The Women's Guild of Holy Family Parish is inviting the public to attend its meeting and social Tuesday, when it will host a special display of wedding dresses spanning three generations, including some custom-made ones, at St. Ann's Parish Hall.
The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m., and is expected to last about a half hour, before the refreshments — which will include a wedding cake, cupcake and candy station and champagne.
Those attending the event, which is free admission, can take a trip back in time through the Depression, through the post-World War II era to Woodstock and on to Generation X.
In addition to the vintage wedding gowns, there will be whimsical cake toppers and wedding photographs along with stories of a first date that led to a wedding day.
The meetings are held in Parish Hall, accessed by the side door, leading to the basement of St. Ann church at 72 Pleasant St. in Gloucester. The guild is always interested in new members.
One World presentation
One World Coffeehouse presents Bill Staines on Saturday at 8 p.m. at First Universalist Church at 59 Main St. in Essex.
Staines is described as an intimate, compelling performer, out of the folk scene of the 1960s. He encourages his audience to sing with him on his chorus songs.
He also mixes in traditional tunes with his own contemporary folk ballads. He tells humorous tales of life on the road and observations of everyday people. He has 26 recordings to his credit and has written more than 300 songs, many of which have been recorded by other musicians.
For information, visit www.oneworldcoffeehouse.org or call 978-768-3690 for reservations. Suggested donation is $15. The next coffeehouse takes place Feb. 25 with Talk to the Hand, a women's a cappella quartet.
Grammy winner at benefit
Grammy Award-winning artist Danilo Pé©rez is bringing his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz to the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport on Friday, Feb. 10, which is a benefit for the North Shore Jazz Project.
As a bandleader and performer, Perez earned three Grammy nominations and scored two Grammy Awards. The North Shore Jazz Project All-Stars will open the show. For tickets and information, visit www.rcmf.org or call 978-546-7391.
New works by Loren Doucette
Loren Doucette will exhibit recent works at the Art Room at 3 Center St. in Gloucester with a free public reception on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Doucette, a Gloucester artist, will show recent drawings and paintings, including portrait work, abstractions, large ink works and some small landscapes from her July trip to Italy.
Her work will hang from this Saturday through April 4. For more information, call Loren at 978-879-8981 or visit www.lorendoucette.blogspot.com.
New artist at Manchester gallery
Manchester painter Grace Vasta-Carr has joined Central Street Gallery at 11 Central St. in Manchester as an artist member. She has been painting for 30 years and has shown her paintings in gallery and museum exhibitions across the United States and in London.
She has won many awards in juried competitions. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art in 1984, she travelled to London and abroad where she had an opportunity to study artists long admired, as well as discover many more gardens to paint.
"I consider the garden a metaphor for the human experience. In a garden, as in ourselves, the infinite possibilities of nature are restrained and carefully managed to project a cohesive image," she said in an artist statement. "The challenge is to strike a balance between the extremes of boundless chaos and contrived order."
Vasta-Carr will debut her paintings in the upcoming "Winter Show" at the gallery with a public artist reception on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 4 to 8 p.m.
The show will run through April. The gallery is a co-operative of 14 award-winning artists who paint plein-air on Cape Ann. Hours for February are Thursday through Monday, noon to 6 p.m. For information, visit www.centralstreetgallery.com.
Filmmaker visit and workshop
The Cape Ann Community Cinema at 21 Main St. in Gloucester hosts director Zach Levy on Saturday at 5 p.m., when he presents his film, "Strongman," a cinema verité© documentary about Stanless Steel, the self-proclaimed "Strongest Man in the World at Bending Steel and Metal."
The film follows the dreams and heartbreaking humanity of a man named Stanless Steel — who can bend a penny with his fingers — as he struggles to gain control of a world that seems constantly out of his grasp. Roger Ebert proclaimed it one of the best films of the year. Levy will answer questions after the film.
On Sunday — across the street at The Annie at 1 Washington St. — Levy will conduct a "Documentary 101" workshop, which is an intensive, six-hour instruction in all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking, including selecting a subject and storytelling style, basic interviewing technique and ways to get a film screened. For more information, visit www.CapeAnnCinema.com.
Drama scholarship
The Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe will award a $500 scholarship to an applicant who graduates from a Cape Ann high school, and who also plans to continue in the study of the performing arts.
For information and an application, contact Ray Jenness, the troupe president, at kjenness045@netzero.com.
Animal aid benefit
On Saturday, Feb. 11, Cape Ann Animal Aid will host its ninth annual Winter Bash at Cruiseport Gloucester on Rowe Square from 7 to 11 p.m. (Snow date is Feb. 12 from 6 to 10 p.m.).
The event includes a silent auction as well as a live auction along with hors d'oeuvres catered by Vinwood Catering, a cash bar, music, dancing and raffle.
Tickets are $50 each or a table of 10 for $475. All proceeds benefit Cape Ann Animal Aid. For information or to purchase tickets, call Cape Ann Animal Aid at 978-283-6055 or send an email at info@capeannanimalaid.com.
Visit www.CapeAnnAnimalAid.com for additional information as well as a list of auction items.
Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000 x3445, or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com. Items should be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the event.
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