Spend time watching the all...
by Cabana_Boy
Spend time watching the all the activity around the docks where the Sword boats tie up. The smell of the sea and fish... It can be pretty powerful at times, but it reflects this town's history and is part of the experience that is Gloucester.
Forever with the sea
by dinhyen
Visit the Fisherman Monument, a good place for quiet reflection. The fisherman looks out to sea, his keen eyes scanning the horizon. In front of him are copper plaques listing the names of all those who have been lost at sea.
Remembering the women
by Pawtuxet
There is a wonderful statue of a woman with child at the west end of the main boulevard along the shoreline of Gloucester. Most people visit the famous fisherman's statue commemorating all the men who have gone to sea and many lost. However this statue tells the story of the women and children who waited at home and watched the horizon til their husband and father came back to them.
St. Peter's Fiesta
by fdrich29
The Bible tells us that Jesus entrusted the keys of his church to St. Peter. He became the Catholic Church's first Pope and the Basilica in Vatican City, the center of Catholicism here on Earth, bares his name. He is also the Patron Saint of the fisherman, which is why the community of Gloucester celebrates his Feast Day each Spring.
St. Peter's Fiesta starts the Thursday closest to June 29th each year and centers around a life size statue of the Saint. This fishing town sets aside four days to honor it's Patron Saint, starting with a dance on Thursday night, and the opening of the Fiesta.
The hallmark of the Fiesta is the Greasy Pole Contest, which in recent years has expanded to begin on Friday night, with contests on Saturday and Sunday as well. Many Italian-Americans are familiar with a greasy pole contest, usually with the pole standing straight up where contestants must scurry up the pole. In the island city of Gloucester it's done a bit differently. A platform sits in Gloucester Harbor, which contestants must swim to before walking on the pole, covered with grease, horizontal to the ocean. At the end are flags, which Gloucester's young men venture to obtain. The first round is considered a courtesy round, no one is permitted to grab the flag so that all contestants have a chance to run. After that it's every man for himself.
Also on Saturday and Sunday are the Seine Boat Races, where three crews (maning the Nina, Pina and Santa Maria of course) race out into the harbor and back again.
Sunday is the center of religious events for the Fiesta with a Mass and Blessing of the Fleet conducted by the Cardinal of Massachusetts and a religious procession which brings the Statue of Saint Peter around the city for everyone to see. Throughout the four days there is also a small carnival type event, complete with rides, games and cotton candy. The Fiesta wraps up with a fire works celebration over the Harbor and the Statue of St. Peter being returned to it's shrine.
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Fly Amero performs on the Thomas E. Lannon
May 21, 1980, my First Communion, St. Ann's
view to the river
Cat nip and Peonies
