Proceeds from Sale of 11 Remaining Low-Number Plates Will be Used to Support Local Charitable and Community Initiatives

The 11 remaining low-number Cape Ann license plates will be made available to the highest bidders through an online auction beginning Monday, April 8, with all proceeds going to the Cape Ann Community Foundation (CACF), which supports local charitable initiatives and organizations.

The auction will conclude on Patriot’s Day, Monday, April 15. Any Massachusetts resident who wants to display their love and support for Cape Ann will have a chance to secure the 11 remaining Cape Ann license plates between 1-100. The remaining plates are numbers 4, 8, 55, 66, 78, 79, 87, 88, 90, 91 and 92.

In addition, this year CACF will for the first time allow those who make a donation to the foundation to choose available 3-digit and 4-digit license plates.

For more information on the auction and to register to bid, visit www.lovecapeann.com. The site also has information on how to request a specific plate through the foundation and the easy steps to order a random Cape Ann license plate through the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Visit bit.ly/CALP24 to bid today!

Weigh in with your thoughts and perspectives on local solar. The Cape Climate Coalition (CACC) and the MIT Renewables Clinic are co-hosting a public roundtable discussion at Gloucester City Hall on Monday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m.  All are welcome to attend and discuss the potential for developing new solar energy projects in Gloucester.  This is a time to raise questions and express your initial reasons for why and where you would support or oppose new projects.

An expansion of solar energy capacity on Cape Ann could reduce energy costs and carbon emissions and support a shift to “electrify everything”, as well as provide for economic development and local energy security. The CACC in its recent webinar with Senator Bruce Tarr has added to concerns about the vulnerabilities in the current National Grid transmission and distribution electric grid serving Cape Ann. We need more local energy production, but we also need to learn more about how this could be achieved.  And the community needs to weigh on in where they would support locating solar projects and what other factors they think would be important in decisions to develop new projects. 

Students, through interviews and two public meetings, the first of which is on April 8th, will assess with our help the relative potential of expanded solar capacity with rooftop solar on buildings, on municipal properties, with floating solar panels on reservoirs, in open spaces, over parking lots, in industrial parks, along roadways, and blended with public art. We would like to hear about where and on what basis you would support such projects.

MIT’s Renewable Energy Facility Siting Clinic trains MIT students who work alongside a professional mediator to help communities resolve local conflicts around the siting of renewable energy facilities. By providing a neutral independent forum, the Clinic brings together all relevant stakeholders involved in a siting dispute to identify key concerns and interests and support consensus building.  MIT’s Clinic focuses on providing a formal stakeholder assessment, and facilitating a joint fact-finding and problem-solving process. The Clinic does not promote a specific siting outcome.

Workshop: How to Plan Your Vegetable Garden

Dates & Times: April 10, 10am-12pm & April 16, 5:30-7:30pm

Location: Backyard Growers HQ, 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester

Event Summary: Learn the Square-Foot Gardening Method in this vegetable gardening workshop with Backyard Growers. Backyard Growers will introduce attendees to this growing approach which maximizes small spaces and crop yields. The organization uses this method across school gardens, backyard gardens, and community gardens all over Gloucester. Learn to plan your vegetable garden according to what you like to eat, the space you have for growing, and the amount of time you have to spend tending to it, with time at this workshop to map out your individual garden alongside Backyard Growers and your neighbors.

Tickets: Free for Backyard Growers Program Participants. $15 general admission. Proceeds support Backyard Growers’ work empowering people to grow their own food. Backyard Growers is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization.

Workshop: How to Grow Vegetables in Containers

Date & Time: Thursday, May 2, 2-3pm

Location: Backyard Growers HQ, 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester

Event Summary:  Container gardens are great when space or sunlight is limited or as a way to easily control the height and placement of your garden to eliminate bending over or to ease other mobility concerns. Join Backyard Growers to learn the nuances of container gardening so that you’re set up for a successful (and space-efficient) season. Attendees will receive free vegetable seeds and the option to purchase GrowBags from Backyard Growers to start or add to their vegetable garden.

Tickets: Free for Backyard Growers Program Participants. $15 general admission. Proceeds support Backyard Growers’ work empowering people to grow their own food. Backyard Growers is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization.

The Rockport Division of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce will hold the 32^nd annual Rockport Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30 at 2 PM.  The event is for the children of the town – preschoolers through grade one – and will take place at Millbrook Meadow, Beach Street, Rockport.

Pre-schoolers will be grouped in one section and kindergarteners and first graders in another.  In addition to assorted candies, chocolates, and small prizes, the hunt will feature four golden eggs to be redeemed for larger prizes. The Easter Bunny is also expected to make an appearance.  Children should bring a basket and arrive early – the hunt will begin promptly at 2.

This year’s event is being organized by the Chamber’s Rockport Division with key support from Institution for Savings and donations from Rockport Inn & Suites and The Seafarer Inn.

Stop by Burnham’s Field Community Garden (on the side closest to the basketball courts) for our second free vegetable seed giveaway of the year. We’ll have plenty of seeds available for people to sow directly into their gardens this spring, including peas, lettuces, spinach, beans, beets, radishes, and more. All are welcome.

Plus, meet Susan Wood, Backyard Growers’ new Community Programs Manager, who will be getting her hands dirty in community gardens, backyards, and container gardens all over Gloucester this growing season.

**RAIN LOCATION: Backyard Growers HQ at 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester, MA**

Questions? Reach us at community@backyardgrowers.org or 978-281-0470. 

Join Moonraker’s reunion performance (with Mayor Verga on bass!) to raise money for the Gloucester Fireworks!

This exciting reunion will bring back together one of Gloucester’s most beloved bands. Expect to see (and hear!):

Amy Prichard, Lead Vocals & Guitar
Missy Sponagle, Vocals
Nate Kidder, Lead Guitar
Adam Quinn, Drums
Greg Verga, Bass

and featuring from Millie & the Half Nelsons..
Millie Manning on Vocals & Keyboards

$10 Suggested Donation

There will be a venmo code at the door, cash also OK

THURSDAY, MARCH 14 from 5:30—7:00 PM at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street

In honor of Women’s History Month, this Thursday, March 14 at 5:30 pm the Sawyer Free Library will present a film screening of Madan Sara, a film by Etant Dupain, followed by a virtual conversation with Dupain.

The film is in Haitian Creole with English subtitles. The women known as Madan Sara are battling for a more robust and inclusive economy in Haiti. This film tells the story of these women who work at the margins to make Haiti’s economy run. Despite facing hardship and social stigma, their work puts their children through school, houses their families, and helps ensure a better life. This film amplifies the Madan Sara as they share their dreams for a more just Haiti.

Registration is requested but not required. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Join us this April as we will present “Gertrude Cawein at Hammond Castle Museum,” a new exhibit of nearly 60 works of art by Eric Pape, (1870 – 1938) the distinguished artist and former Cape Ann resident. This exhibit offers a unique insight into the multifaceted talents of Pape. Renowned as a painter, designer of the iconic “Tablet Rock Memorial” in Stage Fort Park, and a society portraitist, Pape’s brilliance shines through various mediums, including pencil, pen, watercolors, and oils. At the heart of this celebration is the full-length portrait of Gertrude Cawein, painted by Pape and loaned from the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, KY. For the first time outside the Filson, visitors can witness this rare example of Pape’s work as a society portraitist. 

The connection between the Cawein family, Eric Pape, and Gloucester runs deep. Poet Madison Cawein, known as the Keats of Kentucky and Gertrude’s husband, wrote a poignant Ode to the founding of Gloucester for the 1907 Gloucester Day celebrations, during which time Pape presented his iconic Tablet Rock Memorial. The exhibition will also feature an elaborate pen and ink drawing by Pape, representing Madison’s moving elegy upon the death of Pape’s first wife, Alice Monroe Pape, in 1911.

Tickets are now available at: https://bit.ly/HCMAprilCalendar