Gloucester MA

“So Salty” Fun at SFL@21Main Street Saturday, Jan. 21

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join in on the “So Salty” Fun at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester on Saturday, January 21:

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.   “Snacks by the Sea with The Open Door”

The Sawyer Free Library and The Open Door will present a cooking demonstration of a salty snack for families. Throughout the day, we will celebrate local food traditions with a display of our historic cookbooks and recipes in the Local History collection. 

1:00 to 2:00 p.m. “Sea Shanties and Maritime Heritage Through Folk Music“

Come listen, sing, engage, and celebrate maritime heritage and community with local musician and teacher Olivia Gale, who was born and raised in Gloucester. Join the fun as Olivia leads an exploration of history, story, and performance of sea shanties, nautical ballads, and other folk music written about the sea.  

Both events are free and open to all ages to come and enjoy!

These Sawyer Free Library events are a part of the 2nd Annual Gloucester’s So Salty Festival taking place throughout Gloucester Saturday, January 21 and Sunday January 22, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


Celebrate the fish city’s recognizably salty character with local cultural institutions and businesses during the 2nd 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.

All events are free and open to the public.

For additional details on the Library events, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Sawyer Free Library’s Storytime: New Time & Location

~ Sawyer Free Library

After a short pause, Sawyer Free Library‘s is excited to announce weekly STORYTIME with Christy is resuming at a new time and location – this Wednesday.

Join Christy for a morning of stories, songs, rhymes, bubbles and fun with friends this Wednesday, January 11 from 11:15am to 12 noon in Movement Arts Gloucester MA‘s beautiful space in downtown Gloucester.

During the construction phase of the Library, weekly Wednesdays Storytime for our youngest patrons and families will be held inside Brown’s Mall at MAGMA (Movement Arts Gloucester MA) located on the top floor of the Brown Building in Gloucester. Families and caregivers can enter at 186 Main Street and take the elevator to the 5th floor. Please note that the new time is 11:15am – 12noon, weekly on Wednesday.

Until construction begins, attendees are able to park in the Library’s parking lot, and walk over to Storytime via Pleasant Street. For more information visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.org or 978-515-6349.

For all other Sawyer Free Children’s Library services and activities please, visit 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester or sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Sawyer Free Library Honors Long-time Volunteer with Prestigious Community Award

~ Sawyer Free Library

Each year, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library recognize outstanding volunteers for their efforts and dedication to the Library. As a part of the Sawyer Free Library’s Annual Meeting, the Mary M. Weissblum Volunteer Award was presented to lifelong Gloucester resident Rebecca Aliberte. She was honored with the community award for her leadership, tireless dedication to the Friends of the Sawyer Free Library, and countless hours volunteering in the Library’s children’s room.


“Volunteers are essential to the work of our Library, and so every year, we seek to celebrate one of our most exceptional volunteers. This year we have chosen to honor the wonderful Rebecca Aliberte,” said Assistant Library Director Beth Pocock in presenting the award.  


Rebecca has volunteered in the Library’s children’s room for over ten years. On any given day, one might find her doing various tasks to help ease the load of the library staff from cutting out crafts to organizing books story time. In addition, Rebecca served as the President of the Friends of the Sawyer Free Library for three years. Under Rebecca’s leadership, the all volunteer group, made significant contributions to enhance the Sawyer Free Library, including purchasing equipment and funding a wide variety of library programs for all ages.


The annual volunteer award was established in 2016 by the Library’s Board of Trustees and named after Mary Weissblum, who served the Library tirelessly over four decades. 


For more information about volunteering at the Sawyer Free Library, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or come in and say hello at its new downtown location at 21 Main Street in Gloucester.

Rebecca Aliberte being honored by the Sawyer Free Library with the 2022 Mary M. Weissblum Volunteer Award.

Why Libraries Matter: an evening with best selling author Eric Klinenberg on Thursday, July 14

~ Sawyer Free Library

Sawyer Free Library is hosting an evening with Eric Klinenberg, Carnegie Medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Palaces for the People, on Thursday, July 14 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Klinenberg’s work tells us about how physical places bind us and libraries — where everyone is welcome — can heal divisions and inequalities in our society.

Library Board Trustee and former City Councilor Jenn Holmgren will make opening remarks about Sawyer Free 2025. The author talk and a dialogue with the audience will be followed by a dessert reception in the Library’s outdoor amphitheater. 

This event is free and open to the public.

The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. For more information visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Eric Klinenberg, is the author of the award-winning book, “Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.”



Talking About Death Won’t Kill You – A Discussion About End-of-Life Options 

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library will host an important presentation about end of life options on Saturday, June 18, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. A nurse and a subject matter expert will explore the end-of-life choices, and ramifications, available to individuals.  The pending legislation in Massachusetts about Medical Aid in Dying will be explained and a status report on the bill will be given.  The nonprofit organization, Compassion and Choices, will discuss their work on behalf of all wishing to chart their end-of-life path.  An extensive list of resources, will be provided.

The event will take place on the Main Floor of the Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. It is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5555 or contact: compassionandchoices.org or 978-325-5500.

Sawyer Free Library to host Nick Sullivan, author of  “The Blue Revolution” on Wednesday, June 15 at 6 pm

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library will be presenting an engaging and informative evening with Nick Sullivan -the author of The Blue Revolution on Wednesday, June 15, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

The New Bedford author will discuss his research and ideas on the “Blue Revolution, the rapid development of aquaculture in recent years. He will offer a new way of thinking about fish, food, and oceans by profiling the people and policies, transforming a challenged seafood industry into one that is fueled by fishermen, locavores, and local seafood supply chains interested in sustainable, traceable, quality seafood. He will share how the practices of 30 years ago that perpetuated an overfishing crisis are rapidly changing and the global challenges to preserving healthy oceans.

Sullivan is a writer and editor who examines the impact of business and technology on international development. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Maritime Studies Program and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Emerging Market Enterprises, both in the Fletcher School at Tufts University. The Blue Revolution is his fourth book.

The event will take place on the Main Floor of the Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. It is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5555.  

Gloucester Marine Railways with Viking Gustafson

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, June 9 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., learn more about Gloucester Marine Railways at the Sawyer Free Library.

Marine Railways Director Viking Gustafson will give a presentation on the marine railways in Gloucester in the Library’s Friends Room this Thursday evening.  She will then offer a tour of the railways on site in Rockport on Saturday, June 11, at 10:00 a.m.  

Both the presentation and the tour are free and open to the public. The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue. For more information visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.com or 978-325-5500.

Book Launch Celebration for ‘Sea Gull and the Sea Captain’ at the Sawyer Free Library and Cape Ann Museum

~ Sawyer Free Library

From New York Times, bestselling author and National Book Award Nominee Sy Montgomery comes the sweet, brightly illustrated true story of a seagull and a sea captain who became friends over the course of four summers. 

To celebrate the release of THE SEAGULL AND THE SEA CAPTAIN, the Sawyer Free Library, Cape Ann Museum, and The Book Store of Gloucester are hosting a celebration on Saturday, June 4, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. The afternoon will feature the book’s author Sy Montgomery, illustrator Amy Schimler-Safford, and special guest Gloucester’s own, Schooner Lannon Captain Heath Ellis, who was the true-life inspiration for the story! 


Heath, the president of Schooner Sails, made headlines in 2019 when he made friends with a seagull who would visit him on his sailboat! Author Sy Montgomery heard this news and was inspired to write a picture book which became THE SEAGULL AND THE SEA CAPTAIN.


This Saturday, June 4, at 1:00 pm, Author Sy Montgomery will do a reading and a book signing at the Sawyer Free Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue. Copies of the book will be available for sale. After the reading, participants are invited to the Cape Ann Museum at 2:00 pm for a ‘The Seagull and the Sea Captain’ -themed kids art activity. It promises to be a fun-filled afternoon for everyone! 

For more information, visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org or call 978-325-5500. 

Book Launch on Saturday, June 4 at Sawyer Free Library

The Grill is Hot at the Sawyer Free Library!

~ Sawyer Free Library

Yes, you can become the envy of your neighbors by becoming the ultimate grill master!

All you have to do is join the Sawyer Free Library on Wednesday, July 21 from 2:30-4:30pm for a fun and informative live and in-person event and learn all you need to know about Summer Grilling from local Farm-to-Table Chef Justus Dunton.

Chef Dunton has worked in premier and starred restaurants from Boston to Costa Rica. He has created his own company, Dagger Board Hospitality that brings farm-fresh, hand forraged, and delicious food to our local community through his pop-up dinners and teaching programs.

Weather permitting, we will meet outside in the Sawyer Free Library amphitheater.

Register here as space is limited!

For more information, go to SawyerFreeLibrary.org

PAGE 2 STAGE Book Club: a Sawyer Free Library and Gloucester Stage Collaboration

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library and Gloucester Stage Company have teamed up once again to offer the Page2Stage Book Club. This innovative collaboration is a unique take on the traditional book club that focuses on literary works associated with performances from Gloucester Stage Company’s exciting 2021 season. The summer’s theatrical performances will be taking place outside at the beautiful and historic Windhover Performing Arts Center in Rockport from June through September.

Page2Stage gives participants opportunities to deepen and expand their experience as audience members through pre-show facilitated discussions about each play’s subject and related content, including biographies, novels, and timely periodicals. 

The four selected literary works for this season’s Page2Stage series are available now at the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. 

The program begins on Thursday, June 17 at 5:45 pm, discussing Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by New York Times best-selling author Cheryl Strayed, before Gloucester Stage’s production of Tiny Beautiful Things at 7:30pm.

Page2Stage Book Club: June 17

Then on Thursday, July 8, the book club will discuss the book, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Doyle prior to seeing the production of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.

On Thursday, August 12, the Book Club will discuss Anthony Bourdain’s memoir, Medium Raw, then will enjoy the regional premier of the play, Seared. 

To bring the summer series to a close on Thursday, September 9, the group will discuss an article from The Atlantic, “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehesi Coates prior to seeing the New England premiere of Reparations, a poignant new play by James Sheldon where personal revelations lead to laughs, tears, and coming to terms with racial injustice and personal betrayal. 

This year with Page2Stage Book Club, discussions will happen before the show at Windhover Performing Art Center located at 257R Granite Street in Rockport.

The book group is free to join with discount theater tickets for registered members. There is no charge to participate in the group, but registration is required. Register for one or more groups at www.sawyerfreelibrary.org. Discounted show tickets of $25 will be available to participants by calling the Gloucester Stage Box Office 978 281-4433.

For more information about Page2Stage visit:  sawyerfreelibrary.org or gloucesterstage.com/community-events/.