01908 fundraiser will benefit Nahant Historical Society

NAHANT – The beneficiary of 01908?s second Art Gala On the Island will be a much older crowd than last year?s event, when attendees raised funds to get art back into the education of Nahant children.Try hundreds of years older.01908 founder Britte Roossien said the organization picked the Nahant Historical Society to receive proceeds from the gala because Nahant has such a “rich, colorful history,” of which much is preserved in art.In preparation for the event, Roossien said she was amazed as she was browsing through all the historic artifacts. “Every artifact has a story,” she said. “You can learn so much about the history of a small town.”Roossien said the funds raised will help the society with the process of cataloguing the thousands of items they have in their collection.Though the Historical Society will be the beneficiary this year, 01908 didn?t leave Nahant children out. Local artist Heather Goodwin volunteered at the Nahant summer recreation program at Flash Road playground to lead the children in creating a life-size sea serpent to represent the historic legend of the Nahant-based monster, which sits in a place of honor on the Town Hall front lawn. Roosien said the Historical Society has in their collection a newspaper clipping from July 19, 1870 from the “Boston Globe” reporting a sighting of the serpent.The children were also encouraged to submit art for the Community Art Gala theme, “What Nahant Means to Me,” which Roossien said was continued from last year.On Sept. 7, the event will start with an ice cream social from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with free admission for children and adults who submitted art to the Community Art Gala. Families can see artwork the children submitted for the “What Nahant Means to Me” theme.Later during the evening from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. is the gala, where attendees can view work from over 35 local artists from a variety of mediums, participate in a silent auction where each artist donated one item to be sold, and purchase pieces directly from the artists. Also on display will be “artifacts and treasures” from the Historical Society.The society?s president, Calantha Sears, will be presented with a national award at the event, the 2013 American Association for State and Local History, for her “tireless dedication in preserving our community?s history,” said Roossien. “This is huge, she?s done so much because that?s who she is. She?s the backbone of the Historical Society.”Tickets for the gala are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.01908.org.