Gloucester

Sawyer Free Library presents Snakes of New England and Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team – Saturday, July 15

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is excited to welcome Rick Roth and the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team to Gloucester on Saturday, July 15 from 10:30 to 11:30a.m.

Come learn about, meet & handle (if you’d like!) many types of snakes, some of which are from our local area! Rick and his team share their knowledge and enthusiasm as they bring science to us in such a unique & fun way! 

This event will be held at Captain Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3, (8 Washington Street.) It is free and open to all to enjoy! For more information go to sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

This event is made possible in part by the Constance T. Rhinelander Fund

YGSC: Community Garden Scavenger Hunt

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club Presents:  Community Garden Scavenger Hunt on Friday, July 14 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Join the Sawyer Free Library for an afternoon of garden bed exploring, scavenger hunting and a little bit of dirt-based science! In this hour long field trip to the Burnham Field Community Garden the Library’s friends at Backyard Growers will share some of the science behind growing and harvesting your own food.

This program is suitable for 4th-8th graders. Registration is required. Click HERE or go to SawyerFreeLibrary.org

And don’t forget to stop at SFL at 21 Main Street and check our new SEED LIBRARY partnership!

Sawyer Free Folk Showcase: PETE LINDBERG on Thursday, July 13 at 6pm

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Folk Showcase continues on Thursday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m. with PETER LINDBERG.

Having just returned from Nashville after ten years, Cape Ann-based critically acclaimed folk artist and storyteller songwriter Peter Lindberg will share his lyrical prowess and unique alt-country songwriting with us at the SFL at 21 Main Street!

The Library’s summer musical series spotlights local singer-songwriters. Performances are 6:00 to 7:00 pm on select Thursdays through September at the Library’s 21 Main Street location in downtown Gloucester. Each evening the featured artist performs a 45-minute set followed by a brief discussion about their musical career and approach to songwriting. The performances are free and open to all to enjoy.   For more information about the musicians, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org. 

You can hear more from Peter HERE.

Be sure to add to your calendar the following upcoming musical appearances by local singer songwriters at the Sawyer Free this summer:

Thursday, August 10: GEORGE CLEMENTS

Thursday, September 7: LIAM ANASTASIA-MURPHY

Rainforest Reptiles: Conservation with Education

~ Sawyer Free Library

Summer is here! Join the Sawyer Free Library on Friday, July 7 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. as we kick off summer reading with an educational and exciting show – – Rainforest Reptiles: Conservation through Education!  The Library is excited for everyone to come and enjoy this fun and informative presentation by a herpetologist and visit with bugs, frogs, snakes, lizards, a tortoise, and the American alligator.

Please note, this event will be held at Captain Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3 located at 8 Washington Street in Gloucester.

The event is free and open to all! No registration necessary. For more information visit: SawyerFreeLibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

Free Gloucester Cemetery Tours

~ cmaney27

The G400+ Cemetery Tour Series Continues

Next Up : Colonial & Victorian Cemeteries

Sunday, July 9th (a double header) Rain Date July 15th

Tour 10:00 – 11:00AM First Parish Burial Ground

“A Travel Through Time” presented by Sandy Barry.  

Please make a reservation at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-gloucester-cemetery-tour-series-a-travel-through-time-tickets-664499695477

Tour 11:00AM – 12:00PM Clark’s Cemetery

“Tragedy During the Victorian Era” presented by Kathy & Richard Clark.  

Please make a reservation at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-gloucester-cemetery-tour-series-tragedy-during-the-victorian-era-tickets-664671609677

Colonial & Victorian Cemetery Tours

Organized by the Gloucester 400+ Burial Grounds & Cemeteries Committee

Sea Shanty Sing Along at the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday evening, July 6

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, July 6 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. join OLIVIA GALE for a Sea Shanty Sing Along at the Sawyer Free Library located at 21 Main Street.

The Gloucester native, musician, and teacher will entertain us with an engaging performance of sea shanties, nautical ballads, and other folk music written about the sea. Olivia welcomes audience participation as a part of her show too! So come one, come all! It will be great fun!

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

Sawyer Free Library presents Puppet Storytime on Wednesday, June 28

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join the Sawyer Free Library this Wednesday, June 28 at 11:30 a.m. for an extra special storytime presented by Through Me to you Puppetry. Puppet friends take turns reading stories and singing songs during this special interactive story time. Afterwards, children & families can meet the puppets! 

This fun event for young children and their families, will be held inside Brown’s Mall at Movement Arts Gloucester MA on the top floor of the Brown Building, where regular Library storytime is held. Enter at 186 Main Street or 11 Pleasant Street and take the elevator to the 5th floor.

Drop in, no registration needed. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

This event has been made possible through the generous support of the Constance T. Rhinelander Fund.

MUSIC ON MEETINGHOUSE GREEN 2023 OPENS ON JULY 7TH!!!

~ chasnaz

JOIN US! for the eighth season of our free, outdoor summer concert festival called Music on Meetinghouse Green starting on July 7th at 6:00pm with the John Baboian Berklee Jazz Ensemble. Mayor Greg Verga will be on hand to offer opening remarks. Your free-will donations will support the great work of Pathways for Children. The Causeway Restaurant will be on hand with mouth-watering chowders and lobster rolls for your picnicking delight, so bring folding chairs or blankets with some extra cash!

Location: 50 Middle Street, at the corner with Church Street, on the lawn in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Gloucester’s historic 1806 Meetinghouse. Parking: free on-street and in several parking lots nearby; limited HC parking on the green. More info at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
 

MUSIC ON MEETINGHOUSE GREEN, FULL SUMMER SCHEDULE

OUR SPONSORS
Thanks to our sponsors, who make this unique music festival possible, 100% of your free-will donations go to our non-profit community partners.

  • Platinum: John & Janis Bell, J.J. & Jackie Bell, Scobie Ward, Cape Ann Savings Bank, Massachusetts Cultural Council, anonymous Lanesvillian Friends
  • Gold:  BOMCO, Michael Bresnan & Mary-Ann Sherry, Linzee Coolidge, anonymous Appreciative Neighbors
  • Silver: Fred Cowan & Dick Gardner, JoeAnn Hart & Gordon Baird, Charles Nazarian, John & Sandra Ronan, Karen Bell, Beverly & Addison-Gilbert Hospitals, Dick Prouty
  • Bronze: Jerry Ackerman, Peter Calkins & Susan Casey, Pat Johnson & Jeff Henderson

JOIN US ON FRIDAY EVENINGS ALL THROUGH THE SUMMER. HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!!

SUMMER FUN AT SFL | ART OF BOOKMAKING this Friday at 3:00pm for Tweens and Teens

~ Sawyer Free Library

Tweens and Teens are invited to celebrate summer break this Friday, June 23rd at 3:00 pm with Local Paper Artist Katherine Morrison at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in Gloucester. Everyone will all leave this hour long program with a stamped mini-book and having flexed your creative muscles!

REGISTER HERE for this fun program, or through the event calendar on sawyerfreelibrary.com.

There is something for everyone this summer at the Sawyer Free Library ! Discover all that is happening at www.sawyerfreelibrary.org, call 978-325-5500, or the Library 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.


GLOUCESTER READS: All Ages Summer Community Read Kicks Off

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is excited to be a part of Gloucester Reads, a community wide book club that has just kicked off and will run through August. 

Presented by Gloucester’s Racial Justice Team and the Gloucester Health Department, in collaboration with the Sawyer Free Library and fifteen additional co-sponsors, the citywide, intergenerational summer reading initiative aims to spark conversation and new ideas and encourage introspection about race equity in our community. 

Gloucester Reads will explore books by Black authors that reflect Black experiences in America to increase understanding of the history and current status of race in Gloucester and the United States and build a strong community to foster a feeling of belonging for everyone. 

Gloucester Reads includes books for all ages, interests, and reading levels. The summer book club’s main selection is “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid. This engaging story about race and privilege is set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both, revealing complex characters, misguided intentions, and little resolution. 

The Library will distribute free copies of “Such A Fun Age” at select community events, including the Juneteenth Celebration and Festival on Sunday, June 18, at the Cape Ann Museum. The books are also available for check-out at the Sawyer Free Library located at 21 Main Street. Downloaded Ebooks and Eaudiobooks are available instantly to anyone with a Library card and a Libby app. All Gloucester Reads books are also available for purchase at select local bookstores. 

Discussion groups on “Such a Fun Age” will be held throughout the city during the month of July. Those interested in being involved can find additional information at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Other Gloucester Reads titles include “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019″ by Ibram Kendi and Keisha Blain and the award-winning memoir “The Love You Save” by Goldie Taylor. And, especially for children and families, the picture book “Black is a Rainbow Color” by Angela Joy, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, will serve as the Family Book Club pick throughout the Read with the graphic novel “Ain’t Burned All the Bright” by Jason Reynolds, artwork by Jason Griffin selected for tweens and teens. 

Gloucester Reads will then culminate on the evening of August 15 with a live-stream panel discussion featuring Kiley Reid, The New York Times bestselling author and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. “Such A Fun Age” was her debut novel and was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. This exciting and engaging event will be open to the public, with more details forthcoming.

For additional details and a complete list of Gloucester Reads programs, book suggestions and learning resources on racial equity, visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org.