Culture - Marblehead Current

21 Sep

Marblehead Cultural Council puts call out for grant proposals

Will Dowd0 CommentsBusiness, Community Resources, Culture, Entertainment, Local History, Local News, Municipal Matters, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Marblehead Cultural Council members may be budgeted less than $10,000 annually, but their small-grant awards plant artistic seeds, cultivate community and promote excellence throughout the arts, culture, humanities and interpretive sciences in town. Massachusetts Cultural Council provides millions of dollars (about $5.5 million in the Fiscal Year 2023) to the 329 local cultural councils across the Bay State. A town's population determines its appropriation from the pool of state funding. In the last funding round, the dollar amounts of grants ranged from as little as…

20 Sep

INA’S INSIGHTS: A Marblehead story of a 2nd-generation exchange

Will Dowd1 CommentCulture, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Opinion, Viewpoints

When Marblehead resident Maura Phelan was a senior at Marblehead High School in 1985, she befriended Majo Amoros, an exchange student from Spain. She was staying with a family whose daughter went to Pingree, and Phelan and Amoros spent a great deal of time together and pledged one day their children would visit back and forth. This summer, on Aug. 5, Jacobo Llorens, Amoros’ nephew, arrived with a school friend, Jesus Martinez to live for a month with Phelan and her two sons, Conor and Owen Murnane.…

19 Sep

ANCHORS AND SAILS: Rest in peace, your majesty

Will Dowd1 CommentCulture, Local News, Opinion, Viewpoints

“We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English." Winston Churchill Winston Churchill saw a lot during his time in British politics and service. He led England through World War II and, after being defeated in an election in 1945, came back to power in 1951 for another four years. He was right about the Irish. We are all a little odd and do not want to be English. Given the two countries' history, back to Cromwell, it's not hard…

19 Sep

Honoring Agnes: Special dedication on Old Burial Hill for enslaved woman

Leigh Blander1 CommentCulture, Local History, Local News, Municipal Matters, Religion, Top Stories

The new, historically accurate gravestone for Agnes, an enslaved woman in Marblehead More than 300 years after she died, a new gravestone will be dedicated at Old Burial Hill for Agnes (or Agnis, see below for an explanation of the two spellings), an enslaved woman who lived in Marblehead at the turn of the 18th century. The Marblehead Racial Justice Team (MRJT) will lead the ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 25, after raising $7,000 for the project. “We know that Agnes’ grave is an emblem,” said…

15 Sep

In Marblehead, Cecropia Strong gala & auctions to benefit people with physical disabilities

Will Dowd0 CommentsCommunity Resources, Culture, Local News, Nonprofit corner

Cecropia Strong will host its Second Annual Gala & Auctions on Sunday, Oct. 16, with proceeds funding the organization’s mission to help and provide hope for those who are physically disabled. The event will take place at The Masons’ Philanthropic Lodge, 62 Pleasant St., in Marblehead, and will be catered by Louise Moore and Every Little Breeze. Cecropia Strong was founded by Julie Hahnke (Marblehead bagpiper, author, and management consultant) after surviving a stroke, discovering what it meant to be seriously disabled, and then fighting…

15 Sep

Me&Thee presents Antje Duvekot & Chris O’Brien

Will Dowd0 CommentsCommunity Resources, Culture, Entertainment, Local News, Nonprofit corner

On Sept. 23, one of Boston's top singer-songwriters Antje Duvekot returns to Me&Thee Music with her only local show before leaving on her west coast tour. Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious Kerrville, Texas "Best New Folk Award" and a Boston Music Award for "Outstanding Folk Act." She has toured internationally including in Scotland, Germany & Denmark. Her song "Merry Go Round" was featured on a Bank of America Super…

13 Sep

Student reflects on Philmont Scout Ranch trip

Will Dowd0 CommentsCulture, Environment, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories, Viewpoints

If you happen to see a bunch of teenagers wandering around in gray hoodies shouting “I BELIEVE IN FOREST FAIRIES” when they accidentally rip open a snack package all the way, then they may have just come back from Philmont. Back in 2019, the local Troop 79 of the Boy Scouts of America created a "linked troop," which has allowed girls to join, including me. The creation of this troop has opened up many amazing opportunities, the latest - and perhaps greatest - was the…

12 Sep

Marblehead’s British expats numbed by Queen Elizabeth II’s death

Will Dowd0 CommentsCulture, Local News, Politics, Top Stories

Marblehead residents Vicki Staveacre and Rhod Sharp were near Tucker's Wharf when news of the death of their queen reached them. "I just got a little ping from the BBC News, and I said, 'Vicki, she is gone,'" said Sharp. "We just stopped right there." Sharp took his hat off, and the couple stood in silence for a minute. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Queen Street Mall, Brisbane City, in 1982. Andrew Oliver, meanwhile, was behind the wheel. He had to pull over and…

11 Sep

NEVER FORGET: Marblehead marks 9/11 with Memorial Park ceremony

Will Dowd0 CommentsCulture, Local News, Municipal Matters, Public safety, Top Stories

Marblehead marked the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Sunday with a mid-morning ceremony on Memorial Park. The 10-minute ceremony, one of perhaps thousands across the nation, provided locals with a communal outlet to renew their commitment to never forget those who perished in New York City, Washington D.C. and over Shanksville, Penna. on Sept. 11, 2001. Scenes from Marblehead's 9/11 ceremony on Sunday. [PHOTOS / WILL DOWD] "We gather once again to pay tribute to the victims, the 2,977 people who…

31 Aug

The Marblehead Farmers’ Market: Saturday, Sept. 3

Will Dowd0 CommentsBusiness, Community Resources, Culture, Environment, Local News, Nonprofit corner

Shoppers can expect to find a variety of winter squash, corn, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, fresh onions, cabbage, beets, radishes, potatoes, beans, carrots, mushrooms, as well as a wide variety of salad and cooking greens, cut flowers, potted plants and much more. Farms this season are Middle Earth Farm with vegetables. Grant Family Farm will be offering fresh eggs, cut flowers, and vegetables. Bear Hill Farm will have pork, vegetables, and local fruit. Brookford Farm will have vegetables, meat, cheese, fermented products,…