Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Releases this Year’s List of Seven Sustainable Fish to Serve at the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve

Thursday night brought the 7 Artists & 7 Fishes Event to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Pop-Up Museum in the North End to celebrate both the sea and sustainable seafood with local artists and chefs. Visitors came from Boston communities near and far to celebrate the gallery opening set up by Save the Harbor’s artist in residence Robyn Reed, and to try out the tasty recipes prepared by chef Basil Freddura of The Daily Catch restaurant.

Group Photo of guests, artists, chefs, and Save the Harbor Staff.

Bruce Berman, director of strategy and communications at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, kicked off the event by introducing the driving message behind the festivities. “Each year, dietary guidelines call for Americans to eat more fish. With so many species under pressure, we feel it is important to share our list of the seven sustainable, available, and delicious species of fish to serve at the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes this Christmas Eve.” The fish on the list this year includes farmed oysters, mussels, shrimp and salmon raised in the USA, Gulf of Maine or Georges Bank haddock, black sea bass caught by hand line, rod and reel or fish pots, and loligo squid – better known as calamari.

Chef Basil Freddura of the Daily Catch frying up some calamari.

The focus of the feast was on the loligo squid, as the Daily Catch prepared calamari seven different ways. Chef Basil Freddura noted that he “aims to inspire others to be creative with their cooking by taking advantage of the first certified sustainable squid fishery in the world.” His menu included calamari meatballs, fried calamari, calamari scampi, grilled calamari, marinated calamari salad, stuffed calamari, and squid ink bruchetta aglio olio. Many of the guests only were familiar with fried calamari going into the event, and the spread had them going back for more until they had tried all seven dishes.

Three of the seven offerings of loligo squid.

Surrounding the calamari feast was an array of environmental art featuring the Changing Course installation by North End artist Robyn Reed. The exhibit features fish made from painted plastic water bottles collected from the neighborhood and produced by participants in Save the Harbor’s free youth and beach programs to spark discussion about reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean.

North End artist Robyn Reed's "Changing Course" Exhibit.

In addition to Reed’s piece, the interactive exhibit included rope sculptures from Alex Buchanan, paintings by Helen Kamins, drawings, sculpture and music by Justice McDaniel, intertidal art by Andres Amador, visual art by Olga Karyakina, and the Boston Harbor Mural by Guillermo Erice. Reed reflected on the artists and their work who were in attendance Thursday night in saying that she “chose these artists because of [their] shared passion for the ocean and that they all agree on that a clean safe ocean is what they need to continue to inspire their work.” 

Artists, Chefs, and Save the Harbor staff gather before the event begins. Top Row From Left to Right: Ashley Freddura, Basil Freddura, Alex Buchanan, Robyn Reed, Helen Kamins, Justice McDaniel, Mark Rose. Bottom Row: Kristen Barry, Trevor Etheridge, Shaquan McDowell, Chris Mancini.

Save the Harbor would like to thank Robyn Reed and the artists who donated their time and work, Chef Basil Freddura and the Daily Catch, and our partners at Rockpoint Group and Rockhill Management for their enthusiastic support for this celebration of the sea and sustainable seafood. With more than 100 guests in attendance, Christine Pulsifer from Rockhill Management remarked that "the art, food and visitors brought the space to life."

Guests enjoy the art surrounding the feast.

The Boston Harbor Pop-Up brings the harbor, the islands and the beach to the heart of the city for everyone to enjoy. Kids of all ages can explore the harbor, create sand art, color murals, sing sea shanties, and pose for a picture with a big striped bass. It also includes fish prints, photographs and videos created by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Youth Environmental Education program staff.

Christine Pulsifer from Rockhill Management and Save the Harbor Staff posing with the striped bass.
From Left to right: Christine Pulsifer, Abel Yohannes, Mark Rose, Chris Mancini.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Boston Harbor Pop-Up Museum is located at 226 Causeway Street, right next to Title Boxing Club, at the corner of North Washington Street. It is open daily from 10-4pm, and Sundays from 12-4pm.

For more information, or to arrange to bring your school or youth group to the museum, send an email to info@savetheharbor.org or call 617-451-2860.

The Holiday Season at Save The Harbor

Hello Everyone, I'm Back!

A few curious kids learning about lobster at Atlantic Wharf.

     
On Saturday, December 1st I helped out with an amazing event called Holly-Day on the Harbor at Atlantic Wharf. There was music, food, art, a lobster (courtesy of Save The Harbor), and most importantly a bunch of excited kids. This was the first event I had worked since the summer, and it felt really good to be back with Save The Harbor. During this event I was mostly working the lobster station, trying to recruit sometimes hesitant kids to look at and hold our lobster. While some kids were scared of the lobsters and had to be encouraged to step out of their comfort zone, there were also a few really eager kids who were all over the lobster the second they saw it. Once I got the kids to come to our station I would tell them some cool facts about lobsters and would answer any of the questions they may have had. Along with the lobster, we also had Robyn Reed with us who used old plastic bottles to create artwork. This was a huge hit with the kids, and I'm sure the ocean is also thankful for Robyn's work.



This past Thursday I was also able to help out at the 7 Artists, 7 Fishes event at the Pop-Up museum celebrating the release of the 7 sustainable fishes list to prepare at the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. During this time I was able to see some really amazing artwork created by Robyn Reed and other environmental artists. I was also able to enjoy some of the delicious calamari which Chef Basil from the Daily Catch prepared seven different ways, and was able to catch up with some Save The Harbor alumni. I was working the event so I did have to help out with various tasks, but I enjoyed the celebration and I thought it was one of the best events I have worked during my time at Save The Harbor. 

Christine, Mark, Chris and I posing in the striped bass photo booth at the Pop-Up.

It was great to be a part of Save the Harbor's winter events, and share the harbor with adults and kids alike outside of the summer months.

Until Next Time,
Abel Yohannes

From Pirates to Calamari: Winter Events with Save the Harbor

My week at Save the Harbor was full of excitement and new opportunities, as I attended three different winter events spanning from Winthrop to Boston's seaport. During my first event, I attended a conference about a book on pirates during the 1700s written by author Eric Jay Dolin. To kick off the event, we taught the guests in attendance the sea shanty Haul Away Joe to get them in the pirate spirit. Dolin went into detail explaining how Hollywood has romanticized the thoughts of pirates and how the actual life of a pirate wasn't what was shown on the big screen. The author explained in a hour long conference the thought behind his book and stated misconceptions about pirates. The event was an extremely interesting and I enjoyed every second on it.

Ashley, Chris, Kristen and I teaching sea shanties to the guests in Winthrop.

        The second event I worked was Holly-Day on the Harbor at Waterfront Square near South Station at which we set up a stand in order to help kids celebrate Christmas on the harbor. There were lots of things for the children to do including a music session in which many kids participated in. Kids were able to look at the touch tank to observe a two pound lobster and they had the chance to dress up as a pirate. Kids also worked with our artist in residence, Robyn Reed, to paint water bottles to contribute to her Changing Course exhibit. This was definitely one of the most exciting events I've been to because it flew by extremely quickly while I listened to holiday music sung by the musical guests.

A view from above of the activities at Holly Day on the Harbor at Waterfront Square.

This past Thursday, I attended the 7 Artists, 7 Fishes event at the Boston Harbor Pop-Up museum in the North End, featuring many environmental artists and tasty calamari prepared seven ways.  This event was exciting because there was a lot of people who came to learn about what we were doing at Save the Harbor/Save the bay and it was incredible seeing so many people interesting in the release of the 7 sustainable fishes to prepare at the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. The best part of the event was the food that was catered and prepared by Chef Basil of the Daily Catch, as it was extremely delicious and I could not help myself from going back for more.

A glimpse of the art surrounding the guests at the Pop-Up 7 Artists, 7 Fishes event.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my week at Save the Harbor, as each event was exciting to attend. It is great to get to share Save the Harbor's work with kids and adults alike in the winter months.

Until next time,
Albert