Lincoln’s annual Thanksgiving Night Contradance will take place on Thursday, Nov. 28 from 7–10 p.m. at the Smith School featuring Caller Chris Ricciotti, Larry Unger on guitar, and Carol Bittenson on fiddle. All ages and abilities are welcome. Tickets (sliding scale) are $6–10 for adults and students, $4–5 for children 10 and under. Sponsored by the First Parish in Lincoln. For more information, email kwinchell@comcast.net.
Lincoln’s annual Thanksgiving Night Contradance will take place on Thursday, Nov. 28 from 7–10 p.m. at the Smith School featuring Caller Chris Ricciotti, Larry Unger on guitar, and Carol Bittenson on fiddle. All ages and abilities are welcome. Tickets (sliding scale) are $6–10 for adults and students, $4–5 for children 10 and under. Sponsored by the First Parish in Lincoln. For more information, email kwinchell@comcast.net.
Instead of shopping, join Massachusetts artists at Drumlin Farm for the annual “Giving Thanks for Nature and Our Senses,” a family art experience on Friday, Nov. 29 from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Engage your senses on a nature walk outdoors and help create a natural animal sculpture, enjoy an indoor art gallery, and make your own nature-inspired crafts to take home. Other highlights include music with the Grey Whisker Pickers; wildlife sketching; installations and gallery artwork by local sculptors, painters, and photographers; and storytelling with Ron McAdow. Local produce will also be on sale. Cohosted by Mass Audubon and the Umbrella’s Arts and Environment program, Musketaquid, and made possible through a generous grant by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Free for Mass Audubon members and Lincoln residents; event takes place ran or shine.
Former students and musicians from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School will get together to jam and support their sister school, Memorial School in Cambodia, on Friday, Nov. 29 from 7–11 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Likely performers will include Chris and James Nifong, Eve Elkort, Nick Smith, Madelyn Paquette, Nate Gerry, Sam Pace, John and Molly Roach, Nora Telford, Kerry Kittelsen, and Lauren Weintraub. Tickets are$10. Food will be sold at the event. Send RSVPs and any questions to danielle_weisse@lsrhs.net.
The India Discovery Center will host a seminar on India’s British history on Saturday, Nov. 30 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Lecture topics of lectures include a personal story about the partition of India and the birth of Pakistan. Presenters will include Lincoln resident Bijoy Misra on science and technology. Register here (the $25 registration fee is waived for Lincoln residents by emailing misra.bijoy@gmail.com).
The 27th annual Lincoln-Sudbury Alumni Soccer Game will kick off Saturday, Nov. 30 at noon. Everyone has fun regardless of what shape they’re in – it’s a casual game for alumni from any era. Spread the word and RSVP by posting on this Facebook page and posting there. Questions? Contact Tim Mangini at tim_mangini@wgbh.org.
Join the Thoreau Animal Index Blitz at the Walden Woods Project (44 Baker Farm Rd., Lincoln) on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 1–8 p.m. to co-create an index of all of the animals mentioned in Thoreau’s journals. Like Ray Angelo’s Thoreau botanical index, this will become a valuable resource to Thoreau scholars for years to come. Each participant will be assigned a certain number of pages, depending on how much time they have, of Thoreau’s journal to read (accessed online). As participants read, they will be asked to note any mention of an animal. We will provide instructions and a list of frequently asked questions. You can come for as much or little time as you’re able. Experience the rare fire in the Walden Woods Project’s Great Hall walk-in fireplace. Hot chocolate, tea and goodies will be served.
The L-S Choral Winter Concert on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium will feature the L-S Chorus and Choir as well as Achoired Taste and the Acafellas, the L-S Chamber Singers, and the new L-S Treble Choir, as well as performances by the Curtis Middle School and Lincoln School choral groups.
The ninth annual Gift Local Artisan and Craft Show organized by the Old Town Hall Exchange will take place in Bemis Hall on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Gift Local is a holiday market hosting a variety of talented local artists, jewelers, ceramicists, woodworkers, and more.
The ninth annual Gift Local Artisan and Craft Show organized by the Old Town Hall Exchange will take place in Bemis Hall on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Gift Local is a holiday market hosting a variety of talented local artists, jewelers, ceramicists, woodworkers, and more.
Lincoln residents Evelyn Harris and Mary Crowe present “An Afternoon of Poetry and Music” on Saturday, Nov. 23 (note recent change of date and venue) at 3 p.m. in Bemis Hall, sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library and the Lincoln Council on Aging. Crowe will offer selected readings of poems by Agee, Joyce, Yeats, Dickinson and others, followed by musical settings of these poems by 20th-century computers Copland, Barber, and Hermann played by Harris. The pair will explore how the settings of each piece influence the poetry and vice versa.
Chuck Hall is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, Dec. 9 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7–10 p.m., and Chuck will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. Chuck originally studied classical guitar but later began performing his own compositions while living in a cabin on Temple Mountain in New Hampshire. He has released several CDs including his most recent, “Down at the Old Canal.”
Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com for a slot. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups.
Discover the elegance of three centuries of American history, architecture and the decorative arts with the COA on Thursday, Dec. 12. You will visit the summer homes of the gilded age all decked out for the holidays. The first stop will be at The Elms, followed by lunch at Johnny’s at the Atlantic Resort. After lunch you will then proceed to the crown jewel, The Breakers. Be at Donelan’s parking lot by 8 a.m. and return by 5:30 p.m. This trip requires the ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time. Cost, including lunch, is $59 and is nonrefundable. To make a reservation, please send a check payable to FLCOA/Trips to Ginny O’Brien, 4 Linway Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773 including your telephone number and email address. Your reservation is complete when your check has been received.& Questions? Contact Ginny at 781-259-1291. or vobrien39@yahoo.com.
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Instrumental Winter Concert takes place on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. with performances by the orchestra, concert and symphonic bands. For details, visit L-S Friends of Music at www.lsfom.org.
Join Stephen Collins for a free four-session interactive seminar on the poetry of Robert Frost at 2 p.m. on Saturdays, Jan. 4, 11, and 25 at the Lincoln Public Library, and on January 18 at Bemis Hall. Sponsored by the Council on Aging and the library. Stephen performs one-man shows and teaches courses on historical figures like Melville, Walt Whitman, James MacNeill Whistler, and William Shakespeare.
The COA loves to offer discussion groups for people who would like to discuss their experiences in a supportive group environment where they can share with others their concerns and challenges and get and give tips and strategies. We want to make sure that they are providing the groups you are most interested in. In the past, they have held groups about coping with losses, change, and difficult family issues. Which of these topics would you like to see offered again or what new topics would you like to talk about? Come to Bemis Hall at 10 a.m. on January 6 to brainstorm with the COA, or call Carolyn at 781-259-8811 with your ideas.
Come to Bemis Hall on Monday, Jan. 6 at 12:30 p.m. when Heidi Webb discusses “Rocking the Law in Finland.” Lincoln attorney Heidi Webb will talk about her recent hike through Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park including the site of the Icelandic people’s “law rock” dating from 930. The “law rock” was where Icelanders came together from far and wide each summer to hear anyone who wanted to speak and be heard, and was the locus for their system of governance until 1262 when Iceland came under rule of the Norwegian King. Heidi will share some of the history surrounding how and why it became central to the development of Icelandic law, and ask questions surrounding the importance of place as it relates to rules, regulations, negotiations and mediation, both then and there and now and here. Heidi will also share photos from her recent trip to Iceland as well as a 2004 trip when she visited with her sister and mother, former COA volunteer Gertrude Webb. The COA provides beverages and dessert. The lectures last about an hour, including a question and answer period. Participants are welcome to stay after the program to continue their discussion. All ages welcome.
Join artist Sheila Beenhouwer at a coffee with the artist on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 2:30 at Bemis Hall as she shares art from her traveling life in Russia and a bit of her own work. Sheila lived in Moscow and traveled to large and small art communities for two years. The exhibit will be up in the Bemis Hall Gallery through the end of February.
Winter can be a time when it’s easy to feel blue, but if your mood lasts a long time or interferes with your ability to enjoy life, it’s time to do something about it. Some people feel depressed at the holidays, reminded of loved ones or good times lost, or may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Come find out more about the difference between clinical depression and everyday sadness, SAD, and what to do if you think you may need help when Lincoln’s public health nurse, Tricia McGean, comes to Bemis Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 10 a.m.