Reminder: Sawyer Free Library Annual Meeting this Wednesday evening, Nov 15! All invited!

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library Corporation will be hosting its Annual Meeting on THIS Wednesday evening, November 15 at the Gloucester Stage located at 267 East Main Street in Gloucester from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. with corporators sign-in beginning at 6:00 p.m.  The meeting will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome by the President of the Library’s Board of Trustees, Mern Sibley, followed by remarks by Mayor Greg Verga. A construction update of the 2025 Sawyer Free Library renovation, modernization, and expansion project will be provided by Jon Rich, president of the construction management firm W.T. Rich. In addition, new members of the Library Corporation and Board of Trustees will be elected, and the Mary M. Weissblum Volunteer Award will be presented to Kecia German. The evening will also pay tribute to Beth Pocock, who recently retired after a decade of exceptional service as the Assistant Library Director.

Refreshments will be served. The meeting is open to the public, but only corporators can vote. For more information, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Rockport PTO 2023 Holiday Fair

~ rebsly
pto holiday fair logo only, color

Saturday, November 18th
9:30 to 2 PM
Rockport High School
24 Jerdens Lane, Rockport

Come get your holiday shopping done or buy something unique for yourself! We will have:

  • Amazing Crafters and Artists
  • Photos with Santa
  • Gingerbread House Kits
  • Face Painting
  • Sensory Art Table
  • Surprise Jars for the Kids (they sell out fast!)
  • High Quality Raffle Items
  • Yummy Baked Goods
  • Coffee and Lunch

This is just a small sample of some of the amazing items that will be there!

NEW Folly Coves Added to Second Glance Online Auction

"Head of the Cove" Placemat by Louise Kenyon (1945)
~ todtheopendoor
"Head of the Cove" Placemat by Louise Kenyon (1945)
“Head of the Cove” Placemat by Louise Kenyon (1945) is one of two new designs added to the auction thanks to a generous donor.

Two NEW Folly Cove designs have been added to an online auction by Second Glance to benefit hunger-relief programs of The Open Door.

The new designs include Peggy Norton’s “Deciduous” wall hanging and Louise Kenyon’s “Head of the Cove” placemat. VIEW the designs and BID at bit.ly/follycoveatsg

The online auction, scheduled to close on Thursday, November 16, is being held in conjunction with a special Folly Cove event at Second Glance THIS THURSDAY, November 9.

Elena M. Sarni, author of “Trailblazing Women Printmakers: Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios and The Folly Cove Designers” will share a presentation at the event, followed by a short Q & A and book signing.

Tickets for the event, at $10 each, are also available at bit.ly/follycoveticket.

Additional framed Folly Cove designs, on loan from a collector and not for sale, will also be on display for the event. Second Glance Thrift Store will remain open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 only in conjunction with the event.  

Light refreshments will also be available. 

“Deciduous” Wall Hanging by Peggy Norton (1957)
“Deciduous” Wall Hanging by Peggy Norton (1957) is one of two new designs added to the auction thanks to a generous donor.

Current Workforce Challenges Panel Discussion

~ Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce

Please join the Greater Cape Ann Innovators Collaborative for a free expert panel discussion on Current Workforce Challenges and solutions for the existing labor market. Our panel of experts will be presenting innovative strategies to recruit, retain and develop the workforce. Each presentation will be approximately 15 minutes. There will be a question-and-answer period and open discussion following the presentations.

Panelists

  • Jason Andree, Vice President, Addison Gilbert Hospital
  • Neil Costa, CEO, HireClix
  • William Heineman, President, North Shore Community College
  • Kathy Low, Sr. HR Business Partner, SPG Varian Business Unit, Applied Materials

Light appetizers and cash bar will be offered. Registration is required for this FREE event.
To register, please visit https://bit.ly/CAIC-Workforce or email info@capeannchamber.com.

What is the Cape Ann Innovators Collaborative?
An initiative of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, CAIC is a collaborative of innovators, entrepreneurs, makers, artists, designers, developers and producers dedicated to supporting people from all walks of life in their endeavors to create lasting, innovative change, with the ultimate objective of growing the economy and creating new jobs. The CAIC Forums are designed to Inform and Inspire.

DOWNLOAD FLYERDownload Flyer

‘Polis is This’ Film Screening at Little Art Cinema

~ g400+events

The public is invite to a screening of ‘Polis Is This: Charles Olson & the Persistence of Place’ on November 10, 2023 at 7:30 pm at Little Art Cinema -Rockport, MA. The film is by Henry Ferrini & Ken Riaf – Featuring John Malkovich. Free Admission – all donations welcome.

With Peter Anastas, Amiri Baraka, Robin Blazer, Charles Boer, Robert Creeley, Diane di Prima, Vincent Ferrini, Gerrit Lansing, Pete Seeger, Ed Sanders, John Sinclair, John Stilgoe, Anne Waldman and Jonathan Williams. Music by Willie Alexander and Stephan Wolpe

Polis – a city state in Ancient Greece, esp. as considered in its ideal form for philosophical purposes.

Polis is This – a body of citizens in a particular place.

Do you really know what you see when you look out from the eyes in your head? Can one drop of seawater contain all the oceans with it? Is the universal only the local without walls? Travel with John Malkovich on a poetic romp that leads from your door to the edge of the universe. For Charles Olson it’s all about place. But beware, if you decide to enter his world, you may never look at yours in the same way. Find out for yourself why the best and brightest of the time beat a well worn path to this giant’s cold water shack down the Fort in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

REVIEWS:

“The best film about an American Poet ever made.” – Bill Corbett, Boston Phoenix

“Ferrini has a terrific eye…call him a poet of seeing.” – Mark Fenney, Boston Globe

“Documentary lyricism…beautiful and significant…” – Tom Perrotta, Author, Little Children

“…an invaluable contribution to our literature.” -Russell Banks, Author, The sweet Hereafter

Sawyer Free Library’s Annual Meeting – Wednesday evening, November 15

~ Sawyer Free Library

Mark your calendars! All are invited!

The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library Corporation will be hosting its Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening, November 15, 2023, at the Gloucester Stage located at 267 East Main Street in Gloucester from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. with corporators sign-in beginning at 6:00 p.m.  

The meeting will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome by the President of the Library’s Board of Trustees, Mern Sibley, followed by remarks by Mayor Greg Verga. A construction update of the 2025 Sawyer Free Library renovation, modernization, and expansion project will be provided by Jon Rich, president of the construction management firm W.T. Rich. In addition, new members of the Library Corporation and Board of Trustees will be elected, and the Mary M. Weissblum Volunteer Award will be presented to Kecia German for her years of service to the Library. The evening will also feature a special presentation to Beth Pocock, who recently retired after a decade of exceptional service as the Assistant Library Director.

Refreshments will be served. The meeting is open to the public, but only corporators can vote. For more information, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Lobster Trap Menorah Lighting at Temple Ahavat Achim!

~ g400+events

Temple Ahavat Achim lights the Lobster Trap Menorah!

As part of the Gloucester400+ celebration, T.A.A. invites the community to join them as they light the world’s only Lobster Trap Menorah to celebrate Channukah.

The outdoor event will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 5:30pm, with songs, sweet treats, and the lighting ceremony. Afterwards, the public is invited indoors for a free concert by Ezekial’s Wheels Klezmer Band, featuring our own Abigale Riesman.

Local Author Katherine Babson & her dog Pippi at SFL at 21 Main Street on Saturday, 11/4

~ Sawyer Free Library

Pippi Rocks! More Stories from the Dog Blog!

This Saturday, November 4 from 10:30 to 11:15 am join local author Katherine (Gig) Babson and Pippi her black Labrador retriever at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street as they share their newest picture book.  Hear stories from their many outdoor adventures at Dogtown, a favorite local spot of theirs on Cape Ann. The 26 Babson Boulders, which are engraved with inspirational inscriptions such as Kindness, Courage, & Never Try, Never Win are featured in their outdoor Dogtown adventures as well as Pippi’s training!

Pippi Rocks, More Stores from the Dog Blog is a charming tale of a curious, exceedingly clever Young Dog’s exploits. The antics of Pippi are non-stop in these tales of her mischievous adventures by Katherine (Gig) Babson. The book is a warm and inspiring affirmation of how a dog’s and its owner’s reciprocal love brings deep and unique meaning to their lives.

Registration is not required. All are welcome! For more information visit, sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

‘REFUSING TO PAY,’ GLOUCESTER’S ROLE IN THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE AND BUILDING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN AMERICA, NOVEMBER 18TH AT 2:00PM IN THE HISTORIC 1806 MEETINGHOUSE AT 50 MIDDLE STREET

~ chasnaz

This three-part program was specially created for Gloucester’s 400th Anniversary Celebration to share the story of how the Rev. John Murray and Gloucester Universalists in the 1780s set the key New England precedents for the Constitutional separation of church and state and promise of religious liberty throughout the country.

The opening segment is a video made for this occasion that tells the story about how Murray’s followers refused to pay Gloucester taxes in 1782 to support the town’s church system. Their valuables were seized so they had to sue the state to get them back. They won a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in 1786 that said “a free populace cannot be taxed to support a state church.”

Rev. Murray was in close contact with John Adams and other Founders, so this news traveled quickly to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, providing an important precedent the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’

The second segment features a monologue the Rev. John Murray, acted by Charles Nazarian, who magically returns to the Meetinghouse, sharing details about what happened around the famous court case. He will also explain how they also won a counter suit, brought by Gloucester Congregationalists, which eventually compelled the Massachusetts legislature to legally recognize diverse churches as well as Jewish synagogues.

The third segment will feature a panel discussion about why the guarantee of religious liberty matters as much today as it did in 1787 and how it remains an essential pillar of our democracy in this period of corrosive politics and culture wars seeking to deny freedom to minorities based upon religious beliefs. The audience will be invited to participate in Q&A with the panel.

A reception with light refreshments will follow at the Sargent House Museum, featuring the engraved silver pitcher that was confiscated from the home of Epes Sargent in 1782 to pay taxes to support the town’s Congregational Church’s expenses.  The museum is the elegant home of Judith Sargent Murray and her husband the Rev. John Murray, featuring exquisite family portraits, furnishings and possessions.

EVENT INFORMATION:  The event is free and open to the public.  The Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, is at the corner of Middle and Church Streets, GPS: 50 Middle Street.  An accessible side entrance with an elevator is located at 10 Church Street.  The Sargent House Museum is located at 49 Middle Street.  For more information please visit: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

CREDITS:  This event was jointly produced by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation, the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, and the Sargent House Museum. The video was created by Heather Atwood of 1623 Studios with Jon Brysh of New Leaf Productions. Screening and projection is being provided by the Cape Ann Community Cinema.  This presentation for the Gloucester 400th Celebration will be live-streamed on Channel 6 and will also be later available on YouTube.

Second Glance to Hold Trailblazing Women Printmakers Book Signing and Folly Cove Auction  

~ todtheopendoor
“Gloucester” wall hanging by Eino Natti, created in 1961, is one of three Folly Cove designs being auctioned off by Second Glance, Thrift Store of The Open Door.

Folly Cove enthusiasts and collectors are invited to a special event at Second Glance this November, featuring author Elena M. Sarni. Sarni will share a presentation from her newest book “Trailblazing Women Printmakers: Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios and The Folly Cove Designers,” followed by a book signing.  

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 9 from 6-8 p.m.  

WHERE: SG Home at Second Glance, 2 Pond Road, Gloucester MA 01930 

TICKETS: are available for $10 each at bit.ly/follycoveticket. 

ONLINE AUCTION: Second Glance is also holding an online auction for five Folly Cove pieces donated to the store. The auction launched on Thursday, Oct. 26 at bit.ly/follycoveatsg and will remain live through the event. The auction will close one week after the event, on Thursday, Nov. 16. 

“My Friday” placemat by Aino Clarke, created in 1950, is one of three Folly Cove designs being auctioned off by Second Glance, Thrift Store of The Open Door. (Photo Courtesy of The Open Door) 
“Fiddle Dee Dee” tablerunner by Aino Clarke, created in 1951, is one of three Folly Cove designs being auctioned off by Second Glance, Thrift Store of The Open Door. (Photo Courtesy of The Open Door) 

Additional framed Folly Cove designs, on loan from a collector and not for sale, will also be on display for the event. Second Glance Thrift Store will remain open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 only in conjunction with the event.  

Light refreshments will also be available.