Grants available to farmers who supply food pantry
The Lincoln Agricultural Commission is offering grants to Lincoln farmers to provide food for the Lincoln/Weston food pantry. This program allows the farmers to get money at the beginning of the season and deliver much-wanted fresh produce, eggs, etc., to the pantry. If you’re interested and produce enough of a given item to provide shares for about 150 people, please contact Louise Bergeron (louisebergeron@earthlink.net) or Karen Seo (kseo@alum.mit.edu) for an application or more information.
Parents’ nights out: “Conversations on Tap”
Leaders from the First Parish in Lincoln will pilot a series of “Conversations on Tap” gatherings over drinks and snacks at the Tack Room (145 Lincoln Rd.) focused on supporting and connecting parents through meaningful conversations. Open to the wider community — all spiritual backgrounds (and none) are welcome.
The discussion on Monday, May 1 from 7:30–9 p.m. with FPL co-minister Rev. Kit Novotny will be geared towards parents of toddlers and school-aged kids. The topic is “When Kids Ask Tough Questions,” sharing stories about the big questions that kids grapple with from a young age such as “Why do we die, and what happens when we die? What’s the future of our planet? Why is there injustice and racism? Where do babies come from? Is God real?” We’ll reflect on our role as parents in confronting big emotions and navigating our own uncertainties, values, and discomfort.
The event on Monday, May 22 from 7:30–9 p.m. with FPL co-minister Rev. Nate Klug will focus on “Launching Kids and Letting Go” for parents of older kids, teens, and young adults. We’ll dwell together on that tender (sometimes abrupt, sometimes extended) threshold of launching teens and adult children to college and/or next life chapters, and the various challenges and joys that go along with this monumental shift. All are welcome, including parents of current high school seniors, as well as parents of young adults continuing to navigate the push-pull of connection and independence.
Test-ride an e-bike
Come try out an e-bike and learn about a less expensive, greener, and more fun alternative for your transportation needs on Wednesday, May 3 from 6–7:30 p.m. at the Brooks gym parking lot (or inside the gym in event of rain). Jason Paige, co-owner of Wheelworks, will come with an array of e-bikes of different styles and sizes for you to test-ride. The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee will also feature a panel of e-bike users whose motivations include a greener way to get around, staying fit while aging, riding with a faster spouse, or climbing hills on the way to work that would otherwise make one sweaty. Helmets available as needed. Demo open to adults aged 18+.
Gardening workshops focus on biodiversity
Lincoln Common Ground is hosting two gardening workshops this spring: “Biodiversity in Bloom” with eco-gardener Diana Rice-Sheahan on Sunday, May 7 from 2–4 p.m. at 219 Concord Rd., and “Insect-Friendly Gardens” with eco-gardener Robin Wilkerson on Sunday, June 4 from 2–4 p.m. at 31 Old Winter St.
On May 7, learn how to promote biodiversity in your yard by using materials you have on hand. When you remove an invasive shrub, replace it with a native shrub that will thrive. Cardboard and mulch one small patch of invasives and encourage rowdy, less loved native plant “party crashers” into your designed native plant gardens to knit together a layered team of plants that keep invasives at bay. Click here for information and registration. On June 4, come to Wilkerson’s garden sanctuary where has been gardening for years to create a diverse habitat for birds, bees and butterflies to learn her methods for gardening to support the ecosystem. Click here for information and registration.
Author talk: Lincoln’s Elizabeth Graver on “Kantika”
Lincoln author Elizabeth Graver and Judy Bolton-Fassman will discuss Graver’s latest novel, Kantika, on Wednesday, May 17 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. Kantika is a dazzling Sephardic multigenerational saga that moves from Istanbul to Barcelona, Havana, and New York, exploring displacement, endurance, and family as home, inspired by the story of Graver’s grandmother, Rebecca née Cohen Baruch Levy. Copies of the book will be on sale at the event.
Graver’s fourth novel, The End of the Point, was long-listed for the 2013 National Book Award in Fiction and selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her other novels are Awake, The Honey Thief, and Unravelling.