A place where non-profit Cape Ann organizations can post press releases directly and then those press releases will be reposted to http://www.goodmorninggloucester.com . This is not an advertising space for businesses, fitness or wellness organizations, or music listings.
The web address will be http://www.capeanncommunity.com
To have your community organization news posted here, contact Joey C who will grant access for you to post directly.
Forget waiting until December – The Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund is getting into the holiday spirit this summer! Action Inc., Pathways for Children, and Wellspring House are thrilled to announce Christmas in July, a fun, festive summer fundraising campaign to make sure every child on Cape Ann receives something special this holiday season. Think ugly sweaters optional, generosity required.
While the days are long and the beaches are busy, Cape Ann’s nonprofit community is already thinking about the 1,400 children across Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, and Ipswich who deserve a magical holiday season – no matter what their family’s budget looks like. With the cost of housing, groceries, and daily essentials continuing to stretch family budgets thin, getting a head start now means more toys, more books, more pajamas, and more smiles come December.
So, this July, we’re asking Cape Ann to do what it does best, show up for its neighbors, and have a great time while doing it.
About the Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund
The Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund is a collaboration between Action Inc., Pathways for Children, and Wellspring House, Inc. For Cape Ann families struggling to make ends meet with prices for daily needs at an all-time high, the Fund’s holiday toy drive provides much-needed relief and helps brighten the holiday season for local children. Over two days this December, nearly 700 parents and caregivers will take part in an in-store toy shopping experience, selecting age-appropriate gifts for more than 1,400 local children from toys donated by community members and gift cards purchased through donations. Volunteers throughout Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, and Ipswich help sort donations, set up the holiday store, and serve as personal shoppers.
Get Out, Give Back: Benefit Events Across Cape Ann
A growing roster of Cape Ann restaurants, venues, and businesses are hosting Cape Ann Kids benefit events this July, with a percentage of proceeds going directly to the Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund. From dining out to special events, there are plenty of ways to get involved and make a difference. Confirmed participants include Machaca, Beauport Hotel, Gloucester House, Fox Creek Tavern, The Farm, and more. Participating partners span Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, and Ipswich. For the full updated list visit capeannkids.org.
Among the highlights, Christmas in July will take over the Birdseye Rooftop at Beauport Hotel on the evening of Saturday, July 25th for a festive evening of live music, décor, and sunset skies with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund. This 21+ event requires advance tickets. Details and tickets are available HERE.
The Grand Finale: Concert on Meetinghouse Green
Christmas in July wraps up on Friday, July 31 at 6:00 PM with a magical evening concert as part of Music on Meetinghouse Green, presented by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation. The night features a performance by Rhiannon Hurst & Friends, with Pathways for Children as the evening’s beneficiary, every dollar raised goes directly to the Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund. Everyone is encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, friends, and holiday spirit. In July.
How to Spread the Joy
Stop by downtown Gloucester’s farmers market, the Backyard Growcery, brought to life by Backyard Growers every Wednesday from 2:30-6:30pm at Burnham’s Field in downtown Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The Backyard Growcery brings fresh, local food to our community while supporting small-scale farms and up-and-coming food businesses. Visit weekly to shop high-quality, local produce, eggs, and other fresh and prepared foods. Join free veggie gardening and arts workshops, connect with family & friends, and support a vibrant local food system right in your own backyard!
The Growcery accepts SNAP/EBT, WIC and Senior Farmers Market Coupons. SNAP users can visit the Backyard Growers table every week to receive extra cash to spend at the market through Market Mint, Backyard Growers’ $5 SNAP match.
To kick off the season, on July 8 we are welcoming:
🥖 Bonny Breads – delicious bread & baked goods
🥪 Between Sandwiches – incredible prepared foods
🔨 The Cornerstone Creative – youth-crafted wood creations
🥕 First Light Farm – fresh produce from Hamilton
🐣 Pleasant Valley Gardens: The Bonanno Family Farm – fresh produce & eggs from Methuen
🍕 Rhea Pizzeria Napoletana – artisanal pizza to pre-order online and enjoy at the market
🥤 Shore Sips – the North Shore’s only dirty soda company
🌱 SweetSoil Foods – dried herbs & spices, natural snacks, and cocktail enhances from local organic produce
🥨 The Woven Crust – a hyper-local sourdough cottage bakery
🍄🟫 Underground Mushroom Co – fresh mushrooms & mushroom grow kits
Bring a blanket or lawn chair to enjoy live music by 2 Guys, 10 Strings.
Plus, Burnham’s Field Community Garden will be open for public tours.
See you at Burnham’s!
The Gloucester Rotary will publish a 12-month Cape Ann photo calendar for 2027 as a fundraiser. All profits will go to the Gloucester Rotary’s many community and international activities.
The 2027 calendar theme will be The Seasons of Cape Ann. In Order to publish a beautiful calendar, the Club is requesting high quality digital photos that reflect the amazing beauty of Cape Ann throughout the year. As we will be featuring one photo per month, we need images from each season: winter, spring, summer and fall. Photographs from Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester will be accepted.
Full contest rules and requirements are available online at gloucesterrotary.org. All entries must be received by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, August 14, 2026.
More information about the Rotary Club of Gloucester is available online at https://gloucesterrotary.org/ and https://facebook.com/RotaryGloucesterMA .
The mission of Rotary International is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
The Shipyard is pulling out all the stops to make sure you (and your kids, and your family) have a great summer. Their calendar is full of fun and unique experiences for all. I can’t remember a better line up if activities…
You absolutely have to visit this preserved historic site on the shores that launched over 4000 (and counting) ships for well over 350 (and counting) years. It doesn’t get more authentic than that! Learn from the best in the shadows of giants and make your own history today. These are only some of the fun things happening in education. Check out the rest at
https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/
Date and Time:
Saturday Jul 18, 2026
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Location:
Stage Fort Park
24 Hough Avenue
Gloucester, MA 01930
Fees/Admission:
Advance Purchase General Admission – $45
At the Door General Admission – $50
Designated Driver – $10
Click here to purchase tickets: blackburnbrewfest.com
Website:
blackburnbrewfest.com
Contact Information:
Call 978-283-1601
Send Email
Blackburn Brew Fest 2026:
The current list of sponsors is:
Growler:
Discover Gloucester
Ocean Breeze Cultivators
Reverie 73
Renewal by Andersen
Cape Ann Savings
Pint:
BankGloucester
Cape Ann Motor Inn
Flight
Burgin Platner Insurance
Cape Ann Lanes/Laneside Pub & Brewery
In Kind:
Streamography
Brooks Gibson Company
Description:
The Greater Cape Ann Chamber is pleased to announce the return of the Blackburn Brew Festival on Saturday, July 18th (RAIN or SHINE) at Stage Fort Park! Over 20 breweries will be convening from Cape Ann, the North Shore, and across New England to showcase their best brews to attendees from far and wide. The event will also offer live music, local food trucks and lawn games all while located at Gloucester’s historic waterfront park.
The event will also be supporting a good cause as a portion of the proceeds will support local non-profits through the Cape Ann Community Foundation, an organization established by the Chamber to award grants for projects supporting educational, social service, recreational and economic initiatives throughout the Cape Ann Community.
PLEASE NOTE: This event is 21+
For breweries interested in participating, please contact Sam Bevins at sam@capeannchamber.com.
The Open Door Summer Meals for Kids program is back! Local children and teens up to age 18 can get free breakfast and lunch meals at 16 locations across Cape Ann.
Last year, The Open Door Summer Meals for Kids program distributed 17,389 meals, all prepared in-house. The program has sites in Gloucester, Rockport, and Ipswich, and continues to add new locations each year.
Full schedule below:
Gloucester Walk-Up Locations
Enrolled locations in Gloucester include: Gloucester High School, O’Maley Academy, Camp Spindrift, GPS Extended School Year at East Veterans, Literacy and Math Summer Learning at East Veterans, and Gordon STEAM Camp at East Veterans.
Ipswich Walk-Up Locations
Enrolled location: Winthrop Elementary School.
Rockport Walk-Up Location
The full schedule is also available at FOODPANTRY.org and will continue to be updated through the summer.
For the second year in a row, Summer Meals for Kids is being entirely funded by The Open Door. Previously, the program received federal funding. Today, it continues thanks to donations and sponsors of The Open Door.
About The Open Door
The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security.
Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, Wenham, and Georgetown. In 2025, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 12,780 people from 5,718 households through the distribution of 2.48 million pounds of food over 136,851 visits.
For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org.
On Thursday evening, June 18, Wellspring House welcomed nearly 100 guests to its annual ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Year-End Celebration in downtown Gloucester, honoring 51 students who completed English language and computer literacy courses this spring. The evening included a Certificate of Completion ceremony, remarks by Gloucester Mayor Paul Lundberg, and a reception featuring food prepared by students representing their home countries.
In total, 56 Certificates of Completion were presented recognizing completion of four spring ESOL classes and one spring Computer Class, with five students earning certificates in both. Mayor Lundberg joined the speaking program and took photos with students, celebrating a group that reflects the diversity and determination at the heart of the Gloucester community.
Meeting People Where They Are
Wellspring’s ESOL program is built on a simple but powerful principle – to meet people where they are and provide the range of services they need to move forward. Classes are offered in person at the Sawyer Free Library, a partnership that reflects Gloucester’s deep commitment to access and inclusion, and online, ensuring the program is available to participants regardless of schedule or circumstance.
The program’s core instruction is delivered by experienced teachers across three levels: Basic Beginner, Advanced Beginner, and Intermediate, with curriculum covering grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation alongside real-world skills such as completing job applications and navigating public services. Complementing the classroom experience, Wellspring volunteers lead small group sessions that provide additional support for students at all three levels, as well as focused instruction in foundational literacy skills and citizenship test preparation. Computer skills classes round out the program’s offerings.
This year, Wellspring also expanded its digital literacy offerings through 15-hour computer courses covering email, Google Suite, and internet browsing. To remove access barriers entirely, laptops and hotspots were distributed to students at no cost, made possible through a partnership with MassHire Metro North Workforce Board.
“These students are not just building language skills – they are building futures,” said Melissa Dimond, President and Executive Director of Wellspring House. “Every person who walks through our doors is working toward something larger – a better job, a stronger connection to their community, a more secure life for their family. That is exactly what Wellspring exists to support, and we are so proud of everything this year’s students have achieved.”
A Community of Friends and Neighbors
Gloucester has always been shaped by people who came here and built a life, and that story continues with this year’s graduates. These students are not just program participants; they are friends, neighbors, and part of the fabric of this community, working hard to build new skills and deepen their connection to the place they call home.
The impact of that work was best captured by the students themselves. Tania, an ESOL graduate, shared: “I applied for another job and the pay is better. Now I can make appointments for my children and for me without a translator, and in job interviews I no longer need to use a translator.” For Julio, the classroom built something equally important: “I’m feeling more confident when I have conversations with customers. Wellspring has helped me a lot to improve my English. I’m so happy to be here.”
Why It Matters
For many North Shore families, limited English proficiency creates interconnected barriers to employment, stable housing, and civic participation. Financial security is the most powerful foundation for a healthy, self-determined life and English language proficiency is a critical gateway to getting there.
These outcomes are made possible by the generous support of donors, partners, volunteers, and advocates who believe that financial security and opportunity should be within reach for every North Shore resident.
To learn more about supporting or volunteering with Wellspring, please visit wellspringhouse.org.
Date and Time:
Wednesday Jul 22, 2026
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT
Location:
The Emerson Inn
1 Cathedral Ave Rockport MA 01966
Fees/Admission:
$5 for Members
$15 Non-Members
Women & Men always Welcome!
Website:
https://www.theemersoninn.com/
Contact Information:
Michelle 978-283-1601
Send Email
Description:
Join us for a summer networking gathering with light refreshments on the beautiful deck of the Emerson Inn.
*Limited attendance – please register early to secure your spot.
Date and Time
Saturday Jul 11, 2026
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDT
EVENT TIMELINE:
5 PM: Streets closed off to traffic & parking
6 PM: Music Stages Open (See below)
6:15 PM: The Red Trousers
7:10 PM: Cape Ann Dancers at Hancock & Main
8:00 PM: The Red Trousers
MUSIC PERFORMANCES BY STAGE:
The West End: Sponsored by Institution for Savings
6 PM: TBD
7 PM: TBD
8 PM: TBD
Cape Ann Savings Bank Stage: Sponsored by Cape Ann Savings Bank
6 PM: TBD
8 PM: TBD
The East End: Sponsored by BankGloucester
6 PM: TBD
7:30 PM: TBD
Location:
Main Street (Closed from Pleasant St to Washington St)
Gloucester, MA
1-160 Main Street Gloucester MA 01930
Fees/Admission:
FREE for the Public to attend
*Registration required for participating Businesses and Non-Profits
Website:
http://www.capeannchamber.com
Contact Information
Michelle Pepin 978-283-1601
Send Email
Event Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Addison Gilbert Hospital
Applied Materials
Building Center
Endicott College
Silver Sponsors
A&A Services
Ebenezer Tax and Services
LeafFilter Gutter Protection
Description
Main Street, Downtown Gloucester comes alive when the Street is closed off and we have live music, street performers, non-profits, food vendors, and more! A fun night for young and old alike!
Many of the shops and businesses on Main Street will be open and welcoming partygoers. Other Gloucester businesses and local non-profits also will be represented on the Street. It will be a night full of live music, great food, and fun activities with lots of local flavor!
Entertainment:
Headline Act: The Red Trousers
Captain Jack
Cape Ann Dance
Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team
Face Paint by Miss Wendy Food Vendors & Restaurants
Bravo by the Sea
Crepe du Jour
Meat & Sweet Foods
The Lobster Roller
Three Ginger’s Jerky
Whoopie Wagon
June has been a season of celebration at Wellspring House. In a matter of weeks, we marked three milestones: 31 adults graduating from our Healthcare Office Support Training program at MGB Salem Hospital with a historic 100% graduation rate; 18 local Cape Ann high school graduates awarded scholarships, and the first Cape Ann High School Graduates Fund cohort to cross the college graduation stage; and 56 students completing spring English language and computer literacy courses at a joyful evening in Gloucester.
Each celebration is a testament to what becomes possible when opportunity and support come together, and a reflection of what this community has chosen to invest in.
But behind every ceremony is a harder truth. A thriving community depends on people who can afford to live and work locally. When housing becomes unstable and wages fail to keep pace with the cost of living, that foundation erodes. Parents without childcare, residents without reliable transportation, families in unstable housing – these are compounding barriers that, without the right support, make long-term stability feel out of reach.
Financial security is the most powerful lever we have for improving quality of life, health, and opportunity. That belief is at the core of everything Wellspring does.
Since 1981, Wellspring has worked to turn potential into progress across the North Shore, combining housing stability, education, job training, and career readiness under one roof. This year, we worked with more than 2,000 individuals and families across 20 cities and towns. We don’t ask people to choose between stability and advancement. We provide both, simultaneously, for as long as it takes.
Tuesday, June 30th marks the end of our fiscal year. If these stories move you, we invite you to learn more about Wellspring and consider joining the community of supporters who make this work possible. Visit wellspringhouse.org.
Cape Ann Community 