Centers And Squares
Archive for the 'Area Events' Category
Garden Tour Season
It's Garden Tour - and Lilacs - Season
The lilacs in my yard have been out for over a week. Like most everything else, they’re early this year with this topsy-turvy up-is-down weather we’ve been experiencing.
I know they’re early because Lilac Sunday is held every year at the Arnold Arboretum on Mothers Day. And Mum doesn’t get her day for two more weeks.
It seems that gardeners won’t have to worry that things haven’t bloomed by the time this year’s garden tours roll around. I finally had a moment to update the garden tours page here so you can check out the upcoming Massachusetts garden tours in 2012. The list seems a bit shorter – putting together house or garden tours is a huge undertaking for the groups that put them on. Some have discontinued their tours, others have opted for an every other year schedule.
A garden tour is an opportunity to get new ideas for your yard and garden, to see private outside spaces that you otherwise wouldn’t, or just a great way to enjoy a spring or summer day. Not to mention – your ticket purchase benefits local libraries, historical societies, museums, etc.
Diner Lecture at the Medford Library
Kelly's Diner - an imported classic diner in Ball Square Somerville
I’m a big fan of diners – I like classic roadside architecture and the menu offerings. Happily, Massachusetts still has a good selection of classic diners with several in Centers and Squares territory.
Tomorrow night, Monday, January 23, 2012, Larry Cultrera will give a presentation at the Medford Public Library on Classic Diners of Massachusetts. Cultrera is a diner historian and his new book, Classic Diners of Massachusetts, has just been published by the History Press.
The Classic Diners of Massachusetts lecture is scheduled for 7 pm on Jan. 23, 2012 at the Medford Public Library, 111 High Street, Medford MA. Free and open to the public.
Somerville Flag Raising on New Year’s Day
Prospect Hill Tower Somerville MA
Looking for something different to ring in the new year? Head on over to Prospect Hill in Somerville for the annual New Year’s Day flag raising.
The Prospect Hill flag raising on January 1, 2012 marks the 236th anniversary of General George Washington’s raising of the nation’s first official flag on Jan. 1, 1776 on Prospect Hill. A processional led by a Washington re-enactor on horseback will leave Somerville City Hall at 11:30 am. The flag will be raised at Prospect Hill Park at noon.
There will be songs, readings, and re-enactments by several groups. Light refreshments will be served. Books about Somerville’s history and miniature replicas of the Grand Union Flag will be available for purchase.
The circa 1905 postcard at right reads in part: “Strongest work in besieging line of Boston 1775-1776. On this Eminence Jan. 1, 1776, The Flag of the United Colonies first waved defiance to a foe.”
Arlington Lecture on Servants in New England
Arlington Lecture on Servants in New England
Seventy-five years ago or more it was common for households to have a full-time maid or other servants. Domestic manuals from the early 1900s or earlier are filled with advice for housewives on how to manage the household help. Often we visit houses with floor plans that suggest that a bedroom or two was intended for the help.
On Tuesday the Arlington Historical Society will present a lecture on domestic servants in New England in the 19th and 20th century. The Arlington lecture and slideshow will be presented by Jennifer Pustz, a historian at Historic New England.
Pustz is the author of Voices from the Back Stairs: Interpreting Servants’ Lives at Historic House Museums.
The meeting and lecture is open to the public and is free to members or $5 for non-members. You’ll have the opportunity to join the Arlington Historical Society at the meeting if you would like.
The Arlington lecture on servants in New England will be held at the Arlington Heights Nursery School, 10 Acton Street, Arlington, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 at 7:30 pm. Please use the rear entrance.
Eastern Coyote Lecture in Watertown
Eastern Coyote Lecture in Watertown
Is that a dog? No? It could be a coyote that you’ve spotted. The Eastern Coyote can even be found in Cambridge. I haven’t seen one (though I have had some rather odd animal encounters – a deer on Orchard Street, a stuck possum on Somerville Ave) but I know people who have over by Mount Auburn cemetery or Fresh Pond.
I do remember the eerie howls of coyotes you could hear at night from my parents’ porch when they lived in NH. We’re the ones incroaching on their turf.
On Thursday, November 17th, there will be an Eastern Coyote lecture in Watertown.
The Belmont Animal Control Officer, John Maguranis, will present a lecture, Living with the Eastern Coyote, at the Watertown Town Hall.
Coyote Lecture:
Where: Watertown Town Hall, 2nd floor, 149 Main Street, Watertown
When: Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Free and open to the public
I wrote this post several days ago and scheduled it for today. Coincidentally the Boston Globe published an editorial today calling for education so that people can coexist with the coyotes that have been spotted more frequently in suburban towns like Belmont and Newton. Watertown’s Eastern Coyote lecture is just the ticket.
Civil War Encampment in Cambridge on Saturday
Civil War Re-enactment in Cambridge
Tomorrow, on Saturday, November 5, 2011, the Cambridge Public Library will host a Civil War encampmenton the library lawn. Civil War re-enactors will turn the lawn into Camp Cameron – a recreation of the Civil War barracks at the Cambridge – Somerville line.
The living history event begins at 10 am on Saturday. Events include:
- 10:30: A presentation on Cambridge in the Civil War
- Noon: A Civil War-era ladies’ fashion show
- 12:30: Guided tour of the camp – learn about the life of a soldier
- 1:30: A vintage baseball game played by pre-1861 rules
There is much to do and see all day. There will be Civil War poetry readings, music played on period instruments, a chance to watch the soldiers muster and drill and even a chance to march with the soldiers. There will be programming for children of all ages.
A Living History of the Civil War will be held at the Main Library Lawn, 449 Broadway, Cambridge from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, November, 5, 2011. Free and open to the public.
Harvard Bookstore Lectures
Jim Lehrer in Cambridge
Last night we went to hear Jim Lehrer speak in Cambridge about his new book, Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain. The lecture was sponsored by the Harvard Book Store and held at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. Lehrer had all sorts of insights and anecdotes to share about presidents and presidential candidates. The book is a treat for anyone with an interest in politics or presidents and those who came close.
The Harvard Book Store lectures are one of the best things about living in or near Cambridge. The series bring some of the most interesting scholars, authors and political figures to Cambridge. Many events are free and ticketed events are just $5.
Other speakers this month include:
- Tom Brokaw on Nov 4, 2011
- Joan Didion on Nov 7, 2011
- Umberto Eco on Nov 12, 2011
That’s just a small sample of what’s on the calendar. Check out the schedule and ticket info by clicking on the events tab on the Harvard Book Store website.
You’ll get a chance to buy the speaker’s book at the event and to get it signed. Plus you get a $5 off coupon for the next time you shop at the bookstore. It’s a great way to support your local independent bookstore.
Here’s my brother Ted at the book signing table when Ariana Huffington visited Cambridge last year.
Ariana Huffington - and my brother - in Cambridge
Home Movie Day In Cambridge
Saturday, October 15, 2011 is Home Movie Day. In Cambridge home movies will be screened at the Harvard Film Archive from noon to 3 pm.
I come from a family that only infrequently took photos, never mind movies, and have always been envious of people who have film footage from decades ago when everyone was young[er]. What a treat to have moving images of people no longer with us, or of siblings – and ourselves – when we were small. Or just to get a chance to see us all in action wearing clothes and hair styles decades out of date. I’ve subscribed to a Youtube channel where somebody’s loaded a bunch of clips of their family in the 1960s – I can watch and watch.
Home Movie Day is a celebration of amateur filmmaking and events are held at many theaters around the world.
Celebrate Home Movie Day at the Harvard Film Archive at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 in Harvard Square from noon to 3 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011.
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