Letter to the Editor – Greater Newburyport Ovarian Cancer Awareness

To the editor:
Greater Newburyport Ovarian Cancer Awareness wishes to thank the hundreds of community members who joined us to float over 450 lanterns on the Bartlet Mall’s Frog Pond at our 13th Newburyport Lantern Festival on July 3. In spite of the challenging weather, participants enjoyed decorating lanterns and then floating them in honor of loved ones or to make wishes for the future.
Many, many hands make this cherished annual event possible with over 100 volunteers contributing their time and talents to set up the tables and tents, entertain the community and assist with decorating the lanterns. Among many to be acknowledged, we wish to particularly thank the men from Link House who do the heavy lifting and transporting, musical director Donna Ricci, calligrapher coordinator Sue Dosick, keynote speaker Chris Morton, ASL interpreter Mark Riley and Bob Cronin of the Custom House Maritime Museum for coordinating the participation of the crew from the visiting tall ship Nao Trinidad and for the spontaneous sea shanty sung by crew member Diego Bermudez. Thanks also to the Bartlet Mall Commission, Mike Hennessy, Christine Jackson and Kim Turner from the City of Newburyport, the Salvation Army, Dingo Creative, Illume Books, and the community service volunteers from local high schools.
We are grateful to our sponsors, Ray Cassio of Atlantic Components, Institution for Savings, Jonathan Lamson in memory of his wife Cheryl, Bortz-Boyer Family Charitable Trust in honor of Trudy Bortz, Kelly Mahoney Family Charitable Trust, Anna Jaques Hospital, Catherine Green, Paul Flaherty, Newburyport Bank, Eastern Bank, and the Massachusetts Cultural Councils of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury and West Newbury.
We hope once again to join with our supportive community members at the 13th Jackie Poor/Paula Holm 5 K Run/Walk on Sunday, September 24 at Michael’s Harborside. Fingers crossed for better weather!
With gratitude,
Debra Green and Kathleen Scanlan
Greater Newburyport Ovarian Cancer Awareness