benefit

Friends of the Sawyer Free Library Annual Art Auction

~ Sawyer Free Library

Have you checked out the Friends of Sawyer Annual Art Auction yet?

If not, come by soon to the Library’s Matz Gallery to preview and bid on the incredible art before the online auction begins on Friday, October 1 and runs through Tuesday, October 5 on www.sawyerfreelibrary.org.

The benefit auction features over 50 exceptional quality works, including paintings, drawings, and mixed media, all generously donated by established and emerging artists throughout the Cape Ann community including Coco Berman, Ray Crane, David Curtis, Carol Loiacono, Peter Tysver, Jeff Weaver, and so many others.

The bidding book available through September 30 in the Matz Gallery. The highest September bids will be the beginning bid for the online auction October 1-5.

All proceeds from this annual event benefit the Sawyer Free Library. The funds support a variety of special programs offered throughout the year for children, teens, and adults along with museum passes made available to the community, and many other Library requests.  

The Friends of the Sawyer Free Library are very grateful for the talented and generous artists who offer their art, time, and talent year after year to make this library fundraiser a success.

So don’t miss it! Come and join the fun! Enjoy the art, bid for those pieces you love and support the support the Sawyer Free Library! It is a Win Win for everyone!

To learn more about the Annual Art Auction, the Friends of the Sawyer Free Library, and how to become involved, please visit: www.sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Friends of the Sawyer Free Library ANNUAL ART AUCTION- The Bidding Has Begun!

~ Sawyer Free Library

THE ANNUAL ART AUCTION sponsored by the FRIENDS OF THE SAWYER FREE LIBRARY is now on display in the Matz Gallery located in the main lobby of the Sawyer Free Library throughout the month of September!

Come In, Enjoy and Bid on the exceptional works of art, including paintings, drawings, and mixed media, all generously donated by talented artists throughout the Cape Ann community including: Jeff Weaver, Ray Crane, Peter Tysver, Carol Loiacono, David Curtis and Coco Berman.

The Bidding Book is available through September 30 in the Gallery for silent bids. The top bid from the September bidding will be the beginning bid for the Online Auction being held October 1-5.  

Please note, this year’s live auction has been moved online due to health precautions. Details are forthcoming.

Selections of art work being auctioned to benefit the Sawyer Free Library.

All proceeds from the Art Auction benefit the Sawyer Free Library. So be sure to bring your family, friends, neighbors and more along with you to the Matz Gallery this month, to preview the beautiful art, and bid on your favorites!

For more information about the Art Auction and the Friends of the Sawyer Free Library go to sawyerfreelibrary.org

Announcing Music on Meetinghouse Green 2019, Free Friday Evening Outdoor Concerts in Gloucester!

~ chasnaz

Music on Meetinghouse Green is a free outdoor summer music festival at 6:00PM on the Green in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church at the corner of Middle and Church Streets.  We dedicate this fourth season in honor of Linzee Coolidge and the late Beth Coolidge for their vision and generosity to the Cape Ann community.

Please join us for the 4th year of this unique outdoor concert series, hosted by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation.  The 9-event summer festival features a different musical ensemble on Friday evenings starting on July 5th and benefits our North Shore non-profit partners via free-will offerings from the audience.  Concerts are held inside the Meetinghouse in inclement weather. Come celebrate TGIF with great music and delicious food available from local vendors while supporting the terrific work of local non-profits!

Please visit http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org for the season schedule and more information.

GREAT CONCERTS IN FRONT OF THE HISTORIC 1806 MEETINGHOUSE

The whole community is invited to enjoy this family-friendly experience under the shade trees on the green in the heart of the Historic District.  Bring lawn chairs, blankets and your favorite libation to enjoy the music and delicious food available from local vendors.  Your voluntary contributions support the work of 8 dedicated partner organizations that work so hard to improve the lives of our fellow citizens on Cape Ann.

The final event on September 6th benefits the ongoing preservation of the grand 1806 Meetinghouse, Gloucester’s oldest church – steeped in the history of religious freedom in Massachusetts and central to the Constitution’s guarantee of the separation of Church and State!

FOR OUR FATHERS, an evening of song and art with Ute Gfrerer and Lisa Rosowsky on Sunday April 28th in the Gloucester Meetinghouse

~ chasnaz

UteGfrerer_hi-resInternationally acclaimed Austrian soprano Ute Gfrerer and renowned Boston artist Lisa Rosowsky, present a deeply moving evening of song and art, based on the legacy of silence of their two fathers during World War II, one an Austrian member of the Nazi Youth Party, and one a French Jew. In a unique collaboration, the two artists present a Holocaust-themed program of music and mixed media artworks, based on memories of their fathers.

LisaRosowsky_hi-res

Singer Ute Gfrerer, accompanied on the piano by William Merrill, and artist Lisa Rosowsky present a program based on a chance meeting in 2017, when they learned that they both suffered a legacy of silence and grief from their fathers’ very different experiences in World War II. Gfrerer’s father was a member of the Nazi Youth Party and a soldier, while Rosowsky’s father went into hiding in France after his parents were arrested and sent to Auschwitz. The two daughters have transferred their grief, anger and love for their fathers into an unforgettable evening of art and music.

The program includes Holocaust-based songs with music by Kurt Weill and Norbert Glanzberg among others. The songs are matched with artworks that explore family history and memory. Our own hearts and memories will be stirred by this astonishing combination of music and art.

This event is co-sponsored by Temple Ahavat Achim with support from the Paulson Foundation. It is also supported by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation sponsors and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Proceeds from the event will be used to benefit the ongoing preservation of the Meetinghouse as well as to support Temple Ahavat Achim’s Rabbi Myron and Eileen Geller Endowment Campaign for the Sylvia Cohen Religious School and Family Learning.

The event date is Sunday, April 28th 2019 at 7:30pm in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse (home of the Unitarian Universalist Church) located on the green at the corner of Church and Middle Streets.  Event parking is allowed on the green and is available at other parking lots nearby in the Historic District.   For those with physical challenges an elevator up to the Sanctuary level is available from the accessible side entrance at 10 Church Street.

TICKETS ONLINE OR AT THE DOOR – cash, check or credit card

Preferred                     $45

General                        $30

Students                      $10 with ID

12 & Under                 Free

(no one turned away for lack of funds, ask at the door)

Advance ticket purchases and more information at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

GRAND FINALE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH! MUSIC ON MEETINGHOUSE GREEN 2017

~ chasnaz

Last event in the free summer concert series: Music on Meetinghouse Green 2017

The Cape Ann Big Band ensemble called Jumbalaya Horns is playing this Friday September 8th 2017, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. This is the last concert in a free Summer Series called ‘Music on Meetinghouse Green’ hosted by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation.  Each of the nine events features a different musical group and highlights the work of a North Shore non-profit organization that works for the good of the whole community.  Free-will offerings from the crowd support their work as performers transform the front steps of the Meetinghouse into a concert hall stage.

This final event is also a celebration by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation as your free-will donations will benefit the fire-sprinkler & deterrence system now being installed in the historic 1806 Universalist Meetinghouse.  Through public and private gifts nearly $500K was raised for this project, helping to preserve the Meetinghouse as a landmark on the Gloucester skyline…our City’s largest and last surviving example.  This magnificent building,  home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church and civic programs such as The Grace Center, has been a beacon of hope for over 200 years at the corner of Church & Middle Street.  Come celebrate with us!

The Cape Ann Big Band swing orchestra made their debut in 2014, under the direction of Carlos Menezes Jr. Inspired by the sounds of New Orleans jazz, swing, soul, rock ‘n roll and a musical ‘gumbo’ of the Mississippi Delta, the band delivers a foot stompin’ fusion of Jambalaya Horns. The group features Tom Madore (trombone); Zach Gorrell (sax); Carlos Menezes Jr (vocals/horns); Joe Wilkins (vocals/guitar); Anthony Prestigiovanni (vocals/trumpet); Gary Wolsieffer (bass/tuba), and Rick Geraghty (vocals/drums).

Bring a blanket or beach chairs, a picnic, or conveniently purchase food from our on-site food vendor The Common Crow, and enjoy a rollicking fun evening on Meetinghouse Green.  Dancing is encouraged under the old-fashioned strings of fair lights.  Events go forward rain or shine, moving indoors if it rains into the coffeehouse atmosphere of the Meetinghouse downstairs social hall.  Parking is available in the Library and St. John’s Church lots.  For more information visit:  http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

Mayor Sefatia Romeo-Theken will be on hand to thank our Sponsors: Linzee and Beth Coolidge (matching gift); Tom and Susan Andresen; J.J. and Jackie Bell; Michael and Mary Ann Bresnan; Joanne Hart and Gordon Baird; Harry and Mary Hintlian; Dick and Doris Prouty; Charles Nazarian, Sandra Ronan; and our Corporate Sponsor Cape Ann Savings Bank. 

We hope you can join us for this opportunity to thank them for supporting a uniquely Cape Ann program…a mini Tanglewood in the heart of the Historic District…Music on Meetinghouse Green!

Jambala Band