This year Cape Ann Small Business Week 2020 celebrates the resilience, creativity, courageousness and community spirit of every Cape Ann small business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read the Full Article

Save the Date Coffee & Connections Virtual Networking Event

We recently hosted our first monthly Coffee & Connections event, formerly known as our Zoom Informational Sessions. April - June. Many members participated, sharing their stories and connecting to other members. As Cape Ann continues to adapt to this Phase 3 normal, we look forward to getting together monthly, hearing how you are doing, helping to connect you to other members, and working together to weather this pandemic and emerge even stronger.

Every October the Cape Ann Chamber hosts the premiere giveaway night on Cape Ann: The $25,000 Game. This year, the event will be hosted on Facebook Live but there will still be plenty of opportunities to win big - these are the best odds on Cape Ann!

All tickets, including our 50/50 raffle are available at the Chamber- get yours today! Tickets to enter the $25k game are $100 each, and include the opportunity to win a door prize.

Promote Your Business by Sponsoring

Each year, the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce hosts a fundraising auction to benefit a cause that is important to us all- the prosperity of Essex, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport. This year our focus in on the pandemic and we will be giving a portion of our proceeds back to businesses most impacted. This is a special opportunity to promote your business and support our mission by making a donation or choosing to sponsor this annual event. We hope you will join us in our efforts to support the Cape Ann community.

On Friday, September 18 the Cape Ann Community Foundation (CACF) presented a $2,500 grant to the Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum. The Shipbuilding Museum was one of six successful applicants for the 2020 round of grants awarded by the CACF and funded by sales and renewals of the Cape Ann license plate. The grant will support an online interactive curriculum that will introduce students from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds to the local trades and histories associated with Salt Marsh Ecology, Shipbuilding and Shoe Making, three vital components of Cape Ann’s history, present and future.

*Pictured from left to right: Ken Riehl, Lauren Georgiades, Sue Lufkin, Ruth Pino, Chris Stepler, Dave Driscoll and Jodi Anselmo

This Fall season don't forget to stop by Lexington Ave. in Magnolia. Participating businesses are offering special Fall savings including everything from health & wellness to home decor and arts & culture. Magnolia is a must see this Fall season!

Participating Businesses:

Arts Abound | Hammond Castle |Beauport Hearing Care |All Purpose Flowers | Shackteau Interiors

Don't forget to order your fresh food and local wares at the Magnolia Community Virtual Farmers Market.

Cape Ann Foodie Tours is offering a Taste Gloucester Tour that takes visitors to six food stops highlighting restaurants and culinary experiences. The tours last 2.5-3 hours and covers about a mile of Downtown Gloucester. Stops include Topside Grill, Cafe Sicilia, Virgilio's Bakery, Cape Ann Brew Pub, and more. Cape Ann Foodie Tours has a five star rating on Tripadvisor, don't miss your chance to taste Gloucester.

Help them win by voting for them on North Coast Seafoods Instsgram page @northcoastseafoods

Be sure to cast your vote from 12pm on Thursday, September 24 to 12pm on Friday, September 25

In a joyful Celebration, the commemorative Manchester by-the-Sea 375th Anniversary Longevity Bench was unveiled and dedicated on Saturday, September 19th with nearly half of the forty generous resident donors and local and government officials present. Special “375th” logo masks were the gift of the town Anniversary Planning Committee, a major donor of this special Bench. A panoramic group photo was taken by photographer William Sumner (current featured exhibit at the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester) as attendees spread 6’ apart to comply with COVID-19 protocol. This special bench is the first town-wide funding of a Longevity Bench in what will be 20 installations by year’s end.

Designed by owner, Sue Wheeler and produced by Seaside Graphics, these high quality soft washed cotten hats are available in store at 21C Lexington Ave.

Wholesale and retail opportunities are available to Cape Ann Chamber members. Please contact Sue at [email protected] for more information.

Quarry Dance lX was filmed at three private quarries on Cape Ann this past July. The Quarry Dances are the result of the birth of a vision by Windhover’s founder Ina Hahn, which marries the art of dance with the pristine granite landscapes of the quarries of Cape Ann.

Manchester Historical Museum has moved to a virtual platform and is connecting the community with lectures on their youtube channel. You'll find over thirty of their previous lectures including the newest videos, "Manchester 101," "Turn of the Century Magnolia" and "Iron Men, Wooden Ships." More lectures will be available soon. If you haven't already, like and follow Manchester Historical Museum on Facebook. You will find the latest news on their lectures, art shows, videos, special events, and more.

Attention Professional and Recreational Photographers

The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism recently launched a campaign to promote shopping local to support small businesses across the Commonwealth. You’re invited to participate and help businesses in your community promote the campaign, particularly through social media, retail websites, and by posting the campaign flyer in brick-and-mortar spaces.

Learn More

We welcome all businesses and community members to stop by the Chamber Office and pick up a free poster. The Gloucester Youth Leadership Council started the poster campaign to encourage Gloucester residents to take the mask mandate seriously. The Cape Ann Chamber salutes the Gloucester Youth Leadership Council's initiative to protect our residents, business owners, and visitors.

Voting is Open for BankGloucester's Banking for the Community Program.

BankGloucester has donated over $200,000 to local community organizations through this program alone. This year, the Bank will donate a total of $25,000 to 21 organizations. Recipients are determined by the number of votes cast, so vote now!

Learn More About BankGloucester

The last day to vote is October 15. Please show your support and vote for Cape Ann's wedding venues, attire, beauty services, catering, and more.

Sawyer Free Library Presents: A Cape Ann Conversation on Climate Change with Bill McKibben on September 22 

In celebration of In Home Design Center's New Home, Anna Hardy, Owner and her fellow designers welcome you to their first Vintage Open Market on September 26th. From 10am - 3pm enjoy shopping outside with vintage decor offered for viewing and purchasing. Social Distancing will be required on the grounds at all times.

Walk in memory of a loved one, when and where you feel comfortable by September 27 while raising awareness and funds for this important cause. Walk proceeds benefit the 2,000 patients Care Dimensions care for every day.

Backyard Growers 5th Annual Great Gloucester Growdown Virtual Fundraiser on September 29 

Learn More

This October, Hammond Castle Museum will offer a room-to-room theater performance of The Horror of Abbadia Mare, an adaptation of five H.P. Lovecraft stories set within the Castle and adapted around Hammond Castle's founder, John Hays Hammond Junior.

Cape Ann Artisans 2020 Fall Open Studios, October 10 - 11

David Archibald | Cynthia Curtis | Jillian Demeri | Jacqueline Ganim DeFalco| Linda Hogan | Sinikka Nogelo | Scott Place & Erin O'Sullivan| Marcie Rae| Deb Schradieck |

Pam Stratton | Sara Wright

Learn More

Daily Museum Tours - Hammond Castle Museum

Candlelight and Spiritualism Tours - Hammond Castle Museum

Monthly Community Reiki Share - Manchester Community Center

Monday Morning Yoga Sessions - Missy Anzivino Yoga

Wake Up Spirit - Floating Lotus

Dashboard for September 21. The most recent daily Dashboard of Public Health Indicators shows mixed trends. The positive test rate (7-day weighted average) has remained below 2% since early July and since September 16 has been at 0.8%, its lowest observed value since data collection began. The 3-day weighted average number of hospitalized patients has increased to 364, 21% above its lowest observed value (302), with 367 patients reported hospitalized on September 21.

Travel Order List of Lower Risk States Updated. As of September 16, the list of COVID-19 lower risk states that are exempt from the Massachusetts Travel Order includes Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

For comprehensive COVID-19 information please visit the Chamber’s special Coronavirus page.

To view the most recent (September 17) weekly COVID-19 Command Center Situation Report from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), please click here.

For the most recent legislative and COVID-19 update from the office of State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante please click here.

For the latest COVID-19 news and information for Massachusetts, please visit www.mass.gov. 

Beauport Hotel Gloucester, Cruiseport Gloucester and Beauport Cruiselines are pleased to offer intimate wedding packages for up to 25 guests. Choose from unique, distinctive venues that appeal to your dream wedding style - all set in the tranquil beauty of their Gloucester destination.

CNAs, CHHAs, and Nursing Students - Aberdeen Home Care, Inc.

If you are interested in promoting with the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and sponsoring this newsletter, please contact Ken Riehl at [email protected]