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.

Second Glance Now Open for Shopping on TUESDAYS!

~ todtheopendoor

Second Glance, Thrift Store of The Open Door, has added an extra day of shopping! Starting on TUESDAY MAY 21 Second Glance will now be open for shopping Tuesday – Saturday from 9AM – 5PM at 2 Pond Road, Gloucester MA 01930.

Donation appointments can be made at FOODPANTRY.org/booknow and are available Monday – Saturday. Same-day appointments often available.

Revenue at Second Glance helps support hunger-relief programs of The Open Door. Learn more at FOODPANTRY.org

Sawyer Free Library’s Gloucester Genealogy Group: Using DNA in Family History Research

~ Sawyer Free Library

As part of its Gloucester Genealogy Group Series, the Sawyer Free Library will present “Using DNA in Family History Research” on Thursday, May 16 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Registration is required at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

This lecture by Senior Genealogist, Melanie McComb, will introduce participants to the value and use of DNA in family history research. Basic DNA principles, types of tests, testing companies and key terminology will be introduced. Discussion includes interpreting your results and evaluating the matches found by the testing company. Organizing your results will also be covered.

Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist at American Ancestors, assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is an international lecturer who teaches on a variety of topics. Melanie holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She previously served as the social media coordinator for the NextGen Genealogy Network, a non-profit that creates a community for younger genealogists, where she managed the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She continues her interest in helping younger genealogists get involved at American Ancestors by assisting with educational programs from local schools, scout groups, and universities. Her areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, DNA, Atlantic Canada, Jewish genealogy, and military records.

This special event will take place at the Sawyer Free Library located at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. Registration is required at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

For more information or questions, email jtravers@sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.