There has been a lot of planning for Manchester’s 375th anniversary next year, and after more than a year, the 375th Celebration Committee has settled on a comprehensive year-long calendar of activities that will give residents anything they could ask for when it comes to marking the milestone, from little things to formal, town-wide celebrations.
At this point, there are no less 25 events in some stage of planning on the committee’s official docket for 2020. And these events are set to begin in just four short months. In January, the town can expect a celebratory Christmas Tree Bonfire, followed by (and this is just a representative list), 375th lectures from the Manchester Historical Museum on Native Americans on Cape Ann, the Gilded Age, slavery on Cape Ann and our local connection to the two world wars; a high tea at Sharksmouth Estate; a showing of locally-shot movies at the library; fireworks on Singing Beach, among many others.
When former Selectman chairman Dan Senecal, who oversaw the town’s 350th celebration, visited the 375th Committee at a meeting earlier this year, his advice was to keep it simple. This upcoming milestone, he said, has the opportunity to breathe a little easier without the grand formalities of a “high milestone.” There will be plenty of room for big ideas on Manchester’s 400th anniversary, Senecal said.
Well, what’s interesting is Manchester’s milestone is one of no less than three historical celebrations that are on the books for Cape Ann. The celebrations began, of course, with Essex’s bicentennial this year, and it seems like every event so far has gone off without a hitch, whether it’s an ice cream social, food truck jamboree, birthday parade or historical lectures at the Town Hall gallery. (Interestingly, the Essex “birthday” is more a celebration of independence than incorporation, since it was 200 years ago that Essex — Chebacco Parish, as it was known then — separated from Ipswich, which itself was founded in 1630.)
The other big celebration (and it will be big indeed) will come in 2023 when Gloucester celebrates its “quadricentennial” (400th anniversary, for us laymen). When it comes to age, Plymouth tends to get the most glory in Massachusetts because it’s the oldest (founded in 1620), but Gloucester is the state’s second oldest city, which makes it pretty old by any standard. In fact, Gloucester is one year older than New York City (which was settled in 1624), two years older than Salem, and seven years older than Boston.
Gloucester’s 400th is four years away, for sure, but plans for this incredible milestone are already underway, according to Christine Armstrong, a board member of Gloucester’s 400th anniversary steering committee. She said that the loose planning initiated by the city several years ago began to solidify and heat up in the last year. Earlier this year, there was a contest to choose a logo design for the 400th anniversary, which a local resident won. (Similarly, Manchester designed its 375th logo this year, by way of a semester-long design class taught by M-E Regional High School art and photography teacher Caroline Epp.)
This past week, Gloucester’s 400th anniversary steering committee closed submissions on a high-stakes design contest (the winner will receive $10,000 in prize money) for its commemorative coin. The commemorative coin is a tradition the city started with its 300th celebration in order to honor Gloucester’s history of fine art (which is almost as strong as its history as a seaport), and then continued with its 350th and 375th celebrations. (For the past two anniversaries, the designs of noted fine artists George Manuel Aarons and Daniel Altshuler were selected, respectively.) As a result, the contest now attracts fine artists from around the world to compete. This year, Armstrong said, the theme is “Our People, Our Stories” as a way to look back as well as forward to the city’s future. By the deadline two weeks ago, 32 artists had submitted design entries, some from as far as the United Kingdom and Italy, although most came from artists in the Northeast. The winner will be announced in October.
Back to Manchester, the 375th committee says it will unveil its full schedule for 2020 early next month. There are many opportunities for commercial sponsorships and donations, according to Committee Chairman Tom Kehoe. The team meets monthly, and the public is encouraged to stop in and learn about the plans and see how they might get involved.
