Bid farewell to 2023 and ring in the brand-new year, 2024, in grand style in our Castle’s Great Hall. Get ready to dance the night away with the fantastic beats of Scape Audio New England and be entertained by our emcee of the festivities – Bruce Jacques! Savor the evening with an array of mouthwatering hors d’oeuvres by Creative Catering and raise your glass for a complimentary sparkling champagne toast as we count down to the stroke of midnight with our New Year’s illumination. But that’s not all! Explore the many rooms of the Castle, each with its unique charm and history, adding an extra layer of delight to your New Year’s Eve celebration. – Doors open at 9:00 pm and the celebration goes to 1:00 am. – Tickets are only $125 for each guest. – VIP Tables (Limited Availability) are only $850 and offer guaranteed seating for up to 6 guests, a bottle of champagne, and six souvenir champagne glasses for your midnight toast!

Hammond Castle Museum Member savings apply.

On December 9th and 10th from 11-4, Saturday and Sunday. Joy Dai Buell along with GLOUCESTER 400+, at O’Maley Middle School. CELEBRATING HOME – a festival of fine arts and crafts of mainly Cape Ann creators.. Tom Amend, Elizabeth Bish, Denise Brown, Joy Buell, Sara Collins, Jayn Gardner, Joanne Hurd, Ann Lafferty, Juliet Lockwood, Toby Milgrome, Kathy Morris, Dawn Pratson, Sue Wilson, and Leslie Wind amongst others.

With the holidays approaching this group is offering many options. The public will have the opportunity to meet the artists and craftspeople, who may share their experiences in creating. There will be a  variety of artistic styles for people to choose from. All are welcome!

✨ Join a fun evening to craft your own festive garland from raw materials provided by Backyard Growers, including dehydrated citrus, popcorn, salted gingerbread, and more. Light refreshments will be provided.

💚 Proceeds from this event support Backyard Growers’ mission to cultivate healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Come have some festive fun and support a great cause!

This year Deck the Docks at Maritime Gloucester coincides with the Middle Street Walk and the Lobster Trap Tree Lighting which will take place at Solomon Jacobs Park on Harbor Loop- just steps from Maritime Gloucester! Join us for a full day of Holiday Cheer! More details available at MaritimeGloucester.org

NEW VIDEO RELEASE: The story of Nina Francis, Gloucester is Home. Take a moment to listen to the thoughts and memories of Nina Francis, 83, a longtime Gloucester resident of whose family emigrated from Sicily. She’ll share the story of how her ancestors missed one boat coming to America during WWI, but they boarded a second one. The first one never made it, so in this case “missing the boat” turned out to be fortunate for Nina’s family. Nina also shares some thoughts about hostilities towards Italians in WWII, and how this profoundly affected her family. Through ups and downs, good times and bad, and with strong love for her family, Nina is proud to call Gloucester her home.

Thank you to Sal Zerilli and Matthew Bradley for producing this film in partnership with the Gloucester400+ Stories Project. We appreciate your work and your joint mission to tell the stories of Gloucester. Thank you to Nina Francis for sharing her important story.

GMGI is excited to bring another season of timely, engaging science to you at home – just in time with the cold weather and dark evenings.

First up: Dr. Ian Hewson! Please join us in welcoming Dr. Hewson to the virtual series on Thursday, December 7th as he discusses the impacts of the long-spined sea urchin’s near-extinction in the Caribbean Sea in 2022. Register today!

You may wonder – what do sick sea urchins in the Caribbean have to do with us here in Gloucester? If a sea urchin population is affected, it can have drastic effects on it’s entire ecosystem, including surrounding coral reefs. And the health of coral reefs is vitally important to human health – they help to regulate our climate and play a crucial role in nutrient cycling.

Our Science Hour Warm Up gives a preview of Dr. Hewson’s talk, The Long-spined Urchin Mass Mortality of 2022: What Happened, What’s Happening Now, and Where to Go From Here. Read the Warm Up to learn more and to register!

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Dr. Hewson’s Science Hour talk is on Thursday, December 7th at 7pm. Click here to register!