Centers And Squares
Archive for the 'Area Events' Category
Vertical Gardening Lecture in Somerville on Wednesday
For those of us in the city with limited outdoor space finding room to garden can be a challenge. On Wednesday, horticulturist Trevor Smith will speak to the Somerville Garden Club about vertical gardening and how it can be used in small urban spaces.
Smith’s lecture will touch on vertical gardening systems, how to install and maintain vertical gardens, and what plants to choose for yours.
Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and open to the public.
The vertical gardening lecture and Garden Club meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 167 Holland Street, Somerville, MA on the 2nd floor. Parking is available and the Davis Square T stop is down the street.
The Filter Bubble – Eli Pariser – Not To Be Missed
Tonight at the Harvard Book Store, Eli Pariser will speak about his new book The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You. It’s a not to be missed event – this is a book everyone should read.
In The Filter Bubble Pariser writes about the impact of personalized search online on sites such as Google, Facebook. etc. Personalized search has bothered me since it was first introduced and I’m delighted that someone has written about the problems it creates. In a time when we’re losing newspapers, people are reading selected news items online (and only those pieces), TV news is degenerating into fluff, and information is being collected about us at every turn, Pariser is sounding the alarm about what this means for us, our future, and our system of government. Do we want news providers to only show us what’s popular or what they believe we “like”? If information is power what does it mean when large corporations (some almost unknown to us) know more and more about us?
The Filter Bubbleis one of the best books I’ve read in ages. Pariser is one of the few (only?) writers I’ve encountered who, while immersed in technology much of his life, can write about the internet without resorting to jargon and without being blinded by the benefits of technological progress. He’s one of the smartest thinkers I’ve come across.
If you’re using Google or Facebook or spending any time online you really want to get this book. Tonight, you’ll get the chance to hear from the author, Eli Pariser, when he reads from The Filter Bubble at the Harvard Book Store at 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge in Harvard Square. The reading begins at 7 pm and is free and open to the public.
Green Homes Bike Tour
I love Cambridge. We just wrapped up the week-long Cambridge Science Festival just in time for the start of Cambridge Climate Change Week this Friday.
There’s a variety of events planned for the week but as a house tour aficionado the one that caught my eye is the Green Homes Bike Tour planned for Sunday, May 15, 2011.
Participants will meet at Danahy Park on Sherman Street at 10 am and then bike to four houses in North Cambridge and Somerville that have utilized energy efficiency and eco-friendly practices.
There’s more info about the Green Homes Bike Tour and other events planned for Cambridge Climate Change Week on the Cambridge Climate Emergency Action Group website.
Check out the Massachusetts House Tour page for lots more house tours – no bike tours, just plenty of house tours.
Cambridge Open Studios
The first of three open studio weekends in Cambridge takes place this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, May 7th & 8th, artists’ studios will be open in East Cambridge. The East Cambridge Open Studios will include the Lechmere, Inman Square and Kendall Square neighborhoods.
Artists’ studios will be open from noon to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Check out the Community Arts website for more information and a brochure with map.
I’ve updated the Massachusetts Open Studios page as well as the Massachusetts House Tours page, and the Garden Tours in Massachusetts page. There’s a lot to do this Spring!
Garden Lecture in Somerville Tonight
You know what they say about April showers… soon local gardens will be in full bloom.
The garden tour circuit has yet to kick off but come June there will be garden tours aplenty.
Tonight, to whet your appetite, Somerville gardener An Sokolovska will speak about storing and controlling water in the garden. Sokolovksa’s garden, on last year’s Somerville Garden Club’s tour, makes use of cisterns, French drains, gutters and other methods to control water.
The lecture is part of the Somerville Garden Club’s monthly meeting. All club meetings are free and open to the public.
The meeting takes place at 167 Holland Street, Somerville, MA on the 2nd floor tonight, Wednesday, April 13, 2011 from 7 to 9 pm.
The spring real estate market has kept me too busy to update my garden tours page. Bookmark it though – I promise to get the info out there well in advance of this spring’s tours. The house tour page has started to fill in for this year – can’t wait for the first tours!
Architectural Styles in Medford
Looking for something to do on Saturday night?
The Medford Historical Society is presenting a lecture:
Home Architectural Styles in Medford: 17th Century to Present by Ryan Hayward of the Medford Historic Commission.
Medford has a marvelous collection of antique houses of many styles and periods so this promises to be a fascinating talk.
The lecture is scheduled for tomorrow night, Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 7 pm at the Royall House Slave Quarters at 15 George Street, Medford, MA.
Admission is free – donations welcomed.
The Railroad In Somerville
Historic Somerville is sponsoring a lecture on Wednesday, March 3, 2011:
Transportation Gateway to New England: 175 Years of the Railroad in Somerville
John Roderick, Somerville resident and local train buff, will speak about the railroad in the Northeast with a focus on trains in Somerville.
Two of Roderick’s model trains will be on view.
The Railroad in Somerville lecture will take place Wednesday, March 3, 2011 from 7 to 9 pm.
The lecture will be held at the Somerville Museum, 1 Westwood Road, Somerville MA 02143. The museum is at the corner of Central Street and Westwood.
Admission is $5 for members, students and seniors. $8 for nonmembers
Green Line Extension to Route 16
There’s a meeting this Wednesday to talk about the possibility of extending the Green Line to Route 16 / Mystic Valley Parkway.
This is the kickoff of a “community visioning process” to discuss the benefits and impacts of the potential Green Line extension to Route 16.
I’m a big proponent of bringing the Green Line to 16 – there’s a dense neighborhood that will be served by a station at Route 16 and it would be a huge loss to only bring the Green Line to Tufts. My fear from early on is that we’d end up with another T line built to serve a college, rather than a neighborhood, a la the Boston College line.
The Green Line extension will improve property values, make transportation so much easier for Hillside, East Arlington, Somerville and West Medford residents, and allow locals to consider going car free. It will improve quality of life for decades to come.
Just think… you’ll be able to hop on the T and head into Boston, take the T to the airport rather than a cab, invite friends and family over to visit even if they don’t drive, tell prospective tenants that “the house is two blocks from the T Station”, etc. $4 a gallon gas – heck, $6 or $8 a gallon for gas – no problem – commute on the T and rent a Zip Car when you want to drive.
The Community Visioning Kick-Off meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011 from 6 to 8 pm at the Brooks Elementary School, 388 High Street, Medford MA.
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