Is your to-do list miles long this season? Then drop your children off at Backyard Growers for our gardening and craft workshop: “Holiday Greens for little Gardeners” while you shop!

Our team has developed a window gardening workshop tailored to little gardeners! They’ll learn about planting and growing microgreens, and each child will decorate and bring home a microgreen window planter like the one pictured above! The perfect gift for any family member.

Saturday, December 10th, 10am-12pm
Backyard Growers Office
271 Main Street
$15 per child, cash or check at the door.

Space is limited, so reserve now by signing up here!

All proceeds benefit our school and community gardening programs.

The 2017 Rotary Raffle Calendars are printed and can now be purchased. This calendar is our best ever, displaying the award winning photos of Cape Ann taken by serious amateur and professional photographers. Calendars can be purchased from any Gloucester Rotarian or at these locations: BankGloucester, Local Colors, Building Center Gloucester, and Carroll K Steel Insurance.

$20 each.  All profits go to the club’s local and international projects.

An added bonus is that this is a raffle calendar, and all are numbered, with a limited number being printed. The Club will give away $50 every week next year. There will be “bonus” giveaways of $250 in June 2017 and $500 the in December 2017.

Congratulations to the following photographers whose work is featured in the calendar:

• January-   John Zellenka
• Febraury-  Karen Joyce
• March- Jim Sousa
• April- Steven D Carr
• May- Arlene Taliadoras
• June- Marion Bayly
• July-  Jim Sousa
• August- Phil Ierardi
• September- Elinor Teele
• October- Rich Correale
• November- Cate Partridge
• December- Amy Smith
• Cover- Marion Bayly
• Back Cover- Donna Ardizzoni

The Cape Ann Chamber has launched a regional “Shop Cape Ann for the Holidays” promotion. There is no charge to participate, and all retailers are invited to join. The basic idea is to continually inform and remind both the local Cape Ann region, and our neighboring communities, to shop local this season, through the frequent posting of short Facebook videos, and to get you all to like and share the videos.

Please visit the Chamber’s Facebook Page to view the retailer videos we’ve posted to far.

Retailers can create their own videos using a smart phone and send them our way. If you create your own, please send your video via Dropbox.com to marketing@capeannchamber.com. If you’d like our help, give us a call at 978-283-1601.

We will post as many videos as we receive and tag your page with your video post, We ask that you all like and share all videos so that we maximize our reach and the Shop Cape Ann message.

At our annual Gloucester Area Astronomy Club Holiday Party, Friday December 9, 8:00 pm at the Lanesville Community Center, we’re lucky enough to have Dr. Mario Motta with a presentation on his latest astronomy science project, an investigation of a white dwarf star (WD 1145+017) in Virgo that is orbited by the remains of a disintegrating small planet or asteroid.

The star seems to be tearing apart a small planet, leaving multiple small planetesimals and cometary trails in its wake. The story of the destruction of an actual planet is going to lead to a really interesting evening.

Mario’s been following and charting the disintegration, and is going to share his process and results with us on the 9th. It’s always fun to hear speakers who can report first-hand on actual astronomical events, and our December 2016 holiday party will be one of those rare nights.

Join us!

The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club meets on the second Friday of the month at 8:00pm at the Lanesville Community Center, 8 Vulcan Street, Lanesville. There are no dues or fees, and all are welcome. Find out more about GAAC at http://gaac.us, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GAACpage, or on Twitter, @GAACster.

Sat. 12/10:  View the Sargent House in all its holiday splendor while sharing in the joy of the season with tasty holiday treats from 11A-4P.  At noon, SPECIAL PERFORMANCE: jazz with Rikki Razden & Ken Steiner. Not to be missed!
Fresh wreaths & holly cut from our own trees available all day at prices sure to make you rejoice!  Take home your purchased decorations between 3-4P; gift basket raffle drawing at 3P.  AND, at 2P, don’t miss “Mingling of Souls” (the story of Judith & John Murray) at the neighboring UU Church. See you there!