Grey Collins - Marblehead Current

28 Aug

Say ‘treat!’ Golden retrievers gather for annual family portrait

Grey CollinsAnimals, Top Stories

Chandler Hovey Park once again became a sea of golden fur and wagging tails as more than two dozen dogs and their families gathered for the annual golden retriever family portrait on Thursday, Aug. 27. The canines and their humans met under the lighthouse before lining up and settling into the grass by the water for the photo. The tradition, which began 15 years ago with just seven English golden retrievers, has grown into a beloved summer gathering for dog owners around town. More than…

27 Aug

Marblehead native comes home to direct first film

Grey CollinsArt, Sailing, Top Stories

For three cold, windy May days this year, a sailboat moored in Marblehead Harbor became a bustling film set. Led by Marblehead native Molly Greville, the cast and crew of the short film “Waspringa” braved the inhospitable conditions to get the job done and send the film to the post-production phase. Greville wrote, directed and stars in the film. The 18-minute movie, which Greville describes as a dark comedy and a coming-of-age story, explores the dynamics between family members on their annual sailing trip in…

20 Aug

Pleon exchange connects young sailors from Marblehead and the Bahamas

Grey CollinsSailing, Top Stories

For generations of Marblehead sailors, Pleon Yacht Club has been a place for kids and teens to learn to sail and form a community. For Will Dailey, a Pleon alumnus, it inspired him to create an exchange program connecting coaches from Marblehead with sailors from a grassroots sailing academy on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The partnership between Pleon and the Eleuthera Sailing Academy began after Dailey, who had sailed at Pleon his whole childhood, spent two months coaching at the academy in…

05 Aug

Local writer’s debut novel spotlights neurodivergent heroine

Grey CollinsArt, Top Stories

Marblehead writer Jennifer Rizzo is set to release her debut historical novel, "Uprising," on Sept. 1, blending her love of medieval history with her experiences raising two neurodivergent children. The story follows a 22-year-old woman whose heightened sensory abilities help her navigate England's 14th-century Peasants' Revolt. Rizzo had written extensively as a freelance journalist, and she eventually decided to tell stories through historical fiction, a genre she has always loved. She began writing the novel in 2023, while also juggling a full-time job in human…

28 Jul

Select Board sets goals, charts 10-year financial strategy after override

Grey CollinsMunicipal Matters, Top Stories

The Select Board sat around a conference room table overlooking Marblehead Harbor, sipping coffee and eating blueberry and chocolate chip muffins as members discussed goals for the next fiscal year and laid out plans for the town’s post-override future. At its annual retreat on July 24, the board looked beyond the budget crisis that dominated much of the past year, set priorities for the coming year and outlined a long-term financial strategy designed to keep Marblehead on stable footing for the next decade. The Select…

27 Jul

Youth shine in Marblehead’s Junior Race Week

Grey CollinsSailing, Sports, Top Stories

On July 20, before Race Week brought hundreds of people to Marblehead to compete on the waves, Marblehead’s youngest sailors took center stage at Junior Race Week. The annual youth regatta drew 170 sailors from around Marblehead and the North Shore. Ages from eight to 18, the kids sailed in Optimist and 420 class sailboats and participated in 12 races outside of Marblehead Harbor over the three-day regatta. Young sailors compete in Marblehead's Junior Race Week July 20-23. CURRENT PHOTOS / GREY COLLINS The conditions…

26 Jul

More than 100 locals protest ICE killings, honor victims

Grey CollinsTop Stories

On Saturday afternoon, more than 100 people stood together at the intersection of Lafayette and Maple streets, many carrying hand-made signs, to protest the fatal shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine by federal ICE agents, and hold a vigil to honor their memory. The event was organized by the group North Shore Indivisible. The protesters waved as cars drove past honking in support. After about an hour, the group formed a circle for a vigil honoring the memory…

21 Jul

Spain not the only winner at World Cup watch party

Grey CollinsSports

On Sunday evening, as the FIFA World Cup Final game between Spain and Argentina got underway, about 50 soccer fans wearing soccer jerseys packed into the Riptide Bar, cheering for their teams and sipping pints of Guinness. Throughout the close game, the packed bar was filled with cheers and groans from the excited fans. The Marblehead Football Club watch party also served as a fundraiser to help North Shore Youth Soccer players access competitive soccer opportunities. The event was organized by Marblehead FC, a men’s…

16 Jul

‘Nothing between you and the wind’: Race Week 2026 preview

Grey CollinsSailing, Sports, Top Stories

For more than a century, Marblehead Harbor has transformed into one of New England's premier sailing venues. This July, that tradition continues as sailors of all ages prepare for the 137th annual Race Week, with hundreds of competitors from Marblehead and across New England set to fill the waters off the town's coast for its signature sailing event. First established in 1889, Marblehead Race Week has long served as the centerpiece of the local sailing calendar and has been part of Marblehead's sailing community for…

15 Jul

Local attorney, Governor’s Council candidate appears in Apple TV series

Grey CollinsAbout Us, Top Stories

Most days, Diann Slavit Baylis can be found practicing immigration law or speaking with voters on the campaign trail during her run for Governor's Council. But every so often, she trades the courtroom for a movie set. In June 2025, that took the longtime Marblehead resident to Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, where she spent the day watching actor Matthew Rhys fend off an attack from a terrifying sea hag in an episode of the Apple TV series "Widow's Bay." Slavit Baylis appears as an…