Gloucester-based nonprofit Backyard Growers’ holiday pop-up shop is OPEN for the season! The online-only shop is chock full of unique garden-themed gifts that will bring festive fun to family and friends all year round. Proceeds support Backyard Growers’ school, backyard, and community garden programs. Discover the perfect gift to prepare garden-lovers for another great season. All items come “ready-to-give” in a craft paper gift bag and are available for pick-up at 103R Maplewood Ave.
Visit www.backyardgrowers.org to shop. Find the perfect gift for the gardener in your life and help Backyard Growers connect kids, seniors, and families to fresh, healthy produce through backyard, community, and school gardens.
Did you miss our Love Greater Cape Ann Fundraising Auction last week? Well, we have great news! The fun continues today, November 19 and lasts until Friday, November 26 with our second online, virtual auction. The community of Greater Cape Ann has come together in support of this incredible place we all know and love. We have a fantastic assortment of restaurant cards, harbor tours, overnight stays on the water, art, and more! We hope you start your holiday shopping early by signing up today and begin placing your bids. Good luck and most importantly, have fun!Please use the instructions provided below to create an account and start bidding. If you participated in the silent auction portion of last Wednesday’s auction, please use the login credentials you previously created.
The Open Door held its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive at six locations on Saturday, Nov. 20: Market Basket (Gloucester), Stop & Shop (Gloucester), Shaw’s (Eastern Ave., Gloucester), Shaw’s (Ipswich), Crosby’s (Manchester), and Market Basket (Rowley). Donations will help keep local households fed through the holidays. An emphasis was placed on cereal donations, as cereal is an item always in high demand at The Open Door.
Community partners that volunteered at participating Thanksgiving Food Drive sites in addition to community volunteers included the Pingree School, We Are All in This Together Gloucester, the Ipswich YMCA, the Manchester-Essex Rotary Club and Gloucester Police Department.
While the Thanksgiving Food Drive was ongoing, The Open Door also distributed Holiday Baskets to local people at a drive-thru event on Emerson Avenue. Thanksgiving Holiday Baskets provide families with a turkey and all the fixings so that they can enjoy a holiday meal at home. Along with many individual volunteers, the TOAST team and Cape Ann Savings Bank team volunteered at the Holiday Basket distribution event, providing key support for the effort.
The Sawyer Free Library has launched its 2021 Annual Appeal campaign,“Charting the Course.” Letters with appeal information are in the mail to over 1,500 Gloucester households. The goal is to raise $50,000 during this year-end campaign, which provides the Library with much-needed annual support.
The Library relies on this yearly fundraising effort to provide a wide range of new collections and resources, technology, innovative programming, and critical services to respond to the changing needs of the Gloucester community.
“The Sawyer Free Library’s mission is to be a place of learning, innovation, and creativity to support the community we serve. During this challenging time, we have learned that whether our Library services are delivered in a physical location or digitally, they’re not just “nice-to-haves” – these services are vital to our community,” said Mern Sibley, President of the Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees.
This year a record number of Sawyer Free Library users from near and far connected, learned, and experienced moments of comfort and joy, in-person and online. The Library offered hundreds of hours of responsive programming and learning opportunities for all ages. Strategic investments were made in the Sawyer Free’s digital device program, increasing the number of laptops, e-readers, tablets, and Wi-Fi hot spots available to patrons, especially those who needed connections for education and jobs. Its vast collection of e-books and audiobooks and online resources were also dramatically expanded. Many new innovative and reimagined services emerge in response to the evolving landscape, including Digital Devices to Go, Job Seekers Resource Program, the Student Study Hall, Gloucester Connection, and more.
“Private support strengthens the Sawyer Free Library’s capacity to innovate and adapt to change, especially now as we move ahead and help our Gloucester community recover, rebuild and renew safely,” said Library DirectorJenny Benedict. “Supporting the Annual Appeal makes the difference in helping job seekers, keeping kids on track for school success, assisting digital learners in finding their way in the online world, connecting newcomers and lifelong residents to current information about community services – and so much more.”
Donations to the Library’s Annual Appeal may be made by check to the Sawyer Free Library, Annual Appeal, P.O. Box 415, Gloucester, MA 01930, or online at www.sawyerfreelibrary.org.
A SYMPOSIUM IN THE GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 2-5:00 PM, WITH VIDEO SIMULCAST ON YOUTUBE
This event, part of an annual series hosted by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation on topics of civic concern, will concentrate on what is happening in our communities and around the country now. More information and video link at: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
Before our last Summer Series concert we heard an impassioned talk by Congressman Seth Moulton about our responsibility for the safety and resettlement of people from Afghanistan in New England. The Symposium will take a broader view, hearing from members of several organizations who have assisted new arrivals from many countries for a long time. Of equal importance, some presenters are individuals who have been through the immigration or refugee experience themselves. They will gather for a round table discussion in the last segment, addressing questions submitted from the audience, helping us to understand how best to offer our support.
The historic (1806) Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian-Universalist Church, is located on the green at the intersection of Middle and ChurchStreets. A lift to the Sanctuary level is available just inside the 10 Church Street door. It is a free event – all are welcome. Your safety is important to us. Masks are required inside the building and seating is staggered to encourage social distancing. We request that the audience be vaccinated or have had a recent negative Covid test. Refreshments will be available at break times outside near the front entrance.
SYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS:
Elsabel Rincon, Founder and Executive Director of The Welcome Immigrant Network in Salem, and recipient of the Peter J. Gomes Service Award
Alexandra Weber, Chief Institutional Advancement Officer for the International Institute of New England in Boston
Andy Allen, Director of Adult Education at Wellspring House
Francis Mpfuranziza, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo during the ethnic violence
Blanca Martinez, an immigrant representative from the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) in Lynn
Rev. Rona Tyndall, Pastor, West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church, UCC, and organizer for Allies of Our Afghan Allies
Rev. Alice Erickson, Gloucester resident who has been active for many years in the process of resettling refugees
Melissa Buchanan, ESOL Coordinator for the Wellspring Adult Learning Center
REGISTER HEREto enter into the Historic Gloucester Gingerbread House contest at the Sawyer Free Library as a part of the MIDDLE STREET WALK on Saturday, December 11th!
Recreate your favorite Gloucester building with gingerbread, frosting, candy and all things delicious!
Entries will be on display for all to see at the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue for the Middle Street Walk!
Top prizes will be presented by the Library for best historic Gloucester gingerbread creation!
First prize $100 Cape Ann Chamber Gift Certificate
Second prize $50 Cape Ann Chamber Gift Certificate
Each year, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library recognize outstanding volunteers for their efforts and dedication to the Libary. Last week, the prestigious Mary M. Weissblum Volunteer Award was presented in memoriam to Sharon Pablo for her two decades of service to the Library. During that time, Susan served on the Board of Directors in several capacities and then remained actively involved with the Library for many more years. Her longtime partner, Roger Armstrong, accepted the award on her behalf during the Library’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening, November 10.
“We are so honored to present Susan Pablo in memoriam with the Mary M. Weissblum Award,” said Assistant Library Director Beth Pocock in presenting the award. “Susan’s endless generosity of her time and willingness to share her vast expertise greatly helped to enrich the Sawyer Free Library and the lives of those who use and love it, for which we are most grateful.”
The volunteer award was established in 2016 and named after Mary Weissblum, who served the Library tirelessly over four decades. With it, the Trustees of the Sawyer Free Library seek to recognize and show appreciation for the numerous volunteers who help maintain and promote the Library’s services and programs.
Assistant Library Director Beth Pocock and Roger Armstrong at the Sawyer Free Library
For more information about volunteering at the Sawyer Free Library, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org
This Veteran’s Day, the Cape Ann Museum is proud to announce a year-long community art project inspired by Gloucester-based sculptor Walker Hancock, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was pivotal member of the Monuments Men. Inspired by Hancock’s Basketball Player Series, a featured part of the Museum’s collections, every eighth grader on Cape Ann will be given the opportunity to create a small sculpture depicting themselves doing their favorite activity during the 2021-2022 school year.
In addition to learning about Hancock, students will learn how to create their own sculpture out of wire armature and clay. This hands-on activity will create a safe space for students to participate in important discussions about identity, representation, and body image. CAM Educators will visit classrooms throughout the school year, culminating in an exhibition of the student work and the Hancock sculptures in the spring of 2022.
Inspired by the success of the Community Portraits project, which included 637 portraits from across Cape Ann, the Museum will also be creating opportunities for community members to make their own sculptures to take home.
Cape Ann residents of all ages get to visit for free on Second Saturdays. This Saturday, visitors can see the Hancock sculptures and then stop by the CAM Studio to make a sculpture. The Teen Arts Council will coordinate their own special Teen Art Night on November 20 where anyone age 13-19 can make a sculpture with their peers.
Collection of basketball players by Walker Hancock (1901-1998), 1960s, bronze. Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, MA. Museum purchase, 1982, with funds provided by Evelyn Bartlett.
Upcoming Events
Second Saturdays: Sculpting Self November 13, 10:00 am — 3:00 pm CAM Studio at the Downtown Campus 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA This program is free and open to the public. Museum admission is free for Cape Ann residents on Second Saturdays.
Teen Art Night November 20, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm CAM Studio at the Downtown Campus 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA Free for teens age 13 – 19, registration required.
Author’s Talk with Cape Ann Poets December 4, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CAM Auditorium at the Downtown Campus 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA Free for members, $10 for non-members, registration required. Also live-streamed on Facebook and Vimeo.
December Vacation Week Monday, December 27 – Friday, December 31 9:00 am – 12:00 (optional afternoons to 3:00 pm) Offered in partnership with Art Haven Registration will be available through Art Haven.
Lee Kingman Natti (1919-2020), Snow Storm, 1952, ink on linen, linoleum block print. Collection of the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, MA.
CAPE ANN MUSEUM 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
CAPE ANN MUSEUM GREEN 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
With over 200 apples donated by Russel Orchard, your kids will float and find the best placement for their mast prior to launching their personalized Apple Boat into the Essex River at 3pm on the incoming time.
Our Chase boat will retrieve the Apple Boats from the finish line in front of Great Marsh Brewing Company.
1st, 2nd and 3rd place prices will be awarded
This is an outdoor event, so keep an eye on the weather and on our social media pages for updates.
Cape Ann Community 