Newburyport-Today.com is pleased to be working with WNBP to promote our calendar listings on a weekly basis. Listen for our promotions running every Friday and Saturday on the station. We’ll try to keep you informed on all that’s going on. If you are a community group or non-profit organization in the Newburyport area, please send us your listings, talk@newburyport-today.com

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A Taste of Plum Island
Friday, May 18, 6.00pm – 8.00pm
PITA Hall – Plum Island Turnpike
Music, free parking, raffles, special dishes from local restaurants, fattening desserts and beer and wine tasting are all included for $35

 Tales and Ales
Friday, May 18, 6.30pm – 9.00pm
Saturday, May 19, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Swett-Ilsley House, 4 High Road, Newbury
In the late seventeenth century, the Swett-Ilsley House served the town as Swett’s Tavern, one of three watering holes in Newbury. Join your friends around a rough tavern table and enjoy traditional local brews from Ipswich Ale Brewery and a hearty tavern dinner while listening to true tales of sword fights, scandalous romances, and bloody brawls, all from Newbury’s storied past.

LES MISERABLES SCHOOL EDITION
Friday May 18, 7pm
Saturday May 19th 3pm & 7pm
Hope Community Church, 11 Hale Street
Join us for this all-student, concert style performance of this musical sensation celebrating its 25th anniversary!

Exit Dance Theatre 25th Anniversary
Friday, May 18, 8pm
The Firehouse Center for the Arts
Exit Dance is an indie modern dance company deeply rooted in collaboration and improvisation as its means to discover unique and original ways of dancing.

9th Annual Chocolate Tour of Newburyport
Saturday, May 19, 1.00pm – 5.00pm
Registration & starting location: Unitarian Church Parish Hall, 26 Pleasant Street
An event of elegant chocolate decadence – our 9th Annual Chocolate Tour of Newburyport! All proceeds from this event will benefit our chapter of the Red Cross. This walking tour of Newburyport takes you on a quaint downtown route to partake in delectable chocolate treats and other samples from over 25 participants.

STRUT FOR STRAYS
Sunday, May 20, 11.00am – 4.00pm
Bartlett Mall
A three-mile walk for people and pets to benefit homeless cats and kittens.

Essex Base Ball League Vintage Baseball Double-Header
Sunday, May 20, 12.00pm – 3.00pm
Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm
Watch two of the three teams of the new Essex Base Ball Association, The Newburyport Clamdiggers, Lynn Live Oaks, and Lowell Base Ball Club play baseball using 1861 rules. These are historically accurate games: players pitch underhand, a ball bounced once and caught is an out, and no gloves are allowed. Snacks, baseballs, and cards are available for purchase.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge – “Behind the Scenes” Refuge Tour
Sunday, May 20, 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Thursday, May 24, 9.30am – 11.30am
Explore the refuge with a ranger and refuge biologist.  See areas of the refuge that are otherwise closed to the public. Advance registration is required for this program.

The Nbpt Farmers’ Market
This & Every Sunday May – Nov
Rain or Shine 9am-1pm
The Tannery Marketplace
The Newburyport Farmers’ Market mission is to support our local farmers, fishermen, chefs and creative community through hosting the weekly market and creating compelling events that educate, inspire and delight our community.

Shirim Klezmer Orchestra

Enjoy Klezmer jazz at Maudslay Arts Center on Saturday evening, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. Maudslay Arts Center is located at 95 Curzon Mill Road, Newburyport.

A little bit Polish, a little Russian and a little Near Eastern, Klezmer is the music of the Eastern European Jews. The Shirim Klezmer Orchestra shimmers with all of the chutzpah, glorious joy and soulful crying of the itinerant Yiddish troubadours who performed throughout Europe for 400 years.

The Klezmer sound washed ashore America during the great immigration period between 1890 and 1910, where it first collided with the syncopation of American city life, the excitement of jazz, blues and ragtime and the exuberance of the big bands. Be prepared to kick up your heels.

Whether you’re sitting under the stars on a moonlit evening, or lounging on a blanket on a Sunday afternoon, the Maudslay Arts Center Summer Concert Series provides the perfect setting for your entertainment pleasure. Now in its 20th season, the MAC performance schedule offers something for everyone: award-winning country with Don Campbell, foot-stompin’ New Orleans jazz with the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, the chutzpah of the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, and much more.

The series opens with two jazz singing sensations – Boston’s First Lady of Jazz Rebecca Parris on Saturday, July 7, and Grace Kelly Jazz on Saturday, July 14.

For those who haven’t already heard of her, Grace Kelly is fast becoming one of the young bright stars of the jazz world. Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was so impressed with Kelly’s three-night stand as guest of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra that he invited her to join the ensemble at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater in Washington, DC for Barack Obama’s Inauguration Celebration.

“Grace Kelly plays with intelligence, wit and feeling,” Marsalis said. “She has a great amount of natural ability and the ability to adapt that is the hallmark of a first-class jazz musician.”

The MAC Summer Concert series culminates with The Paul Broadnax Quintet on Sunday, Aug. 26. In between there is something for everyone.

Saturday concerts begin at 7 p.m. and include: Rebecca Parris on July 7, Grace Kelly Jazz on July 14, The Don Campbell Band on July 21, The New Black Eagle Jazz Band on July 28, Shirim Klezmer Orchestra on Aug. 11, The Mystix on Aug. 18, and The Spinney Brothers on Aug. 25.

Sunday afternoon performances begin at 2 p.m. and include: The Shaw Brothers on July 8, The Walker Creek Band on July 15, The 60s Invasion on July 22, Celtic Sojourn with the Bracken Dance Studio on Aug. 12, Occidental Gypsy Jazz Quintet on Aug. 19, and The Paul Broadnax Quintet on Aug. 26

Maudslay Arts Center is located at 95 Curzon Mill Road in Newburyport. The concerts are held rain or shine, moving inside to the MAC Concert Barn when weather dictates. Concert goers are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner, which can be casual or as elaborate as a gourmet meal with tablecloth and flowers and whatever suits the patron’s fancy.

Delicious desserts such as seasonal cobblers, brownies, and Hodgie’s ice cream, and beverages may be purchased during intermission, all served by dedicated MAC volunteers, who continue to make this non-profit series happen.

Saturday performances start at 7 p.m., with gates opening at 6 p.m. Patio seating (tables and chairs) is $20, while lawn seating (bring your own chairs or blankets) is $18.  Children 12 and under are free.
Sunday performances start at 2 p.m. with gates opening at 1 p.m. General admission is $10 with open seating on the patio and lawn. Children 12 and under are free.

To purchase tickets online (major credit cards accepted), or for further information about the performers, visit the MAC website at www.maudslayartscenter.org. Tickets also may be purchased at the gate (cash or check only), or by calling to reserve at (978) 499-0050. Gift certificates also are available.

The series is supported with generous donations and grants from The Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank, The Provident Bank, Institution for Savings, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Park Superintendent Rob Kovacs and his crew, and dedicated volunteers and patrons. The Saturday evening performances are sponsored by The Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank.

Come sample 100 wines from Leary’s Fine Wines and Spirits, plus an excellent selection of delicious cheeses and hors d’oeuvres from some of the area’s best restaurants and caterers.  And Cody Brewing Company will offer a variety of craft beer tastings too.

Plus, you won’t want to miss the chance to bid on the amazing live and silent auction items we have; a vacation home, Red Sox tickets, a night on the town with dinner and concert tickets to Blue Ocean in Salisbury, a David Ortiz autographed baseball, three men and a truck yard services, B&B stays, restaurant gift certificates, boat cruises, art, jewelry etc., etc. and a “Wet” Oil Painting from local artist, Alan Bull, to be painted and auctioned that evening.  Something for everyone!

Dana Marshall, from 92.5’s “Brunch by the River”, will be our celebrity auctioneer and LUX will entertain with their jazz, funk and soul tunes.  A perfect springtime evening in beautiful, downtown Newburyport!

For additional/ticket information, please visit www.yankeehomecoming.com or contact Michele Norton, at mnorton@tgacross.com.  Tickets are $30 in-advance and at the door and can be purchased on our website through PayPal or at various locations around Newburyport.  All monies raised go directly to supporting the 8-day festival that is Yankee Homecoming.  We hope to see you there!

June will be bring our annual golf tournament at Portsmouth Country Club followed by a summer of fun for families, children and adults! We hope you will check our calendar of events for a complete listing of our events.

Looking for something  to do before then? Our website is complete with a number of different types of events. Here is a sampling of some events offered by our members!

• May  18 –   Les Miserables: School Edition
• May 19 –   Gilligan & Macy Quartet

For more information on these events and other events listed on our website

And as always there are so many options for those that may want to shop, dine, rest, stroll, bike, sing, dance, visit and explore. For a complete list of chamber members go to our business directory.

And as always, don’t’ forget to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn. So get out there and enjoy all that the greater Newburyport area has to offer.

For more information just go to www.newburyportchamber.org. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the greater Newburyport area!

Inspiring Students to Write from Their Hearts

By Kathleen Downey

Debbie Szabo

The atmosphere inside Café di Siena becomes instantly electrified one rainy and dreary weekday afternoon when Newburyport High School (NHS) teacher Debbie Szabo enters. She’s alerted me that I should be on the lookout for the “beleaguered-looking teacher  . . . with graying hair and a school bag  full of uncorrected papers.” Szabo’s mane is wild and long, maybe more white than gray, and is almost its own entity. But it softly frames her animated face, contrasting her lively brown eyes, giving Szabo a lovely countenance.

After unloading the aforementioned school bag at our small bistro table, Szabo sprints to the café’s counter on the other side of the room to order a pot of tea. Returning more than a few minutes later, she offers an apology for her delay, explaining that she stopped to chat with a former student whom she hadn’t seen in years. “He’s now a professional writer!” Szabo exudes, clearly pleased with the young man’s pursuit. Szabo might be just a tiny bit pleased also that she had a little something to do with her former student’s chosen vocation.

Or a lot. Szabo has been inspiring NHS students for nearly 30 years. But the English and creative writing teacher is humble and self-deprecating about her role. “I wasn’t meant to be a rock star,” she asserts. Rather, she states, her calling is to inspire young people to write.

Her students, however, would definitely rank Szabo with rock-star status.

In the 2012 edition of the school’s literary magazine, The Record, staff writers praise Szabo as their advisor “for anything and everything.” Besides thanking her for helping them avoid “dangling participles” and “excessive commas,” her students thank Szabo for her humor and devotion, without which their publication room “would be a dark and lonely place.”

Szabo likes to speak of the “power of words.” The prose found in creative writing and in poetic verse, asserts Szabo, allows humanity to connect with one another on a deep level. Poetry, especially, Szabo says, allows “people to speak the truth from their heart . . . and this is very moving.”

A student’s suggestion for a recurring “coffeehouse type” reading was the impetus for the Poetry Soup club that Szabo orchestrates. Student poets come together to read the poems that they’ve written and share their hearts’ truths. At Szabo’s invitation, Newburyport’s literati often grace these poetic meetings, adding their sage voices to the conversation.

A turning point in these gatherings, Szabo says, was when poet Rhina Espaillat addressed the student poets. She credits Espaillat with introducing her students to the Powwow River Poets, a society of accomplished New England poets who gather to share their verse.

What began as a once a week, informal gathering inspired Szabo to create a poetry magazine.  Since 1995, Poetry Soup, an NHS publication, has provided a literary forum for local poets to connect with humanity.

But the poetic verse that allows poets to connect with humanity can take many forms, Szabo and her students discovered.

“Reading the poetry of Jack McCarthy was a pivotal point for us,” Szabo states. She credits McCarthy, a celebrated “slam poet” described by HippoPress as a “stooped, grizzled old … veteran poetry machine” with showing her students that poetry can be “cool” and “hip.”

And after viewing with her students the award-winning documentary Louder than a Bomb, which tracks the lives of four Chicago students participating in the eponymously named poetry slam competition, Szabo was inspired to put together her own team.

She is still soaring after her team’s performance at the Louder than a Bomb competition held in Boston two months ago. Billed as the largest teen poetry slam in the world, teen poets share stories from everyday life, each with a message. Szabo’s team secured a third-place finish for the state of Massachusetts.  Reflecting on the poignancy of her team’s performance, Szabo says, “I can still hear them reciting their poems . . . and it still makes me cry.”

Szabo uses the tenets of a poetry slam, within which poets are allotted three minutes to perform their works, to get her students to identify what they are most passionate about. “I will ask my students, ‘What do you care about?’” Szabo says. “I tell them that within three minutes, they should be able to sum up what means the most to them.”

Unlike a poetry slam, however, in which random judges selected from an audience rate a poet’s performance, Szabo advises her students to “look inside, see who you are” and be their own judges.

Receiving the 2012 Nancy E. Peace Award at this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Breakfast, Szabo says, in an understatement, “I was pretty excited.”  The award was bestowed upon Szabo for her efforts in helping to dismantle racism and for incorporating and celebrating diversity through her teaching.

Szabo’s humility matches her quiet gratitude. “I try to teach my students that one person can make a difference,” Szabo states. “Social activism is important.” She shares that she began the morning by taking her students to an Anti-Defamation League breakfast.

As the orchestrator of United in Poetry, a joint publication between students from Newburyport High School and Lawrence High School, Szabo states, “Students from both schools benefit.” She adds that the opportunity to meet with one another and read one another’s creative works opens the students’ minds, as well as their hearts.

Newburyport’s Favorite Poem Project is another Szabo creation, having recently celebrated its tenth year of local citizens reciting their favorite poems. Inspired by and modeled after former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project, Szabo explains that the event provides an opportunity and safe environment for people to share the poem that has most deeply touched their core.

Curiously, perhaps, Szabo dismisses any notion that she, herself, is a writer.  Yet . . . she wants it known that she shares the same birthday as Samuel Clemens, aka, Mark Twain.

And . . . Szabo met her husband in an experimental writing class through an Adult Education program in Cambridge in the late 1970s.  More than a year would pass before the two would meet again, however.

“I was supposed to be lying on a beach in Jamaica,” Szabo laughs. But she had opted instead to attend a workshop on Buddhism in New Hampshire where the couple would rediscover one another and find that they shared a mutual reverence for Buddhist principles. “We decided it was okay to get married,” Szabo quips.

Szabo, a New York City native, and her  husband-to-be  moved to Newburyport in 1982. They have two children, a son who is a creative writing major at Oberlin College in Ohio, and a 14-year-old daughter.

“I’ll give you a new word that my students taught me,” Szabo says, her eyes dancing as we end our interview. “Cypher. It means ‘to rap’ or ‘create free verse.’” You’ll find it in Urban Dictionary.”

I check the online site. Indeed, I find the word with its associated “rap” definitions, at least one that is particularly colorful and fiendishly, humorously crude.  But the definition that speaks to me the most is one that acknowledges “the process of tapping into your subconscious”—something that Szabo does every day with her students.

Kathleen Downey is the Features Editor for Newburyport Today. If you are a townie or a citizen who would like to be profiled (or to suggest someone to profile),  or if you have an idea for a feature story, please email: Kathleen@Newburyport-Today.com.

In honor of National Women’s Health Week and National Senior Month, the YWCA Greater Newburyport is sponsoring a “Pick Your Path to Health and Wellness” Health Fair on May 19^th,  1-4 pm at the YWCA’s 13 Market Street facility.

Senior citizens are welcome to attend with their spouses, families, and caregivers.

Topics covered will include hearing, nutrition, active living, chiropractics, blood pressure screenings, eye health, dental health and denture care, breast health and Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Participants can join in fitness classes in the group exercise room and in the warm water pool.  The front parlor will be set up for Scrabble, card games and tea!

For more information contact Ellie Davis at (978) 465–9922,  Ext. 15 or edavis@ywcanewburyport.com

Sponsored by the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce, Spring Invitation Nights jump started the Spring season in style! All enjoyed merchant hospitality, light refreshments and the opportunity to find a perfect gift!

Community Videos are Proudly Underwritten by
The Institution for Savings.

In case, the weather kept you away from Spring Invitation Nights next week – have no fear – I am hearing that the sun may be out tomorrow! Reminds me of a song….anyway….

Join us for Newburyport’s Spring Invitation Nights and jump start the season in style. You’re invited to join in the spring festivities in downtown Newburyport and in, around and on your way to the Tannery Marketplace. Enjoy merchant hospitality, light refreshments and an opportunity to find a perfect gift for your Mom, your favorite graduate or yourself! Many unique shops in downtown Newburyport will be open late offering shopper’s spring cheer, light refreshments and shopping galore! The last Spring Invitation Nights is tomorrow, Friday, May 11 from 6-9 PM.

Back by popular demand this year, the Newburyport Shop & Dine Giveaway! Enter to win a Shop & Dine Giveaway worth $1000, $500 or $200! Giveaway packages include a collection of gift certificates to downtown businesses.

To enter to win, simply visit participating businesses in Downtown Newburyport & the Tannery Marketplace anytime between now and May 11. Pick up a Shop & Dine Giveaway card (no purchase necessary!) and have participating shops and restaurants validate it for you. Entrants must visit 10 businesses to be eligible to win. The drawing will be held on May 14.

Participating businesses are as follows: A Shore Thing, Agave Mexican Bistro, Alpine Shop, Ana’s Hair Studio, Annie’s, BC Essentials, Beach Plum Too, Black Cow Tap and Grill, The Black Dog, Brass Lyon, Chameleon, Comina, The Dragon’s Nest,  Flukes & Finds & Friends, Ganesh Imports, Greetings by Design, Grog Restaurant, Hot in Hollywood Jewelry, Life is good, Loretta, Market Square Jewelers, Meyra, Michael’s Harborside, Mission Oak Grill, M.K. Winston Jewelers, Modern Millie Vintage & Consignments, Not Your Average Joe’s, Oregano Pizzeria & Ristorante, Partridge in a Bear Tree, Pawsitively Best Friends, The Port Candle, The Ruby Slipper, Simply Sweet, Sisters We Three, Smitten, Starboard Galley, Ten Center Street, Urban Elements Home & Gift Boutique, Valentine’s, Valerie’s Gallery, Vintage Chic Boutique and Walsingham Gallery.

Looking for something  to do with your Mom or a special person this weekend?  Here is a sampling of some events offered by our members!May  11 – Spring Invitation NightMay 11 – 15^th Annual regional Juried ShowMay 12 – Earth Port Film FestivalMay 13 – Mother’s Day Afternoon TeaFor more information on these events and other events listed on our website

And as always there are so many options for those that may want to shop, dine, rest, stroll, bike, sing, dance, visit and explore. For a complete list of chamber members go to our business directory

And… don’t’ forget to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

So get out there and enjoy all that the greater Newburyport area has to offer.For more information just go to www.newburyportchamber.org. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the greater Newburyport area!

Listen to our Promo on WNBP
Download a One Page Copy of These Events

FRIDAY MORNING BIRD WALKS: FOCUS ON WARBLERS
Friday, May 11, 8.00am – 11.00am
Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Education Center, One Plum Island Turnpike
Join Daily News columnist Steve Grinley of the Bird Watcher’s Supply and Gift for this early morning look around local birding hot spots.

Spring Invitation Nights
Friday, May 11, 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Join us in Downtown Newburyport and The Tannery Marketplace for Spring Invitation Nights and jump start the spring season in style!

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge – “Flotsam, Jetsam & Wildlife, Oh My!”
Friday, May 11, 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge – 6 Plum Island Turnpike
Debris in the ocean and on our beaches harms wildlife and their habitats. To help educate the public about this subject, the Friends of Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and the City of Newburyport will be sponsoring a 45 minute multi-media presentation on marine plastic pollution, “Just One Word . . .” by Karen Ristuben.

In the Wake of the Titanic – Titanic Centennial Exhibition
Sat & Sun, May 12-13, 10.00am – 5.00pm
Custom House Maritime Museum

Earth Port Film Festival
Saturday, May 12, 2.00pm – 4.30pm and 7.00pm – 9.30pm
The Firehouse Center for the Performing Arts, Market Square
Guided by the 2012 Earth Day theme “Mobilize the Earth™,” the Earth Port Film Festival will feature short films by independent filmmakers. Entries focus on building the environmental movement and engaging new activists inventing, discovering, inspiring, catalyzing, or documenting environmental action through the media of film and video.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge – “Behind the Scenes” Refuge Tour
Sunday, May 13, 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Wednesday, May 16, 9.30am – 11.30am
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge – 6 Plum Island Turnpike
Explore the refuge with a ranger and refuge biologist.  See areas of the refuge that are otherwise closed to the public. Advance registration is required for this program.

Firehouse Center for the Performing Arts – Oceans Are Talking!
Sunday, May 13, 3.00pm – 4.00pm
The Firehouse Center for the Performing Arts, Market Square
Oceans Are Talking! is a musical call-to-action recorded and performed by Sam Lardner to enlighten K-6 children and their families about the most critical issues facing the world’s oceans. These live concerts are powerful educational drivers to help families take action in protecting the oceans. Students will leave with big smiles on their faces, but also with some new understanding about the challenging, real-time, environmental issues that will shape so much of their future.