5 August 2019

To My Cinema Faithful,

After 12 years serving the needs of the North Shore’s film fans, we at The Cape Ann Cinema & Stage find ourselves at a crossroads. The space we have rented for the last decade at 21 Main Street is being sold, and we are priced way out of the running to buy it. The new owners of our unit will have their own specific non-movie use for the space, especially in that they would acquire valuable “air rights” to build a primo 4th floor apartment suite/roof deck on which to sip mint juleps and view the harbor/helipad from which to escape advancing flood waters.

The short of it is that our last day of regular business in our present location is Thursday, August 22. All day Saturday, August 24, we will host a drop-in, with a Wicked Big Party in the evening. Please join us as we celebrate and reminisce on 12 years on Cape Ann… and look ahead.

So where does that leave us? Well, without a permanent home, at least for a couple months or so. But please don’t worry so much, as we have a continuity plan.

If you hold discount passes, you will be able to use them at any of the multiple “pop-up” locations that will host us in the coming months, starting by September 15. For starters, these Cape Ann locations (with more announced soon):

ROGERS STREET THEATRE (68 Rogers Street, Gloucester)
CAPE ANN MUSEUM (26 Pleasant St., Gloucester)
SAWYER FREE LIBRARY (2 Dale Ave., Gloucester)
MAGMA (11 Pleasant St., Gloucester)
CHARLES FINE ARTS (196 Main St., Gloucester)
HAMMOND CASTLE (80 Hesperus Ave., Gloucester)
NORTH SHORE ARTS ASSOCIATION (11 Pirates Lane, Gloucester)
GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE (10 Church St., Gloucester)
GLOUCESTER UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH (10 Church St., Gloucester)
ROCKY NECK ART COLONY (6 Wonson St., Gloucester)
THE OLD SLOOP COFFEEHOUSE (12 School St., Rockport)
ESSEX SHIPBUILDING MUSEUM (66 Main St., Essex)

Plus, this great North Shore venue!:

THE LARCOM THEATRE (13 Wallis St., Beverly)

To all our promotional partners, not only will your pre-show screen ads continue in all our new locations, but we are adding them to the mix over at our movie review site, NorthShoreMovies.net at no cost. I have been publishing this website for the last decade, a haven for fans of good writing on film (as well as for my film critic friends who were downsized when the newspaper market imploded).

Another reason for “going nomad” (and not instead just-closing) is that we have started planning the multi-day, multi-venue Cape Ann International Film Festival for November 2020, and we wish to have at least a dozen tried-and-true venues ready-to-go by next summer. (Know someone, or want to offer your business or venue? Tell us.)

So where and when will we reopen so that you can visit your favorite couch or comfy-chair again? While we can’t name the location we are pursuing, our first choice is prominent and on-island. When it’s time to add your YOPP! to let the landlords and the administrators know that you support our tenancy, we will most assuredly send you all out the call.

After the party on August 24, we will spend a few days packing, sorting, and hoeing-out. The contents of our humble movie loft presently need a home to be safely spirited away to and stored by the holiday weekend, as the place we had previously secured flooded out this past weekend. If you have clean, dry, and easily-accessible space, if you’d like to lend a hand physically, or would like to make a small donation to help cover the costs of the transition, please reach out with an email/button-click on the left. Your help is needed.

And of course, thank to to everyone who has helped us to get this far. Every patron. Every community partner. Every staffer. Every filmmaker, actor, writer, producer who took a risk and made a film (and sometimes personally showcased their work in our wee dark cave). Your support has kept us a vital North Shore resource through growing pains, illness, and calamity, and your support will keep us relevant for another 12 years and beyond. We celebrate you just as much as you celebrate us (and perhaps more).

“And in case I don’t see ya, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night.”

With much love,

Robert Newton
Creative Director
The Cape Ann Cinema & Stage
CapeAnnCinema@gmail.com
(978) 879-8451

CHECKS CAN BE MADE PAYABLE TO:

Fractured Atlas
c/o The Cape Ann Cinema & Stage
P.O. Box 44
Gloucester, MA 01931