Attorney general candidate forum
Meet Attorney General candidates Maura Healey and Warren Tolman will appear at a forum on Saturday, May 10 in Bemis Hall sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee and the 3rd Middlesex Area Democrats. Note: The portion of the original forum featuring candidates for state treasurer has been rescheduled for June 7). More info…
Plant sale and free gardening workshops
The Food Project hosts its second annual plant sale and free gardening workshops on Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Lincoln farm at the intersection of Concord Road and Baker Bridge Road. In addition to selling dozens of varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers grown using high-quality organic potting soil at the plant sale, assistant grower Allison Houghton will teach free 30-minute workshops twice each day at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on “Five Tips for Home Gardening Success.” Topics will include maximizing your yield in a small space, pruning tomatoes, growing herbs and other useful tips to make your garden a success. More info…
In conjunction with the plant sale, the Lincoln Garden Club will also host its biennial Perennial Plant Sale on Saturday, May 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Codman barn. There will be a children’s project just in time for Mother’s Day, container gardens and a wide assortment of perennials from club members’ gardens.
Saturday is the last day to order low-cost rain barrels
The Lincoln Water Department has again teamed up with Upcycle Products Inc. to offer low-cost barrels. Order them online by Saturday, May 10 from the Upcycle.com website (click on the Lincoln form in the right-hand column). The barrels will be delivered for pick up at Stonegate Gardens on South Great Road on Saturday, May 17 from 4-6 p.m. More info…
Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic with Tom Hanlon and Leslie Bryant
Hear Hanlon and Bryant on Monday, May 12 at Bemis Hall from 7-10 p.m. More info…
Land Conservation Trust seeks photos, hosts events
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) is accepting entries of photos for its annual calendar photo contest until Friday, May 15. They’re looking for photos that capture the rural and natural landscape, nature-based photos of plants and wildlife, and activities in the town’s open spaces (farming, canoeing, skating, skiing, sledding, fishing, walking/hiking, riding horses, etc.). For examples of last year’s photos and details on how to submit entries, see the LLCT website.
Coming up:
- Spring plant walk with local botany enthusiast Ellen Meadors on Thursday, May 15 at 10 a.m. Please park and meet at the horse riding ring off Weston Road near the intersection with Silver Hill Road.
- Spring bird walk on Sunday, May 18 at 7:30 a.m. with local experienced birder Gwyn Loud around the Harrington and Twin Pond area to look for spring migrants and local avian residents. Bring your binoculars and dress for the weather. Meet at the parking area off of Rte. 117 on the Lincoln/Weston town line for the Harrington woods.
- LLCT annual meeting on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. at The Commons. Concord naturalist Dick Walton will share some highlights of his natural history adventures in a talk titled “Rare Birds, Uncommon Butterflies and Unheard of Spiders.”
- Rick Roth, snake expert and director of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team, will present “The Snakes of New England and Beyond” on Saturday, June 14 in Hartwell Pod B at 3 p.m. The show and tell will allow the audience to see these creatures up close… or at a comfortable distance. Co-sponsored by the Lincoln Recreation Department. Suggested donation of $5 or $15 for a family of 3 or more.
Psychologist talk on “The Pressured Child”
The Lincoln PTO’s Parent Education Committee presents distinguished child and family psychologist Michael Thompson, Ph.D., who will give a talk on “The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Find Success in School and Life” on Tuesday, May 13 from 7-9 p.m. in Brooks Auditorium. All are invited and admission is free.
At a time when the pressure to excel in school has never been more intense, Thompson reminds parents of what school is really like for kids, from their point of view. Thompson, co-author of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys and Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children, will provide a clear description of what children need and the types of psychological journeys they experience during their school years, each with its own set of pressures. He points adults toward a better understanding of how to support children in all areas of their development.
Lincoln authors discuss “Book Publishing on Your Own”
The Lincoln Public Library will host a panel discussion on “Book Publishing on Your Own” on Wednesday, May 14 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the library’s Tarbell Room. Panelists will be Lincoln residents Susan Coppack, Anita Harris and Rick Wiggin of “The Write Stuff,” the library’s writer’s group. All three have published books in the past year and will describe their experiences in publishing and marketing their books, which will be available for purchase. Light refreshments will be served.
Coppock is the author of Fly Away Home: A Coming of Age Memoir, which describes her unusual childhood and adolescence as the daughter of disengaged parents, continuing through early adulthood until her mother’s death. Susan used a turnkey service from Book Baby to create and distribute her book in electronic form. At 25,000 words, the book is too long for a magazine but too short to interest traditional publishers, an example of how technology has opened up a new market for works of intermediate length called e-singles in industry parlance.
Harris is the author of Broken Patterns: Professional Women and the Quest for a New Feminine Identity (first published by Wayne University Press), a book about the changing role of women in society over time. The original book was out of print, so Anita purchased back the rights, updated the book and published the new edition in both e-book and paperback formats through Cambridge Common Press, her own publishing imprint.
Wiggin is the author of Embattled Farmers: Campaigns and Profiles of Revolutionary Soldiers from Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1775-1783, a history of the revolutionary war focusing on the military service of Lincoln residents during the conflict, including profiles of the 256 documented combatants. The Lincoln Historical Society published Rick’s book in paperback; it is not available in e-book format.
Roberley Bell, The Shape of the Afternoon, 2014. Installation at deCordova. Photograph by Clements Photography and Design, Boston.
Five exhibitions opening at deCordova
The following five new exhibitions open on May 16 and will be on view at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum until October (click links for details on each):
- Ian Hamilton Finlay: Arcadian Revolutionary and Avant-Gardener
- Lesley Dill
- PLATFORM 13: Roberley Bell, The Shape of the Afternoon
- PLATFORM 14: Alix Pearlstein, The Park
- Language as Inspiration: Works from deCordova’s Collection
Spot some feathered friends in annual Bird-a-thon
Compete to spot birds and help Mass Audubon on a bird walk on Saturday, May 17 from 8-10 a.m. as part of the annual Mass Audubon Bird-a-thon, a 24-hour bird identification contest that asks teams to identify the most species in 24 hours. The minimum donation is $50 per family of four, and the program fee is tax-deductible! More info on this event...
The Bird-a-thon, which runs from 6 p.m. on May 16 until 5:59 p.m. on May 17, is Mass Audubon’s largest annual fundraising event, raising more than $2 million since the competition began in 1983. Proceeds support the organization’s wildlife sanctuaries and programs. Last year, almost 800 birders competed on 30 teams and identified 270 species by sight or ear. There are also other ways to participate, such as being boosters who support teams or individuals by fundraising. More Bird-a-thon info…