RECENT HAPPENINGS Summer Wrap-Up
On a continuous quest to make the best lemonade out of the lemons we were handed this summer, Cape May MAC’s staff proved to be determined and creative. Led by Chief Operating Officer Melissa Payne, we were able to institute safety precautions, mobilizing staff and volunteers to assist with taking temperatures and monitoring social distancing regulations at our historic sites and on our trolleys. By and large, our visitors were cooperative and appreciative of our efforts. Ayeshah Dickerson, Manager of Volunteer Engagement, developed a volunteer-staffed crew of Ambassadors at the Physick Estate to welcome and answer visitors’ questions. While limiting Physick Estate Tours to small groups certainly impacted our bottom line, the upside was a distinctly intimate tour experience for visitors. Speaking of visitors’ experience, Tom Carroll’s loyal crew of volunteers kept the grounds of the Physick Estate in tiptop shape throughout the summer. The group gathered weekly, tackling the task of keeping our several acres manicured. In July, we sadly bid farewell to Denny Sweetman, who has been on the crew for several years. Innovation was pretty much a byword this summer. Thanks to Interpreter Janet Coupland, we launched a new tour, the Magic & Mystery House Tour in the Physick House. Visitors were treated to a look into magic, illusion, the mysterious and the odd, all things that fascinated our Victorian ancestors. We looked to new partners, Ken Bingham and the actors from Without a Cue, to provide staffing for the
Photo by Susan Krysiak
Officials from the New Jersey Historic Trust (NJHT) made a site visit to the Emlen Physick Estate on Sept. 2 to inspect the Physick Estate outbuildings, restoration of which were part of Cape May MAC’s 2020 capital grant application. Shown here, from left, Cape May MAC Director and CEO Jody Alessandrine, NJHT Historic Preservation Specialist Erin Frederickson, Cape May MAC COO Melissa Payne, and NJHT Executive Director Dorothy Guzzo.
tour. In another partnership, we hosted jazz concerts on the outdoor stage produced by Michael Kline’s Spyboy Productions. The Physick Estate grounds also served as the main venue for Spyboy’s four-day Exit Zero Jazz Festival in early October, which brought Wynton Marsalis to the estate as headliner. We also opened the Physick House Museum to a taping of the play “Victoria’s Secrets” by Cape May Stage. In yet another successful partnership, Vintage BYOB rocked the Physick Estate this summer.
NEWSLETTER Published by Cape May MAC, a not-for-profit corporation P.O. Box 340, Cape May, NJ 08204 • Phone: 609-884-5404 New Jersey Relay Center for TTY Customers: 800-852-7899 Web Site: www.capemaymac.org • E-Mail: info@capemaymac.org Editor: Jody Alessandrine • Assistant Editor: Jean Barraclough Contributors: Sandra Adams, Susan Krysiak, Anna Marie Leeper, Eliza Lotozo and Mary E. Stewart
OUR MISSION The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities is a multifaceted not-for-profit organization committed to promoting the preservation, interpretation, and cultural enrichment of the Cape May region for its residents and visitors. ---- v ---OUR VISION Preserving Cape May’s rich heritage and assuring its vitality through superior cultural programs and events Page 2 • Fall/Holiday 2020
Chef Niko and his crew created a wonderful dining experience and attracted a very loyal following in just a few weeks. Possibly top of the list in innovative projects this summer are the City Guide Golf Cart Tours we instituted this summer. The brainchild of Tour Manager Nanci Coughlin and Group Tour Manager Susan Gibson, these tours allowed visitors to tailor their own itineraries, pick their starting time, set the pace and enjoy Cape May up close and possibly off the beaten path. As the summer went on, we were granted permission by the state to expand capacity at the Cape May Lighthouse which helped the lines that formed most afternoons. Attendance at the Lighthouse has remained strong through the Fall, possibly as a result of parents home-schooling their kids. We also increased capacity on our trolleys by installing Plexi-glass dividers between each row of seats. We again started to offer the popular Underground Railroad Trolley Tour in collaboration with our friends at the Center for Community Arts and combined the Spirits & Oddities Trolley Tour with the Magic & Mystery House Tour for an uninterrupted hour of weirdness. As a kick-off to our Halloween Happenings, our IT Manager Cathy Baldacchini volunteered to take on the task of organizing
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