Join us tomorrow as we celebrate a historic legacy of Pride with two unique events!

~ Hammond Castle Museum

Good Witches and Bad Witches alike! Join us in celebration of Pride month for a brief family-friendly examination of the Queer history of the popular ABC sitcom Bewitched and its cast, including the 1991 coming out of actor Dick Sargent and the Pride activism of Sargent and the show’s star Elizabeth Montgomery, followed by a free screening of Darrin on a Pedestal, a 1970 episode of the program shot on location in Gloucester and at here at the Hammond Castle Museum!

Program runs on the hour at 10, 11, 12, 1 & 2 pm.

  • A brief 10-minute introduction by HCM Director of Education & Visitor Services, Caleb McMurphy
  • Bewitched (Season 7, Episode 5) ‘Darrin on a Pedestal’ (25 min. runtime)

Seating is limited so be sure to reserve your FREE tickets! Afterward, be sure to purchase admission to the rest of the Museum and see what else we have on display, including a new, temporary exhibit on the history of TV and a new exhibit on ancient Roman artifacts within the Museum. 

Join Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award-winner Liza Minnelli, alongside Ken Howard, and Robert Moore in Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. An episodic story about social outcasts, one of whom (played by Moore) is an out gay man in a wheelchair, coming together as part of an unlikely found family, one of the film’s major sequences takes place across several locations both inside and outside of Hammond Castle Museum. See some of these scenes in the very room in which they were shot 55 years ago! Then, take a trip from Hammond’s Castle to the castle of the Mad Scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1974 cult-hit The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Join actors Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick in Jim Sharman’s legendarily campy adaptation of Richard O’Brien stage musical send-up of Hammer Films and other kitsch science fiction and horror schlock. Come up to the lab and see what films are on the slab! Cosplay and singing along are encouraged!  

General Admission Seating: $30 Hammond Castle Museum Member savings apply.

Program:

  • 5:00 pm Doors Open
  • 5:15 pm Introduction by HCM Director of Visitor Services and Education, Caleb McMurphy
  • 5:30 – 7:30 pm Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (113 mins)
  • 15-minute Intermission
  • 7:45-9:30 pm The Rocky Horror Picture Show (100 mins)

Learn more about these events and reserve your tickets at https://hammondcastle.org

Sawyer Free Library Announces 2024 Poetry Without Paper Contest Winners 

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library proudly announced the winners of the 2024 Poetry Without Paper contest during an inspiring awards ceremony held on Tuesday evening, June 11, 2024 at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church. The event was marked by heartfelt readings from the award-winning students before a standing-room-only crowd of friends, family, and community members, all gathered to celebrate their achievements.

Former Poet Laureate of Gloucester, John Ronan, and newly retired Children’s Librarian, Christy Rosso, presented the awards. Christy Rosso, affectionately known as Miss Christy, was also honored for her 29 years of dedicated service at the Sawyer Free Library. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in developing, organizing and growing the annual poetry contest, fostering a love for writing among thousands of young Gloucester residents.

John Ronan, who co-founded the contest 22 years ago and continues to serve as its judge, shared some personal thoughts on Christy Rosso’s involvement in the program and years of service at the Sawyer Free Library, expressing the community’s deep gratitude for her unwavering dedication and nurturing presence. “Christy’s impact on our community’s children is immeasurable. Her passion and commitment have left an indelible mark on all who have had the privilege to know her,” said Ronan.  

Celebrating its 22nd year, Poetry Without Paper has inspired thousands of the community’s young writers to express themselves through poetry and prose. This beloved annual competition encourages local students from kindergarten through high school to share their love of writing and connection to Gloucester’s creative spirit. Each year, the variety and depth of the student poetry range from expected subjects like the beach, school, and family to just as many surprisingly deep, mature poems from these young writers concerned about issues facing the world around them.

From over 500 submissions, winners were selected from each age group: high school, middle school, and elementary school. The talented young poets were awarded certificates and shared over $1,000 in prizes. Additionally, all winning poets received an invitation to appear on 1623 Studio’s production, The Writer’s Block with John Ronan, and their winning work will be published online by the Library.

The Poetry Without Paper contest remains a cornerstone of the Sawyer Free Library’s mission to nurture and celebrate the literary talents of Gloucester’s youth. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and participants for their outstanding contributions and look forward to their future creative endeavors.

For more information about the Poetry Without Paper contest or other Sawyer Free Library programs, please visit www.SawyerFreeLibrary.org.

2024 Poetry without Paper Winners

Elementary School:

1st:       Helen Larabell, Plum Cove, 4th grade, “Believe”

2nd:      Kat Rowe-Joyce, West Parrish, 5th grade, “Last Time”

3rd:      Sophia Oliveira, West Parrish, 4th grade, “Perfect Life”

HM:    Freja McLanahan, Beeman, 1st grade “The Angry Guardians”

HM:    Adelia Crowell, Plum Cove, 5th grade, “The Cat of Lanesville”

Middle School:

1St:      Vivian Payne, O’Maley, 8th grade, “Regrets”

2nd:      Vivian Davies, O’Maley, 7th grade, “Pen to Paper”

3rd:      Matilda Bruce, O’Maley 7th grade, “Silence”

HM:    Iona Fishburn, Waring School, 6th grade, “My Cold Walk Around the Block”

HM:     Alivia Deyeso, O’Maley, 7th grade, “Silence Poem”

High School:

1St:      Johnny Sheridan, Waring School, 11th grade, “Elegy for the Impermanent”

2nd:      Emma Wilt, Essex North Shore Agr. & Tech, “Not Quite a Dream”

3rd:      Aleena Brown, GHS, 9th grade, “Ambcatcher31”

HM:    Hope Castelucci, GHS, 10th grade, “Yellow”

HM:    Phoebe Hone, GHS, 10th grade “What Redemption Feels Like”

Photo above of 2024 Poetry Without Paper Winners: Back row, left to right: Sawyer Free Library’s Christy Rosso, Vivian Payne, Vivian Davies, Alivia Deyeso, Matilda Bruce, Hope Castelucci, Phoebe Hone, Former Poet Laureate John Rosso; Front row: Freja McLanahan, Kat Rowe-Joyce, Adelia Crowell, Helen Larabell  Missing from photo: Sophia Oliveira, Iona Fishburn, Johnny Sheridan, Emma Wilt,  Aleena Brown

2024 Small Business Persons of the Year Celebratory Dinner

~ Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce invites you to join us at the Chamber’s 44th Annual Small Business Awards Dinner on Thursday, June 13 from 5 to 8 PM at the Castle Manor Inn, Gloucester, to honor the 2024 Greater Cape Ann Small Business Persons of the Year. This year’s honorees include Erika Brown, Publisher/Editor of The Manchester Cricket (Manchester-by-the-Sea); Jack & Cathy Porter, Sandy Bay Service Center, Inc (Rockport); The Ellis Family (Heath & Tom Ellis), The Schooner Thomas E. Lannon (Gloucester); Ramie Reader, Reader Electrical (Essex); and John P. Muldoon, Publisher/Editor of The Local News (Ipswich).

Every year since 1981 the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce has celebrated Small Businesses to honor the achievements of our region’s small business entrepreneurs and their employees and to thank them for their contributions to the economic vitality and community life of the greater Cape Ann region.

Friends, family members, and colleagues of all small business honorees are invited and encouraged to attend the awards dinner. Tickets for the dinner are available for $75. Please visit the chamber website (www.capeannchamber.com) to register for the dinner and for more information on the 2024 Small Business Persons of the Year.

Sponsored by:

Local Author Talk: Nonna, What is Saint Peter’s Fiesta?

~ Sawyer Free Library

In celebration of the St. Peter’s Fiesta, the Sawyer Free Library is pleased to host a local author talk with Laura Ventimiglia on Thursday, June 27 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm as she discusses her book, Nonna, What is Saint Peter’s Fiesta? The fiesta is a longstanding tradition in Gloucester, Massachusetts that pays homage to Saint Peter, the patron saint of fishermen and it celebrates the town’s historic fishing industry

Laura M. Alberghini is a third-generation Italian American and a retired college educator, author, and administrator who established Buttieri press in 2015 to support the preservation of family histories and traditions. She released her first book, A Letter to My Children, An Italian American Family’s Heritage, in 2016 as a dual language book in English and Italian. She lives in Gloucester, Ma with her family.

The event is open to all at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. No registration needed.

For more information or question, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Gloucester Genealogy Group: Genealogy & Deeds

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Saturday, June 15 from 10:30 to 11:30 am the Sawyer Free Library will host the Gloucester Genealogy Group to discuss the topic of Genealogy and Deeds.

Join Nancy Fitzgerald Doherty from the Southern Essex Registry of Deeds for a presentation on how to use and search the records of the Salem Deeds. The Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds maintains and provides access to land records for Southern Essex District and all of Essex County prior to 1869. The Salem Registry has the oldest continuous land records in the country dating back to 1639. Many older documents contain information on the people who owned the land, including professions, family members, and sometimes wills and estate listing. The Registry also maintains the Old Norfolk Deed Books, Ipswich Deed Books, Books of Executions and Depositions, historic city and town atlases, historic assessor maps, city directories and microfilm copies of early probate records. All of which can be helpful when trying to trace history within Essex County.

All interested are welcome to attend. Registration required at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

SFL to host Wellspring Inc.’s presentation of History Lives Here: The Freeman Family of West Gloucester

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is pleased to host its community partner Wellspring, Inc. on Thursday, June 13 at 5:30 pm as they present HISTORY LIVES HERE and share the information they uncovered about the Freemans of West Gloucester, a prominent Black American family. 

Born in 1731, Robin was enslaved to Captain Charles Byles, a mariner whose property was located across the street from Wellspring House. In his struggle to self-emancipate, Robin paid Capt. Byles 1# and 12 schillings in 1769 to secure his freedom. This was 21 years before there would be no recorded enslaved people in Massachusetts. When he died , Capt. Byles left Robin 40 schillings in his will.

In 1826, Robin’s son, Robert purchased this house and land and made it his family home. We will share with you the Freeman family stories of opportunity and resilience and learn more about their contributions to the Greater Cape Ann community. Your presence and interest honors Robin Freeman his family and their legacy.

All are welcome. No registration required. For more information, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org

Where: Sawyer Free Library, 21 Main Street, downtown Gloucester

When: Thursday, June 13 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm

~ Hammond Castle Museum

6:30 pm Reception
7:00-8:00 pm Curated Readings

On the evening of Sunday, June 9th, in conjunction with our Pride month mini-exhibit Maximus to Aquarius: Gerrit Lansing and Set Magazine, opening June 7th, Hammond Castle Museum will host a reception and curated reading celebrating the legacy of Gloucester and the Museum as significant sites in the history of Queer American poetry. Throughout his remarkable life, our founder John Hays Hammond Jr. (b. 1888-d.1965) was a part of a fascinatingly diverse community of Queer individuals, which met at his architecturally unique Museum, called the city of Gloucester home, and stretched from Cape Ann across the country and beyond. In examining our Museums archive, Hammond’s correspondence with these people, among whom were some of the inventor’s closest friends and loved ones, paints a small picture of a vast network of deeply creative individuals which was the lifeblood of a fundamentally transformative period in the history of Gloucester, and America’s, cultural identity.

This Pride Month, join us in celebrating this important and often overlooked aspect of local history and culture. With readings by Mia Contilli, James Cook, Lucas Cotterman, Shaina Doberman, Jim Dunn, Caroline Harvey, Brian King, Eryn O’Sullivan, David Rich, and Malachi Rosen from works by Charles Olson, John Wieners, Robert Duncan, Gerrit Lansing, Daisy Alden, and many others, including, for the first time, newly unearthed poems by John Hays Hammond Jr. himself. Along the way, learn about these figures’ ongoing relationships—their friendships, rivalries, and romances, with one another—and their personal significance within the broader tapestry of Queer history. The evening will culminate in a reading of a unique illuminated version of Abbadia Mare, a poem written by Gerrit Lansing in the Museum’s Guest Book in 1959 about the building and personally dedicated to Hammond.

Admission: $30
Availability is limited.
Hammond Castle Museum Member savings apply.

Reserve Yours Seats Here

DIY with SFL: Flower Crowns and Boutonnieres

~ Sawyer Free Library

Whether you’re getting ready for prom or you just like flowers, enjoy this crafty program with the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday, May 30 from 2:30 to 4:00 pm at the Cape Ann YMCA.

Together we’ll be making flower crowns and boutonnieres using fresh flowers. All materials will be provided. The fun event is open to students in 6th through 12th grade. You do not need to be headed to a prom to attend this program – everyone is welcome.

Space is limited, please register at sawyerfreelibrary.org to hold your spot.

For questions, contact: anakoneczny@sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Local Author Talk with Sally Goldenbaum on Thursday, May 30

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is pleased to welcome local author Sally Goldenbaum of the best-selling Seaside Knitters mystery series inspired by Gloucester and Cape Ann on Thursday, May 30 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at 21 Main Street.

Sally will discuss the most recent installment in the series, and the next in the series releasing in November. She’ll delve into what cozy mysteries are and how they differ from other sub-genres, how and why she began writing them, and the process of writing itself.

When: Thursday, May 30 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm

Where: Sawyer Free Library, 21 Main Street, Downtown Gloucester

No registration required. For more information or questions, contact:  lsvensson@sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.