It is always a great time to Shop Local but the upcoming holidays are an excellent time to remind people. We are rolling out our "Shop Local Greater Cape Ann" campaign to encourage shoppers to visit Greater Cape Ann businesses for their holiday needs. Each week we will highlight an industry sector to post member businesses around Greater Cape Ann that fall into that category. Make sure your business uses the hashtag "#shoplocalgreatercapeann" in all social media posts and tags us.

A Greater Cape Ann Gift Check Every Season

The Greater Cape Ann Gift Check Program is the perfect gift to give this holiday season and are THE BEST way to support local business, as they can only be redeemed at more than 200 participating local businesses. We sell more than $70,000 GCs a year and have put over $1,000,000 back into the local economy over the life of the program. These can be purchased at the Chamber Office, both Gloucester Shaw's locations, and Tuck's Candy & Gifts in Rockport. 

Participating Businesses

This week we are continuing our Shop Local Greater Cape Ann spotlights with some amazing jewelry retailers. With the holidays coming up fast, do you have a gift for the special someone in your life? If you're still looking for that perfect gift, make sure you check out some of these fine jewelry retailers.

With the holidays fast approaching, get out there and enjoy what downtown Gloucester has to eat, play and shop. Mark your calendars with these upcoming dates to get you out to visit local businesses. Can't make one of the themed shopping days, don't worry, it's always a good time to shop local.

Artists Sunday is a nationwide art-shopping event held the Sunday after Thanksgiving (Nov 28, 2021). This nationwide movement is dedicated to supporting artists and recognizing the impact they have in enriching our lives, communities, and the economy. The powerful new effort is designed to make the Sunday after Thanksgiving the most profitable day of the year for artists. Consumers are encouraged to shop with artists and purchase creative, handcrafted gifts for the holidays.

Supporters include individual artists, economic development agencies and non-profit organizations across the country. To learn more about Artists Sunday artists, partners, sponsors, or involvement in promoting commerce with artists, please see below.

Mark your calendars for December 4, 2021, for the 7th Annual Holiday Stroll organized and supported by the member businesses of the Ipswich Business Roundtable. Stop in at downtown Ipswich businesses to participate in the fun.

Sign-up Now to Participate in the Region’s Most Impactful Publications

 

Advertising in our 2022 Greater Cape Ann guide and Director, Map, and Rockport Map is going fast – contact Sam sam@capeannchamber.com to reserve your positions today. You can also increase your web presence by advertising on our three websites CapeAnnChamber.com, CapeAnnVacations.com and/or RockportUSA.com

Did you miss our Love Greater Cape Ann Fundraising Auction last week? Well, you’re in luck! Our second online auction is now open and runs until this Friday (26th) at 7 PM. The holidays are just around the corner so follow the instructions to register and begin placing bids for some incredible gift ideas!

Please use the instructions provided below to create an account and start bidding. If you participated in the silent auction portion of last Wednesday's auction, please use the login credentials you previously created.

Occurring on the first Thursday of the month at 9 AM, the Greater Cape Ann Chamber hosts 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.

Summer may be over but our visitor centers remain busy. A free benefit of membership is the ability to display your business's brochures, menus and rack cards in our visitor centers. We are currently running low on these promotional items after a busy summer. Please bring them by our office at 24 Harbor Loop, Gloucester or contact info@capeannchamber.com for pick-up.

This holiday season, we'll be in our now FIVE Greater Cape Ann communities for a series of holiday parties. Please join us for one or all events as we celebrate the holidays season together. RSVP is not required, light apps and cash bar will be available at all parties.

Please see below for a full listing of Greater Cape Ann's community holiday highlights for the 2021 holiday season. All holiday events can be found on our calendars located on our website.

Next Gen’s annual Holiday Party is back! Join us for a festive night of food, drinks, and fun as we celebrate the season with other young professionals on Cape Ann. This event is free, but cash donations to the Cape Ann DCF Holiday Gift fund are greatly appreciated. Donations can be made at the event or online by clicking here.

Local Sales, Discounts & Promotions

In recognition of the Gloucester's upcoming anniversary and to mark 400+ years of its history, the Cape Ann Museum is organizing a special exhibition exploring the enduring legacy of the family-owned fishing boat. The Museum is inviting members of the community who have paintings, photographs, models, and archival materials related to family-owned fishing boats to share them with us via the link below. Submissions will be fashioned into a exhibition to be shared through an in-person display with a virtual component.

Gloucester, MA (November 18, 2021) – SeniorCare Inc. is proud to announce that the agency’s Nutrition Department is participating in the 2021 Subaru Share the Love Event as a member of Meals on Wheels America. From November 18, 2021, through January 3, 2022, Subaru of America will donate $250 to the customer's choice of participating charities for every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased.

HouseWorks, one of the nation’s largest independent home care companies, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Connected Home Care, a leading home care provider serving Medicaid, dual-eligible and private pay clients throughout Eastern Massachusetts. The Company expects to close the acquisition by December 31, 2021.

For the second year in a row, Action Inc., Wellspring House, and Pathways for Children have launched the Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund to ensure that all families in our community can share the joy, love, and wonder of the holiday season!

Proceeds from the Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund will be used to provide gift cards for Cape Ann families (Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, & Ipswich) who are struggling financially so they can buy holiday gifts for kids in their care. Last year, over 500 families applied and more than 1,000 local kids benefitted from the fund. Click below to donate or learn more.

CATA is redoing their office and is offering some modular desk setups. They have wall partitions, file cabinets, drawers also wall file cabinets and some other miscellaneous office-type furniture. They are hoping someone can use it and not have to just get rid of it. Email Jackie LaFlam for more information at LaFlamJ@canntran.com

Share your love for Beauport Hotel Gloucester, along with other favorite destinations, nominated in this year's TRAVEL+ LEISURE World’s Best Awards survey. They're pleased to be among such great companies! By rating your best travel spots and experiences, you’ll be entered into a chance to win a dream trip for two worth $15,000, to be planned by a T+L A-List Advisor. Find them on the T+L World's Best nominee list for Massachusetts.

Beverly Hospital and Addison Gilbert are conducting their triennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The primary goal is to identify the priority health needs in the community, including various social, economic, and environmental factors that impact the ability to achieve optimal health and healthy equity, i.e. economic insecurity, transportation, access to care, housing insecurity, employment, economic development, education, etc. We greatly appreciate if you could provide your input on the most pressing needs in your community where you live and/or work by taking approximately ten minutes to complete the survey below.

The goal of the Gloucester Racial Justice team in issuing this survey is to gather the perspective of our BIPOC Gloucester community members and/or all that love and/or support them. We hope the results will help us to focus our attention on the areas where we can make the most impact. Thank you for your time.

Volunteers work about two hours in the late morning, picking up and delivering meals to older residents. This provides several benefits—the elder receives a nutritious meal (sometimes the main meal of their day), they get a quick visit from a friendly volunteer (sometimes the only person they see that day), and as the volunteer gets to know the elders on their route, the volunteer sometimes notices when the elder’s circumstances and/or status changes and can have SeniorCare check-in with the elder to make sure everything is all right.

For more information visit our volunteer section at www.seniorcareinc.org

Now entering into its 34th Season, this humorous & whimsical interactive performance reanimates Dickens’ timeless seasonal holiday classic. Experience Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with a twist. Ride along with Scrooge on the Salem Trolley as the classic tale is brought to life in a completely unexpected way. Shows sell out quickly and seats are limited. Tickets go on sale Monday, September 13, 2021. Tour departs from Salemdipity, 86 Wharf Street (Pickering Wharf), Salem.

Gloucester 400 is taking a look at Gloucester's 2nd and 3rd centuries during the Saturday, November 27, 2021, 3:00PM program " “Our Stories Continue: Illuminating Gloucester’s 2nd and 3rd centuries, 1723-1822 and 1823-1922”.

The free event at The Blue Collar Cafe in The Gloucester House is a follow up to the first Gloucester 400 event in November 2019 "Our Stories Begin: 1623-1722". The 2019 event was held at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church with great attendance despite torrential rain, gale winds and scattered power outages.

Join Cape Ann Makers Market on Sunday, November 28th from 11-4 at the Magnolia Library and Community Center. The 2021 Holiday Market will feature 25 Cape Ann vendors -- many first-time CAMM vendors -- offering locally made Arts and Crafts, including jewelry, pottery, sculpture, painting, photography, metalwork, woodwork, fiber arts, candles, hand-harvested artisan sea salts, handcrafted soaps, natural body care, and much more.

Each night Temple Achavat Achim will have a short program where we light, sing and have time for a 5-minute reflection about the light in the darkness. As people have seen over and over again throughout these last few unusual years, it's important to cherish each and every opportunity to come together as a community. We hope to see you all virtually and in person this year at TAA's Chanukah festivities. If your family would like to participate by lighting your candles for the group, or if you would like to share a reflection on light or the season, please sign up here by November 20th.

Everyone who would like to join should register below for the zoom link.

10% of food sales at Woodma's of Essex will go to the Mr. & Mrs. L. Dexter Woodman Scholarship on Giving Tuesday - Tuesday, November 30. Since 1988 the Mr. & Mrs. L. Dexter Woodman Scholarship has helped with young people to attend college in honor of Dexter and Gini Woodman's legacy and memory. Since its inception, we have awarded over $803,999 in scholarships, to over 180 students as well as donations to many organizations that support education.

Schooner Gallery: SeArts Artist and Member Opening Reception Dory Shop Deck: Tree/Wreath Sales with hot cider/snacks Museum Store: Open for Holiday Gift Shopping

Thursday, December 2 | 10 AM - 7 PM Schooner Gallery: seARTS Art Show Dory Shop Deck: Tree/Wreath Sales with hot cider/snacks Museum Store: LADIES NIGHT – Holiday Gift Shopping and Gift Wrapping 2:30 – Light Refreshments in Gallery 5:00 – Light Refreshments in Museum Store

PIER: Winter Lights Event with Discover Gloucester Hot drinks (cider, cocoa, and

A true artistic visionary who’s been called “the most provocative thinker in current jazz” (Rolling Stone), pianist/composer Jason Moran is pushing the music forward in bold new directions, unafraid to innovate, take risks and cross stylistic boundaries, yet still honor tradition. He’s making his Rockport debut with a much-anticipated solo concert.

Holiday Gifts! Holiday Cheer! The Cape Ann Artisans invite you to join them at selected studios on Cape Ann on Saturday, December 4 from 10 AM to 4 PM. Just enough time to choose a handcrafted gift for that special person, a future heirloom in the purchasing. In appreciation for the community, we will offer a donation to the Grace Center in collaboration with the Cape Ann Museum’s “Art of Lunch” program. Stay tuned for other special offers done on an individual basis.

Learn how to make your own wreaths. The ancient art of wreath making has been around for hundreds of years and used for protection of homes and blessing upon new family members, and New Years Blessing which in the wreath you will be making. This course will go over the history behind it all.

Join Senator Bruce Tarr at these live

“Toy Drive” broadcast locations. Now accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys.

8am to 10am - Salem Institution For Savings

11am to 1pm - Essex Woodmans

7am to 9am - Lynn Capitol Diner

10am to 12pm - Danvers Recovery Centers of America

12:30 to 2:30pm - Peabody Lyon-Waugh

7am-9am - North Andover Heavenly Donuts

10am to 12pm - Ipswich Aubuchon Hardware

1:15 to 2:45pm - Middleton Teresa’s

8:15am to 10:15am - Newburyport Newburyport Bank

10:30am to 12:30pm - Newburyport The Maids

5:00pm to 7pm - Peabody Mill 58

9am to 11am - Beverly Aubuchon Hardware

11:30am-1:30pm - Ipswich Brookline Bank

2:00pm to 3:30pm - Rockport Dock Square

4pm to 6pm - Gloucester Cape Ann Savings Bank

Last Wednesday the State Senate unanimously approved a $3.82 billion package allocating state surplus funds and about ½ of the state’s federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to a wide array of programs and initiatives. A final bill is now being negotiated by a six-member House-Senate conference committee facing a November 17 deadline when formal legislative sessions are set to conclude for the year. Read a full account from the Boston Business Journal below.

Sacred Heart Church in Manchester is collaborating with Conley’s Pharmacy for a vaccination clinic on Tuesday, November 9 for ages 5 and up for first, second and booster doses. A follow-up clinic will take place on November 30. Register below.

The CDC has approved children ages 5 and up to receive the Pfizer COVID Vaccine. To find a vaccine appointment for your child professionals suggest first contacting your pediatrician then visit the regional collaborative at capeannclinic.com

The Foundation of a Successful Business Series consists of 10 webinars that will identify all of the key areas that startups and existing businesses should understand and address to have the best chance of achieving a successful and profitable business. Upcoming workshops include: Creating a Budget for your Business, Learn how to Sell Better, Cashflow Management for Your Small Business.

There is no cost to the business and no out-of-pocket cost to the recipient. Conley's Drug Store can offer either the Pfizer Vaccine (Ages 12+) or the Johnson&Johnson (Age 18+).

The GCACC serves the 5 Greater Cape Ann communities, including Boxford, Hamilton, Middleton, Topsfield and Wenham. Vaccines are free to all Massachusetts residents age 5 and above. Identification and health insurance is not required. Walk-ins will be accepted while supplies last at each clinic.

MONDAYS

Ipswich: Our Lady of Hope rectory, 1 Pine Swamp Road, Mondays, 2-6 p.m., through the end of 2021. Register for the Pfizer vaccine here.

THURSDAYS

Essex: Town Hall Annex, 30 Martin St., from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register for a dose of the Register for Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen (J&J) vaccine here. (No clinic will be held on Thursday, Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day.)

SATURDAYS

Rockport: Community House, 58 Broadway,

10 a.m.-12 p.m. Register for a dose of the Pfizer, Moderna, or (J&J) vaccine here.

Anthony & Dodge is a full-service, progressive public accounting firm located north of Boston.

Our firm has been providing consulting, tax, and accounting services to individuals and businesses for over thirty years. We believe in a hands-on approach which translates into an intimate knowledge of our client’s personal and business financial and tax needs. We are currently seeking a self-motivated, highly organized, team player with experience in public accounting to lead tax and accounting engagements.

Iron Tree Service is looking for a ground crew member to join their team. Their ground crew team members receive competitive rates commensurate with your experience. Working with Iron Tree Service is not a job; it’s a way of life. Their team is the heart of their success. They’ve become the fastest growing and highest rated professional tree service company in Massachusetts

Action Inc. has more than 70 current employees. For over 50 years, our staff has been committed to promoting social change and improving our community. Now, we are looking for dedicated individuals – who want to make a difference – to fill the positions listed below. Apply now to join our team!

Senior Care offers ongoing training, supportive supervision, great team relations and a sense of challenging, worthwhile work within the local communities they serve. This position is an important part of an Agency that has been in operation for over 45 years and is devoted to multiple programs supporting people’s ability to live in the setting of their choice as they age.

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