The Sawyer Free Library is pleased to share that the Gloucester Genealogy Group is back in action and kicking off its monthly meetings this January at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.
Researching your genealogy can provide information about where your ancestors lived, what they did, and how they may have lived. The Sawyer Free Library holds a vast and diverse collection of resources to help you with your research. In addition, each month, the Library’s Gloucester Genealogy Group will present genealogy-related programming, including lectures from guest speakers with expertise in numerous related topics. All events are free and open to the public. Registration is required at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
On Saturday, January 27 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. nationally recognized professional genealogist, author and lecturer, Senior Genealogist Rhonda McClure will present virtually to the group at 21 Main Street on “Getting Started in Italian Research.” This lecture looks at how to start researching your Italian ancestors by examining records generated in the U.S. and Italy and what is most important in effectively researching Italian records.
Then on Saturday, February 17, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., Rhonda McClure will again join the group virtually to share about the importance and details of “Organizing Your Family Papers.” The March meeting will be presented in partnership with the Rockport Public Library. On March 9 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., the Libraries will welcome Michael Brophy, a nationally known, professional genealogical researcher, heir search specialist, and lecturer from the Boston area. This event will occur in the Brenner Room of the Rockport Public Library.
Registration is now open for all three Gloucester Genealogy events at sawyerfreelibrary.org or by calling 978-325-5500.
Currently the Sawyer Free Library offers a wide variety of local history resources, in person and online, at its temporary location at 21 Main Street. The Library’s Local History Collection contains materials about Gloucester and Cape Ann and written by and about Gloucester and Cape Ann authors. Subjects include local history, genealogy, biography, and some fiction. Materials are in the form of books, hand-printed items, maps, city documents, and more.
The Sawyer Free Library is looking forward to officially opening its renovated, expanded, and modernized space in the fall of 2025 which will feature a Local History Research Center. This new center will revolutionize how Gloucester’s historical research materials are curated, archived, preserved, and accessed, offering an insider’s passport to the rich cultural history of the city and region.
For more information about Sawyer Free Library’s digital archives, local history resources, and services or to register for the Gloucester Genealogy Events, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500
To learn more about or to invest in the 2025 Sawyer Free Library’s History Research Center, please visit sawyerfree2025.org.
All are invited to join the Greater Cape Ann Chamber’s 102nd Annual Celebration at Shalin Liu Performance Center on Friday, January 26 from 5 to 9 PM as we welcome incoming 2024 Board President Karen Ristuben and thank 2023 Board President Loran Caputo. Tickets may be purchased online at bit.ly/AnnualCelebration2024 or by calling the Chamber at 978-283-1601. Ticket options include Program and Cocktail Reception plus Live Performances for $100; or Live Performances Only at $45 for adults and $20 for youth under 18. See below for a list of the talented performers (there will also be a surprise guest performer!)
With the 2024 theme of Creativity, Culture & Commerce: Stronger Together, our goal this year is to inspire new synergies between greater Cape Ann’s arts, culture, and business communities. This unique Annual Celebration represents the visual and performing arts – music, painting, drama, poetry, and dance – from all five of our communities.
The Program and Cocktail Reception will be held from 5 to 7 PM (heavy appetizers). The Live Performances begin at 7:30 PM.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
ADDITIONAL ARTISTS
* Finished artwork to be sold via Silent Auction. Silent Auction bidding sheets are available in the Lobby.
Additional art pieces by Loren Doucette will be on display and available for retail purchase.
Thank you to our sponsors:
PRODUCER LEVEL
DESIGNER LEVEL
The Sawyer Free Library is pleased to host the Cape Ann Climate Coalition on Thursday, January 25, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at 21 Main Street for an interactive presentation on the benefits of electrifying everything in your home.
Whether you rent or own, are ready to make decisions, or are gathering information for future decisions, you’ll want to attend this free discussion. Learn from Cape Ann residents about what you can do as a Cape Ann resident to “Electrify Everything” and make your home here on Cape Ann more energy efficient.
The event will feature a “Breakfast for Dinner” demonstration on induction cooktops. They will make pancakes, hot cocoa, and tea for everyone to eat and drink using induction cooktops; explain the benefits of cooking with induction stoves; raffle off a portable induction cooktop; and discuss the energy rebates and incentives for all income households, including tenant households. The event is free and open to all. Registration is requested at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
The Sawyer Free Library, temporarily located at 21 Main Street and online 24/7, is looking forward to officially opening its new and modernized space in the fall of 2025. The renovated and expanded 2025 Sawyer Free Library will be the first public building on Cape Ann that generates renewable energy from solar and uses no fossil fuels for the building’s site energy. The Sawyer Free Library is committed to achieving a LEED Gold Certification and Mass Save Path 1 Net- Zero-Ready Verification —a status achieved by minimizing energy demand, generating as much electricity on site as possible through solar, and securing a renewable source for additional electricity to achieve net-zero energy.
The Sawyer Free Library knows that every action we take individually and collectively toward making our environment resilient and sustainable is a step toward a net zero-impact future.
To learn more about or to invest in the 2025 Sawyer Free Library’s sustainability features, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org/sustainability.
For more information or to register for the Electrify Everything presented by the Cape Ann Climate Coalition on Thursday, January 25, at 5:30 pm, go to sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.
Have you ever wondered what everyone around the community has been reading? Look no further as Sawyer Free Library has dug into its data and compiled a list of some of the most popular books from 2023, sharing its top checkouts for adults, teens, and children.
With SFL’s total circulation last year close to 170,000, new authors and familiar favorites, including Geraldine Brooks, Jodi Picoult, and Barbara Kingsolver, were among the most read books, eBooks, and audiobooks. Royalty graced the list with Prince Harry Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare, which became a must-read for many library users. Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel Lessons in Chemistry was another favorite, along with Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist Ed Yong’s New York Times bestseller An Immense World, a multisensory exploration of the many ways in which animals perceive their environment.
Of the thousands print, digital, and audiobooks borrowed from the Sawyer Free Library, these were Gloucester’s favorites in 2023:
Top Adult Fiction:
Top Adult Nonfiction:
The top checkouts for children’s books featured titles from popular series, including Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, and The Babysitter Club based on the novel by Ann M. Martin.
The Young Adult titles with the highest circulation were The Tryout, a graphic novel about courage and friendship by Christina Soontornvat, Throne of Glass, the first in Sarah J. Maas’s popular fantasy book series along with the classic novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the powerful nonfiction book, Killers of the Flower Moon by journalist David Grann.
Top Teen Fiction:
Top Children’s:
Find these and millions of other books through the Sawyer Free Library. Visit the Library at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester or sawyerfreelibrary.org where Librarians are always there to help you find a new book to read and much more.
Approximately 14,000 people currently possess Sawyer Free Library cards. Anyone who resides or attends school in Gloucester can obtain a Library card for free by applying in person, online, or by mail. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
The Sawyer Free Library, temporarily located at 21 Main Street and online 24/7, remains committed to providing a dynamic and enriching environment for all and looks forward to officially opening its newly renovated, expanded, and modernized space in the fall of 2025. For details on the 2025 Sawyer Free Library and the many ways to support this historic project, visit sawyerfree2025.org.
Recently winning Editor’s Choice for 2024’s Best Bridal Shows by Northshore Magazine, join the Beauport Hospitality Group’s Wedding team (Beauport Hotel, Cruiseport Gloucester, Beauport Cruiselines) and the best Professional Vendors in the business for our annual Wedding Showcase hosted by The 617 Event Group!
Meet, mix and mingle with vendors in every category, leading up to and during your wedding day, while viewing one of the North Shore’s premiere wedding venues – Cruiseport Gloucester.
We will also be showcasing Beauport Cruiselines, Editor’s Choice winner for Unique Venues 2024 by Northshore Magazine, docked just outside Cruiseport. Specializing in all of life’s celebrations, our Cruiseship is perfect for your unique rehearsal, dinner or wedding!
Purchase tickets today! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beauport-hospitality-group-wedding-showcase-2024-tickets-790603535457
Please join the Sawyer Free Library and the Gloucester 400+ on Wednesday, January 31 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Beauport Hotel Gloucester to celebrate the launch of the Gloucester Timeline: An Interactive History and the relocation of the digital Gloucester 400 Stories Project to the Library.
The celebratory community event will feature story-tellers from the community, an interactive Gloucester trivia game, and a demo of the Library’s new interactive research tool. The evening is FREE and open to all to attend. No registration required.
The Gloucester Timeline is the Sawyer Free Library’s legacy gift to the City to commemorate its 400th anniversary. The Timeline traces Gloucester’s unique history through culturally and historically significant people, places and events that have made Gloucester what it is today. Spearheaded by Sawyer Free Library with support from the Cape Ann Museum and Gloucester City Archives, the Gloucester Timeline also connects people to cultural organizations, archival repositories and historical collections where more information is available. Gloucester 400+ staff have made extensive use of the Timeline in 2023 to illustrate and highlight significant events in our history. The launching of the Gloucester Timeline by SFL makes this new interactive research tool available to the public online.
The collection of stories gathered over the course of the past year has been assembled into the Gloucester 400 Stories Project. This award-winning digital collection of stories, poems and videos, has until now, been available on the Gloucester 400+ website. The collection is about Gloucester people by Gloucester people and is a powerful voice of ordinary and not-so-ordinary citizens. The Gloucester 400 Stories Project too represents a 400+ legacy gift to the City.
Now that the quadricentennial year is over, the Gloucester 400 Stories Project collection will be permanently housed in the 2025 Sawyer Free Library’s new Local History Research Center located on the first floor of the newly renovated, expanded, and modernized Library, the Local History Research Center.
Event Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Where: Beauport Ballroom, Beauport Hotel, 55 Commercial Street, Gloucester
The event is free and open to all to attend. Registration is NOT required.
For more details visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or gloucesterma400.org.
Rockport Middle/High School Performing Arts Performances Open to the Public
Enjoy live music and theater performances put on by passionate and talented students
ROCKPORT, MA – The Rockport Middle/High School Performing Arts Department would like to invite interested community members to attend their upcoming student concerts and theater productions.
Rockport Middle School presents their winter musical: Shrek Jr
Performances will be held in the John Lane Auditorium at Rockport Middle/High School on Thursday, January 25th and Friday, January 26th at 7:00 pm; with a matinee on Saturday, January 27th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available at the door. They are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.
All shows are open to the public. The Rockport Public Schools is appreciative of the incredible community support of the fine and performing arts programs and is proud to provide their students with a variety of high quality programs.
Learn about the power of salt as you join the Sawyer Free Library and The Open Door to make your own ice cream on Saturday, January 20th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 21 Main Street in Downtown Gloucester. The event is open to the public to come and enjoy!
Make scientific observations as you add ingredients and watch the power of salt in action. The best part will be enjoying your own homemade ice cream!
This event is part of the 3rd Annual Gloucester’s So Salty Festival which is free and open to the public.
Celebrate the fish city’s recognizably salty character with local cultural institutions and businesses during the 3rd Annual Gloucester’s So Salty festival led by the Cape Ann Museum in partnership with area cultural institutions and businesses. Inspired by the annual Salem’s So Sweet event, this two-day event will include ice sculptures, live music, salty treats, free kids’ art activities, and much more.
For more information visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.
Tickets may be purchased online at bit.ly/AnnualCelebration2024 or by calling the Chamber at 978-283-1601.
All are welcome to join the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce at Shalin Liu Performance Center on Friday, January 26 from 5 to 9 PM as we welcome incoming 2024 Board President Karen Ristuben and thank 2023 Board President Loran Caputo.
We will also be welcoming new additions to the 2024 Board of Directors:
Outgoing Board members will also be recognized:
With the 2024 theme of Creativity, Culture & Commerce: Stronger Together, our goal this year is to inspire new synergies between greater Cape Ann’s arts, culture, and business communities.
This unique Annual Celebration represents the visual and performing arts – music, painting, drama, poetry, and dance – from all five of our communities.
The Program and Cocktail Reception will be held from 5 to 7 PM (heavy appetizers). The Live Performances begin at 7:30 PM. Ticketing options include:
LIVE PERFORMANCES
ADDITIONAL ARTISTS
* Finished artwork to be sold via Silent Auction. Silent Auction bidding sheets available in the Lobby.
Additional art pieces by Loren Doucette will be on display and available for retail purchase.
Cape Ann Big Band Musicians
| Carlos Menezes Jr | Rick Geraghty | Matt Naeger |
| Art Adamson | Alexandra Grace | Scott Parisi |
| Ed Biggs | Emily Grace | Amy Rich |
| Chris Bodek | John Hicks | John Rockwell |
| Nick Capello | Rhiannon Hurst | Nathan Seavey |
| Dana Cohen | Shawn Lowe | Steve Silva |
| Henley Douglas Jr | Tom Madore | Ben Tuck |
| Dan Fleury | Trevor McCoy | Gary Wolsieffer |
BrassFed Nation Youth Swing Band Musicians
| David Ber | Wil DeFort | John Merchant |
| Scarlett Berge | Thomas Dort | Nate Morin |
| Rowan Berlin | Alexis Geary | Alessandro Schoc |
| Soli Boraks | Robert Geary | Amos Telep |
| Sean Buckley* | Nathan Gorman-Melo | Rosie Telep |
| Anita Burns | Henry Goulart | Jackson Weber |
| Jessica Cote | Nick Kilroy | Jude Worthleye |
Tickets may be purchased online at bit.ly/AnnualCelebration2024 or by calling the Chamber at 978-283-1601.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Cape Ann Community 