Title
Archive for the 'Area Events' Category
Medford Library Book Sale – Saturday December 5th
Medford Library Book Sale
Medford Library Book Sale While you may very well be at one of the many holiday house tours tomorrow, if you’re in town and want to do some of your holiday shopping or just pick up some great books at great prices – check out the Medford Friends of the Library’s Book Sale.
While this sale isn’t as big as the sale later in the year, the Holiday Winter Book Sale will feature gift-quality books, holiday themed books and other gift items.
Local historian and author Dee Morris will be at the sale signing copies of her newly published book Medford: A Brief History
What could be better? Save some money, pick up some presents or good reads for yourself, and support your local library at the same time.
Where: Medford Public Library, 111 High Street, Medford, MA
When: Saturday, December 5, 2009 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you like to shop library book sales BookSaleFinder is a great site to keep tabs on upcoming sales.
Somerville Christmas Lights Tour
Don't Miss the Somerville Christmas Lights Tour
Tickets went on sale yesterday for the Somerville Arts Council’s annual Somerville Christmas Lights Tour. If you’ve never been on the Illuminations tour you’re in for a real treat. This year the tour takes place on Saturday, December 19, 2009.
Some of the houses in Somerville do it up for Christmas – completely over the top – and the Illuminations Holiday Tour takes you around by trolley car to see the best of the best.
The tour begins and ends at City Hall in Somerville at 93 Highland Avenue. Coffee, hot chocolate and cookies will be served at City Hall.
How to Buy Tickets for the Somerville Christmas Lights Tour
Edited to add on Dec. 18th – the tour is sold out but once that happens the map is put on sale and you can have a do-it-yourself tour of the Somerville lights.
- Blue Cloud Gallery, 713 Broadway in Ball Square, Somerville
- On the evening of the tour at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. Sat., Dec. 19th, 4-9pm.
- And beginning on Monday, Dec. 21, at Magpie, 416 Highland Ave., in Davis Square
Ticket prices:
- $10 adults
- $5 children and seniors (12 and under / 60 and over)
The Blue Cloud Gallery, 713 Broadway, in Ball Square is the only place to purchase tickets.
Illuminations Holiday Tour of Somerville Lights
The tour takes about 45 minutes. Your tickets will be for a particular time slot and trolley. Three trolleys go out for every tour time.
Tour times are:
- 4:30 p.m.
- 5:00p.m.
- 5:45 p.m.
- 6:15 p.m.
- 7:00 p.m.
- 7:30 p.m.
- 8:15 p.m.
- 8:45 p.m.
- 9:15 p.m.
In case the weather is bad on the 19th the phone number to call is 617-635-6600 x2985 to find out about weather cancellation.
The Illuminations Tour of Somerville Christmas Lights is scheduled for Saturday evening, December 19, 2009 and leaves from Somerville City Hall at 93 Highland Ave.
Cambridge Public Library Opening
Cambridge Public Library Opening I couldn’t help but wonder when I drove down Broadway the other night – Is the Cambridge Public Library finally open? It was brightly lit and looked beautiful. If I knew how to take a picture in the dark (turns out I don’t) I’d have it here. Instead a 1915 postcard view of the library is below.
It’s been a long time coming. The main branch of the library closed in March 2005. It reopened in temporary quarters in the Longfellow School in June 2005 where it remained through January 2009. The branch libraries have done a tremendous job over these many, many months but a city the size of Cambridge needs its main library.
Cambridge Public Library in 1915
The Cambridge Public Library opened in 1889. The Richardsonian Romanesque building was designed by architect Henry Van Brunt and built on land donated to the city by Frederick H. Rindge. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original building has been restored and a dramatic new addition constructed.
Cambridge Public Library Opening
There will be an Open House and Ribbon Cutting at the new Main Library at 449 Broadway on Thursday, October 29, 2009 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The official ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m begins and is sold out. The library received requests from more than 500 potential attendees but the auditorium seats only 200. People are encouraged to attend the open house and the library may have loudspeakers outside the auditorium.
The library opens for business on Sunday, November 8th. Hours that day will be 2 to 5:00 p.m. Thereafter, the library will be open its regular hours:
- Monday – Thursday 9 – 9 – Children’s Room closes at 7:00 pm
- Friday & Saturday 9 – 5
- Sunday 1 – 5 (November through April)
It will be all hands on deck at the newly reopened Main Branch – all the branch libraries will be closed for the week of November 9 to 14.
The Cambridge Public Library is at 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Concord Festival of Authors – Two Weeks for Book Lovers
I was showing property out in the ‘burbs this weekend and grabbed a copy of the Concord Journal to accompany my quick lunch at New London Style Pizza (if I ever get to have a last meal it will be their Italian grinder – for 30 years it’s been my favorite). The Journal had a supplement about the Concord Festival of Authors and I’m amazed by how much will be going on.
The Concord Festival of Authors runs from October 21 to November 8, 2009. There are events in Concord, Lincoln and Lowell and most are free (though donations are welcomed). All sorts of community groups, local businesses and nonprofits are taking part in the festival.
Here’s just a sample of what’s on the schedule:
Howard Dean in Cambridge
Howard Dean is the opening speaker on Wednesday, October 21st at 2:30 p.m. at the Emerson Umbrella. Dean is on the lecture circuit for his new book, Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform. We heard him speak in Cambridge a few weeks ago and it was superb.
Verrill Farm presents Chef Fest: A Food Tasting and Book Signing on Saturday, October 24th from noon to 2 p.m. It’s a great chance to visit the Verrill’s beautiful new stand. Participants include:
- Steve Johnson – Executive Chef and owner of Rendezvous in Central Square
- Peter Davis – Executive Chef at Henrietta’s Table in Cambridge and author of Fresh and Honest
- Catherine Walters – author of Raising the Salad Bar
- Lisa Zwirn – author of Christmas Cookies
- Clara Silverstein – author of The Boston Chef’s Table
Mystery Night takes place on Friday, October 30th at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord Libary. Hallie Ephron, author of the “On Crime” book review column in the Globe is the Mistress of Ceremonies and authors include:
- Katherine Hall Page – The Body In the Sleigh
- Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith – Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery
- Thomas H. Cook – The Fate of Katherine Carr
Orchard House Concord
Harriet Reisen, author of Lousia May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women, will be at the Concord Bookshop on Sunday, November 1st at 3:00 p.m.
John Wargo, author of Green Intelligence: Creating Environments that Protect Human Health will be at the Wannalancit Mills, UMass Lowell on Friday, November 6th at 7:00 p.m. in an appearance sponsored by the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust and the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass Lowell.
This is just a fraction of what’s planned for the Concord Festival of Authors. There are more than 20 events scheduled. More information and the full schedule can be found at the festival’s website.
The Thoreau Farm Trust included this quote in the Festival supplement – it’s a sentiment that rings true for book lovers -
“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheiritance of generations and nations”
- Henry David Thoreau
Danehy Park Family Day
Danehy Park in North Cambridge
Saturday, September 26, 2009 is the the 14th Annual Danehy Park Family Day. It promises to be a nice, if a bit nippy, day. Better bring a sweater!
Fun for the whole family including:
- Roving performers
- Arts and crafts
- Music
- Kite flying
- Amusement rides
- Food
- Children’s stage
- Free gifts
Danehy Park Family Day takes place on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.
From Harvard Square take the #74 bus. From Central Square take the #83 bus. Shuttle buses will run from the Alewife T station.
Danehy Park is located on Sherman Street in North Cambridge.
New Cambridge Youth Center on Huron Ave
New Youth Center on Huron Avenue
New Cambridge Youth Center When my coworker and I drove by 680 Huron Ave – the VFW post across from Fresh Pond – we marveled at the dramatic renovation. Sure seemed like an expensive redo for the VFW.
Turns out it’s the new Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell Youth and Community Center. It was completed this June and programs began at the youth center in July. Features of the new facility include:
- Full size gym with an NCAA sized basketball court
- Fitness room
- Teaching kitchen
- 20 station computer learning and homework center
- Performance room with stage
- Arts and crafts room
- Community meeting room
- Open lounge areas
The center is named for Sheila Doyle Russell, former Cambridge mayor and advocate for youth.
Sure doesn’t resemble the youth center of my teens! That building, now condos actually, was old, dark and unrenovated. Its biggest claim to fame were the foosball tables. And the lack of lights.
There’s a Dedication Ceremony for the new West Cambridge youth center scheduled for Friday, September 25, 2009 from 6 to 8 pm. At the ceremony you’ll get a chance to view the permanent art installation by Michael Oatman, The Cantabridgians. Oatman created video portraits of 23 West Cambridge residents that can be viewed on three large monitors on the second floor. I remember seeing a flyer in Armando’s seeking subjects for the videos so it will be fun to see how it turned out.
The new West Cambridge Youth Center is located at 680 Huron Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138.
If This House Could Talk – Cambridgeport History Day
We spotted this sign in Cambridgeport at 202 Hamilton Street the other day. It’s an early entrant in the If This House Could Talk event being held in in the neighborhood on Saturday, October 3, 2009 as part of Cambridgeport History Day.
Early entrant in the If This House Could Talk project for Cambridgeport History Day
The Cambridgeport History Project is encouraging residents to post signs in front of their houses that tell details of the house’s history – from years ago or from modern times. On October 3rd neighbors are invited to walk around the neighborhood and learn more about the history of Cambridgeport- and about their neighbors. These early signs are a teaser of sorts for the October event.
Since I’m always interested in Cambridge’s rich literary history I was psyched to see that this sign was about a Cambridge author, Jill Rena Bloom.
Bloom wrote several works of non-fiction including Help Me to Help My Child, HMOs: The Revolution in Health Care, and Uncommon Boston which she wrote with co-author Susan Berk.
Bloom also wrote romances under the penname Jillian Blake. Her Silhouette and Harlequin romances included:
- Diana’s Folly
- East Side, West Side
- Water Dancer
- Sullivan vs. Sullivan
- A Vision to Share
For more information about Cambridgeport History Day you can contact Cathie Zusy at 617-868-0489 or cathzusy@aol.com
And if you’d like to live in the neighborhood -
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR CAMBRIDGEPORT HOMES
Oliver Wendell Holmes Day in Cambridge
Bigelow Chapel - Mount Auburn Cemetery - Cambridge MA
This Saturday is going to be a busy day – the Camera Obscura in Somerville in the afternoon and in the morning – it’s the 200th birthday celebration for Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Physician, poet, professor, and writer, Holmes was part of the literary scene in Cambridge and Boston and his friends included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Russel Lowell. On a side note – if you haven’t read Matthew Pearl’s mystery novel, The Dante Club, in which Holmes and his poet friends are major characters, you’re in for a treat.
The City of Boston and the City of Cambridge have declared Saturday, August 29th Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Day.
Holmes was born in Cambridge and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. On Saturday several events are planned at Mount Auburn. There will be a performance with Dr. Holmes portrayed by actor Wendell Refior and a lecture about Holmes by Dr. Charles S. Bryan. A wreath will be laid at Holmes’ grave.
The ceremony takes place at the Bigelow Chapel in Mount Auburn Cemetery on Saturday, August 29, 2009 from 10 am to noon.
Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Copyright © 2008 Centers And Squares Log in Design by Real Estate Tomato Powered by Tomato Blogs
