Rocky Neck Polar Plunge Rings in New Year with Donations for The Open Door 

~ todtheopendoor
From left: Organizer Cathy McCarthy with volunteers Robin Surette and Eileen Kelley collect food donations at the Rocky Neck Polar Plunge on Sunday, Jan. 1. (Photo Courtesy of The Open Door) 

The Rocky Neck Polar Plunge rang in the new year with a splash on Sunday, collecting 512 pounds of food and $1,740 in donations for The Open Door. 

The annual tradition, coordinated since 2006 by Gloucester residents Cathy McCarthy and Jeff Surette with the help of a small group of volunteers, encourages locals to take a brisk dip in the water at Oakes Cove Beach on Rocky Neck to kick off the new year while simultaneously collecting food donations for The Open Door.  

People gather for the 2023 Rocky Neck Polar Plunge at Oakes Cove Beach in Gloucester.  
(Photo Courtesy of The Open Door) 

This year, McCarthy and Surette also partnered with Gloucester 400 to kick off the beginning of the new year and the City of Gloucester’s 400th anniversary.  

“As January arrives promising winter weather and higher heating bills, the Rocky Neck Polar Plunge helps The Open Door start the year right by bringing community together to welcome the New Year and to fill our pantry shelves,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “Community doesn’t get any better than this. We are grateful to Cathy McCarthy and Jeff Surette for organizing this annual East Gloucester tradition and the Gloucester 400 for putting food security on the priority list for 2023.”  

“We know that The Open Door is a need for many, and we want the community to know how important it is,” McCarthy said. “We need to help those that need it. It’s quite simple, isn’t it? It’s all about starting the new year off positively and having a little fun.” 

Approximately 150 people attended the event, including Mayor Greg Verga. To commence the plunge, Rocky Neck resident George Sibley read a poem, an annual tradition at the event.  

Mayor Greg Verga helps collect food donations for The Open Door at the Rocky Neck Polar Plunge on Sunday, Jan. 1. (Photo Courtesy of The Open Door) 

Those who were unable to attend but wish to donate to The Open Door can do so at FOODPANTRY.org/donate.  

From left: Jeff Surette and Cathy McCarthy at the 2023 Rocky Neck Polar Plunge.  (Photo Courtesy of The Open Door) 

About The Open Door   

The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security.  

Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham.  

For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org.  

Sawyer Free Library Unveils the Most Checked-Out Library Books of 2022

~ Sawyer Free Library

As the page turns on 2022, the Sawyer Free Library has compiled a list of some of the year’s most popular books, sharing the top checkouts for adults, teens, and children. Of the thousands of print, digital, and audiobooks patrons borrowed, these were Gloucester’s favorite books of 2022. 

“It’s not surprising that as we slowly regained our ability to leave our homes, our reading turned to reflect on the priorities and values of our time spent in quarantine. In 2022, Gloucester seemed to want to read stories about relationships, families, and the uncertainties of modern life,” said Beth Pocock, the Library’s Assistant Director. “The Sawyer Free Library takes great pride that our beloved community continually turns to us for unparalleled access to books, knowledge, and entertainment to feed their souls, brighten their spirits and enrich their lives.”

Top Adult Fiction

1. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

2. by Amor Towles

3. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult 

4. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

5. The Judge’s List by John Grisham

6. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

7. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

8. Never by Ken Follett

9. Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart

10. State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

The most borrowed book was Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William!, with a story full of family secrets that eventually grows into an uplifting meditation on our humanity. Taking the second spot is The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles follow-up to his blockbuster novel Gentleman from Moscow, a complex story about two brothers whom you’ll come to care as deeply about as you did Count Alexander Rostov. 

Another highlight on the list is Anthony Doerr’s celebrated novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land. A New York Times bestseller, National Book Award finalist, and Best Book of the Year by most major newspapers, Cloud Cuckoo Land follows five young dreamers through time and space from 1453 Constantinople to the future. 

The pandemic and its shared experience provided the underpinning for many of this year’s other favorites. In Wish You Were Here, Jodi Picoult tells a story about the pandemic shattering a well-planned life and providing a platform for rethinking priorities. A group of friends meeting in a country house to wait out the pandemic in isolation sets the stage for Gary Shteyngart’s book, Our Country Friends. Referred to by many as “The Great Pandemic Novel,” Shteyngart aptly captures the uncertainties of modern life we all felt so keenly during the pandemic. 

No list of Gloucester favorites is ever complete without a few good thrillers. One of this year’s most popular suspense writers, Liane Moriarty, adds Apples Never Fall to 2022’s list.  John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, The Judge’s List, and State of Terror, by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny aptly fill two other suspenseful slots.

Top Adult Nonfiction

1. The Gloucester Notebook by T.S. Eliot, 1888-1965

2. The Dawn Of Everything: A New History Of Humanity by David Graeber

3. Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson 

4. Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town by Elyssa East

5. Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric From Aristotle To Obama by Sam Leith 

6. Happy, Healthy Minds: A children’s guide to emotional wellbeing by The School Life

7. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story       

8. The Weekday Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach

9. Quick + Simple: Simply Wonderful Meals With Surprisingly Little Effort by Jacques Pepin

The top ten non-fiction titles circulated at Sawyer Free in 2022 reveal the range of demographic groups that the Library serves. For those who love Gloucester’s history and lore, the top spot went to The Gloucester Notebook by T.S. Eliot, a collection of poems the 21-year-old Eliot first began to write at Harvard.  The number two spot in local history went to Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town by Elyssa East.

Cape Ann’s long history of independent free-thinkers continues, with readers finding The Dawn of Everything and The 1619 Project appealing along with Caste The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson which remained on the list from last year. The books rewrite traditional history very differently in surprising and eye-opening ways. While many parents found a helpful tool with Happy, Healthy Minds, inspiring chefs looked for guidance from the likes of renowned cookbook author Jacques Pepin. And local students who made their way to the Sawyer Free Library for their summer reading materials found the most in demand book this summer was Words like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama. 

From familiar series to popular new releases, the Sawyer Free Library’s younger patrons read a lot in 2022. Children and young adults were browsing the Library’s shelves at record rates, in person and online, and to follow were some of their best-loved reads. 

For younger readers, Dog Man master Dav Pilkey chewed up the top spot on the most popular children’s books list. Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts and Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid graphic novel titles were also top reads this year. The Young Adult titles with the highest circulation were Welcome to the Dark House, the suspenseful story by Laurie Faria Stolarz, and Siege and Storm, the second book in Leigh Bardugo’s popular Shadow and Bone Trilogy and the compelling tale Spice & Wolf: Volume 1 by Isuna Hasekura.

Top Children/Teens Fiction

1. Dog Man: Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey

2. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

3. The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive by Joanna Cole

4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

5. The Thank You Book by Mo Willems

6. The Babysitters Club: Kristy and the Snobs by Chan Chau

7. Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

8. Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

10. Spice & Wolf: Volume 1 by Isuna Hasekura

Find these and millions of other books through the Sawyer Free Library. Visit the Library in its new location at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester or sawyerfreelibrary.org, where its friendly and talented Librarians are always there to help you find a new book to read and so 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.

Gloucester 400+ Counts Down to 2023!

~ g400+events

To usher in the quadricentennial year, on Dec. 31, Gloucester 400+ will put on a “ball drop” bash at City Hall, taking place as the clock turns to midnight in the city’s namesake of Gloucester, England and in Dorset, England, which four centuries ago sent out the band of English fisherman who would build a settlement here.

“Countdown to 2023!” will take place Saturday, Dec. 31, at 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Gloucester City Hall, with hot chocolate and cookies being served, and noisemakers supplied for all. Mayor Greg Verga and 400+ tri-Chair Bob Gillis will be counting to the stroke of midnight in the United Kingdom (at 7 p.m. here). The event is free and open to all comers.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve on Cape Ann at Hammond Castle Museum’s Club Castle

~ Hammond Castle Museum

Ring in 2023 on Cape Ann with a fun night of dancing through the decades in our castle’s Great Hall with DJ Dmus. Plus, enjoy fire spinning performances by Fireborn Performance Arts and keep an eye out for “Neil Young” – he’s rumored to be on the guest list! Heavy Hors D’Oeuvres by Creative Catering will be served all night!

Grab your friends and keep it local at Club Castle’s debut event! 70s, 80s & 90s inspired attire are encouraged.

Doors open at 9:00pm and celebration goes to 1:00am.
21 & Over. Cash bar. Free parking.

General Admission: $125. Tickets available at: bit.ly/ClubCastleNYE

Only one VIP Table left! Call 978-283-2080 to reserve your table today!

Open House at SFL@21 Main Street on Saturday, December 17th

~ Sawyer Free Library

EVERYONE IS INVITED TO

SFL@21MAIN STREET OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, December 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Come discover the Sawyer Free Library‘s new space and learn about all its services, both in person and digital.

Swing by to say hello to your favorite librarians and meet a few new ones.

There will be a scavenger hunt for kids, local history display and more for all to enjoy. Cookies and hot chocolate will be served too!

If you have any questions, please call us at 978-325-5500 or visit www.sawyerfreelibrary.org.

 

Author Talk with Pulitzer Prize winning historian Nicole Eustace 

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Wednesday, December 14 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., the Sawyer Free Library is pleased to invite you to explore early-American history during an online afternoon conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning historian Nicole Eustace as she discusses her 2022 award winning book Covered With Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America. This is a virtual event, for link, register at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

On the eve of a major treaty conference between Iroquois leaders and European colonists in the distant summer of 1722, two white fur traders attacked an Indigenous hunter and left him for dead near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, this act of brutality set into motion a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations that challenged the definition of justice in early America.

In Covered with Night, Dr. Eustace reconstructs the crime and its aftermath, bringing us into the overlapping worlds of white colonists and Indigenous peoples in this formative period. As she shows, the murder of the Indigenous man set the entire mid-Atlantic on edge, with many believing war was imminent. Isolated killings often flared into colonial wars in North America, and colonists now anticipated a vengeful Indigenous uprising. Frantic efforts to resolve the case ignited a dramatic, far-reaching debate between Native American forms of justice—centered on community, forgiveness, and reparations—and an ideology of harsh reprisal, unique to the colonies and based on British law, which called for the killers’ swift execution. As Eustace powerfully contends, the colonial obsession with “civility” belied the reality that the Iroquois, far from being the barbarians of the white imagination, acted under a mantle of sophistication and humanity as they tried to make the land- and power-hungry colonials understand their ways. 

About the Author: Nicole Eustace is a professor of history at New York University. A historian of the early modern Atlantic and the early United States, she specializes in the history of emotion. She is author of Pulitzer-Prize winning Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America, as well as Passion Is the Gale: Emotion, Power, and the Coming of the American Revolution and of 1812: War and the Passions of Patriotism as well as coeditor of Warring for America: Cultural Contests in the Era of 1812.

This virtual event is Wednesday, December 14 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. For the link, register at sawyerfreelibrary.org. If you have questions, please contact moneill@sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5562.

NEWSFLASH! EXTRA CAPE ANN BIG BAND HOLIDAY CONCERT, SUNDAY DECEMBER 18TH!!!

~ chasnaz ~ 1 Comment

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation welcomes the Cape Ann Big Band and guest vocalists in a magical evening of holiday music in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse (Unitarian Universalist Church) on the green at the corner of Middle and Church Streets on Sunday, December 18th at 7:00pm.

This fantastic Big Band concert was just added to our schedule by popular demand!

Get into the spirit of the season with “A Big Band Holiday.” Their other holiday engagements are sold out, so don’t miss this very special opportunity!

Concertgoers of all ages will feel the joy of the season in this program featuring the signature sound of the Cape Ann Big Band that includes holiday favorites, hits from the golden era of big band swing, and a visit from the chief elf himself, Santa Claus.

The band will be joined by several guest vocalists well known to Cape Ann audiences. Joining in the musical celebration of the holidays will be Alexandra Grace, Emily Grace, Rhiannon Hurst, Scott Parisi, John Rockwell, Nathan Seavey, and the “TrebleHurst” trio. This unforgettable program will also feature a reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” by Santa Claus.

This is an open seating event so come early! Doors will open at 6:15pm. General Admission $25, Students with ID $5, under 12 free. Tickets available at the door (unless we sell out!) or in advance on our website.  Parking is available on Meetinghouse green and nearby. For persons with physical challenges there is an elevator available at the 10 Church Street side entrance.

American Originals: A Moravian Christmas

~ chasnaz ~ 1 Comment

Musicians of the Old Post Road in the Gloucester Meetinghouse (Unitarian Universalist Church)

Candlelight Chamber Music Concert on Saturday, December 17th, 2022, 7:30pm

The Musicians of the Old Post Road will present their 6th holiday concert in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 7:30pm called “A Moravian Christmas.’

Founded by Artistic Directors Suzanne Stumpf and Daniel Ryan, the ensemble takes its name from its acclaimed concert series, originally entitled Old Post Road Historic Concerts.

“Musicians of the Old Post Road is a cleverly conceived and impeccably presented group of artists who render a great service in the realm of period performance. Through their scholarship, programming, and enthusiasm, they shine a light on a corner of the repertoire that is too often neglected.”

— Classical Voice of New England

Immerse yourself in beautiful music for the season by a unique 18th-century community. Experience modern-day premieres of works penned by America’s Moravian immigrants along with selections by Johann Joachim Quantz, Carl Heinrich Graun and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (fifth son of J.S. Bach) that they carefully imported and preserved.  The ensemble performs on period instruments and will be joined by soprano Jessica Petrus and mezzo-soprano Hilary Anne Walker.

If you crave a respite from the hustle and bustle of holiday madness, give yourself and your friends the gift of exquisite chamber music by candlelight for Christmas in the warmth and Federal period elegance of Gloucester’s last-surviving Meetinghouse, built in 1806 for the first Universalist Society in America.

Preferred Seating $45, General $30, Students $10, Under 12 free

The Meetinghouse is located at 50 Middle Street, set back on the green. The accessible side entrance with a lift is located at 10 Church Street. Parking is available on the green and on nearby streets and lots. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance on our website: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org