September 7, 2023
The Alliance celebrates Nantucket Sound with in-person
ACONS LIVE! event
Thursday, September 21 at The Beach Club in Centerville
(Hyannis, MA) – After three years of virtual educational programming, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is hosting its first ACONS LIVE! event on Thursday, September 21 on Nantucket Sound at The Beach Club in Centerville from 1:00pm – 6:00pm. Sessions will be held throughout the day, with local experts discussing Nantucket Sound’s economic impact on the Cape & Islands, its environmental significance, and historic value. Panel discussions will be followed by a Networking and Cocktail Hour at 5pm. The keynote speaker for ACONS LIVE! is former State Senator Rob O’Leary.
This event is free and open to the public—reservations are required. Registration and event information is available on the Alliance website at www.saveoursound.org/aconslive.
Launched in September 2020, ACONS (A Celebration of Nantucket Sound) is an educational webinar series that celebrates Nantucket Sound’s exceptional environment, rich maritime and tribal history, and economic importance to the Cape and Islands. The webinars have provided free, accessible, and fun learning opportunities for individuals and families through Zoom. Each webinar features a renowned expert discussing one of the Sound’s unique values. To date, this successful series has welcomed over 3,500 registrants through 21 webinars. Past speakers have presented on a wide array of topics, including marine mammals, historic sites, the Blue Economy, history of shipwrecks, The Kennedy family legacy to the Sound, lighthouses, recreational fishing, boatbuilding, and more.
“We are excited to come together with the community and celebrate Nantucket Sound with our first in-person ACONS event,” states Alliance President and CEO Audra Parker. “Nantucket Sound is the heart and soul of the Cape and Islands. Our ACONS educational initiative has been a wonderful way to showcase Nantucket Sound as a national treasure worthy of permanent protection. The Alliance is grateful to our distinguished speakers who will be joining us—and to our event sponsors who have helped to make this event possible.”
Guest speakers participating in ACONS LIVE! include: Karen Moore Dourdeville (Mass Audubon, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary’s Sea Turtle Research Coordinator), Seth Engelbourg (Naturalist Educator at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation), Captain Greg Ketchen (Coast Guard Heritage Museum), Zak Mertz (Executive Director, Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center), Wendy Northcross (Executive Director, JFK Hyannis Museum), Bettina Washington (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Aquinnah), and Elizabeth York (Executive Director, Cape Cod Maritime Museum). Singer-songwriters Mark Alan Lovewell and Molly Conole will perform live music along with sea stories. Photographs taken by photographer Stuart Cooperrider, a juried member of the Cape Card Art Association, will be showcased.
ACONS LIVE! SPONSORS
The Alliance’s ACONS LIVE! event is generously supported by the following sponsors:
Gold Level Sponsors — Keller Company, Akin, and Hy-Line Cruises
Silver Level Sponsor — Cape Cod 5
Bronze Level Sponsors — Beacon Maritime Construction, The Black Dog, Crosby Yacht Yard, and Hyannis Marina
For more information about ACONS LIVE! or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, contact Communications and Education Coordinator Peter Eramo at peter@saveoursound.org.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE TO PROTECT NANTUCKET SOUND
The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is a 501(c)(3) non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the permanent preservation of Nantucket Sound, the historic body of water that lies between Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The goal of the Alliance is to establish Nantucket Sound as a protected area and designate it as a National Historic Landmark.
The Alliance, along with a diverse coalition of stakeholders including environmental groups, tribal entities, municipalities, historic preservation groups, chambers of commerce, and others have joined together to support federal action to protect Nantucket Sound in perpetuity.
For more information, please visit www.saveoursound.org.
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