May 3, 2022

Nominations Due by May 6

This year the Chamber has designated June 6 - 17 as Greater Cape Ann Small Business Weeks.  Small business persons of the year for Essex, Gloucester, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Rockport will be selected by committees comprised of past recipients of this annual recognition. 

To submit nominations, please email Peter Webber by Friday, May 6 .

April was particularly windy and a bit wet, as usual, but the weather also brought fantastic progress and opportunity for our region. We held three networking events in April, a BIG one at BankGloucester in Ipswich, a fun one with our Businesswomen at the Crow’s Nest, and a casual one online via zoom, Coffee & Connections. The Chamber also picked up from last year leading a follow-on pandemic relief grant through the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development providing additional business seminars, promotional exposure and adding capability to the new online business directory.

Spring is an important season for our region’s tourism community, and that was apparent from the discussions at the April 15 meeting of the Greater Cape Ann Tourism Council.

We reviewed Cape Ann Birding activities, which began in the winter with the annual birders boat trip and continued into the spring with the new birders speaker series. April featured two presentations by local birding experts – at the Blue Shutters on April 2 and at the Emerson Inn on April 30. Many agreed that based on the success of this year’s expanded activities, we should consider extending the birders program even further in 2023, continuing to showcase an increasingly popular Cape Ann attraction.

The Chamber’s Government Affairs Council held its regular monthly meeting on April 12 , with members attending in person and via Zoom. At their meeting, the Council continued their conversations about worker shortages and housing. The April meeting also included Chamber and community updates and a summary report presented by Olivia on recent community meetings that she had attended.

The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce’s Health and Wellness Group is proud to announce the First Annual WellFest to take place on Sunday, May 15th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Glen T MacLeod Cape Ann YMCA at 7 Gloucester Crossing Road. The Red Cross is also conducting a blood drive on the same day at the Cape Ann YMCA from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. WellFest is a community wellness fair so mark your calendars and come discover new and even surprising opportunities to experience the joys of living a healthy lifestyle.

GCACC CEO Ken Riehl is joined by Chamber Board President Caitlin Pszenny and Susan Kelly, President & Co-founder of Generous Gardeners, a volunteer organization who plant and care for over 45 spaces in Gloucester. Tune in as they chat about the events from April, upcoming events in May, and an overview from Susan about the plantings on the Boulevard, their upcoming plant sale and the Garden Tour in July.

Did you know that as a Chamber member there are several ways that we promote your business?

All members get a FREE print listing in our 2022-2023 Greater Cape Ann Guide & Directory and we are excited to say that the new edition best yet including Ipswich this year and will be here soon! We will be distributing 75,000 copies, about one third of which will go to more than a dozen North Shore communities through local papers, and the remainder will be distributed throughout the entire year to local high traffic areas including visitor centers, food markets, municipal offices, rail stations, accommodations, and restaurants. The guide is also viewable on THREE of our popular websites, receiving over 300,000 views annually. 

Spring Tourism Mixer

Wednesday, May 4 | 5 - 7 PM

The Vista, Gloucester

Attention hospitality businesses: Join us for the annual greater Cape Ann Spring Tourism Mixer, as we gather at The Vista to welcome the 2022 season. It's time to again mingle with your colleagues within the region's tourism community and share your updates on plans for this year.

- Businesses will be given the opportunity to provide a brief update on anything new

Occurring on the first Thursday of the month at 9am, the Greater Cape Ann Chamber hosts a casual and fun Coffee & Connections, a virtual networking event. We will continue holding these via zoom so that anyone may join us from anywhere. Meet new people, expand your business connections and stay in touch with friends and colleagues.

Skyrocketing labor costs, pandemic related business challenges and our Cape Ann location create a perfect storm to make hiring on greater Cape Ann even more challenging than usual. But when business owners understand their specific human resource requirements, they are better able to attract, engage, and promote talent to meet their company’s needs. In this session, attendees will explore the strategies required to identify their short- and long-term staffing requirements, draw a range of qualified job candidates, conduct meaningful interviews, and retain high performing employees.

Next Gen, Cape Ann's Young Professionals Group, is hosting a Spring Mixer at Short & Main with free admission to Lanes Coven Theater Co.'s production of Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter."

Come for a night of connections, complimentary wine & cheese upstairs, and theater!

This event will not be your traditional health and wellness fair. We will showcase the greater Cape Ann region’s broad range of health and wellness services.

Participating vendors offer a wide variety of products and services including: farm produce, sex coaching, puppy therapy, woodworking, hearing care, mental wellness, massage, accessible at-home living, and more. There will be something for all ages! In addition, the American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive throughout the event.

Thank you to our sponsors:

We invite you join us for our May Business After Hours Event at the beautiful Emerson Inn! Stay for the whole two hours or just stop by for a quick visit. 

Business After Hours events are a great way to meet your fellow chamber members and learn about their businesses. Guests are always welcome so please feel free to bring non-chamber members to show them what the Greater Cape Ann Chamber is all about! And, oh by the way, there is no charge.

Please register in advance if you plan to attend.

The net proceeds of this event fund the Chamber’s extensive work with the greater Cape Ann high schools and Essex Tech and education non-profits. The programming includes: monthly collaboration with all schools and education non-profits, DECA support, intern and mentorships, annual Cape Ann Career & Collage Fair and several scholarships. In addition to the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Scholarship, the Chamber awards four scholarships named in honor of past leaders: Mike Costello, Sylvester (Red) Deering, Rudy Macchi, and Patricia Roy D’Alelio.

Attention beer and ale lovers! Award-winning True North Ale Company is hosting the next Businesswomen's Mixer the first Thursday in June. The owners and staff of True North Ale Company invite the Businesswomen of Cape Ann to enjoy a pint of their delicious brew and meet and network with other area businesswomen. Registration is open so please reserve your spot today.

The Chamber and Castle Hill on the Crane Estate are excited to present Business After Hours at Castle Hill on June 22.

Please register in advance if you plan to attend.

Thank you to BankGloucester Ipswich Branch for hosting a great fantastic Business After Hours event in early April. Members from all five greater Cape Ann communities attended, enjoyed delicious appetizers, partook of a beverage or two, got a little swag, and made new connections. Three door prizes were also donated by BankGloucester:

- $50 gift certificate to The Choate Bridge Pub, won by Mark Olsen of Cape Ann Savings Bank

- Wine Gift Basket won by Christina Harris of Choice Graphics

- Beer Gift Basket won by Roger Smerage of Ruberto, Israel, & Weiner, P.C

The Businesswomen's Mixer held at the Crow's Nest was a huge success. The sold-out event brought 50 businesswomen together for appetizers, pizza provided by Bravo's by the Sea, Crow's Nest clam chowder, and of course a lot of networking! In addition, there was a BIG raffle with the proceeds of over $1,500 going towards the Carolyn M O’Connor Scholarship fund. Thank you to all who generously donated.

The next Businesswomen's Mixer is scheduled for June 2 at True North Ale Company from 5 to 7 PM. Registration is already open, so sign up today to reserve your spot!

100 children frolicked on Millbrook Meadow on a sunny April Saturday for the Chamber’s annual Easter egg hunt, returning to its original home for the first time in nearly a decade. Begun more than 30 years ago as a gift to the children of the town from the Chamber’s Rockport Division, this event celebrates the return of Spring with candy and prizes and a visit from the Easter bunny. We thank Institution for Savings and the bank’s King Street team for being the presenting sponsors and key volunteers once again this year, together with generous support from the Millbrook Meadow Committee and Conservancy, the Town of Rockport, members of the Rockport Rotary Club, Lisa Gove and Happy Whale Toys, Michele Allison Elwell of Churchill Properties, Lynne and Roger Norris, the Campbell family, Mechelle and Jacob Brown, Rockport Inn & Suites and all our volunteers.

As part of the Chamber’s Winter/ Spring Birding Speaker Series local birding expert Peter Van Demark led a walk on April 30 at Halibut Point State Park. During the walk at Halibut Point, the group identified by sight or by sound a total of 24 bird species, including Harlequin Ducks, a Carolina Wren and Eastern Towhees. Following the walk Peter presented a slide show at the Emerson Inn entitled “Four Season of Birding in Rockport”, featuring the photography of Martin Ray. Thanks to Peter and Martin for their excellent program, the staff at Halibut Point State Park for welcoming us and accommodating our guided walk, and Kimberly Voltero, her husband Bart and their team at the Emerson Inn for hosting us for Peter and Martin’s presentation.

The greater-Ipswich business community is invited to a Business Networking event sponsored by BNI North Shore Referral Network.

The event will be held at True North Ale Company, 116 County Road, Ipswich.

In celebration of Wellspring’s 40th year, we are planning a spectacular weekend event on May 6-7, 2022 with public artist, Stephanie Benenson of Harbor Voices to create Voices of Belonging, an immigration-themed, art installation for the community to experience. Through art, light and sound, this extraordinary event will showcase stories of immigrants who are working with Wellspring to succeed.

Open for free to the public on Saturday, May 7 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Family-friendly, accessible event. Groups encouraged! Timed tickets encouraged at Eventbrite.

2nd Annual Engel & Völkers By the Sea Mother's Day Flower Bar

Saturday, May 7 | 10 - 11:30 AM

Visit Appleton Farms on Mother’s Day for the perfect pastoral picnic brunch. Instead of their usual Fire Pit or Pizza Picnics, the day will feature a selection of items specially made in their own Farmhouse Kitchen by their culinary team.

Everything will be served to-go and can be purchased on the Farmhouse Front Porch.

No ticket purchase or advance reservations are necessary. It will be first come/first serve and while supplies last.

Empty Bowl To Go 2.0

Join The Emerson Inn for a Kentucky Derby Celebration.

$75/per person includes Signature Cocktail and Dinner Reception.

This event brings items from all corners - from golf outings and beach barbecues to fine clothing and complete wine cellars. There is a silent auction for smaller items and a live auction for the big ticket items including an 80 inch smart television! There will be a non-betting lottery on the outcome, a hat contest with the best woman's and men's hat winning a bottle of real Kentucky bourbon and a bouquet of roses. An excellent buffet dinner will be served throughout the evening, cash bar (yes mint julep), and best of all we are raising money for local scholarships, food banks and international projects. So put on your Derby hats and be ready to have a fun time with fun people. Tickets can be purchased online for $30 or at the door $35.

Moms free with an accompanying paid member or non-member ticket! Celebrate Mother’s Day with the stories of how women have shaped the town. From the wrongfully enslaved, Jenny Slew, to the visionaries of the Ipswich Female Seminary, Stephanie Gaskins will guide you through Ipswich’s past from a new perspective.

Come one, come all to the BlackBizBall and Awards Ceremony, a fantastic opportunity for those who want to do more business with people of color and for those who want to increase racial equity by welcoming Black people to Gloucester. Twenty-eight Black business owners and leaders will be honored.

The event is planned to be meaningful, productive, and fun. Proceeds will provide startup funding for the Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy Academy for high-risk youth ages 13-24 in the Boston area. Individual tickets are $175 or a pair for $300. Sponsorships and tables of 8 are also available.

An Evening with Sebastian Junger

Friday, May 13 | 6:30 - 8 PM

Help support Generous Gardeners by attending their Plant Sale. In addition to local plants from the gardens of their volunteers, extra dahlia tubers will be available for sale.

Every year, Generous Gardeners plant and care for flowers at over 45 areas in Gloucester. This year, on Stacy Boulevard alone, they planted over 17,000 pansies and 25,000 tulips with the help of 80 volunteers. Proceeds from the Garden Tour help fund the yearly plantings. Tickets are now on sale! Last year, the tour sold out so reserve your spot now. Help keep Gloucester beautiful!

Posting an event on our community calendar is a great way to gain exposure and promote your business's upcoming events. Take advantage of this FREE member benefit and post yours today by logging into your account!

*Contact Sam at sam@capeannchamber.com if you need assistance

Greater Cape Ann Gift Checks may be purchased at

the Chamber office in Gloucester, both Shaw’s locations in Gloucester, at Tuck’s Candy’s & Gifts in Rockport, and at Cape Ann Savings Bank in Manchester-by-the-Sea.

Available in any denomination over $10.

Accepted at over 250 participating Greater Cape Ann Chamber Member businesses.

Are you a boutique, an art gallery, an event venue or are you just looking to take your business's virtual accessibility to the next level? Virtual Tours aren't just for real estate! As a Greater Cape Ann Chamber member, book a virtual tour with VRtical Media and get an hour of post-production ($100 value) towards your first virtual tour.

Sign your contract between March 1 and May 31 and receive special rates on entertainment, photography, and photo booths for your next corporate outing. Misselwood has reached out to two of our vendors and they have agreed to give our clients special rates on a variety of services to enhance your event. PLUS all corporate outings that book a hosted open bar will receive the option to have a featured cocktail for one hour during the event at no additional charge.

The Board of Directors of the Cape Ann Community Foundation (CACF) announced today that they are now accepting proposals for the Foundation’s sixth annual round of grants. CACF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization established in 2015 by the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce to award grants funded by sales of the Cape Ann License Plate and direct donations. CACF will make grants ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 for projects that advance the Foundation’s mission to support non-profit, educational and economic infrastructure initiatives that improve and enrich quality of life for the residents of Cape Ann.

Exploring Off-Shore Wind Opportunities for Cape Ann

Webinar presented by Cape Ann Climate Coalition

Tuesday, May 3 | 7 - 8:30 PM

LEAP is now recruiting employers and community members! Be a “Career Mentor” and virtually advise a youth/young adult summer intern in a six-week project-based remote learning experience.

Reach student job seekers by posting your jobs for free on the capeannworks.com website. Register for your free account today.

Cape Ann Works is a program for employers and student-employees from Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, Hamilton, and Ipswich, including:

If you are interested in promoting with the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and sponsoring this newsletter, please contact Ken Riehl at ken@capeannchamber.com