Saturday, the 14th, will find me at the Haverhill River Ruckus celebration in Haverhill, MA, where I will be signing books and chatting with some of the 5,000 to 10,000 visitors expected to attend this all day exposition and celebration along the Merrimack River boardwalk, as well chatting with Sammy the Sturgeon. I haven’t a clue if it’s a guy or a girl in the fish suit, and honestly, either one is fine with me—I mean anyone representing a fish that has journeyed from the Atlantic Ocean up the Merrimack River every year for thousands of years to spawn has earned my appreciation.

The day kicks off with a classic car parade with more than a hundred classic and antique cars threading  through the city’s historic district and then settling in for the day amidst a host of street performers, artists, exhibitors, and actors. Then there’s the decorated boat parade, crafts and artists booths, food and drink, and a variety of children’s activities. The day concludes with a concert by the U.S. Air Force Liberty Band follow by the 60×120’ Peacock Water screen and the Laser Light show put on by Laser Net which does the laser lights at the Superbowl, Disneyland, and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

If you come, you can find me on the Artitude Art Walk on the first floor of the Old Antique Market on Washington along with a great group of artists from Merrimack Valley exhibiting and selling their artwork ranging from jewelry to pottery to paintings and portraits, and a wide variety of mediums including oil, pastels, water colors, charcoal, and digital photography. Me, I will have copies of my poems, poetry collections, a novel, Master Spies Die Laughing, my Tiger Woods book, Tiger Woods: Ten Ways to Play the Lie, and my latest chapbook, Haverhill, An Anthem, which introduces the new Haverhill Theme Song that I have recently composed.

And yes, I’ll probably sing a a verse or two, but for that, come early. I expect to be hoarse by noon and well into the latest wheat beer offering from our local brewery, The Tap, by evening. To check it out for yourself, go to: www.teamhaverhill.org/riverruckus.html

Where the mighty Merrimack River plies,
And the mighty, mighty eagle flies,
O’er the Gold and Silver Hills of Haverhill.
And when I die, I want to lie
Beneath God’s own New England skies,
Near the Gold and Silver Hills
     of Haverhill.