’s successful sea captains, is part of the Cape Ann Museum.Six of the house’s 12 rooms are open to visitors. The house is furnished and decorated in keeping with domestic life in the early 19th century.

Many of the objects in the house actually belonged to Elias Davis and his descendants: a drawing of the Davis family crest from County Hereford, England; a portrait of the Captain painted c.1790 by an unknown Antwerp artist; the outfitted medicine chest and instruction book used by Captain Davis in his role as ship’s doctor; passports for two Davis family vessels, the ship Cadmus and the brig Augusta, signed by James Madison and John Adams respectively; the rockerless wooden cradle used by Elias Davis, Jr. aboard ship when he traveled with his parents; a sampler stitched by Captain Davis’s daughter Mary, naming all 13 of the Captain’s children; and a pencil drawing of the house itself, done from memory by son Soloman Haskell Davis in 1830 while he was away at sea…….. click this text to go to the Cape Ann Museum Website and read the rest“

Gloucester Doors- Captain Elias Davis House, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

What to do this weekend-

Posted on by Sharon

From knitting to Dr. Seuss

Around Cape Ann
Gail McCarthy

Knitting is again gaining popularity as a growing number of residents are getting together to share their projects. To that end, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library will present a program Monday at 6 p.m. in the Friend Room titled “Know Your Knitting (K)Neighbor — The Ecological Knitter.”

This will be an evening of talk and demonstrations on ways to reclaim, recycle, reuse wool, cotton, cashmere, silk yarns and fabrics. The public is invited to bring their own projects or just come and chat. At the last knitting event, a woman shared with the group how she would buying hand-knit sweaters in thrift stores, unraveling them to reuse the yarn. This sparked a discussion about reusing fiber, both yarn and fabric.

Rose Ann Hunter, an Old Sturbridge Village Craftsman, will bring examples of projects she makes from fabric recycled from garments and thrift stores. Kathleen Valentine, author of “The Mermaid Shawl & Other Beauties: Shawls, Cocoons & Wraps,” will bring two of the shawls featured in the book, made from reclaimed silk.

Call Leslie Wind for more information at 978-546-6539, or e-mail inquiry@parlezmoipress.com.

Wine tasting and music

The Rotary Club of Rockport is holding a wine tasting at Rockport Golf Club this Saturday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Requested donation is $30; tickets are available at the door or at the club’s Web site at http://www.rockportrotary.org. The evening of wine sampling includes hors d’oeuvres provided by Classic Cooks and live jazz and blues music by Alek Razdan and the A-Train. There will be a silent auction. There will be more than 100 wines to sample, including those from California, Washington state, France, South America, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal.

‘Suessical’ in Gloucester

“Seussical,” a musical based on the books of Dr. Seuss that made a Broadway debut in 2000, will performed by the Department of Performing Arts of Landmark High School, opening tonight at 7:30. Shows also are tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. Show are at Fuller Auditorium in Gloucester. This popular show is for all ages and will be accompanied by a professional orchestra. Tickets are available at the door for $5, general seating, and $15 for special VIP seating.

Pete Lindberg CD release

Tomorrow, The Dog Bar will host Pete Lindberg’s first CD release party. Lindberg spent the last few months recording his first solo CD with Bradley Royds at his Cape Ann studios. Royds described Lindberg as “a gifted storyteller with prolific talent — a true bard.” He is part of a growing musical family, which includes his father Mike Lindberg, who plays with the Irish/Celtic group O Brien’s Boru. The new CD features his songs, accompanied simply by guitar and harmonica. The show begins at 9 p.m. The Dog Bar is located at 65 Main St. in Gloucester. There is no cover. For information, visit http://www.myspace.com/plindberg or http://www.dogbarcapeann.com.

Gloucester Maritime celebration

The Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center is host a three-day celebration, today through Saturday, to celebrate the opening of its new Gorton’s Seafoods Gallery and the start of the 2009 season. All events take place at the center, located at 23 Harbor Loop in Gloucester.

Bud Ris, president and CEO of the New England Aquarium, will present a free slide lecture, “The New England Aquarium Today and Tomorrow” at 7 tonight.

Erik Ronnberg, renowned New England ship-model maker, will present a free slide lecture, “New England’s Earliest Otter Trawlers,” includes slides of the Surf he built for marine artist Tom Hoyne, tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The center will host a “Demonstration Day” on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Events include an Historic Postcards slide show, seafood cooking demonstrations, live music by Not That Blonde, storytelling by Fred Dodge, and presentations on whale tagging, shipwrecks and sustainable fisheries. Ongoing demonstrations include net stripping, sail making, dory building, and ship model construction. Visitors can explore a simulated shipwreck with Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary maritime archaeologists and observe a boat being hauled out of the water on the center’s 19th century marine railway. Children’s activities include fish printing, compass making and knot tying. Sea Pocket Lab, the center’s outdoor aquarium with touch tanks, will be open.

Visitors can also explore the first exhibit, which focuses on the shoreside industries that supported the local fishing fleet at the dawn of the 20th century. Displays feature ship models, and artifacts ranging from oilskins to foghorns to sailmaker’s tools. Chart your course to the Grand Banks. Experiment with the interactive marine railway model. Watch vintage film footage of fishing schooners. For more information, call 978-281-0470.

Cape Ann Community Cinema

Joaquin Phoenix plays an emotionally unstable man who must choose between Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw in the film “Two Lovers,” showing at Cape Ann Community Cinema through Sunday at 7:15 p.m., with a bonus show tomorrow at 5 p.m.

There will be two benefit screenings of “The Breast Cancer Diaries” on Saturday and Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38, Ann Murray Paige sets up a video diary camera in her bedroom. The result is an unvarnished first-person account of her nine-month battle, punctuated with humor, poignancy and romance. Part of the proceeds benefit breast cancer awareness and The Breast Cancer Diaries Foundation. Tickets for this special event are $10 each.

Opera on the Island features “Benvenuto Cellini” on Saturday at 1 p.m. with this French opera written by Hector Berlioz in the 1830s. It is described as complex, richly detailed and prolifically imaginative, and which Berlioz’s contemporaries often considered unplayable. This production came from the 2007 Salzburg Festival, with a cast accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic and its chorus. Tickets $12.50 all seats.

A free show takes place Saturday at 9:30 p.m. with “Sita Sings The Blues,” a film about a goddess separated from her beloved husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by e-mail. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this animated interpretation of the Indian epic “Ramayana.”

The films are shown at Gloucester Stage Co. at 267 East Main St. in Gloucester. For tickets and show times, visit http://www.capeanncinema.com.

Salute to Spring

Chorus North Shore sponsors the Honors Youth Choir’s concert “Salute to Spring” this Saturday at 7 p.m. at First Parish Unitarian Church, 225 Cabot St., Beverly, in a concert dedicated to spring. Twelve Cape Ann youth are members of choir, comprised of 33 students representing 20 North Shore schools. Those students are Katherine Boucher, Emily Daily, Matt Favaloro, Katherine Maddox, Sophie Palmer and Katrina Tuck, all from Rockport; Christine Anderson, Lara Carney, Carly Curcuru, Olivia Francis and Elisa Smith, from Gloucester; and Nancy MacMillan of Manchester. The event is described as a choral choreography including narration, choral gesturing, duets, solos and more. Under the direction of conductor Sonja Dahlgren Pryor and accompanied by Robert Littlefield, the program includes music from early Baroque to the present day. The program is designed for a wide audience including families. Tickets at the door are $10, children under 12 are free.

Gentle yoga

ACI-Cape Ann’s Dr. Pat O’Brien has created a beginner’s gentle yoga class that meets every Saturday at 9:15 a.m. at the Vajramudra Center, 154 Granite St. in Rockport. She designed the class to provide an understanding of how yoga works and how it helps work out aches and pains. The classes are open to all, suggested donation is $10. For more information, contact O’Brien at yogaclinic@hotmail.com or visit http://www.aci-capeann.org.

Local music and Mother’s Day events

The Seaward Inn will host a Mother’s Day jazz brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., kicking off the Sunday Morning Live Series. Performing will be Al Boudreau on vocals and drums, Barbara Boudreau on vocals and Jack Senier on the piano. Reservations encouraged, no cover. The inn is located on the coast at 44 Marmion Way in Rockport. For information, visit http://www.seawardinn.com.

The Linda Amero Trio featuring Steve Heck on piano and Bronek Suchanek on bass will play a Mother’s Day Lunch on Sunday at Captain Carlo‘s from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. For reservations, call 978-283-6342. On May 15, the jazz vocalist will perform at the Franklin Cafe “Supper Club” at 118 Main St. in Gloucester from 7 to 10 p.m.

To kick off the sailing season, the schooner Thomas E. Lannon is offering free sails to mothers on Sunday, when it sails from 1 to 3 p.m. from Seven Seas Wharf at the Gloucester House restaurant in Gloucester. Reservations suggested. For more information, go to http://www.schooner.org or call 978-281-6634.

Museum announces guided tours

The Cape Ann Museum will provide weekly guided tours led by docents trained in teaching the public about the museum’s art and history collections. Eleven docents recently completed a five-month training program in preparation for leading public tours this spring. Starting this month, the docents will lead tours of the Highlights of the Collection, the Captain Elias Davis House, and the Fitz Henry Lane Collection. Tours are free with the price of admission. Tours for May are as follows:

Highlights of the Collection: Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.; Captain Elias Davis House on May 16, May 30 at 2 p.m. and the Fitz Henry Lane Collection on Saturday and May 23 at 2 p.m. Visit http://www.capeannmuseum.org for further details. The museum also provides tours to private groups through advance reservation. For more information to book a private tour, contact Jeanette Smith at 978-283-0455, ext. 11.

Spring jazz concert

Jazz in Rockport presents “Swing into Spring” with Kendra Shank and Quartet. She performs as part of the Jazz in Rockport concert series, introducing her new CD release “Mosaic” on May 16 at 8 p.m. at the Rockport Art Association. The jazz vocalist was described by The New York Times as an artist with “effervescence, depth” and “integrity.” There is a discount for those also attending Rockport Art Association’s Arts and Flowers event on May 15. For information, call 978-546-6604 or Brickhouse Productions at 978-546-8474. Tickets on sale at Rockport Art Association, Toad Hall Bookstore and The Book Store of Gloucester.

Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000, ext. 3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com, or fax to 978-281-5748.

REMINDER-Charles A. Lowe Photos: Gloucester 1975

Posted on by Sharon

You have to see this!!

On exhibition through May 31, 2009

****Admission to the Cape Ann Museum will be free to all Cape Ann residents
every Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for the duration of the Charles A. Lowe exhibition.

Charles A. Lowe Photos: Gloucester 1975

Charlie Lowe was a deceptively great artist possessed unconsciously,
with an extraordinary ability to universalize what he saw in life.  It was
given to him, through his eyes to open ours. His wondrous images guide
us to the perception of something around us, in others, in ourselves,
that was truthful, essential, natural, optimistic I think, poignantly
human, and the essence of our Gloucester.
Joe Garland, foreword essay to Lowe’s book A Portrait of Gloucester, 1983.

From the archives of the Museum, a selection of Gloucester photos from the year 1975 by Charles A. Lowe, photographer for the Gloucester Daily Times from 1957 -1981.
The exhibition is organized by former editor of the Gloucester Daily Times, Peter Watson, and Fred Buck, photo archivist for the Museum.

**An 80 page exhibition catalogue will accompany the exhibition.
It is for sale through the Museum Shop for $25.00.

Copies of photographs from the Charles A. Lowe Archives are also available for purchase. Call the Museum’s Library/Archives for more information,
(978) 283-0455, ext. 19.

Things to do this weekend!

Posted on by Sharon

Around Cape Ann
Gail McCarthy- Gloucester Daily Times

“Spring Fling” Dance Party

New Year’s Rockport Eve 2008 Recovery Benefit will hold a “Spring Fling” Dance Party for all ages Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m. at Rockport Congregational Church’s function hall. The Fundamentals will perform classic and oldies rock ‘n’ roll from the ’60s through the ’80s. Admission is $10. Or, one can bring a donation of non-perishable food for the Cape Ann Food Pantry, for a $5 admission. Light refreshments will be available. For advance tickets, call 978-546-9038. Tickets also on sale at the door.

Roland Merullo, noted writer will speak

Rockport Public Library will host best-selling author Roland Merullo at the next session of its Meet the Author series on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. He will discuss his writing career and his latest work, “The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como.” The book captures a summer spent with his family enjoying the golf courses and cuisine of the Italian countryside. Merullo combines his two great passions, travel and golf, in a humorous and poignant look at Mediterranean life. Merullo grew up in Revere. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and Brown University, where he earned a Master’s in Russian language and literature. His essays have appeared in the New York Times, Outside, Yankee, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Travel and Leisure Golf and Links. Merullo also worked for the U.S. Information Agency in the former Soviet Union, served in the Peace Corps in Micronesia, has done carpentry, and taught creative writing and literature.

One-man Shakespeare show

To celebrate William Shakespeare’s 445th birthday, actor J.T. Turner brings his critically acclaimed one-man show, “Shakespeare’s Ghost” to the Ipswich Performing Arts Center tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

“The premise is this: What if Shakespeare has been haunting theaters for the last few hundred years? What might he say to a modern audience about his life, his work and the different ways his plays have been treated over the centuries?” said Turner. Using factual information and 18 pieces from various Shakespearean plays, he will take the audience on a tour of Shakespeare’s world and works.

“Even people who don’t like Shakespeare love this show. It is loaded with theater stories and behind-the-scenes tales from Elizabethan times right up to the present,” he said.

The event will benefit the Tiger Tots Daycare Program. For reservations and information, call 508-942-9938.

Eco film festival

Essex County Greenbelt and the Cape Ann Farmers’ Market are partnering with Cape Ann Community Cinema to present a week-long eco film festival to commemorate Earth Day. The “Green Day” series will feature thought-provoking films — some startling — about the environment and people working to create a sustainable future. The series culminates on Earth Day, April 22, with an evening gathering, appetizers and the film “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” at 7:15 p.m.

The films and show times are:

Tonight, “Burning the Future: Coal in America” at 7:15 p.m.

Tomorrow, “The Garden” at 7:15 p.m..

On Saturday, April 18, “Being Green” starring Elmo at 10:30 a.m., a free show for children; “Scarred Lands” at 12:30 p.m.; “Mama Earth/Crude Impact” at 2:45 p.m.; “Tapped” at 5 p.m.; and “The Garden” at 7:15 p.m.

Sunday, April 19, “No Wonder to Compare: The Marvel of Cetaceans” at 1:30 p.m., plus the bonus short “Disneyland Dream,” a 1956 home movie entered into the Library of Congress in 2008. Filmmaker Robbins Barstow, co-founder of the Connecticut Cetacean Society, will present both. The festival also will present a rare promotional film of Pleasure Island, Wakefield’s own “Disneyland Of The East.”

On Monday, April 20, “The Garden” at 7:15 p.m..

Tuesday is “Burning the Future: Coal in America” at 7:15 p.m.

The finale is next Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.

‘The Chalk Garden’ in the Pines

Theater in the Pines presents “The Chalk Garden” by Enid Bagnold from Thursday, April 23, through Sunday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. at Spiran Hall on Broadway in Rockport. The piece is a comedy, mystery and drama about a mysterious governess who turns an eccentric English household upside down by her insistence on truth.  The actors include  Jonathan Arnold, Lori Hahn, Allie Lees, Justine Curley, Martin Ray, Barbara Brewer, Bernadette Cruz, Anne Parsons, and Sarah Clark.

Stardust returns

“The Way It Used to Be,” the monthly night of dinner and dancing hosted by the musical group Stardust, is on tap for the Gloucester House on Friday, April 24. The evening features a classic night of dining and dancing. Ed Carfano and Stardust host the event, featuring music from the 1930s to the 1950s. The band’s initial goal was to bring this musical era back to life for the seniors of Gloucester, and the first events drew rave reviews.

The event once again will feature instruction in salsa dancing by Tina’s School of Dance from 6 to 7 p.m. Stardust will play from 7 to 10 p.m., and a buffet dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. The Gloucester House restaurant is located off Rogers Street at Seven Seas Wharf. To reserve tickets, call 978-283-1812.

LyricFlutes in Concert

LyricFlutes will performn Sunday at 3 p.m. in the sanctuary of The Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport, 4 Cleaves St. The program will include works from the flute repertoire by Vivaldi, Kuhlau, Pleyel, Tcherepnin, Moyse and Saito. Admission is $10. Reception to follow. LyricFlutes is a newly formed group dedicated to performing music composed for the flute in solo, duet, trio and quartet forms as well as in partnership with piano and organ. Since the group’s recent debut, audiences have responded enthusiastically to rarely heard virtuoso compositions from the baroque through modern periods. Members of the group include Jean Antrim, Fran Pierce, Joanne O’Connor, Valerie Roche and Jeanette Tausanovitch. Jocelyn Chaparro will assist on the piano and organ.

Hospital displays watercolors

Eight of Joan Jarmin’s floral watercolors are on display at the Pat Maynard Memorial Gallery in the lobby of Addison Gilbert Hospital during April. Jarmin studied at the DeCordova Museum School and the Montserrat School of Art in Beverly. She is an original member of the Cape Ann Watercolor Painters.

Spring Poetry Fest

In observance of National Poetry Month, the Rockport Public Library will hold a Spring Poetry Reading event with seven Cape Ann poets on Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. Ten members of the public will have an opportunity to join the local writers in reading their work.Poets Ray Bentley, Amy Dengler, Dodie Gibbons, Ruth Maassen, Gloria Masterson Richardson, Carol Seitchik, and Suellen Wedmore will each read three or four of their poems. Time will be allotted for ten other “open mike” poets to read a one-page poem on a first-come, first-served basis. The event is free and open to the public. The library is handicapped accessible.

Museum presents more Lowe slides

In conjunction with the exhibition “Charles A. Lowe Photos: Gloucester 1975,” Cape Ann Museum is presenting a second slide show, with commentary by Peter Watson, former editor of the Gloucester Daily Times, on Saturday at 11 a.m. To reserve a space, call 978-283-0455, ext. 11. This program is free. Many images in the show are ones that Lowe considered his favorites. The slide show also features images not included in the slide show program on March 21. The Lowe exhibit will be on view through May 31. A catalogue of Lowe images accompanies the exhibition. Reproductions of photos from the Charles A. Lowe archives are also available for purchase. The museum offers free admission every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon through the end of May. Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester. The museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information call 978-283-0455.

RAA Spring Photo Show

The Rockport Art Association is holding it annual Spring Photo show, which runs through May 5. There is a public reception Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. The event is free to the public. The $100 Gerald R. O’Brien Memorial Award of excellence in photography, went to Eoin Vincent for his work “Early Morning Light.” Honorable mentions went to Jeff Trubisz for “Fog Banks and Seastorks,” Richard Seeley for “Moose Shake” and Pegg Harold O’Brien for “Colors” Rockport Art Association is at 12 Main St. For information, call 978-546-6604.

Talk about nesting water birds

A talk about nesting water birds of the Essex County Islands takes place April 22 featuring the field ornithologist of the Essex County Ornithological Club, Jim Berry. Berry’s favorite activity is the study of birds, other wildlife, and plant communities in the context of their ecological relationships. He has been active in the Nest Record Program of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology for 30 years, has participated on breeding-bird-atlas projects in seven states, and has led field trips for various groups most of his adult life. The event takes place at 7 p.m. downstairs at Cruiseport Gloucester at 6 Rowe Square in Gloucester. Free admission. For more information call, 978-281-8079.

Marut returns to Cape Ann

The paths of Jesus and Buddha meet through the teachings of world renowned Buddhist monk, the Venerable Sumati Marut, who will give community talks in Essex from April 28 to 30. The event, “The Spiritual Teachings of Jesus and the Buddha” takes place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Essex Room at 27R Main St. (behind Woodman’s and on up the hill.) in Essex. Marut will lead this unique series of three interfaith teachings that will focus on the three primary components of these two spiritual traditions: renunciation, compassion and wisdom. For more information, visit http://www.aci-capeann.org.

Pioneer poetry

An evening of poetry, photography and song inspired by a collection of poems that record the voices of 19th century pioneer women as they and their families homesteaded the Okanogan Valley of Washington state will be the subject of a Gloucester Lyceum program tonight at 7 at Sawyer Free Library. The free event, “Oh How Can I Keep On Singing: Voices of Pioneer Women,” celebrates National Poetry Month. The program will be performed by Kathleen Adams, Barbara Braver, Geraldine Herbert and Kristina Martin and introduced by Jill Carter. Photographs of the Okanogan Valley taken by noted, local photographer Susan Oleksiw during her visit to the area last summer will be on display in the Matz Gallery.

Rocky Neck Gallery accepting new work

The Rocky Neck Gallery (formerly the Bryan Gallery) at 53 Rocky Neck Ave. is seeking new artists in all media for the summer season. Located on the water in the center of America’s oldest working art colony, the airy gallery is one of the most visible spots on Rocky Neck. It is run as a co-operative. A gift shop featuring cards, shrink-wrapped art and Giclées, crafts, and smaller affordable art pieces will be added this year. Artists’ work will be juried prior to acceptance. Anyone interested must submit an application by May 1. For information and application form, see http://www.rockyneckartcolony.org or call Susan Hershey at 978-546-9549.

Museum program for students during vacation

Cape Ann Museum invites students, ages 6 to 10, to a special vacation week program. Visit the museum April 21 to learn more about Gloucester’s ties to the Azores. Visit the museum April 23 to learn more about life in and around the salt marshes of Cape Ann. Each session will include an examination of art, artifacts and photographs from our collection, as well as an art activity. This is a drop off program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Cost is $5 per child. To register, call 978-283-0455, ext. 12, or e-mail courtneyrichardson@capeannmuseum.org.

Museum announces guided tours

Cape Ann Museum will provide weekly guided tours led by docents trained in teaching the public about the museum’s art and history collections this month. The tours are “Highlights of the Collection,” the Captain Elias Davis House, and the Fitz Henry Lane Collection. Tours are free with the price of admission. Tours for April and May are as follows:

Highlights of the Collection: Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Captain Elias Davis House: Saturdays April 18 and May 2, 16, 30 at 2 p.m.

Fitz Henry Lane Collection: Saturdays April 25 and May 9, 23 at 2 p.m.

Visit http://www.capeannmuseum.org for further details. The museum also provides tours to private groups through advance reservation. To book a private tour, contact Jeanette Smith at 978-283-0455, ext. 11.

Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000, ext. 3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com.

Beginner Spring Birding at Halibut Point April 19

Rockport – Beginner Spring Birding will be held Sunday, April 19, from 8-10 a.m. at Halibut Point State Park, sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations and The Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Stroll around Halibut Point, learn the basics of birding, history, and hear the symphony of some of our area’s spring birds. Meet at Halibut Point parking area. Admission is free.

For more information, call Halibut Point State Park 978-546-2997 or The Trustees at 978-921-1944 ext. 4013.

Activities for kids abound during vacation week-

Looking for something to do with the kids while they are out of school next week? Wellspring Cape Ann Families is offering a number of free events.And there plenty going on at the YMCA, the Cape Ann Museum, and Art Haven. Check out the schedule here

What’s happening around town?

Posted on by Sharon

Events showcase Gloucester’s WPA murals

Around Cape Ann
Gail McCarthy

Residents have two chances to view some of the city’s historic murals in the next few days.

Cape Ann Museum is offering the earliest, when it will present “Howard Curtis and Gloucester’s Works Progress Administration Murals,” a walking tour with Susan Erony on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

The second is when O’Maley Middle School opens its doors to allow public viewing of its murals Tuesday evening in conjection with a student art show.

Among Gloucester’s treasures are its collection of murals painted as part of the Federal Art Project of the 1930s Works Progress Administration. City Hall and Sawyer Free Library were two beneficiaries of the marriage between a vibrant local arts community and a federal government program.

The tour will focus on murals in those buildings by Charles Allen Winter, Frederick J. Mulhaupt and Frederick Stoddard, as well as the late Howard Curtis. Years after they were painted, Curtis was responsible for saving the WPA murals when few other people understood their social, historical and aesthetic value.

Saturday’s walking tour includes a visit to the museum’s exhibition of seascapes by Curtis (1906-1989). The tour will stop at City Hall auditorium for a look at the social, political, artistic and historic context for the murals, as well as Sawyer Free Library to view murals by Frederick Stoddard, who was assisted by Curtis. There will be time for questions and discussion.

Erony is an artist and a freelance art lecturer, educator, writer and curator. She has consulted with organizations on issues of art and society, taught and lectured on both art history and art practice. She served on the Gloucester Committee for the Arts, where much of her work focused on Gloucester’s collection of WPA-funded murals. Erony attended Rhode Island School of Design, Massachusetts College of Art, Lesley University and the University for Humanistic Studies in Utrecht, Holland. Her artwork, focusing primarily on history and the human condition, has been exhibited extensively in Europe, Canada and the United States and is in many private and public collections.

Funding for this program was made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Reservations are required; call Jeanette Smith at 978-283-0455, x11. The museum is located at 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester.

O’Maley Middle School in Gloucester will host “Vanilla, Strawberry, Picasso,” a celebration of student work and an ice cream social featuring student masterpieces. As part of the evening’s events, residents can see the WPA murals by Cape Ann’s Mulhaupt (1871-1938), who is best known for capturing the era of the “New Deal.” The paintings, worth an estimated $1.1 million, are open to viewing by the public inside the middle school on Tuesday, April 14, from 6 to 8 p.m.. This event is part of a community outreach plan to promote the school’s commitment to high standards of academic excellence and community involvement.

“This event is centered on the students, staff, and all the great things that they are doing to further O’Maley Middle School as a place where students can thrive and succeed,” said O’Maley Principal Michael Tracy. “This is an opportunity for our school to open its doors to the public and feature exemplary pieces of students’ work in addition to sharing some influential art work.”

Baird performing with jazz quartet

“Singing columnist” Gordon Baird will be the featured vocalist for the Mark Early Jazz Quartet tonight from 7 to 9 at Latitude 43 restaurant in Gloucester.

Baird is known for his Gloucester Daily Times columns, sailing exploits and local TV show and has appeared in musicals at North Shore Music Theatre, Boston’s Lyric Stage and Reagle Players. Baird is also known for his Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett picks as well as selected show tunes.

Early, a member of Roomful of Blues, regularly hosts a rotating cadre of jazz players and singers from Boston to the North Shore. Special guest vocalists are expected.

For more info, call 978-281-0223.

1980s-style prom event with Safety

Gulu Gulu Cafe will present a 1980s-style prom event to raise money for HIV prevention on Saturday with the dance band Safety, featuring several Cape Ann musicians. The band rocks the house at the “Pretty In Pink 1980s Prom” event at the Salem cafe, located at 247 Essex St., starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 each. Those attending are invited to don their rubber bracelets, neon leggings,and prom dresses, and reach new heights with hair spray. In addition to live music from Safety, the event includes DJ Express spinning ’80s favorites, video clips, a special performance from drag diva Blanch Debris, prom photos in front of a vintage ’80s backdrop, raffle, prizes for best ’80s outfit and dance skills, and a buffet. Tickets can be purchased at the cafe in advance or at the door.

Safety covers a spectrum of ’80s dance music, including songs by Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Depeche Mode, Pat Benatar, The Cure, Culture Club, Billy Idol and Prince. The band features Brian King on vocals and keys, Kascia Murray on vocals, Ann Marie Shimanoski on vocals, Guy Fiero on vocals, Tony Goddess on guitar and keys, Daniel King on bass, and Dennis Monagle on drums and vocals. For information, call the café at 978-740-8882 or visit http://www.gulu-gulu.com.

Rockport egg hunt

The Rockport Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the 19th annual Community Egg Hunt for the local children at Millbrook Meadow on Saturday at 2 p.m., weather and meadow conditions permitting. Preschoolers will be grouped in one section, and kindergartners and first-graders in another. In addition to assorted candies, the hunt will feature a number of special eggs to be redeemed for prizes.

Cape Ann Community Cinema

This week, Cape Ann Community Cinema is screening “Wendy and Lucy” from Friday to Sunday, at 5 and 7:15 p.m.

The film, described as a poetic road drama, stars Academy Award-nominee Michelle Williams as Wendy Carroll, who is driving to Ketchikan, Alaska, in hopes of a finding summer work at the Northwestern Fish cannery, and the start of a new life with her dog, Lucy. When her car breaks down in Oregon, however, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she confronts a series of increasingly dire economic decisions, with far-ranging repercussions for herself and her dog. “Wendy and Lucy addresses issues of sympathy and generosity at the edges of American life, revealing the limits and depths of people’s duty to each other in tough times,” according to a film description.

This Saturday features “Opera on the Island” with the HD screening of “Don Carlo” by Verdi at 1 p.m.

The version inaugurated the 2008-09 La Scala Opera Season. It is the 1884 four-act version that Verdi reduced and changed into Italian from the original 1867 five-act version in French. The story is based on conflicts in the life of the Prince of Asturias, after his betrothed, Elisabeth of Valois, was married instead to his father, Philip II of Spain, as part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551-1559 between the Houses of Habsburg and Valois, according to a press release.

The films are shown at Gloucester Stage Co. at 267 East Main St. in Gloucester. For tickets and showtimes, visit http://www.capeanncinema.com.

Local photographers at gallery reception

Photographic works by Rockport Art Association members David Piemonte and Law Hamilton are part of a new show on display at the Mingo Gallery at 284 Cabot St. in Beverly. The gallery is hosting an artists reception Saturday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The artists will be on hand to talk about their works, and wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. The gallery is showcasing the photos of six artists: Piemonte, Hamilton, Jeffrey Trubisz of Salem, whose work has been shown at the Rockport Art Association, Mike Otis of Beverly, and Ed and Dorothy Monnelly of Ipwsich. The works include portraits of jazz musicians, landscape and architectural studies, as well as still lifes. The show runs through May 16. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, or by appointment. More information is available by calling 978-927-5964.

Museum presents Family Free Day

Cape Ann Museum presents a free drop-in program for families on the second Saturday of each month. Family free day includes admission for family members all day, family gallery guides, art and history activities in the education room, and light refreshments served throughout the day. Stop by this Saturday for activities related to “Howard A. Curtis, Seascapes” exhibition. The museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. For information, call 978- 283-0455.

Franklin Fridays

For the “Franklin Fridays” Supper Club,  Gloucester vocalist Linda Amero will be featuring Boston musicians Joe Mullholland on piano and Bronek Suchanek on bass at the Franklin Cafe, 118 Main St., Gloucester, this Friday from  7 to 10 p.m.  There is no cover charge but reservations recommended.

Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000, ext. 3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com, or fax to 978-281-5748.

Charles A. Lowe Photos: Gloucester 1975

Posted on by Sharon
Joey P's uncle Fred Frontiero(right) and unle Pat in the FBI building. Unclle Fred kicked Joey off this couch by saying that Joey hadn't earned the right to lounge on it since he had just started working there.
Joey P's uncle Fred Frontiero(right) and uncle Pat in the FBI building. Uncle Fred kicked Joey off this couch by saying that Joey hadn't earned the right to lounge on it since he had just started working there.

Yesterday I went to the Cape Ann Museum to see the Charlie Lowe (no relation that I can tell) photo exhibit. If you were around in the 60’s and 70’s and were old enough to read the newspaper, you will love this exhibit. Not only are the prints technically superb, but the who, what, where is incredible.

I remember so many of the photos from when were printed in the paper, and others brought back memories of 34 years ago before our lives went into overdrive. I bumped into Joey Palmisano and his sister Kathy who grew up in the Fort. What memories they had! They could identify many more people than I could. It was great hanging out with them, and each of us adding our bits of memories – mine of Magnolia and theirs of their Italian heritage and growing up in the Fort.

In the photos, I noticed that cigars, cigarettes and pipes were prominent in many of the photos, and without looking at smoking as a negative, it added to the scene and mood where the viewer could almost read the mind of the person.

One photo of a squirrel sitting on a fireman’s shoulders made me almost cry. My dad, who was a fireman in West Gloucester at the time, was one of the guys who adopted the squirrel and made him a firehouse mascot. Man, I miss my dad.

Joey’s graduating class photo was taken aboard the Judith Lee Rose. That photo was there. Kathy pointed out classmates, relatives, and friends. For me it was Doc Vieria in the huge mirror at the drugstore in Magnolia where we all hung out as teens.

It was those memories that this exhibit brings out. More than a pretty picture, these photos pull you in and you feel so Gloucester. Everyone should see this. It was different time, a different life, but so much our home.

What’s your Saturday look like?

Posted on by Sharon

gardening

Some people have certain chores or errands they do every Saturday. They do laundry, banking, baking, shopping, visit a relative, etc. Others wing it. Usually that’s what I do.

It depends almost entirely on the weather. If it was warm and sunny today, I would have taken a short bike ride after breakfast. Or go out and look for signs of spring with the camera.

But since today’s kinda iffy, I think I’ll go down and see the Charlie Lowe photography exhibit at the Cape Ann Museum. It’s free on Saturday mornings for locals. Then visit my Mom for a while. I also want to go look at mountain bikes. But I’ll have my camera with me…just in case.

So what are your plans today? Are you a routine person or do you go with whatever comes up?

More events happening around town

Posted on by Sharon

Around Cape Ann
Gail McCarthy (Gloucester Daily Times)

Spring Splash event with Gloucester Stage

The Gloucester Stage Company kicks off the season with a gathering featuring this year’s stars of its stage on Monday, April 6, at Latitude 43 at 7 p.m. Those attending the “Spring Splash” can mingle with actors as Gloucester Stage prepares for its 30th anniversary season.

This one-night only event will feature a special performance by Mary Callanan and accompanist Brian Patton. Callanan will play the role of Lucy van Pelt in the opening musical production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” There also will be an exclusive guest appearance by Karen MacDonald, director of last year’s hit thriller “The Woman In Black.” She will star in the upcoming production of “Last of the Red Hot Lovers!”

For more information, visit http://www.gloucesterstage.org.

Spring concert by Sorellanza

Sorellanza, a Cape Ann women’s chorus directed by Patti Pike, will present a concert of songs filled with hope and light at its spring concert titled “Dreams to wish upon.” The performance includes songs both old and new from near and far in search of that bright morning star that guides travellers. This is the last of three shows. The group will perform on Sunday, April 5 at 4 p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Church at 225 Cabot St. in Beverly. Admission is $10. For more information, contact Anne Stevens, 978-281-6417.

“So Sexy so Soon”

Parents and residents are asked to attend a program on Saturday about a topical issue. The program titled “So Sexy so Soon: and What Parents Can Do to Protect their Kids” takes place on April 4 from 9 a.m. to noon at O’Maley Middle School Auditorium featuring Professor Diane E. Levin, an expert on the impact of media on youth. The presentation will be followed by questions and discussion, possible local approaches to the issue. The program is appropriate for teens, older youth and adults. There will be limited child care available by reservation. Call 978-281-2477 to pre-register. Light refreshments will be served. This event is sponsored by The Cape Ann School Safety Committee, Gloucester Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership, The Coalition for the Prevention of Domestic Abuse and The Gloucester Bookstore.

Open house

Marty Morgan will hold her annual spring open house and sale from April 4 to April 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Her work has an Asian influence this year as she develops new shino glazes, which range from smoky grays to apricot and rust tones. There is little control over the results of firing this particular glaze. Inspired by reading Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea,” she will donate half of the price of any set of three small cups to the Central Asia Institute, which is building schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also creates dinnerware and serving pieces in stoneware and porcelain as well as trays, vases, lamps, mirrors, landscape tiles and “quarry vessels.” The studio is located at 428 Washington St. on the Mill River in Gloucester. For information, call 978-281-3347.

Local acts and arts

Franklin Friday Jazz features the Linda Amero Trio this week with Jane Potter on piano and John Turner on bass. The Franklin is at 118 Main St. in Gloucester. The jazz is from 7 to 10 p.m. No cover.

The Walker Creek Band will perform at Elliot’s at the Blackburn on Saturday, April 4, at 8 p.m. The group has entertained audiences for the past 26 years.

Local Colors Artists’ Cooperative at 121 Main St. in Gloucester is featuring handmade Easter gifts and cards, through April 12. For hours and information, call 978-283-3996 or visit http://www.local-colors.org.

Museum offers free admission on Saturdays

In conjunction with the current exhibition “Charles A. Lowe Photos: Gloucester 1975” the Cape Ann Museum is offering free admission to the community every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon through the end of May. Lowe, an award-winning photographer, worked at the Gloucester Daily Times from 1957 to 1981.

The museum invites members of the community to assist in the identification of the people, places, and events that Lowe captured on film. A catalogue of Lowe images accompanies the exhibition. Reproductions of photos are also available for purchase. The museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. The museum is wheelchair accessible. For information call 978-283-0455 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.

Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000, ext. 3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com, or fax to 978-281-5748.

Reminders- What’s happening around town

Posted on by Sharon

MAGNOLIA: A BRIEF HISTORY with AUTHOR LISA PEEK RAMOS

Sawyer Free Library and Gloucester Lyceum

Tonight, March 26, 2009 at 7 pm on the main floor

Lisa will be doing a power point presentation of her book and Magnolia’s History

Hope to see you there.

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Admission to the Cape Ann Museum will be free to all Cape Ann residents every Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for the duration of the Charles A. Lowe exhibition, March 7 – May 31, 2009.