GLOUCESTER
SCHOONER FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND! Despite difficulties brought on by Hurricane Earl, the Gloucester Schooner Festival will take place this weekend, September 4-6. Several vessels are braving the elements to join the festivities and the public is encouraged to join in the fun during this very busy weekend. On Saturday, the Schooner Adventure will host a walking tour of Gloucester working waterfront at 10am. The 90-minute tour starts at the Fishermen's Memorial on Western Avenue (Stacy Boulevard, Rt. 127) and ends at the Fitz Hugh Lane House on Harbor Loop. Gloucester Maritime Heritage Day, hosted by the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, will be celebrated on Harbor Loop from 11am to 5pm. This event features live music, maritime activities and demonstrations for all ages, a book signing by author John Morris, food, and more! Also on Harbor Loop, there will be Open Houses at the U.S. Coast Guard Station (12noon-4:30pm) and the Fitz Hugh Lane House (11am-5pm). Cape Ann Museum will offer schooner-related docent tours of the Fitz Hugh Lane Gallery and the Maritime Fisheries Galleries at 11am and 2pm on Saturday (and again on 2pm on Sunday). Sunday morning starts with the beautiful Parade of Sail at 10:30am on Western Avenue (Stacy Boulevard, Rt. 127). Don't miss this chance to see the schooners under sail as they parade by the Fishermen's Memorial and out past the Dog Bar Breakwater. Then view the start of the Mayor's Race for the Esperanto's Cup at 1pm from Eastern Point. A free shuttle will take viewers from Eastern Point Boulevard (at Farrington Avenue) out to the point from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Cape Ann Museum will offer schooner-related docent tours of the Fitz Henry Lane Gallery and the Maritime Fisheries Galleries at 2pm. At 3pm, the Celebrate Gloucester concert, will open with seven hours of Blues, Rock, New Orleans Jazz, Funk, Americana at I4C2 (55 Rogers Street, Rt. 127) on Gloucester's Harborfront. Celebrate Gloucester admission $15 in advance, $20 at the gate. Monday will feature the exciting Frame Up! party at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex. Eleventh-generation shipwright, Harold Burnham, will start construction on a new schooner - the Pinky Schooner Ardelle. The keel will be signed and the first frames will be raised. In celebration of the birth of this new schooner, the Essex Shipbuilding Museum will demonstrate traditional boat building techniques. You will be able to try your hand at steam bending a plank, making a trunnel, putting together and mounting a frame, and a new exhibit will be unveiled. For crews from visiting boats roundtrip transportation will be available: From the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum at 11:30am and 12:30pm. From the Essex Shipbuilding Museum to the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center at 3:30pm and 4:30pm. The Gloucester Schooner Festival is made possible with the generous support of our sponsors: Dunkin' Donuts, TD Bank, Neptune GDF Suez, the City of Gloucester, the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon, and Cape Ann Transportation Authority. Cape
Ann Chamber of Commerce |