Now Open: Backyard Growers’ May Seedling Sale

~ backyardgrowersgloucester

Shop online

Backyard Growers’ May Seedling Sale is open for online ordering through Wednesday, May 17, for curbside pickup and in-person shopping on Saturday, May 20. Purchase veggie seedlings including a variety of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and basil started by our pals at Cedar Rock Gardens. We sell individual plants rather than four-packs.

This sale also features other growing supplies including Neptune’s Harvest fish & seaweed fertilizer, High Mowing Organic Seeds, GrowBags, and more. All orders will be available for pickup at Backyard Growers HQ on Saturday, May 20, 11am-2pm. Plus, we’ll have extra seedlings and other goodies for in-person purchase.

Proceeds support our work building healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Stop by to say hello and get your veggie garden up and running for the 2023 growing season!

Memoir Talk: Author Talk with Virginia McKinnon on Thursday evening, May 18

~ Sawyer Free Library

As a part of May’s Local Memoir Series, the Sawyer Free Library is pleased to present Virginia McKinnon as she reads from her newly released memoir, A Fisherman’s Daughter: Growing Up Sicilian-American in the Oldest Fishing Port in America. All are invited to this special evening on Thursday, May 18, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.

At age 93, this first-time author shares short stories of her heritage growing up in Gloucester, spanning her lifetime, including her late husband’s WWII experiences in the Asiatic Pacific. Drawing on her vivid memories from throughout her life as a child when she could hop fishing boat to fishing boat during St. Peter’s Fiesta in Gloucester Harbor to the joyful celebrations of marriage and family life, to her community and public life work as a social worker, eucharistic minister, lector, and writer, Virginia’s book documents a cultural history of a way of life in Gloucester and America.

The event is free and open to the public at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street, Gloucester. For more information and to register, visit, sawyerfreelibrary.org.

2nd Annual WellFest: Saturday, May 20 @ Harvey Park in Rockport

~ Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce

Join the Greater Cape Ann Chamber’s Health & Wellness Committee for the 2nd Annual WellFest: A Greater Cape Ann Community Wellness Fair. This year, we are moving to Harvey Park in Rockport!

This event will showcase the Cape Ann region’s broad range of health and wellness services. This event will provide something for people of all ages!

  • Food & Nutrition
  • Movement, Balance & Exercise
  • Hearing & Vision
  • Health in Mind, Body & Spirit
  • Youth Development & Lifelong Learning 
  • Senior Readiness

Here is the list of attending vendors (* = offering free raffle):

  • 4GBS – For the Grand Bandquet of Sexuality *
  • ABC Home Healthcare Professionals *
  • Action Inc.
  • Addison Gilbert Hospital
  • Arbonne Consultant
  • Backyard Growers *
  • Beauport Hearing Care
  • Bonneville Design
  • Cape Ann Animal Aid
  • Cape Ann Botanicals *
  • Cape Ann Lanes *
  • Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA)
  • Cape Ann YMCA
  • Cometeer
  • Disability Resource Center *
  • Eastern Essex Regional Public Health Coalition
  • Essex County OB/GYN Associates *
  • Gloucester Health Department
  • Manchester Essex Conservation Trust *
  • North Shore Adventures *
  • NorthShore24 Fitness *
  • ONESTOP Harm Reduction Center *
  • Rockport Art Association & Museum *
  • Rockport Council on Aging
  • Rockport Exchange *
  • SeniorCare Inc.
  • Supportive Living Inc.
  • The Open Door
  • Treetop Yoga *

Thank you to our Sponsors:

Young Gloucester Scientist Club: Vernal Pond Field Trip – Friday, May 19

~ Sawyer Free Library

For May’s Young Gloucester Scientists Club field trip, they have teamed up with Rick Roth and the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team to learn about the link woodland creatures, such as salamanders and frogs, have to ponds in Gloucester.  Suitable for 4th-8th graders.

Join in on the fun on Friday afternoon, May 19 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. `Location details will be sent after registering.

The event is free but you need to register at SawyerFreeLibrary.org.

Learn Baby Sign Language at Sawyer Free Library on May 15

~ Sawyer Free Library

Sawyer Free Library is pleased to offer Baby Sign Language with Baby Keands on Monday, May 15 from 10:20 – 12 noon at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.

Learn about the benefits of signing with babies from Sheryl White of Baby Kneads. During this free class, caregivers will learn how to teach American Sign Language to their little ones, practice several signs and more.

This event will be held at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street. Register at sawyerfreelibrary.org. Questions? Contact: jvitale@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Help Stamp Out Hunger this Saturday!

~ todtheopendoor

Make a donation this weekend without leaving home!

Residents of Gloucester, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport: please leave non-perishable, unexpired food donations in a bag by your mailbox this Saturday to be delivered by your local letter carrier to The Open Door!

PLEASE, NO GLASS!

MOST NEEED ITEMS:

  • Coffee
  • Condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo, and salad dressings)
  • Cooking oil
  • Peanut butter
  • Tuna

IF you live outside the above communities, please contact your local post office to learn if they will be participating in the National Association of Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive this year.

Thank you! Your support helps stock the shelves and connect local people to the food they need to thrive.

In 2022, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 8,486 people from 4,872 households through the distribution of 1.78 million pounds of food.

More information about The Open Door and its programs available at FOODPANTRY.org

Memoir Series: Author Talk with STELLA NAHATIS 

~ Sawyer Free Library

As a part of May’s Memoir Month, the Sawyer Free Library is pleased to welcome local author Stella Nahatis on Thursday, May 11 at 5:30 to discuss her newly released memoir, Taxi to America: A Greek Orphan’s Adoption Journey. All are welcome to attend this special event at the Library located at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.   To register click HERE or for more information, visit, sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Stella’s journey from Thessaloniki, Greece, to America begins with a pre-dawn taxi ride that she and her sister share while the coffin holding a loved one rides along in the taxi’s trunk. Orphaned and separated from her younger sister “for her own good” as the culture dictated at the time, Stella ends up being adopted by a Greek couple that had emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. At age 11, she overcomes multiple losses and cultural differences to find a place in her new homeland while finding ways to stay connected to those she loved in Greece.

This story of resilience and perseverance follows Stella’s journey of becoming an “Amerikanaki” and eventually reconnecting with her sister, who had stayed in Greece with her own set of adoptive parents. Even as Stella embraces her new life and culture in America, she rebuilds her loving relationship with her sister after an eight-year separation. Later in life, the sisters take another taxi ride together, this time to recover important details of their birth parents’ life stories that mirror the determination to survive and thrive that marks their own.

To register, or for more information, visit, sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Teacup Flower Sale

~ Dot Sieradzki

Seaside Garden Club members will be selling Teacups in front of Manchester Post Office on Saturday, May 13, to benefit the club’s 2023-2024 season. This is our only fundraiser of the year. Just in time for Mothers’ Day, pick out a fancy teacup with a flowering plant tucked inside.

Vote For Your Favorite Local Businesses To Be Featured On Gloucester Zip Trip- Voting Closes Wednesday!!!!!

~ Joey Ciaramitaro

Joey Ciaramitaro's avatarGood Morning Gloucester

VOTE NOW FOR YoUR FAVES!!!

Click here to vote
Nominate Your Favorite Local Businesses for the Gloucester Zip Trip August 4th!
Boston 25 News, in collaboration with the City of Gloucester, is bringing aZip Trip to Gloucester on August 4, 2023! The Zip Trip team wants to showcase some of Gloucester’s locally-owned restaurants and small businesses, and we want to hear from you — which businesses do you consider staples of our community?
Nominate your favorite restaurant, and your favorite business inthis nomination form, and the top 3 in each category will be shared with the Zip Trip team to highlight in August!
Pleasesubmit your nominationbyWednesday, May 10 at 12:00pm.
Nominate Your Favorite Locally-Owned Restaurant & Business

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