Two years ago – This week- GDT
Tag: Gloucester Daily Times
It Ain’t Over -We’re Sick And Tired And We’re Not Gonna Take It Any More
Many of you read my outrage when finding out about The Man At The Wheel being bumped off the Massachusetts Quarter in favor of a park in Lowell. The outpouring of disgust in this decision has been overwhelming. People have been asking what we can do, who we can call, what letters we can write.
Well Ray Lamont, Editor of The Gloucester Daily Times contacted me yesterday and asked what I had planned if anything and if we should try to make a difference. So we’re teaming up and looking for all the help we can get in getting this petition out to folks. Ray put together this letter addressed to Senator Kerry and Congressman Tierney-
I will be printing them out as a petition and bringing them to our local coffee shops and retailers. I will also have a link to it in pdf form which you will be able to click and print and send in yourself.
Enough is enough. We don’t get our fair share of school funding, they build huge research facilities in Woods Hole on the South Shore, they castrate our fishermen and consolidate our fishing industry through regulations, they force our harbor to remain in a DPA “for the good of the Commonwealth” while we get no benefits from it, and when it’s finally time to for us to get a little positive recognition- voted on by over 4 to 1 by the people and on a voting system put forth from the state itself, we get bumped in favor of a building in Lowell. A building that could be placed anywhere. The Man at the Wheel is uniquely Gloucester, Uniquely Massachusetts.
We’re sick and tired and we’re not gonna take it anymore.
WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?
Here’s the form, copy and paste it and send it in. By Monday we will have it around town at the coffee shops and I’ll post a list of other places for you to sign.
U.S. Senator John Kerry
U.S. Representative John Tierney
September 2009
Dear Sen. Kerry and Congressman Tierney,
I, the undersigned, respectfully request that you petition Congress to ask that the U,S, Mint revisit its decision to select the Lowell National Historical Park over the Gloucester Fishermen’s Memorial Man At The Wheel statute as the featured image on the back of the next edition of the Massachusetts quarter.
While we recognize that, due to miscommunication, there is now a belated question as to the Man At The Wheel’s eligibility for this honor, it’s important to note that the Man At The Wheel, an iconic symbol of the role of fishermen in the heritage of Gloucester and in Massachusetts, drew the support of more than 109,000 voters in the online poll commissioned and promoted by the office of Gov. Deval Patrick to make this choice based on the will of Massachusetts’ citizens,
For the U.S. Mint to unilaterally override that decision stands as a slap in the face to the people of Gloucester, to the governor’s office that coordinated the polling, and especially to all of the Massachusetts residents who took the time to make their feelings known regarding the Man at the Wheel and all that it represents.
We thank you in advance for your consideration.
Name Address
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Shore-side fun for festival visitors
By Gail McCarthy
Staff Writer– Gloucester Daily Times
The Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, now in its 10th year, has created a special day for land-bound visitors to the Schooner Festival.
Landlubbers will have a smorgasbord of activities to choose from during its seventh Heritage Day this Saturday.
“We’re pleased that we can participate to provide more land-based activities, for families in particular, because there are lots of wonderful things to see, but for many of them you have to be on the water. So the Heritage Day allows us to give exposure to many things,” center director Harriet Webster said.
The center’s exhibits and aquarium will be open free of charge throughout the day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Canada’s Bluenose II will be berthed at the center from tomorrow through Monday and will offer free public deck tours Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and at other times to be decided throughout the weekend. Other vessels docked at the center and available for dockside viewing include the Roseway, the Pride of Baltimore and the Unicorn.
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Survival tips for Triathlon Weekend
Canal closure, road travel, best places to park and watch
By Jonathan L’Ecuyer
Staff Writer– Gloucester Daily Times
After more than a year of planning, thousands of spectators are expected to descend upon downtown Gloucester this weekend to cheer on the nearly 900 athletes participating in the city’s inaugural triathlon.
Formulating the most effective parking and spectator viewing plans was no small task for triathlon organizers, but with help from Gloucester Police, the Public Works Department, numerous volunteers and even the Coast Guard, the city believes it is fully prepared to safely handle the onslaught of humanity.
The Gloucester Triathlon, the brainchild of Gloucester native and professional triathlete Janda Ricci-Munn and Bill Burnett of Cohasset, has engaged the community in a special way, said Gloucester Fishermen Athletic Association (GFAA) co-President Dick Wilson.
“The cooperation we’ve received from everybody in the community has been phenomenal,” Wilson said yesterday.
According to Burnett, the inaugural race field has closed; it boasts 26 relays teams of two or three people and 797 individual competitors.
For Boating, Parking, and all info Triathlon related, click here.
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Local Newspapers In The Digital Age
Had a conversation with Jack Morris, the editor of North Shore Magazine yesterday about blogging and the newspaper business. Jack worked for Fox as their web manager for a while and now is the man at North Shore Magazine. Look for one of my photos in the next edition.
We spoke for a while about newspapers and what way it seems they are evolving in the digital age- agreeing that the newspapers that ignore or do not embrace social online networking to it’s fullest extent are doomed to fail.
People in conversations weekly tell me that they love GMG and that I should start an alternative to the Times. Firstly I am flattered by the suggestion but in reality what we do on GMG is nothing like what goes into putting out a daily newspaper and the local newspapers are crucial to keep going and support.
See, we get to choose fun stuff and things that matter to us to put into GMG. We don’t have to report on the puss. We don’t have to attend tax classification hearings or talk about the police or fire department negotiations with the city. We don’t have to do the obituaries or stories about Marshalls coming to town. We do stuff because we love it or we think you our readers will love it. It’s similar but a different animal what we do and what the newspaper does.
My grammar sucks and if it weren’t for spellcheck my spelling really sucks. I make mistakes and sometimes don’t bother to correct them because I know my point got across. If the local paper makes spelling or grammar mistakes people get all up in their shit.
I guess if you are a paid journalist you should be able to use proper punctuation but I never claimed to be a journalist. I’m a blogger and my job as a blogger is to keep you entertained and to fill my creative needs. I think for the most part we accomplish that here at GMG but please don’t confuse us for a newspaper or take our local newspapers for granted. They keep honest politicians honest and report on the stuff that would slip between the cracks because bloggers would never bother with the little stories and the police notes and all the comprehensive stuff that makes up our newspapers.
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Chickity Check It!- Cape Ann BeerandBlog Article In GDT
Last Friday Scott Pytlik from the Gloucester Daily Times emailed asking if I was interested in writing a piece about CapeAnnBeerandBlog. he had pitched the idea to editor Ray Lamont and once Ray green lighted it I hammered out the basics.
Scott asked if I could also try to explain the differences between bloggers, message board posters, and online commenting for less web savvy folks.
The first few meet-ups we had at Cape Ann Brewing were great and I’m looking forward to getting more folks involved to collaborate and help each other out over cold adult beverages. 🙂
Here’s the article in the Gloucester Daily Times
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Richard Gaines- The Interview Part II
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Richard Gaines- The Interview Part I
Click The Picture To View The Video Interview
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Journey tribute group’s show to rock Gloucester House Saturday
By Gloucester Times Staff
The music of Journey — the 1970s and 1980s group that, with lead singer Steve Perry at the helm, churned out hits such as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Foolish Heart,” “Oh Sherrie,” “Open Arms” and more — will be ringing loud and clear in Gloucester this Memorial Day weekend.
A performance called Captured — The Journey Show, featuring a Boston-based Journey tribute band, will be playing Saturday night at The Gloucester House, with tickets priced at $10 and doors set to open for the show at 8 p.m.
Unlike other tribute acts, Captured — the Journey Show isn’t merely pegged as a tribute band.
The show is billed as one of the country’s premier tributes to Steve Perry and Journey, covering all of the hits from the late 1970s though the 1990s, including some rare cuts. But the performers view themselves as a “cast,” with John Robert Murphy playing the role of Perry, who was Journey’s front man before deciding and announcing in 1987 that he was “toast” and that it was time to leave the group. Journey has reformed and carried on — without Perry — and is once again touring more than two decades later.
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Ron Gilson’s Letter To The Editor In The GDT
Letter to the editor: City must generate more tax revenue from waterfront
May 16, 2009 05:27 am
To the editor:
This is an open message to Michael David Rubin and his My View. (The Times, May 11).
I pass this along from a concerned citizen — for what I have to say is true and is appalling.
Mr. Rubin, whatever disagreement you have with Mayor Kirk and her community development director is between the parties; I will not go there. I also will not comment on Mayor Kirk’s Harbor Initiative. I’ve done enough commenting on well meaning, civic-minded harbor planning committees, dating back to the mid 1960s when I served on Mayor Donald Lowe’s Harbor Planning Committee.
About seven of us met for two years on a bi-weekly basis, and spent $10,000 of the city’s money on a professional feasibility study by consultants Metcalf & Eddy. The end result … nothing.
Out of curiosity, I recently attempted to obtain a copy of “our” study to no avail; it has vanished. I do know that, by the time it was published, two years had passed, administrations had changed, interest had waned, and apparently our Harbor Study Report went unrecognized, possibly placed into the round file.
In your “My View” piece, I take issue with your opinion that our harbor and its once primary revenue source, commercial fishing, may still return, not only stronger, but as a vital resource.
The persistent theme of turning Gloucester into a tourist-oriented economy repeats the old threat — destructive residential development of our waterfront. These same scare tactics were around 40 years ago when our Harbor Study Committee met.
Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, the only family member surviving the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam in World War II, on the dedication of the Anne Frank House in 1967, said this, “to build a future, you have to know the past.”
In 1949, when Gloucester’s 200 boats, 2,000 fishermen, and 2,500 wharf workers were landing and processing millions of pounds of edible fish daily, routinely breaking annual records of 300 million to 500 million pounds of redfish and whiting, you, Mr. Rubin, were 6 years old!
While everyone hopes for a fish comeback, I ask you, define “comeback.” Gloucester’s peak fish production was in 1949, ’50, ’51. It has gone downhill steadily since.
At the height of our highest fish production, when every pound of fish had to be filleted, packed and frozen, that entire task was accomplished on no more than 60 percent of the then-available wharfage. At least 40 percent of our waterfront wharfage real estate was unused!
Mr. Rubin, the above is all history, but it’s where Gloucester was in the late 1940s, when fishing was Gloucester’s primary revenue source. To infer that our waterfront will ever approach even 25 percent of that production is preposterous. To continue to hold out hope for any fishing fleet revival, warranting the reserving of additional wharfage and, or waterfront frontage, is ridiculous, plain and simple. It’s more, it’s downright fraudulent!
I can give you many reasons for the current dire state of Gloucester’s commercial fishing industry.
Along the periphery of our harbor from the Fort to East Gloucester, there are 79 strictly waterfront properties within the DPA (Designated Port Area). Official city records indicate these properties pay a total of $741,000 in real estate taxes. Our entire real estate tax revenues are $56.7 million.
Gloucester’s budget is $81 million, as recently submitted. Our waterfront is paying approximately 1-1âÑ2 percent of our actual total tax revenue!
In other words, approximately 98 percent of Gloucester’s real estate taxpayers are subsidizing your alleged “primary revenue source,” Gloucester harbor waterfront businesses. And you, my concerned citizen, continue to advocate for industrial-only expansion while prime water frontage lies fallow, in some cases over 40 years!
Mr. Rubin, the people of Gloucester deserve an income-producing Gloucester waterfront. Our children and grandchildren deserve better. Our Gloucester waterfront must step up to the plate and pay its fair share.
Our city councilors must address the larger need of our entire real estate taxpayer population and our city government must accept the reality that our once-dominant fishing industry, as we knew it, has changed forever.
Ron Gilson
Gloucester
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What’s happening today around town?
From the Times:
Friday, May 15
Preschool story time, for children ages 3 to 5, 10 to 10:45 a.m., Sawyer Free Library.
Council on Aging Coffee Talk program, 10 a.m., Rose Baker Senior Center. Peter Jenner presents “National Parks of Arizona, Utah and Wyoming.” Light refreshments served. 978-281-9765.
Constituent services, 11:30 a.m., Rose Baker Senior Center. Senior aide Cheryl Gresek from the office of Congressman John Tierney available. Call 978-281-9765 to schedule an appointment, or stop in.
Holy Family Parish bingo, 6:30 p.m., Monsignor Sullivan Hall, St. Ann Church, Gloucester. Anyone 18 and over invited. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Proceeds support Holy Family Parish. 978-281-4820.
Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe’s “Twelfth Night,” 8 p.m., Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main St. Advance tickets available at Toad Hall Bookstore in Rockport and The Bookstore in Gloucester, or online at http://www.mktix.com/cast. Tickets, $15 and $10 for students and seniors, available at the door.
Spring Music Festival, 8 p.m., Blackburn Performing Arts, 1 Washington St. Features Gary Backstrom Band. $10. For reservations or information, call 978-281-0680.
And from the Beacon:
School Connection Spelling Bee
The Gloucester School Connection will host a Spelling Bee on Friday, May 15, 7 to 9 pm, at the O’Maley Middle School Auditorium. All are welcome.
Funds raised by teams of four adult spellers and sponsors from the community will help the Gloucester School Connection support innovative programs and projects throughout the public schools. Read more here.
FOR MORE EVENTS THIS WEEKEND, CLICK HERE.
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What’s Happening Around Town
Click on the red link below to take you to Gail’s Column-
Art installation and celebration at Halibut Point
Cape Ann Cinema
Celebrating Burton
Schooner open house
Sargent Museum to host birthday party
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Celebrating the Earth ‘Green’ events abound as Earth Day draws near
By Andrea Holbrook
Gloucester Daily Times Staff Writer
No need to worry about not going green.
The communities of Cape Ann are celebrating Earth Day with movies, organized cleanups, a whale watch and art activities while spreading environmentally friendly messages.
So whether you try to be “green” year-round, or just want to try for a day, there’s probably an activity suited to you.
Here’s what Cape Ann is doing to mark the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, which is April 22.
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Things to do this weekend!
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
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What’s happening around town?
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.
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Paint Factory Update
Last night Joey posted an amazing walk-through video of the Paint Factory from last September.
For those of you who don’t get the Gloucester Daily Times or read it online, this article ran yesterday and will give you a good idea of the latest happenings concerning the Paint Factory.
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More events happening around town
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.
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Welcome Gloucester Daily Times Readers
For those of you finding our blog through the Gloucester Daily Times Community Blog Website –
Welcome!
Make yourself at home, kick back and enjoy the show. If you have any suggestions for local topics you would like covered, feel free to leave comments. It’s our way to know what you would like to see or how we can improve.
Let’s Rock!
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Worth Seeing!
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On exhibition March 7 through May 31, 2009
****Admission to the 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.
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 7 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Remarks at 3:30 p.m.
Slide presentation with Peter Watson, former editor, The Gloucester Daily Times
Saturday, March 21 at 3:00 p.m.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Support for this exhibition is generously provided by
the Cape Ann Savings Bank,
the Gloucester Daily Times and the Cricket Press.
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Joe Borge At The Lone Gull 10K
Click this text for a link to The Gloucester Daily Times Lone Gull Article
Joe Borge Lone Gull Mastermind, originally uploaded by captjoe06.
Good Morning Gloucester 