This Thursday, April 29th, Dr. Mandë Holford joins the GMGI Science Hour to talk about her fascinating research on the power of venom. Dr. Holford and her team are working to harness the incredible power of venom into safe, effective drug therapies that benefit human health.
Want a preview of the talk, and what you can expect to learn? Check out our Science Hour Warm Up. Don’t miss it! Join us on Thursday, April 29th! Register here.
Run for the Roses Raffle drawing this Saturday, May 1, 6pm. Live via FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/events/892142201573767.
Don’t forget to submit your Derby hat photos, guys and gals. Post your photo of yourself with your fancy Derby Hat to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #runfortherosesraffle or email your submission to info@manchesteressexrotary.org. Best woman’s hat wins a dozen roses and a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon, best men’s hat wins just the Bourbon. Contest deadline is noon on the day of the Kentucky Derby and our Run for the Roses Raffle drawing, 6:00 PM Saturday May 1. Entrants must be 21 years of age.
Tickets are still available.
The Backyard Growers Online Shop is now OPEN for our April Seedling Sale, and chock full of cold-tolerant veggie seedlings like kale, cabbage, broccoli, swiss chard, and more, organically-grown by our friends at Cedar Rock Gardens.
The Sale also includes other supplies to get your garden going this spring, like Black Earth Compost, Neptune’s Harvest fertilizer, and a range of vegetable and flower seeds. Start (or expand!) your own container veggie garden with our felt custom GrowBags.
Proceeds support nonprofit organization Backyard Growers‘ programs in the community connecting families, seniors, and kids with the resources to grow their own food.
The fine print: The 2021 April Seedling Sale is online only for curbside pickup only next Saturday, April 24. The shop will close at noon on Thursday, April 22, to allow time for us to prep your orders.
Happy Growing!
Did you know 33% of all food produced globally is lost or wasted? Food waste is central to some of the key challenges facing the world today, including hunger and poverty, climate change, health and wellbeing, and the sustainability of agriculture and oceans.
To bring attention to this growing global problem, the Sawyer Free Library and Backyard Growers are co-hosting a virtual panel discussion around the topic of food waste on Thursday, April 28, from 6-7 pm. The live virtual presentation is free and open to the public. Click here to register.
Moderated by Lara Lepionka, Founder & Executive Director, Backyard Growers, the program will provide both broad knowledge and a local perspective of the issues of food waste, along with some actionable steps individuals can take to help make a difference in its reduction.
The program panelists include Andrew Brousseau, Partner, Compost Manager, Black Earth Compost, Brittany Peats, Program Manager, MA Food System Collaborative, and Gary Sprague, Food Acquisition and Distribution Manager, The Open Door. Each panelist will have the opportunity to talk about their community organization’s focus and practical recommendations to address the critical issue of food waste in our community.
Following their remarks, there will be a moderated Q&A session. For more information on the Finding Practical Solutions to End Food Waste Panel Discussion and the Library’s other programs and offerings, please visit sawyerfreelibray.org.
Cape Ann just became more climate resistant (and beautiful!) thanks to our local climate hero Nathan Ives. On Friday April 9, 2021, Nathan Ives and his Project Elm team received and began planting 100 disease-resistant elm trees in Rockport and Gloucester.
It is a grassroots community project intending to help restore elm trees to their once prominent place on Gloucester and Rockport streetscapes while taking a proactive step to help reverse global climate change (trees capture carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, out of the air and store the carbon in their trunk. CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are driving climate change.) The project is inspired by the World Economic Forum’s 1-trillion tree initiative.
Project Elm is a grassroots community project intending to help restore elm trees to their once prominent place on Gloucester (and Rockport) streetscapes while taking a proactive step to help reverse global climate change. Scientists tell us that one of the best ways to fight climate change is to plant more trees–1 trillion trees, in fact. Sadly, the onset of Dutch Elm Disease in the 1950s brought an abrupt end to elms in the United States until only recently. Scientists have now developed disease resistant cultivars of the elm tree that are thriving in the US and, in particular, in New England.
In total, $5600 was raised to support Project Elm’s vision and mission! In addition to Awesome Rockport, the following groups and people contributed money to help make this happen:• Awesome Gloucester • Allison Mueller• Sal Zerilli• Rick Doucette• Neptune’s Harvest• We’re All in This Together
Join the Sawyer Free Library in celebrating National Poetry Month for explore the Life, Natural World & Poetry of Mary Oliver, presented by Andrea Brandeis on Thursday, April 8 from 7 – 8:30pm.
Mary Oliver was one of America’s most treasured poets, whose honors include the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Her poetry explores the interconnectedness of spirituality and the natural world. This virtual program is intended for anyone– from beginner explorers of poetry to experts. This program will be held via Zoom.
Register here for the event. The Zoom link will be sent out 15 minutes before the presentation begins. If you register after that, there may be a small delay.
For more information on all the the programs being offered at the Library, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org
Learn more and register by visiting: https://business.capeannchamber.com/events/details/next-gen-virtual-meetup-20721?calendarMonth=2021-04-01
GLOUCESTER, MASS. (April 2021) – To engage and involve more children and families at the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester-born artist Michael Grimaldi has created a family-friendly guide, Cassie the Sea Serpent, for a series of programs, a virtual lecture, and events this spring. Grimaldi, a local muralist, graphic designer, and Monserrat College of Art graduate who now lives in Beverly, will be live painting Cassie throughout the galleries in the coming weeks so that visitors can see him at work.
Inspired by the legendary story of the Cape Ann Sea Serpent, a creature that was seen in Gloucester Harbor between 1817-1819 by hundreds of residents, Cassie will be the centerpiece of activities, a socially-distanced scavenger hunt through the Museum, and a series of programs over April School Vacation Week (April 22-25). Families with children under 18 are invited to visit the Museum for free during the school vacation week.
“The importance of this initiative is that we are introducing a new youth narrative throughout our galleries – an interactive and engaging new voice to engage younger audiences in the important stories behind the art and industries that so define the seminal role that Cape Ann has played in both American art and history,” said Museum Director Oliver Barker.
In 2019, a nine-foot bronze sculpture of the Gloucester Sea Serpent was installed at the Museum’s front entrance. It was designed by Essex artist Chris Williams who has created a scaled-down version of his serpent for families to take home during the vacation week.
Beginning Friday, April 16, visitors can watch Grimaldi as he paints Cassie in the Maritime and Fisheries Gallery from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Museum Members are invited for a special after-hours event that day from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. while Grimaldi paints Cassie in the Central Gallery, and light refreshments will be served.
Here are more details about the Cassie the Sea Serpent programs and events:
Friday, April 16 from 1:00-3:00 pm
Free with museum entrance: timed entrance required
CAM After Hours: Live Painting
Friday, April 16 from 6:00-8:00 pm
Members event, reservations required
Virtual Lecture: Bringing Cassie the Sea Serpent to Life
Saturday, April 17 at 1:00 pm
Explore the Cape Ann Museum through the eyes of our new family-friendly gallery guide, Cassie the Cape Ann Sea Serpent. Cassie, inspired by the legendary story of the sea serpent that visited Gloucester Harbor from 1817-1819, will be painted at child height throughout the museum by local artist Mike Grimaldi of Grimdrops. Visitors of all ages will be able to follow in Cassie’s wake to discover and engage with the Museum’s collections.
Grimaldi, a graduate of Montserrat College of Art, is a muralist and graphic artist with pieces all over Beverly and Salem. Although a Gloucester native, these paintings of Cassie the Sea Serpent will be Grimaldi’s first works on display in his hometown. See Cassie for yourself during this virtual gallery tour of the Cape Ann Museum with Grimaldi and CAM’s Education Manager, Miranda Aisling. During the tour, learn more about CAM’s new efforts to bring accessible family friendly activities directly into the galleries.
Free for members, $10 for non-members
Pre-registration required, event is on Zoom.
April Vacation Week
Thursday, April 22 – Sunday, April 25
Free Museum entrance to all families with children under 18
Take a break from the screen and come visit the Cape Ann Museum with your kids during April Vacation Week! Reserve timed entrance for you and your family to follow the Museum’s new family-friendly guide, Cassie the Sea Serpent, through the galleries. Inspired by the Cape Ann Sea Serpent, which was seen by hundreds in Gloucester Harbor between 1817-1819, Cassie poses questions and activities for students of all ages to engage with the collection. During April Vacation Week, all visitors will receive a free copy of Cassie’s Scavenger Hunt with activities and crayons included.
For more information about the Museum, its programs, exhibits, and collections, visit www.capeannmuseum.org.
The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.
The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.
For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ashley Elias
Teak Media
(213) 400-3402
Ashley@teakmedia.com
Rebecca Robison
rebeccarobison@capeannmuseum.org
(978) 283-0455 x 124
What is the role of the artist when when faced with the climate crisis? This webinar produced by the Cape Ann Coalition’s Climate Arts Group explores the artist’s role. It begins with a video of Rockport artist and environmental activist Elaine MacGray Starrett “Without Just Grounds”. Following the screening, Starrett’s daughter, Dr. Amy Bower, an oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is joined in a conversation about art, science and climate change, with Cape Ann environmental 3-D artist Sinikka Nogelo and the nationally-known public artist Mags Harries.
If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the Cape Ann Climate Coalition, please visit www.capeannclimatecoalition.org.
About Us: Backyard Growers (BYG) is a grassroots community-based organization in Gloucester, MA. We are a small but mighty group of committed people who love what we do, and have fun while we work hard. Our mission is to cultivate healthy, connected, environmentally sustainable communities and to fight for food justice by teaching people how to grow their own food. BYG provides resources and support to establish vegetable gardens at homes, housing communities, organizations, and schools, and offers learning opportunities in growing and preparing fresh produce.
We serve public school children and low- to moderate-income residents in Gloucester, and share our program models regionally through a consulting practice to increase our impact. Our goals are to increase access to healthy, affordable foods, mobilize attitude and behavior changes around healthy food choices, reactivate neglected urban spaces through food production, and build community and support self-sufficiency within diverse populations. We believe that by growing our own food, we are empowered, connected, and strengthened.
About the Garden Educator: This position is our lead school program staff person responsible for the implementation and execution of all Backyard Growers’ School Program activities. The Garden Educator also supports community garden programs with a focus on educational programs, community outreach, volunteer and service population engagement, and physical garden site maintenance. This position reports to the Program Director and works closely with the Program Coordinator.
This role is our lead school garden educator and implements all of Backyard Growers’ school program deliverables. At the elementary school level, this includes Salad Days & Fall Harvest Days—a program that involves growing two crops each year with K-5 students and hosting district-wide harvest celebrations. Job duties also include teaching in-class food systems lessons, leading monthly cafeteria taste tests, and developing special events and initiatives to promote food system literacy and healthy school food culture.
The Garden Educator will deliver our middle school programs at O’Maley Middle School, including our 6th grade Popcorn, 7th grade Wheat, and 8th grade Soil Health programs. Job duties include collaborating with teachers to integrate the school garden into their lessons, designing and leading lessons, and strengthening connections with other academic departments to make the program truly interdisciplinary. This role will be responsible for our pre-school Stone Soup program at Gloucester’s public pre-school and Pathways for Children. This position will also work with Gloucester High School students, staff and administrators on the integration of the high school permaculture garden into student life.
Apply Today! We look forward to hearing from you!
Cape Ann Community 