Gloucester celebrates 400 days till 400 years

After a one year hiatus, Gloucester 400 continued its mission to educate the people of Gloucester on their historic city with its recent event “400 Days ‘til 400 years.”  This event marks 400 days till Gloucester’s 400th year it was established, marking the official countdown on November 27th. 

The event took place at the Blue Collar Cafe with more than 90 people in attendance.  The event commenced with an opening speech from event coordinator Linn Parisi, followed by another opening statement from chairman Bruce Tobey.

Once opening announcements were made, Tobey announced the first narrator of the event, Beth Welin, who went on to explain Gloucester’s history through 1723-1822, with a statement read by GHS seniors Calvin Del Vechio and Emily Corrao regarding “Ben Franklin’s Almanack” and its impact on Gloucester’s society. 

After Welin’s narration, a brief intermission had taken place, giving everyone a chance to take in the bounty of information provided and get refreshments from the Blue Collar Cafe. 

After intermission, Tobey and Parisi had a few announcements more to present and the second narrator of the evening Former State Representative Bruce Tarr was introduced and eager to tell of Gloucester’s history from 1822- 1922. 

Tarr began his presentation, and introduced musical guest Alan Estes to present his first song “Not With Ya Hands,” an ode to Gloucester’s own Howard Blackburn. Tarr then continued his presentation and once again reintroduced Corrao and Del Vecchio back to the audience to read two poems commemorating Gloucester history throughout the time period. 

Tarr also had the pleasure of introducing the band consisting of Paul Frontiero, Jamie and Kim Klopotoski and Larry Lacey, who played “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Gloucester Fanfare” and “The GHS Song” during the duration of the presentation. 

Towards the end of Tarr’s presentation, Estes was once again reintroduced to present a closing song in remembrance of the tragic tale of the Andrea Gail titled “Where’d They Go.” 

This presentation is  not the first event Gloucester 400 has held. Starting in 2019, the organization celebrated the 35th annual “Schooner Festival,” attracting tourists of all ages, along with holding their first official event explaining Gloucester’s history in that same year. 

To learn more on past events and keep up with future ones, go to the Gloucester 400 website for info on more upcoming events.