Essex Heritage Newsletter header images and link
In This Issue
Celebrate Essex Heritage!
Momentum is building for TRAILS & SAILS!
Congressman Tierney Preserves Federal Border to Boston Trail Funding
B2B Construction Begins in Newburyport
Non-Profit Sustainability Opportunities
Essex Heritage Annual Photo Contest
Read about the Region
Quick Link
Heritage Happenings

Explorers logo and link
Saturday, Sept. 13, 1-2PM
Masconomet Life Commemoration Ceremony
Sagamore Hill  
Hamilton, MA 01982
This one hour ceremony will commemorate the life of Sachem of the Agawam, Masconomet at his burial site on the top of Sagamore Hill in Hamilton, the only known burial site of a 17th Century Massachusetts Sachem. Glenn Mairo, will host this once in a lifetime event and will speak on the life and legacy of Masconomet. The Essex Harmony, an acapella choral ensemble will perform. Masconomet's life will be explored from the Native American point of view. Explorers and
Non-Explorers FREE
RSVP here...



Saturday, September 20,

Photo Safari with Canon
at the Marblehead Arts Association! For more information click here...

Thursday, September 25, 5:30-8:30PM
TRAILS & SAILS Kickoff Celebration at the Willowdale Estate in Topsfield. For more information click here...

Friday, Saturday & Sunday September 26-28
TRAILS & SAILS Weekend
GO! Experience Essex Heritage...don't miss it!


Wednesday, October 1
2008 Essex Heritage Photography Contest
submission deadline. Get snapping over TRAILS & SAILS weekend and you could win a prize! For more information click here...


Essex Heritage Annual Meeting is coming soon, save the date!

Saturday, November 1,
8:30AM-3:00PM
Northeastern MA Community Preservation Act Conference at the Essex Agricultural and Technical High School in Danvers. Organized by the statewide Community Preservation Coalition, the conference is the best way learn the latest news on the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and network with members of local Community Preservation Committees. Workshops will be offered on statewide CPA trends, protecting open space, creating affordable housing, historic preservation, CPA administrative issues and more. For more information click here...

Looking Ahead...

Ipswich celebrates 375th in 2009! Themes for the year-long celebration include heritage, diversity, and community. Find out more...
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Staff News

Essex Heritage would like to thank our summer intern Franziska Mayer, who joined for the month of August from the Lake Constance region of Germany. We appreciate all of her hard work! Franzi's help in getting us organized for the fall was indispensable and we will miss her!

In addition, we are pleased to welcome Emily Levin, the newest member of our team. Emily graduated from Hampshire College and will be working with Barbara McGowan, ENHC's marketing manager.Emily joins us as we wish our very best and 'Bon Voyage' to Rachel Pagliocco. Rachel is off for a South American adventure! We will miss her can-do anything attitude and can't wait to hear updates from Brazil.

Read About the Region...
IA Brief History of Old Newbury imagef you are interested in this history of this region, you will surely enjoy, A Brief History of Old Newbury, by Bethany Groff.
It is the story of a small community of adventurers, heretics, criminals, and Puritans who made their way from England to settle along the New England coast and created one of the most important communities in American history. Launch party and book signing at The Book Rack, 52 State Street, Newburyport on Sunday, September 28 from 3-5 p.m. The book is also available on amazon.
National Park Service logo and link
The Essex National Heritage Area is one of 40 heritage areas affiliated with the National Park Service.

Celebrate Essex Heritage... 
TRAILS & SAILS kickoff logo and linkCome join the FUN, as we kick off TRAILS & SAILS weekend with "A Taste of TRAILS & SAILS." on Thursday, September 25 from 5:30 - 8:30pm at the stately Willowdale Estate in Topsfield. "A Taste of TRAILS & SAILS" promises to be an evening that will tickle your taste buds and provide a true sensory experience of all that is essentially Essex. Enjoy local specialty foods, spirits provided by area wine and beer makers, live music, "mini" Trails & Sails events and a fabulous raffle (download a flyer pdf) that will give you a chance to GO! Experience Essex Heritage in new, exciting ways! Celebrate the "best of" TRAILS & SAILS while raising necessary funds to underwrite the weekend's free events. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online here.
 
THANK YOU! to our "Taste of TRAILS & SAILS" sponsors and contributors: Willowdale Estate, Mercury Brewing, Jewell Town Vineyards, Red Oak Winery, Woodman's of Essex, Sasquatch Smoke House, Hunt's Photo & Video, North Shore Community College, Schooner Fame, The Topsfield Fair, Essex River Basin Adventures, North Shore Music Theater, Yankee Fleet, The Bicycle Shop of Topsfield.
Momentum is building for TRAILS & SAILS!
TRAILS & SAILS logo and link Momentum is building as Essex Heritage finalizes its plans to present its 7th annual TRAILS & SAILS 2008: A Weekend to GO! Experience Essex Heritage, September 26-28. This year Essex Heritage has joined forces with a diverse network of historic, cultural and natural sites within the 500 square miles of the Essex National Heritage Area to offer a spectacular weekend of events. TRAILS & SAILS 2008 will boast over 200 FREE! events spread out over 140 locations, involving non-profit and community organizations, as well as recreation-based businesses and colleges. In addition, thanks to our partnership with Merrimack Valley ArtsFest, you can take in poetry readings, plays, architectural walks, bike tours and artist open studios. Guaranteed to kick start your creative spirit!
For a full listing of events, visit trailsandsails.org.

TD Banknorth logo and linkThank you to the TRAILS & SAILS
presenting sponsor:
CongressmanTierney Preserves Federal
Border to Boston Trail Funding
Thanks to the quick action of Congressman John Tierney's office, an $800,000 federal appropriation he secured in 2005 can still be used to prepare initial design plans for the 28-mile, eight-town Border to Boston Trail. The mid-July decision by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to remove the B2B from the state's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) came as the Massachusetts Highway Department was finalizing its efforts to begin the long anticipated project. Supported by a flood of letters from local and state elected officials, Tierney's staff worked with senior FHWA officials to preserve access to the federal transportation funds. MassHighway project planners will used both federal and state monies to determine the exact alignment of the trail, develop conceptual designs for the trail's bridges and culverts, and identify potential environmental impacts within the trail corridor.
B2B Construction Begins in Newburyport
With construction underway on the B2B Construction in Newburyport, MAClipper City Rail Trail (CCRT) in Newburyport, the long envisioned 28-mile Border to Boston Trail linking Salisbury to Danvers is one step closer to becoming reality. The first phase of the CRRT will create a 1.1 mile, 10-foot wide multi-use asphalt pathway from the MBTA commuter rail station to the Merrimack River, where it will connect with the city's Harborwalk extension. Overseen by MassHighway, the complex $3 million project is slated for completion in March 2010 and utilizes state and federal alternative transportation funding. It is anticipated that additional sections of the B2B in Topsfield and Salisbury will also begin construction in the coming months. For more information on the Clipper City Rail Trail click here.
Non-Profit Sustainability Opportunities
Essex Heritage is proud to partner with the Essex County Community Foundation and others to offer opportunities for non-profit leader education, development and dialogue this fall. Please check your mailbox and mark your calendars for the following events:
Passion and Purpose: Raising the Fiscal Fitness Bar for Massachusetts Nonprofits
Report of research conducted by The Boston Foundation
Thursday, October 2, 9-11AM at North Shore Community College, Danvers. Please register for this FREE program on-line at www.eccf.org.  Seating is limited and registration is required.  Click here for event flyer to share with colleagues and Board members. (e-Flyer attached)
Fall 2008 Non-Profit ProgramsSalem State College Enterprise Center logo and link
Salem State College Enterprise Center has created a FREE non-profit educational track to address common challenges and opportunities shared by leaders of this vital sector of the North Shore economy. The program begins September 19th running monthly through December. For more information click here.
Essex Heritage Annual Photo Contest 
"Barn on Hog Island" Winning Photo 2007, Matthew Shelter Capture the essence of an Essex Heritage experience and speak to Essex Heritage's role in preserving and promoting the rocky coasts and harbors, farms and forests, historic districts, rivers and marshes of Essex County and be sure to enter your images in the Essex Heritage Photo Contest. 2008 contest categories are "A Winter Wonderland," "On the Trail" and "A Trails & Sails Experience." Win great prizes! Grand Prize: Digital SLR equipment package, 1st Prize (Each Category): Digital point-and-shoot camera, 2nd Prize (Each Category): $100 gift certificate to Hunt's Photo & Video, Melrose, 3rd Prize (Each Category): One-year National Parks Pass!
Submissions are due by October 1, 2008. Any photos captured between November 10, 2007 and October 1, Hunt's Photo and Video logo and link2008 are eligible. For more contest information click here.
Thank you to our partners at Hunt's Photo & Video!
Editorially Essex...
Tom Leonard, Essex Heritage's President Emeritus This year it appears that the best weather of the summer was during the final weeks of August.  The temperatures were warm, the humidity levels were low, and we received just enough rain to keep everything green and lush.  I suppose we now have to be concerned with the weather in the tropics, as it appears that the conditions are right to make this a dangerous hurricane season.  We will be watching the forecasts closely as we get deeper into September as once again, Essex Heritage is planning a festive and full seventh annual TRAILS & SAILS Weekend.  Rain or shine, TRAILS & SAILS 2008, A Weekend to GO! Experience Essex Heritage will be presented on September 26 through 28, with an evening kickoff celebration scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25. Read more...