VOLUME LII, ISSUE 2
Newsletter www.capemaymac.org
SPRING 2022
Cape May MAC tour becomes part of NPS app
The Cape May Music Festival begins May 1 with a Jazz Brunch and ends June 30 with the entire Bay Atlantic Symphony performing at Cape May Convention Hall ... 15 concerts in eight weeks!
Cape May Music Festival all live in 2022 Cape May MAC’s 33rd annual Cape May Music Festival begins May 1 with 15 indoor and outdoor music events over eight weeks
After mostly virtual concerts in 2020 and a hybrid of virtual and in-person concerts in 2021, this year’s 33rd annual Cape May Music Festival, presented by Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture), brings back an all-live, in-person, indoor and outdoor (CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
Exhibit and tour theme for 2022 highlight working life on the estate A new exhibit opening at the Carroll Gallery and the new 2022-23 tour theme during guided tours of the Physick House Museum both focus on working life at the Emlen Physick Estate and begin May 27. The Carroll Gallery exhibit is titled “The Victorian Toolbox: Necessities, Curiosities, Frivolities” and will be offered daily from Friday, May 27-Monday, Oct. 31. See this exhibit of the tools that Dr. Physick and his staff would have used on the estate in the 19th and early 20th century, along with some of the luxury items the family used. Learn about the realities of working life for (CONTINUED ON PAGE 11)
Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) will soon be part of a National Park Service (NPS) app called “Travel with Tubman,” a new and exciting feature that is part of the existing NPS app that features national parks across the country. The program honors the 200th anniversary year in 2022 of Harriet Tubman’s birth. The app consists of information about 13 sites important to Harriet from across the country, with details on each and a map designed for users to visit all of them. This is the first time the NPS has created an app that connects various sites around the nation. The Cape May MAC/Center for Community Arts (CCA) Underground Railroad Trolley Tour is a Network to Freedom member, a minimum qualification for inclusion in the new app, and the tour was chosen from among many sites across the country. “With hundreds of sites across the country that relate to Harriet Tubman, it is a great honor that our Underground Railroad Trolley Tour was chosen by NPS to be included as one of the 13 sites in Travel with Tubman,” said Cape May MAC Board Member Barbara Dreyfuss, who was instrumental in researching and writing the Underground Railroad Trolley Tour, a very popular tour since its inaugural year in 2017, and who successfully applied to (CONTINUED ON PAGE 13)
In This Issue
Alice Johnson, the Physick family’s cook, is shown here at the back of the house with one of the Physick family’s dogs.
Coming Attractions.................... Page 3-5 Donor Profile.............................Pages 6-7 From the Director...........................Page 8 Membership News ......................Page 9 Recent Happenings...................... Page 2 Thank You Department.........Pages 9-11
RECENT HAPPENINGS Winter Wrap-Up
If ever we need a reminder of the warm days of summer, January is the time and the new season of “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love” provided just that when it began running on PBS stations. Brown, one of PBS’s most beloved television travel presenters, filmed parts of Episode 2 of the new season on June 12 and 13, 2021, right here in Cape May. The episode included shots at The Cove, with the Cape May Lighthouse in the distance, and, most exciting, an interview with Cape May MAC’s Curator Ben Ridings at the Physick Estate. Our Director of Media Relations, Susan Krysiak, very ably handled the coordination of this. This year we didn’t have our typical sixweek winter hiatus from programming. With visitors in town looking for things to do, we’ve been operating the trolleys and Lighthouse continuously since the New Year began. We did expand programming for Presidents Weekend with the addition of Crafts & Collectibles in Winter which attracted 1,600-plus visitors and evening Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tours. Usually this is the time of year our Special Events folks are busy with a variety of programs. Due to venue challenges, we were not able to offer several of our usual Presidents Day weekend offerings as well as our Spring Sherlock Holmes Weekend. Director of Visitor Services and Special Events Janice Corkery and her staff in Hill House have been busy nonetheless, locating other venues for programming, nailing down details for the Cape May Music Festival and planning not one but two Gardens of Cape
Photo by Susan Krysiak
Food and monetary donations were collected outside of the Carriage House Museum Shop and Carroll Gallery, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21. Donors received a coupon for a 10 percent discount on purchases at the Carriage House Museum Shop on the estate grounds and the food and monetary donations were given to the Cape May Community Food Closet.
May Tours for the Spring. There are always lots of activities going on behind the scenes during the winter. Director of External Affairs Eliza Lotozo spent that time coordinating the pieces of our grant from the NJ Department of Travel and Tourism. This allows us to mount a major marketing plan for our Group Tour Division. Eliza also managed a number of major publications at this time and trained in a new Outreach Manager. Sara Kornacki
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, Sara Kornacki, Susan Krysiak, Anna Marie Leeper and Mary E. Stewart
OUR MISSION Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) 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 • Spring 2022
Cape May MAC’s public history programs are funded in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission in the Department of State.
Cape May MAC
joined the staff right before the Christmas Tour season. She’s finally caught her breath and is managing all outreach to Members and volunteers. Thanks to our grant from Travel & Tourism, the folks in our Group Tour Division have been busy attending trade shows and conventions. Group Tour Manager Susan Gibson and Tour Director Nanci Coughlin are very effective at presenting the best that Cape May has to offer and it shows. Our group tour business is showing signs of rebounding. We entertained a few groups already this year and are looking forward to a busy Spring. Our keepers at the Cape May Lighthouse have had a busy winter, entertaining nearly 4,500 people since January 1. We opened for our first Full Moon Lighthouse Climb of the year on March 18 and followed it on April 1 with a Stairway to the Stars which gives visitors the opportunity to view the stars and planets during the new moon. The Lighthouse grounds have also been a happening place as our memorial paver project is being installed. With nearly 600 bricks purchased to date, Chief Operating Officer Melissa Payne has had to recruit a few volunteers to help on the project. Hats off to volunteer Dave Morais for all the time he has spent on (CONTINUED ON PAGE 12) www.capemaymac.org
Coming
MANSIONS BY THE SEA TROLLEY TOUR
ATTRACTIONS 609-884-5404 • www.capemaymac.org • 800-275-4278
10th Annual Craft Beer & Crab Festival
Saturday, July 23: 10am-5pm: Come to the grounds of the Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., and experience what CBS NY named a Top Five New Jersey Summer Festival! This family-friendly event features local craft beers to wash down favorite summer picnic foods. Enjoy crafts and food vendors, and more for all ages, with live music all day on the outdoor stage. Admission is free. Proceeds benefit MAC’s educational outreach programs. Sponsored by
with support from and
The Gardens of Cape May Tours S P EC I A L I Z I NG I N SA L E S & R E N TA L S
ASSISTING WITH ALL OF YOUR SOUTH JERSEY REAL ESTATE NEEDS
May 21 and June 25: 1pm-4pm: This is your invitation to explore Cape May’s unique natural areas and the private plants, blooms and landscape designs of area gardeners. See both public and private gardens and take home ideas for your own garden. Smell and see what’s blooming and flourishing in several different seashore locations dominated by sunlight, ocean breezes, and sand and salt, each uniquely situated. Cape May’s Emlen Physick Estate gardens are included, as well as the The Nature Conservancy’s Garrett Family Preserve. The grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate will host nature and gardenthemed local vendors, plus a complimentary wine tasting by Cape May Winery. CLICK HERE for tickets. 1001 Lafayette Street, Cape May 609.884.1300
Armed Forces Day
901 New Jersey Avenue, North Wildwood 609.551.4066
Todd H. deSatnick/Broker of Record www.deSatnickRealEstate.com
Saturday, May 21: 11am-3pm: Enjoy free admission on Armed Forces Day when you visit the World War II Lookout Tower on Sunset Boulevard. Visit with veterans on Armed Forces Day and learn about how Fort Miles helped protect the coastline from attack during World War II. For more information, CLICK HERE.
“Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass” Talk and Book Signing Sunday, May 22: 11am: Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), started her career as a cadet in the third class to admit women at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. She returned over 30 years later as superintendent, becoming the first woman to lead one of the four U.S. armed forces service academies. On her journey to the executive level, she often served as the first woman leading mostly all-male teams in front-line leadership positions, including command of two ships. To succeed, she summoned her core values to overcome adversity by building trust and earning respect as a leader of character in a complex military organization. She has lectured widely on leadership, and has been featured on CSPAN and other media outlets. In 2012, Newsweek’s “The Daily Beast” named her to its list of 150 Women who Shake the World. She served in Cape May as Commanding Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center (TRACEN), from (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4) www.capemaymac.org
Cape May MAC
Daily through July 2: various times; Mondays through Saturdays beginning July 4: various times. You’ll hear how the rich lived in the early 1900s in the most elegant part of town on this trolley tour that includes the eastern beachfront. This narrated tour travels along Beach Drive through the early 20th century East Cape May Development areas. Guides discuss history and architecture. Begins and ends at the Ocean Street trolley stop. Adult admission $20, children (ages 3-12) $15. CLICK HERE for tickets.
PAINTED LADIES, PORCHES & MORE WALKING TOUR
Tuesdays & Thursdays, May 3-May 31: 10:30am: Tuesdays & Thursdays, June 2-Oct. 6: 9:30am: Take a walk from the Physick Estate to the Washington Street Mall with a knowledgeable guide and experience charming Cape May, a National Historic Landmark city, up close. Delight in beautiful gardens as you learn about Victorian architecture and Cape May’s colorful history along the way. Comfortable shoes recommended. $15 adults; $10 children (ages 3-12). CLICK HERE for tickets.
COMMUNITY DAY
Saturday, June 4: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Cape May MAC Community Day. Community Day strives to connect Cape May residents with the historic landmarks in their own neighborhood. For the first time, the Coast Guard Community Festival and Community Day fall on the same day, and as such, Cape May MAC is pleased to extend free admission to Coast Guard families who will be present for the festivities. Enjoy free admission to the Cape May Lighthouse (10am-4pm) and the World War II Lookout Tower (11am-3pm) offered for both Cape May County residents and Coast Guard family members. Photo ID is required for county residents.
FISHERMAN’S WHARF TOUR
Saturdays, May 7-June 25: 10:30am; Fridays & Mondays, July 1-Aug. 29: 10:30am: Discover how your seafood gets from ocean to table on this 45-minute tour along the Lobster House commercial fishing d ock. A dult a dmission $ 15, $ 12 children (ages 3-12). Call 609-884-5404 for tickets. CLICK HERE for tickets. Spring 2022 • Page 3
Coming
FREE ADMISSION FOR MOMS ON MOTHER’S DAY AND DADS ON FATHER’S DAY
ATTRACTIONS 609-884-5404 • www.capemaymac.org • 800-275-4278
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3) March of 2007 to May of 2008, delivering over 1,200 basically trained enlisted members to serve the people of the United States. “Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters” is at Vintage, on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. Tickets are $40 and include brunch and the talk, with book signing to follow. Advance purchase required. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.
Full Moon Climbs at the Cape May Lighthouse Monday, May 16, 7pm-9pm Tuesday, June 14, 8pm-10pm Wednesday, July 13, 8pm-10pm Thursday, Aug. 11, 8pm-10pm Saturday, Sept. 10, 7pm-9pm Sunday, Oct. 9, 7pm-9pm Tuesday, Nov. 8, 7pm-9pm Don’t miss this special chance on clear nights to see the spectacular full moon in all its glory and a nighttime view nearly 156 feet above the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Admission for these special evening climbs during the full moon is $20 adults, and $10 for children ages 3-12. Tickets are available for purchase on site the evening of the event.
Stairway to the Stars Lighthouse Climbs Saturday, April 30, 7pm-9pm Monday, May 30, 7pm-9pm Tuesday, June 28, 8pm-10pm Thursday, July 28, 8pm-10pm and Saturday, Aug. 27, 8pm-10pm On evenings of the new moon and the start of a new 29.5-day lunar cycle, the moon is so dark it blends in with the night sky and is invisible to the naked eye. Stars and constellations are more visible on clear nights during the new moon. Climbers can enjoy a nighttime view nearly 156 feet above the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Admission for these special evening climbs during the new moon is $20 adults, and $10 for children ages 3-12. Tickets are available for purchase on site the evening of the event.
Brunch & Bingo at Bella Vida Bella Vida Restaurant in West Cape May is ready to host you for 10 rounds of bingo over a delicious breakfast during Brunch & Bingo at Bella Vida, a new location for this classic Cape May MAC event. Laugh along with your friends as you play a little bingo, compete for prizes and enjoy a fashion show by Lace Silhouettes/Cotton Company. It’s all over a scrumptious breakfast at Bella Vida Restaurant, 406 Broadway, West Cape May. Mark your calendar now: April 30, May 14, June 11, Sept. 10, Oct. 1, and Nov. 19 at 9am. Admission is $25 for adults. Advance purchase required. Capacity is limited. CLICK HERE for tickets.
Vintage B.Y.O.B. Vintage B.Y.O.B. offers brunch and dinner beginning the Friday evening of Easter weekend and features some new and exciting menu items. Outdoor dining under the tent is a hallmark of Vintage, on the patio of the Carriage House at the Emlen Physick Estate. The Carriage House Museum Shop is a licensed retail outlet for Cape May Winery wines, available with brunch or dinner. Stop in the shop when you arrive or bring your own. Vintage is dog-friendly, has plenty of outdoor seating and take out is available. Parking is free. Brunch is offered Saturdays and Sundays, 10am-3pm. Dinner is offered Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 5pm–8:30pm (last seating). For reservations, CLICK HERE or call (609) 224-6064. For takeout, call (609) 224-6064. For more information and menu, CLICK HERE. Page 4 • Spring 2022
Cape May MAC
Sunday, May 8; Sunday, June 19: Moms and dads are admitted free at two of Cape May’s historic sites, the Cape May Lighthouse and the World War II Lookout Tower, on their respective holidays, Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 8, and Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19. Thanks mom and dad! Visit www.capemaymac. org for schedules.
MORE ABOUT MUSIC
This series of occasional lectures presented by Brenda Leonard, cellist with the Bay Atlantic Symphony, is designed to increase your knowledge and enjoyment of classical music. Brenda has a doctorate and master’s degree in cello and a bachelor’s degree in music history and has taught for 30-plus years. Join us live at the Church of the Advent in Cape May or virtually via YouTube live stream. CLICK HERE. • WAIT… WHO’S THAT? Wednesday May 11: 11am Names from outside the classical canon whose music is being played at this year’s Cape May Music Festival. Presented by Bay Atlantic Symphony cellist Brenda Leonard. - DIGGING INTO BEETHOVEN'S SEVENTH SYMPHONY Wednesday June 8: 11am An in-depth look at how Beethoven constructed one of his finest symphonies. Presented by Bay Atlantic Symphony cellist Brenda Leonard. The Bay Atlantic Symphony performs the Symphony No. 7 on June 30 at 7pm at Cape May Convention Hall.
LUNCH & LEARNS
• “LET’S PLAY BALL: A CENTURY OF BASEBALL HISTORY” Wednesday, May 18: 12pm Learn about the origins of America’s pastime, the development of the game, changing attitudes towards race and MLB’s acknowledgment of the Negro Leagues. Presented by Mary Stewart via Zoom. REGISTER HERE. • “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” Thursday, June 16: 12pm A staff was the backbone of any significant home in the Victorian Era. Dr. Emlen Physick’s Estate was no different. Learn about the work and tools used to upkeep his house in Cape May. Presented by Ben Ridings via Zoom. REGISTER HERE. www.capemaymac.org
. . . . o d o t s g n Thi with Cape May MAC
MORE
MURDER MYSTERY DINNERS “THE TROUBLE WITH SILVER SPOONS”
Wednesdays, May 18, 25: 7:30pm: Enjoy a three-course dinner and watch the mystery and drama unfold around you during “The Trouble with Silver Spoons,” this spring’s Murder Mystery Dinner at The Chalfonte Hotel, 301 Howard St. Admission is limited. $65 includes a three-course dinner. CLICK HERE for tickets.
ROOTS OF CAPE ISLAND TROLLEY TOUR
Wednesdays, June 1-29: 1:45pm; Wednesdays, July 6-Sept. 18: 3:30pm; Saturdays, July 2-Aug. 27: 10am: The Roots of Cape Island and the surrounding area’s economy are in whaling and farming and while new industries have evolved since then, that heritage is still celebrated today. Hear how whalers centuries ago eked out a dangerous but lucrative living near Town Bank and how the area’s rich farming heritage continues to be a source of tremendous community pride. Learn about the Union Bethel community in 1831 in which Black residents thrived and the diverse community that continues to contribute to the vibrancy of island life today. Adult admission is $25, children (ages 3-12) $15. Call 609-884-5404 for tickets or CLICK HERE.
CLUELESS AT THE PHYSICK ESTATE: THE EXONERATION
Saturdays, June 4-25: 6:45pm, 8pm; Tuesdays & Thursdays, July 5-Aug. 30: 7pm, 8:30pm; Thursdays & Saturdays, Sept. 1-29: 6:30pm, 7:45pm: Step inside Cape May’s brand new Home for the Criminally Insane, where three local murderers are serving out their life sentences. But rumor has it, one of these convicts was unfairly framed and is innocent. Join us for this special 10th Anniversary Clueless at the Physick Estate program, where instead of determining who is guilty, you decide who will be exonerated. Adult admission $25, children (ages 3-12) $20. CLICK HERE for tickets. www.capemaymac.org
MURDER IN THE JAZZ AGE WALKING TOUR
Tuesdays & Thursdays, June 28-Aug. 30: evenings: The year is 1927, and as the champagne flows and the jazz plays, a shot splits the night but who fired the shot? If you yearn to step back in time to when guys and dolls danced the night away in hidden speakeasies, then join us for a historical walking tour with a murderous twist! Stroll the byways and shadowy corners of Cape May, led by your guide, who just happens to be the victim of a 100 year-old murder! Search for clues inspect the crime scene and question suspects. Presented in partnership with Without A Cue Productions. CLICK HERE for tickets.
WHOSE CRIME IS IT, ANYWAY? Mondays & Wednesdays, June 29-Sept. 5: 7pm: A production on the outdoor stage at the Physick Estate. Stay tuned for more details soon! Presented by Without A Cue Productions. Call 609-884-5404 for more information.
CHILDREN’S TROLLEY RIDE
Tuesdays & Thursdays, July 5-Aug. 30: 3pm; Mondays & Wednesdays, July 11-Aug. 31: 4:30pm: Board Cape May MAC’s red trolley for a half-hour guided trolley tour of Cape May’s Historic District created especially for children. Designed for kids aged 3-7 accompanied by a parent or guardian, it’s funny, informative and smart-alecky. Adult admission $15, children (ages 3-12) $10. Call 609-884-5404 for tickets. CLICK HERE for tickets.
PHYSICK ESTATE CHILDREN’S TOUR
Mondays, July 11-Aug. 29: 11:30am: Youngsters will see what life was like more than 100 years ago on this half-hour guided tour of Cape May’s only Victorian House Museum, geared especially for 5-10 yearolds. Adult admission $15, children (ages 3-12) $10. Call 609-884-5404 for tickets. CLICK HERE for tickets.
Cape May MAC
Crafts & Collectibles Shows in 2022 April Crafts & Collectibles: Saturday, April 23 at the Emlen Physick Estate 10-4. Spring Crafts & Collectibles: Saturday, June 4 at the Emlen Physick Estate 10-4. Summer Crafts & Collectibles: Saturday, June 18 at the Emlen Physick Estate 10-4. Family Fun Crafts Shows at the Lighthouse: Wednesdays, July 6 through Aug. 24 at the Cape May Lighthouse 9-2. Craft Beer & Crab Festival: Saturday, July 23 at the Emlen Physick Estate 10-5. National Lighthouse Day: Sunday, Aug. 7 at the Cape May Lighthouse 9-2. Harvest Brew Fest: Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Emlen Physick 10-5. Victorian Weekend Crafts & Collect-ibles: Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Emlen Physick Estate 10-4. Crafts & Collectibles by the Sea: Sat-urday, Oct. 22 at Cape May Convention Hall 10-4. Halloween Crafts & Collectibles: Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Emlen Physick Estate 10-3. Fall Crafts & Collectibles: Saturday, Nov. 5 at Cape May Convention Hall 10-4. Holiday Crafts & Collectibles: Friday & Saturday, Nov. 25 & 26 at Cape May Convention Hall 10-4.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CAPE MAY MAC SHOWS, CLICK HERE Spring 2022 • Page 5
DONOR PROFILE: Sylvia Baer “For me, MAC and the City of Cape May are very intertwined,” said Sylvia Baer, Cape May’s newly appointed official Poet Laureate, and the daughter of Fred and Sarita Kuhner. She is deeply part of MAC (now known as Cape May MAC), with a connection that goes back to the origin of the organization in 1970. Sylvia’s father, Fred Kuhner, is Cape May MAC’s founding president, who created the organization with Bruce Minnix and others. When the Kuhners moved to Cape May full-time from New York City in 1969, Sylvia’s father had immediately immersed himself in the community, helped create MAC, and saved the Physick Estate from demolition with the rest of the organization’s founders, among other achievements that included establishing a successful business here. Sylvia inherited that commitment to the organization. “We had just recently moved to Cape May from New York City. It was quite a shock to my mother; my father was much more of a joiner. He didn’t need credit and he really was not one of those people who needed to have his name on things. He just wanted to do the right thing,” she said. Her parents met in Uruguay, and she spent childhood years there surrounded by extended family members. Fred was an entrepreneur, following and creating business opportunities as they arose, and so the family moved regularly. When the family moved to the United States, Sylvia found herself suddenly no longer surrounded by extended family. Once they arrived in Cape May, and her father threw himself into the pulse of the community, Sylvia’s connection to and love of Cape May blossomed, as did her imagination and her love for words. “By doing that — by being involved in so many different things in Cape May —what he did was, he created for me a hometown, something I had never really had,” she said. “He was a very big believer in understanding and preserving history so that future generations could examine it, think about it, and live in it for a while,” she said. “To take what was useful for the growth of a community or a person or a country — and what was not useful to have as a reference or reminder of what has gone before.” He was realistic about present day needs, as Director Emeritus Michael Zuckerman has noted, yet he was a visionary, producing two of the organization’s long-running events, Victorian Week and the Cape May Page 6 • Spring 2022
to.
SYLVIA BAER
Music Festival, while Sarita had the idea to open a tearoom in the Carriage House. “Fred was determined that MAC was going to be run on sound business principles,” said Zuckerman. “Living within our means was something that he was insistent on. Over the decades, he was heavily engaged with MAC all the way until his death in 1999. Fred was a champion of bringing good business practices to bear and coming up with business plans with a very strong entrepreneurial bent.” Fred handed down his belief in the importance of historic preservation to his daughter and Sylvia has been a fervent financial supporter of Cape May MAC with her husband, John, and the rest of her family ever since, continuing the family’s special commitments over the years to the Cape May Music Festival, to legacy funds and to special projects. They even created the Sarita and Fred Kuhner Garden in view of the Carriage House and Vintage Restaurant, to both honor their parents and beautify an area at the Emlen Physick Estate that was in need of beautifying. Sylvia and family are some of the organization’s oldest friends. In March, Cape May City announced that Sylvia would be Cape May’s first official Poet Laureate. As a Ph.D. and professor of literature at Rowan University, for Sylvia, language, poetry and words are of utmost importance. She is well known for her “Poet-Tree” in front of her Cape May home on Michigan Avenue, a tradition she and John started in which she hangs poems from branches for passers-by to take and keep and contribute Cape May MAC
Now, as the city’s first official Poet Laureate, she aims to bring poetry and the arts to the forefront of Cape May’s community, planning programs that combine music, poetry, and more. She wants to work with places like the Nature Center to do programs where participants can look at and write about different objects from nature, such as shells, live critters or pine cones. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to keep doing and creating things that bring positive energies and a kindness into the world,” she said. “This is what we can all do.” She plans to bring free seminars to space at 600 Park Boulevard in West Cape May that combine writing and visual art. “’Ekphrasis’ is when you connect a piece of art and a work of writing together,” she said. “You sit in front of a painting and generally you’re guided — but you don’t have to be — you’re guided to look at a painting and write about it. I want to bring in local artists’ work and have folks come in and guide them to see in different ways — find different focuses for looking at this painting — because I think that’s enriching for both the artist that created the artwork, and the writer.” “I can come up with 20 million ideas before breakfast,” she said, “so I have all kinds of things I want to do. … A lot of people feel cowed by it (poetry), even averse to it, and part of my mission is to make people enriched and empowered. Poetry is a way to do that.” -- SK
Sylvia and her daughter, Heather, were part of the Victorian Fashion Show during MAC’s Victorian Week in 1982.
www.capemaymac.org
DONOR PROFILE: Sylvia Baer
Our Cape May Our Cape May
—By Dr. Sylvia Baer (Poet Laureate)
-- By Dr. Sylvia Baer (Poet Laureate) We breathe the scent of water— The air is full of its possibilities— So it has been for eons So it will be for eons more Millions of feet have walked our land Where trees have complicated roots— tangles of nourishment grown deep underground holding the earth we stand on The lapping of ocean waves defines our days— Reflects the sky’s mood also: The sun’s risings—its settings—the stars— Blankets them all gently in its time. In this rhythm, this place On a bit of land jutting out to the ocean We live life, a precarious existence but sturdy, Supported by the welcoming earth— And we recognize the absolute wonder That has brought us to here and to now – And to the delight, as we look out to the sea To the sky, to the nature that surrounds us To the buildings that house our worship, merriment, Helpers, culture, art, learning, healing, Nourishment, transactions, and rest— The homes and cottages where we build lives—
It’s incumbent upon all of us to keep doing and creating things that bring positive energies and a kindness into the world. This is what we can all do.
www.capemaymac.org
And to each others’ faces, and destinies— We know that we are tied together by bonds of history, Purpose, appreciation, fellowship A celebration of the human family— This place that firmly holds our lives—our hopes— Also holds the promise that our time here Will create a gentle ever-widening circle of community To take us safely and humbly into the future Where others will gladly breathe the scent of water The air full of its possibilities— As it has been for eons As it will be for eons more.
Cape May MAC
Spring 2022 • Page 7
FROM THE DIRECTOR As noted in previous Cape May MAC newsletters, the organization successfully secured four grants in 2021 for the Emlen Physick Estate. The news is, we’re aiming for more, but will need some help along the way. The New Jersey Historic Trust has traditionally been the major funding source for preservation and restoration projects at all three Cape May MAC sites: the Physick Estate, the Cape May Lighthouse and the World War II Lookout Tower. Last year, the Trust funded two planning (Historic Site Management) grants. The first was to start planning for implementation of both an environmental control (HVAC) system in the 1879 Physick House Museum, as well as a fire suppression system. The other was to explore adaptive re-use of eight of the original nine outbuildings on the Estate; specifically, how the public can better access them and for Cape May MAC to better interpret their history and significance. A third Trust grant was for capital improvements, allowing the organization to address repairs and improvements that need to be done for the HVAC and fire suppression projects to begin once the planning documents were completed. The Cape May County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Program’s Historic Preservation initiative agreed to fund the remainder of the capital project, less the professional services costs. So, if you’ve been able to follow, that
Jody Alessandrine, Director/CEO
leaves Cape May MAC responsible for the match for both planning grants and a portion of the capital grant. In 2022, Cape May MAC is applying to the Trust for the next phase of the Physick House’s HVAC and fire suppression planning, as well as a capital grant for the implementation of the fire suppression capital project, starting with the basement area. We intend to ask the county for their full allotment of up to 25 percent of a fire suppression capital project. Again, that leaves both a portion of a now-third planning grant and a capital grant that requires a match.
FiNS Sunday Social benefits Cape May MAC May 8
Join us at FiNS Bar & Grille on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, from 10:30am-2:30pm and enjoy food and drink in honor of mom while supporting your favorite local cause. A percentage of the proceeds during this time will be donated to Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture)! FiNS Bar & Grille, 142 Decatur St., Cape May, N.J. Page 8 • Spring 2022
Cape May MAC
Cape May MAC has been truly fortunate to find great partners in the Trust, the County and other funders in the past. And it also has been blessed with an incredibly dedicated donor base. For 2022 and likely at least another year, our donor campaign will center on helping us meet our match for these worthwhile projects. It’s no one’s fault that there is not an environmental control system or fire suppression system in the Physick House Museum. As mentioned, there are two other historic sites the organization has managed. Since 1986, Cape May MAC has applied for and received almost $2.5 million for the Cape May Lighthouse restoration alone. But considering climate change and the new technology available, the organization decided the time is right to address humidity and temperature issues in the museum, home to some 6,000 works of art, as well as original Physick family and period furnishings, and to protect it from a potential fire. Further, while the four-plus acre Physick Estate attracts almost 200,000 people per year for tours of the Physick House Museum, plus thousands additionally for its on-site events and things to do (Cape May Music Festival, Sunset Jazz concerts, at least two day-long food, drink and music-centric festivals, holiday events, the Carroll Gallery exhibits, the museum shop and more), there is a wonderful opportunity for the public to experience more of what daily life was like in Victorian times in Cape May. That includes not only the Physick family, but the paid workers who contributed to what was once a 20-plus acre property. Many of those were local Black workers. The lives of those who contributed to the Estate and the Cape Island community at-large are being commemorated in this year’s Physick House Museum theme: “Meet the Staff: The Work and Lives of Dr. Physick’s Employees. This year’s house theme will complement the annual Carroll Gallery exhibit in the Carriage House, titled, “The Victorian Toolbox: Necessities, Curiosities, Frivolities.” Your continued generous support to make Cape May’s only Victorian House Museum and the historic Physick Estate property an even more attractive place for visitors from around the world (as well as those just around the corner) to experience a slice of true Cape May history is always appreciated. Please visit Cape May MAC (ticketapp.org), or stop by the Hill House ticket office to make your contribution to offset the much-needed grant funding.
www.capemaymac.org
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Welcome New Members Family/Grandparent:
Megan Emery & Dennis Urffer of Cape May Point, NJ; Dusty & Thomas Sodon of Leonardo, NJ.
Joint: Sharon & John Lewis of Ringwood,
NJ; Cheryl & Scott MacMullen of Cape May, NJ; Cherrie & Justin Marsh of Palmyra, NJ; Suzanne McMonigle & Christopher Morris of
Cape May, NJ; Michelle & Anthony Noonan of Perkasie, PA; Stacey Pellegrini & Cathy Lafferty of Wayne, PA; Joann Stone & Albert Zowada of Verona, NJ; Deborah & Daniel Viola of Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Individual:
Annie Chan of Brooklyn, NY; Kathleen Jones of Cape May, NJ; Amy Walker of Chalfont, PA.
Condolences to:
Our sincere condolences go to Susan Krysiak and Mary Lou Newnam, on the death of Mary Lou’s son and Susan’s nephew, Tom Newnam; Vivianne Rogers, on the death of her husband Don; The family and friends of Lee Shupert; The family and friends of former Cape May MAC volunteer Helen Whomsley.
‘T H A N K YO U’ N E W S CAPE MAY MAC PRESERVATION FUND $5,000 and up Platinum Donors: Lee & Jill Bellarmino. $500-$999 Bronze Donors: Catherine Rein. $100-$499 Friend Donors: John Carter. Under $100 Donors: Gary & Deborah Snyder. LESSONS OF HISTORY FUND DONATIONS $1,000-$1,999 Donors: David Green & Christine Petrik-Green. $500-$999 Donors: Stephen & Janet Miller. $250-$499 Donors: Lee & Jill Bellarmino. $100-$249 Donors: John Boecker, Joseph & Eileen Cassidy, Randi Deweese, Sanford & Mary Stewart, Bud & Jill Waisbren. CAPE MAY MUSIC FESTIVAL DONORS Solo Sponsor ($4,000 and up): Brown & Brown of New Jersey, LLC., Madison Resorts (The Montreal Beach Resort). Duo Sponsor ($2,000-$3,999): John & Sylvia Baer, Sharon Kewish, William Killeen & Barbara Bittner-Killeen. Trio Sponsor ($1,000-$1,999): Tom & Sue Carroll, The Carroll Villa (Mad Batter), Chris Clemans Sotheby’s International Realty (Chris & Dave Clemans), Barbara & Jane Morris & Stephanie Exarhakis, Jim & Maryellen Ozalas, Professional Benefit Consultants. Quartet Sponsor ($500-$999): Cape Resorts, Marlene Lengner, John & Janice Rose, George & Theresa Schu, Stephen & Sandy Sheller (Sheller PC). Conductor’s Circle ($100 - $499): Jody & Cheryl Alessandrine, Lester & Roberta Aungst, Lee & Jill Bellarmino, Barbara Biller, Anne Burrows, Byron’s Plumbing & Heating (Byron & Jill Vile), Corbin & Lynda Cogswell, Warren & Janet Coupland, Bill & Sue Currie, Thomas & Erin Curtis, Vincent & Denise Degiaimo, Steven & Anne Docimo, www.capemaymac.org
Sharon Falkowski & Ronald Holman, Fred & Rosemary Fellmeth, Peggy & Stan Gora, Barbara Heinrichs, Rober Henry, Robert & Carole Irwin, Eileen Kirk, Georgette Koehler, Tricia Kraemer, Walt & Yvonne Kuemmerle, Lori & Steven Lazan (Cape May Vacation Properties), Bob & Jayne Lester, Michael & Mindy Levy, Karen Liebowitz, Howard & Barbara Neilson, William Paladini & Pamela Nardone, Steven Sammartino, Barbara St. Clair, Christopher & Roseanne Traficante, Karen Van Varick-Mcguire & Alan McGuire, Francis & Pat Villani, Bud & Jill Waisbren, Bennett Werner & Michelle Uhl, Kenneth Whitworth & William Conte, Marvin & Lee Zektzer. Musician’s Circle (Under $100): Beth & Paul DeLuca, Ross & Sharon Ellison, Robert Gerlough & Cyndy Cesena, R. J. Scott Griffith, Frank & Jeanne-Marie McCall,
Diane & Franco Meza, MaryAnn & Gus Mosso, Tom & Maria Quigg, Robert & Mary Reader, Richard & Beatrice Reinacher, Anne Stephany, Robert Stewart & Barbara Barnett-Stewart, Bernadette Walker, Betty Wieslawski, Peggy Zemaitaitis. MAJOR DONATIONS • John & Sylvia Baer, for a $1,000 donation to the Fred & Sarita Kuhner Memorial Garden. • Johnson & Johnson Foundation Matching Gifts Program, for a $500 donation. • Kit & Betty Jean Marlowe, for a $2,000 donation. • The Priester Foundation (Susan Priester) for a $7,000 donation. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)
Photo by Susan Krysiak Cape May Magazine is featuring regular columns in 2022 written by Cape May MAC Director of Media Relations Susan Krysiak, that feature various aspects of Victorian Life. The first one was on Laundry Day. Shown here, a clothes washer on display in the Physick House Museum that was typical of the era. Cape May MAC
Spring 2022 • Page 9
‘T H A N K YO U’ N E W S
Photo by Susan Krysiak The annual Cape May MAC Staff Kickoff was held March 31 at Cape May Lutheran Church with the traditional pot luck dinner and welcome back address from Director and CEO Jody Alessandrine, to all staff.
Donations (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9) • Princeton Strategic Communications, for a $2,100 donation. • Kelly Tallio (Grand Smiles Dentistry), for a $500 donation. DONATIONS • Kenneth A. Comuso, for a $20 donation to the Cape May Lighthouse, and a $20 donation to Operations. • Alan Fisher, for a $132.42 donation. • Joseph Freiert, for a $150 donation to the Cape May Lighthouse. • Daniel Gross, for a $50 donation, and for directing a matching gift of $250. • John & Dianne Lennox, for a $100 donation to the Physick Estate. • Gordon & Pat Munson, for a $60 donation. • The New Jersey Lighthouse Society, for a $100 donation to the Cape May Lighthouse. • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Clare Wharton, for a $100 donation. • Women’s Community Club of Cape May, for a $50 donation. • Ernestine Zeli-Bove, for donating books on Victorian society for use in volunteer training and to add to MAC’s permanent library. To donations Ticket Buyers who added a donation when purchasing tickets: Claudia Barbiero, Cynthia Blake, John Boecker, Joan Bowers, Page 10 • Spring 2022
Michael Burns, Jane Celentano, Deirdre Conlin, Joel Chua, Erika Garcia, Peggy & Stan Gora, David Jokinen, Robert Kane, Cynthia Jordan, David Leroy, Jennifer Letizia, Stephanie March, Nancy Mcclintock, Martin Moran, Marielle Natera, Kayleigh Rider, Noreen Ryan, Lexi Saltz, Joseph Schauer, Christian Schultz, Walt Shank, Stephen Tappeto, Arlette Tedor, Edward Walsh, Carol Watkins.
Online Auction Donors: Terry Ansead, Art Pottery Studio (Susan Fox Hirschmann), Atlantic City Cruises (Renee Folsom), Cathy Baldacchini, Bayshore Center at Bivalve (Teri Watson), Beachcomber Camping Resort (Jessica), John D Benson, Joan Berkey, Busy Bees (Gary + Erin Schempp), By the Sea (Leslie Roth), Cape May Beach Buggy (Christian Baron), Cape May Brewing Co. (Ariel McCarter), Cape May Island Hoppers (Capt Jim Norbeck), Cape May Winery (Shelley), Tom & Sue Carroll, Chanelle Rene (Chanelle White), Chez Michel (Michel Gras), Chrissy Marie Designs (Chrissy Casiello), The Days Cape May Apparel (Alexa D’Amico), East Lynne Theater Co. (Gayle Stahlhuth), Emily Arenberg Art (Emily Arenberg), Joe Evangelista, Exit Zero (Jack Wright), Flowers from the Attic (Carla Schaeffer), Flying Fish Studio (Susan Lotozo), Icona Resorts (Caitlin Kelly), JL Photography (Jenn Ancker), Linda Kastner, KGS Photography (Kristopher Schoenleber), Susan Krysiak, Lighthouse Strength (Brandon Wendling), Ludlam Island Brewery (Billy), Myles Martel, Morey’s Piers (Karen Morey), Barbara Morris, M.P. Myers Photography (Mary Pat Myers), Mykandles. com (Sandi Adams), Nature Center of Cape May (Gretchen Whitman), Nita Gladovic Photography (Anita Gladovic), North Beach Gym (Gloria Pizza), Phil Courtney Art (Phil Courtney), Red Robot Creative (Jim Zahniser), Kelly Redington, Rosemary Rombado, Doug Salvatoriello, Frank Scott,
Photo by Susan Krysiak
The new Stairway to the Stars nigthtime lighthouse cilmbs on dark and clear nights of the New Moon allow you to capture the stars even with your SmartPhone camera. Cape May MAC
www.capemaymac.
‘T H A N K YO U’ N E W S Shore Love Photography (Jackie Kocis),Mary Stewart, Sweet N Round (Arthur Miller), Vineyard Vines (Cayla Fox), The Wetlands Institute (Rae Griffiths), Whippoorwill Campground (Kasey Beatty), Yoga on the Beach (Charla Lewis).
Assistance
• Cathy Baldacchini, for her help with the Cape May MAC Staff Kickoff. • Joyce Barth, for her help with the Cape May MAC Staff Kickoff. • Jill Bellarmino, for assisting with the annual inventory of Physick Estate artifacts. • Cape May Lutheran Church and Pastor Jeff Elliott, for allowing us to use the church hall for staff training sessions. • The Episcopal Church of the Advent and Pastor Alan Leonard, for allowing us to use the church and livestream equipment for our More About Music programs. • Carol Hartman, for her help with the Cape May MAC Staff Kickoff and for assisting with the annual inventory of Physick Estate artifacts. • Barbara Lamont, for assisting with the annual inventory of Physick Estate artifacts. • Brenda Leonard, for presenting the More About Music programs. • Evalina McBride, for assisting the Marketing Department with graphic design skills. • Christy Mobile, for assisting with the annual inventory of Physick Estate artifacts. • Dave Morais, for laying the engraved bricks at the Cape May Lighthouse.
Brenda Leonard presented her More About Music lecture on March 9 at the Episcopal Church of the Advent to both a live and virtual audience and continues the series this spring. Brenda — an acclaimed cellist herself — hopes More About Music will demystify classical music, and in turn spark a love and appreciation for the genre. CLICK HERE to watch.
Volunteers
Crafts & Collectibles in Winter Volunteers: Bonnie Bowman, Donna Flegal, Gordon Gearhart, Ernestine Zeli-Bove. Ghost Tour Advisory Team: Joyce Barth, Rosalie Gallagher, Peggy Gora, Carol Hartman, Harry Schmidt. Marketing Mailing Volunteers: Bonnie Bowman, Eileen Cassidy, Susan Esposito,
Donna Flegal, Marie Elena Gearhart, Richard Mayer, Mary McArdle, Tricia Nolfi, Ginny Passon, Jan Randle. Software Beta-Testing Volunteers: Tina Angstadt, Chris DuBois, Jan Dwyer, Donna Flegal, Ernestine Zeli-Bove. Tour Advisory Team: Joyce Barth, Anne Burrows, Kathleen Familetti, Rosalie Gallagher, Peggy Gora, Carol Hartman, Barbara Lamont, Harry Schmidt.
Exhibit and tour theme (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1) those who worked here to earn their living. You will see many of the implements that the staff used to tend the house and grounds, including outdoor tools for gardening and construction and indoor tools for cooking, cleaning, sewing and grooming, and even some recreational items that contributed to a healthy lifestyle. Although most of these items seem primitive by today’s standards, we think you will be surprised by how many you recognize as having been used by your parents or grandparents. The Carroll Gallery is in the Carriage House on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. Admission to the Carroll Gallery is free. Celebrate the www.capemaymac.org
opening of this new exhibit on Friday, June 3, from 5:30pm-7:30pm at the Carroll Gallery during the official Exhibit Opening. Complementing the exhibit is the new theme for guided tours of the Physick House Museum in 2022-23, titled, “Meet the Staff: The Work and Life of Dr. Physick’s Employees” beginning Friday, May 27. As the title suggests, the theme is all about the estate staff. You will learn that the employees here had it better than most Victorian servants, led independent lives and often owned homes and businesses in West Cape May. One grounds worker and house cleaner sent all three of his children through college, while another servant had Cape May MAC
her house bought for her by Mrs. Ralston. You’ll also hear about Cape May’s vibrant and flourishing Black community, many of whom found a decent place to work here at the Emlen Physick Estate. Each year the Physick House Museum presents tours of the house guided by a new theme, bringing out unique items from the collection to tell the story of this Cape May Victorian family. The Emlen Physick Estate is located at 1048 Washington St. Admission to the Emlen Physick Estate Tour is $20 adults, $15 children (ages 3-12). To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE. -- SK
Spring 2022 • Page 11
Winter Wrap-up (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2) the grounds. There is still time to purchase your memorial paver!
in Read Across America with Marie Durand Elementary School in Vineland.
Winter time is planning time for Sharon Falkowski, Director of Retail Operations, too. She has been busy looking for new items for the Museums Shops at the Physick Estate and Lighthouse and keeping an eye on our on-line shop. Sharon has some exciting ideas for the shops including instituting Member Mondays with extra discounts for our loyal supporters. Stay tuned for more information!
In the Curatorial Division, Curator Ben Ridings and Registrar Donna Szemczak have been working on the new tour theme for 2022 and gathering objects for our
The Education Division has been doing their part, as well. Our zoom Lunch & Learn series began in January and has continued monthly. Education Manager Elan ZingmanLeith presented a program on Victorian Valentines traditions in February followed by Emerald Cape May, Curator Ben Ridings’ take on the contributions of the Irish to Cape May and across the country. One of the interesting facts Ben shared was how baseball fever swept Cape May in no small part due to the support of immigrant Christopher Magrath, publisher and editor of the Cape May Ocean Wave. It was a nice tie-in to A Diamond of Their Own, the winter exhibit at the Carroll Gallery. Programs are now being scheduled for the rest of the year. We anticipate bringing back in-person programs while continuing with Zoom presentations. In more news from the Education Division, we added More About Music, a monthly live and livestream series to expand your knowledge of music, and in the process added a new staff member. These programs are on-going through June 8 and will help provide context for the repertoire and composers featured during the Cape May Music Festival. Brenda Leonard, cellist with the Bay Atlantic Symphony who is a Cape May resident, developed the series and was recruited to join us as we rebuild our education programming which was really derailed by the pandemic. Slowly but surely, we are building back and have provided programs for the Blind Center of the Jersey Cape, Avalon Library and Victorian Towers. School programs are still lagging behind, but we have visited Avalon Elementary School and participated Page 12 • Spring 2022
major Summer exhibit. Read all about it in the front-page article. Both also have responsibilities for our annual staff training cycle which is now in high gear as we get ready for the season. There are 44 training sessions scheduled over three months for various seasonal staffers. -- MES
Learn about Cape May’s forgotten sports history during special trolley tour and brunch April 30
Shown here, a vintage postcard image of Cape May Golf Club on Lafayette Street above Madison Avenue. Dr. Physick, reputed to have been an avid golfer, was one of the founders of the club.
Cape May’s history includes some fascinating stories about sports, such as baseball, tennis and golf, during the 19th and early 20th century. A new 45-minute trolley tour will take you around Cape May to see where audiences once cheered on their favorite players of yesteryear. Learn about the teams, ballfields, courts and greens that were a vibrant part of America’s First Seaside Resort. This trolley tour is offered for the first time Saturday, April 30 at 10am. Admission is $25. Seats are limited. To purchase this trolley tour CLICK HERE. Cape May MAC
Enjoy a brunch at Vintage that includes a discussion of some of Cape May’s sports history during the 19th and early 20th century. This event is Saturday, April 30 at 11am at Vintage B.Y.O.B on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. Admission is $45 and seating is limited. Advance purchase is required. To purchase brunch tickets, CLICK HERE.
www.capemaymac.org
Cape May MAC tour on NPS app (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1) have the NPS recognize it in the Network to Freedom. Dreyfuss, with Cape May MAC Director of Media Relations Susan Krysiak and Cape May MAC Board Member Wanda Wise Evelyn, worked closely with the NPS to provide information for the new app. “We are honored to be part of this NPS program that will help tell the important story of Harriet Tubman in Cape May,” said Wise Evelyn, who has centuries-old ties to the Cape May area, has done extensive research on Cape May’s Black history and has served on CCA’s History Committee. The Travel with Tubman app is a way for visitors to learn about these 13 sites and to get the information they need to visit each of them. The number 13 is symbolic, representing the number of times Harriet returned after her own escape to liberate and rescue friends and family members from slavery. The Travel with Tubman app launched Monday, April 18! Learn all about it here via the National Park Service press release and follow links to explore the itinerary, as well as get instructions for downloading the app. Within the app will be directions to capemaymac.org for ticket purchases for the Underground Railroad Trolley Tour, along with information about amenities at the Physick Estate, such as visitor services, restrooms, shopping and a restaurant (Vintage B.Y.O.B.). The “site” on the app
Photo by Frank Scott
Shown here, this beach at South Cape May Meadows is where tour-goers hear a story of the dangerous crossing to freedom across the Delaware Bay from Delaware and Maryland, the first stop on Cape May MAC’s Underground Railroad Trolley Tour. The tour is now part of a new National Park Service app called Travel with Tubman.
for the Underground Railroad Trolley Tour focuses on the South Cape May Meadows beach, where Mt. Vernon Avenue boardwalk access is the first stop on the tour, and the Cape May Lighthouse is in the background.
If you have not taken the Cape May MAC/CCA Underground Railroad Trolley Tour, it’s a must. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. -- SK
Cape May MAC staff volunteered to prep, cook and serve a free hot lunch as part of the Thursday Community Lunch program at the First Baptist Church of Wildwood, 230 E. Maple Ave. Wildwood. Shown here, from left, are Cape May MAC staff members, Anna Leeper, Eliza Lotozo, Sara Kornacki, Jody Alessandrine, Cathy Baldacchini and Susan Krysiak.
www.capemaymac.org
Cape May MAC
Spring 2022 • Page 13
Cape May Music Festival (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1) concert schedule. Plan now for 15 classical, chamber, jazz, Americana and brass band musical performances, some of which are free to attend. The festival this year offers eight weeks of music in a variety of genres from Sunday, May 1 through Thursday, June 30. Classical music devotees will welcome the return of the New York Chamber Ensemble performing three concerts, the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players performing one concert and the Bay Atlantic Symphony performing two concerts, featuring the music of Mozart, Brahms and Tchaikovsky, Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, selections from outstanding female composers and Latin composers, “ChamberJazz,” and much more. Jazz lovers will enjoy a Jazz Brunch at Vintage, Paula Johns on the outdoor stage at the Emlen Physick Estate, and the return this year after a two-year hiatus of the ever-popular George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert. Nashville-based Nora Jane Struthers and her power trio come to the outdoor stage at the Emlen Physick Estate and bring stellar musicianship and unexpected arrangements that blur the line between folk, roots, and rock. For many who love the excitement of a 35-piece brass band, the award-winning Atlantic Brass Band returns this year in a free outdoor concert during Memorial Day Weekend. For more information about concerts, performers or venues, and to purchase tickets, visit capemaymac.org or call 609884-5404 or CLICK HERE.
The 33rd Annual Cape May Music Festival lineup is as follows: Sunday, May 1: 10 a.m.
Jazz Brunch with Stan Slotter and Ray Mallach
Vintage, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. $50 adults, $45 Cape May MAC members. Savor a delicious jazz brunch under the tent at Vintage that celebrates The Great American Songbook and features Stan Slotter on trumpet and Ray Mallach on piano.
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Wednesdays, May 4, 25 & June 15: 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 26: 7 p.m.
Bach’s Lunches
Vintage, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. $50 adults, $45 Cape May MAC members. Lunch and a classical music mini-concert combine for a wonderful afternoon at Vintage. A chef’s selection luncheon accompanies classical music performances by members of the Bay Atlantic Symphony. Thursday, May 5: 7 p.m.
New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players Woodwind Quintet presents “Cinco de Mayo”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent, 612 Franklin Street, Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players Bart Feller, Robert Ingliss, Andy Lamy, Robert Wagner and Andrea Menousek play a selection of classical chamber pieces for woodwind quintet. In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, some Latin composers and selections are featured, along with other classics. Fantasia in F minor, KV 608 Duo for flute and Oboe, Ob 13 Concerto for Wind Quintet, OP 124 Titilayo for Wind Quintet Aires Tropicales Saturday, May 14: 7 p.m. (rain date May 15)
Nora Jane Struthers
Emlen Physick Estate Outdoor Stage, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. Nora Jane Struthers brings her power trio to Cape May to present a catalog of music that NPR has described as “some of the most quietly powerful narratives within the new wave of Americana artists.” Don’t be fooled by the “quietly” part, though: the trio is just as adept at rocking the house with a powerfully electric anthem as they are at soothing your soul with a contemplative ballad, and they often draw on their bluegrass roots to add texture to the music. The trio’s performance is full to the brim with stellar musicianship, unexpected arrangements that blur the line between folk, roots, and rock, and an audible sense that everyone in the room is having a really good time.
Cape May MAC
New York Chamber Ensemble presents “ChamberJazz with Ted Rosenthal and The New York Chamber Ensemble: A Tribute to Billy Strayhorn”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent, 612 Franklin Street, Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. Artists: Ted Rosenthal, piano Susan Rotholz, flute TBA, saxophone Eliot Bailen, cello Thomson Kneeland, double bass Chris Parker, drums Sunday, May 29: 7 p.m.
Atlantic Brass Band
Rotary Bandstand, 400-498 Lafayette St., Cape May, N.J. (Rain location: Convention Hall, 714 Beach Ave., Cape May, N.J.) Free admission. The award-winning Atlantic Brass Band, under the baton of Salvatore Scarpa, returns to Cape May with an exciting new program of rousing band music, the perfect high note for Memorial Day Weekend. Sunday, June 5: 7 p.m.
George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert: “We Gather Together”
Cape May Convention Hall, 714 Beach Ave. Cape May, N.J. $35 Adults, $30 Cape May MAC members and $25 Students under 18. Jazz pianist George Mesterhazy’s musical friends and colleagues gather once again after a two-year hiatus for this musical tribute that continues the annual concert tradition that George started years ago. We Gather Together marks 10 years since George’s passing and this annual remembrance concert features original arrangements of select classic songs that have special meaning during these unprecedented times.
www.capemaymac.org
Thursday, June 9: 7 p.m.
New York Chamber Ensemble presents “The Genius of the Women Composers, Past and Present”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent, 612 Franklin Street, Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. Florence Price – Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for string quartet Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartet in E flat Friday, June 10: 3 p.m.
Friends of the Cape May Music Festival present “A Musical Intermezzo”
Vintage, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. $50 Adults and $45 Cape May MAC members. Enjoy an intimate classical music performance over light refreshments at the beautiful Vintage presented by Friends of the Cape May Music Festival featuring Eliot Bailen, Susan Rotholz and Jed Gaylin.
Saturday, June 25: 7 p.m. (rain date June 26)
Thursday, June 30: 7 p.m.
Emlen Physick Estate Outdoor Stage, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. Paula Johns and her fabulous trio return to the outdoor stage at the Emlen Physick Estate, with music from the Great American Songbook, including Gershwin, Porter and Jerome Kern, mixed in with a little Steely Dan, Roberta Flack and Stevie Wonder, then sprinkled with a touch of Dionne Warwick.
Convention Hall, 714 Beach Ave., Cape May, N.J For the first time in years at the Cape May Music Festival, the Bay Atlantic Symphony brings its full orchestra to the stage at Convention Hall featuring two grand classical pieces not to be missed. $35 Adults, $30 Cape May MAC members and $25 Students under 18. Tchaikovsky Violin concerto Intermission Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Paula Johns
Bay Atlantic Symphony full orchestra performance
The Cape May Music Festival is presented by Cape May MAC with major sponsorship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, along with John and Sylvia Baer, Madison Resorts, and Brown & Brown Insurance, and additional support from generous businesses, organizations and individuals.
Thursday, June 16: 7 p.m.
Bay Atlantic Symphony
The Episcopal Church of the Advent, 612 Franklin Street, Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. Copland––Appalachian Spring for 13 instruments Danzi––Concertante: solo flute & clarinet Mozart––Symphony No. 33, Bb, K.319 Thursday, June 23: 7 p.m.
New York Chamber Ensemble presents “A Brahms Masterpiece plus Gems from Bloch and Carlos Simon”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent, 612 Franklin Street, Cape May, N.J. $30 Adults, $25 Cape May MAC members and $20 Students under 18. Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor Bloch Suite Modale for flute and strings Susan Rotholz, flute Michael Roth, violin TBA, violin Sarah Adams, viola Eliot Bailen, cello Daniel Bailen, double bass
www.capemaymac.org
Two Cape May Music Festival high notes
Don’t miss the Bay Atlantic Symphony in performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 at Cape May Convention Hall June 30 at 7pm. It will be the first time in many years the full symphony has performed for the festival. Also, after a two-year hiatus, the beloved George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert returns to the festival with “We Gather Together” at Cape May Convention Hall, June 5 at 7pm. We Gather Together marks 10 years since George’s passing, and this annual remembrance concert features original arrangements of select classic songs that have special meaning during unprecedented times.
Cape May MAC
Spring 2022 • Page 15
Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz, USCG (Ret.) speaks on leadership at Emlen Physick Estate May 22 Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), presents “Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters,” a talk based on her 40-year career in the United States Coast Guard that will reveal what it takes to lead organizations in today’s complex times. Admiral Stosz started her career as a cadet in the third class to admit women at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. She returned over 30 years later as superintendent, becoming the first woman to lead one of the four U.S. armed forces service academies. On her journey to the executive level, she often served as the first w oman leading mostly all-male teams in front-line leadership positions, including command of two ships. To succeed, she summoned her core values to overcome adversity by building trust and earning respect as a leader of character in a complex military organization. She has lectured widely on leadership and has been featured on CSPAN and other media outlets. In 2012, Newsweek’s “The Daily Beast” named her to its list of 150 Women who Shake the World. She served in Cape May as Commanding Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center (TRACEN), from March of 2007 to May of 2008, delivering over 1,200 basically trained enlisted members to serve the people of the United States. “Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters” is Sunday, May 22, at 11 a.m. at Vintage, on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. Tickets are $40 and include brunch and the talk, with book signing to follow. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at capemaymac.org or by calling 609-884-5404. Proceeds benefit Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts +Culture) and support its mission of commitment to the preservation, interpretation and cultural enrichment of the Cape May region for its residents and visitors. Copies of “Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters” are available in both hard cover, paperback and ebook anywhere books are sold, as well as online by CLICKING HERE and may be purchased in paperback from the Carriage House Museum Shop, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., Cape May. Armed Forces Day is Saturday, May 21, the day prior to the talk and book signing. On Armed Forces Day, in honor of those who served, admission to the World War II Lookout Tower on Sunset Boulevard is -- SK free for all, and military veterans will be available at the tower to speak to visitors.
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Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)
“Today, our nation is like a ship being tossed in tumultuous seas. The winds and waves of change have divided and distanced our society, threatening to wash away the very principles upon which our nation was founded. Decency and civility have been thrown overboard in favor of outrage and intolerance. The forces of change are driving us into uncharted waters.” From “Breaking Ice & Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters” Koehler Books, 2021
Cape May MAC
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Cape May MAC Book Club and Facebook Group will begin June 1, features Victorian-era reads Book lovers take note — the inaugural Cape May MAC Book Club kicks off June 1! Running in two-week periods until late August, the theme of this summer’s Book Club is “The Lesser-Known Victorians,” featuring six less commonly read Victorianera books, including a masterly novel by the third Brontë sister, a 19th-century comedic travelogue, and more. Leading the discussion will be Cape May MAC Digital Marketing Manager Evelyn Maguire. The Cape May MAC Book Club is open to any and all — locals, visitors, and virtual book lovers alike — and will be largely hosted on Cape May MAC’s VisitCapeMay Facebook Page and Cape May MAC’s blog CapeMayNewsfeed, where Maguire will post and facilitate discussion of the current book selection every other week. A recent addition to the Cape May MAC team, Maguire is part of the English Department at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, currently working towards a Master of Fine Arts degree within the
school’s Poets & Writers program. A lover of literature and a long-time book club devotee, she is excited to bring together Cape May’s literary community this summer. “While I hope to impart interesting historical contexts and invite engaged discussions regarding our book list, what I most hope to achieve with the Cape May MAC Book Club is a sense of community built around a love for literature,” Maguire said. “I’ve found that for many people, from students to retirees, it’s easy to fall out of a practice for reading, and to even forget the joy they once found in a good book. A book club is a great place to rekindle that interest — or to begin a new relationship with literature — by turning reading from a solitary activity into a literary community.” Follow Cape May MAC’s VisitCapeMay Facebook Page now and sign up for email alerts at Cape May MAC’s blog to keep track of important club dates this summer. In the meantime, start reading! -- SK
Cape May MAC Book Club Book List 2022 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
The Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole
Carmilla
by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Cranford
by Elizabeth Gaskell
Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog)
by Jerome K. Jerome
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
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Cape May MAC
Spring 2022 • Page 17
