This Week on Cape Ann
Not a guide. Not an event calendar. Just a quick note on what the coast feels like in the third week of April 2026.
By Dotti Maguire
A short one this week. Just some notes.
What We Noticed
The first hardy-boat whale watches went out of Gloucester last weekend. 7 Seas Whale Watch is running its spring schedule on the Privateer IV; Cape Ann Whale Watch opens its season May 2 on the catamaran. The water temperature is in the low 40s and the first humpbacks have been seen on Stellwagen Bank.
Sugar Magnolias is open again on Main Street (the new location at 64 Main after the long wait). The morning coffee and eggs Benedict line is back where it belongs.
The boats at the Fort Point pier are being painted, bottom-cleaned, and rigged for summer. Stacks of lobster traps line the back of the parking lots. The working piers are loud again in the best way.
Crane Beach in Ipswich opened for the season on April 1. No lifeguards yet, no parking fees during the week, no crowds. Walking the length of it on a mid-April afternoon is one of the quiet rewards of being local.
Hammond Castle Museum opens for the 2026 season April 28. The formal gardens over the Atlantic are worth the hour.
Worth Your Time This Week
Friday. First Light members get the new May calendar drop. If you are not on the list, it takes thirty seconds at staycapeann.com/first-light.
Saturday. Check The Cut's calendar on Main Street in Gloucester. Something is almost always on and shows sell out.
Sunday. Check the Shalin Liu Performance Center calendar in Rockport, plus the Cape Ann Museum. Both tend to have something on a weekend shoulder.
Coming up. Rockport Farmers Market opens for the season June 14 (Saturdays 9am to 1pm at Harvey Park).
What Comes Next
The Cape Ann Museum's Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea exhibition opens June 30. That is two months out, but we are mentioning it now because tickets go to Museum members first and the Rothko loan from the National Gallery alone is worth planning a long weekend around.
Whale watching hits its stride in May. Striper fishing starts in the Annisquam in about three weeks. Farmers markets move to weekly schedules starting Memorial Day. The seasonal restaurants begin to reopen in rolling fashion between now and mid-May.
Spring on Cape Ann is a short season. It is a good one. This is the week it starts to pick up speed.
If you are coming up in the next few weeks, tell us when and we will send a note on what is open and what is worth your time.