Wanda Paik will present a recital of some her favorite classic piano pieces, anchoring it with a masterpiece: J.S. Bach’s “Toccata, Fantasia and Fugue in D major.” Also on the playbill are works by Frederic Chopin (“Impromptu in A-flat major,” “Nocturne in C-sharp minor,” and “Etude in A-flat major,” which was thought to make the piano sound like an Aeolian harp); Brahms’s iconic “Intermezzo in E-flat minor,” which weaves an ancient Gregorian chant throughout the piece; and Debussy’s luminously beautiful “Clair de Lune” from the “Suite Bergamasque,” followed by his sweeping, jazzy Prelude from the “Suite Pour le Piano.”
To register to perform, email kids4covid.19@gmail.com with names, ages, and talents by Friday, Jan. 29. Donations are always encouraged but none are required to perform or to attend the show — click here to donate.
Videos are due by February 5. If you have any questions or would like to see past performances to get a sense of the format — or if your company has a matching program and you’re interested in getting involved — send an email to the same address. Check back via email for the Zoom link.
Click here for more information.
The LLCT is sponsoring a Zoom fireside chat and photo-sharing session with Lincoln resident and photographer Barbara Peskin about spring birds on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Spring is a time of renewal, return and migration, and Peskin will highlight spring visitors to our yards, woods and fields, including rose-breasted grosbeaks and a scarlet tanager, a pair of cardinals, black-capped chickadees, pileated woodpeckers, and more. She’ll also play some of the calls and songs of these backyard friends. Along with the spring songbirds will be a few local and special photos. After her remarks, there will be time for questions and conversation. The program is free and open to all, but registration is required.
The Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a free online chess tournament as part of the Winter Carnival weekend on Saturday, Feb. 27. Registration begins at 8 a.m.; matches run from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. All levels are welcome. You’ll need to create an account at Chess.com to participate. Once you have a username, you will need to join the Lincoln Mass Chess Club. There will be a beginners section (999 and under rapid rating) and a section for those with more experience (rapid rating at 1000 or over). There will be four rounds. Each player will have 15 minutes per match plus 10 seconds per move (rapid 15/10). It will be helpful if you play a few rapid 15/10 matches prior to the tournament so that your rating is fairly accurate. There will be trophies for first and second place for both sections.
On Saturday, Feb. 27 from 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m, the LLCT/RLF and William Jackson Associates will host an ice sculpture demonstration featuring Donald Chapelle, a local artist with 40 years of ice carving experience and founder of Brilliant Ice Sculpture. In addition to showcasing a number of pre-made ice sculptures, which he’ll have on-site, Chappelle will use chainsaws, ice picks, and various carving elements to bring a moose to life out of a block of ice. The demonstration, which takes place on the green at the Mall at Lincoln Station, is a great fun-for-the-whole-family experience (physical distancing protocols will be in place). Twisted Tree Cafe will set up a pop-up shop with hot chocolate and cookies starting at 10:30. Hint: the moose will be the last sculpture on the scavenger hunt (see above).
Farrington Nature Linc is hosting a virtual three-session nature sketching series starting on Tuesday, March 2. Each week, we’ll meet via Zoom with artist and teacher Alex Boersma, a freelance scientific illustrator and designer from Toronto, to learn how to draw natural objects we’ve collected throughout the week. We’ll improve our observational drawing skills while exploring new media: first graphite, then pen and ink, and finally watercolor. No experience necessary.
Classes will meet Tuesday evenings from 6–8 p.m. (the final workshop will go until 9 p.m.). You may attend a single workshop or all three; however, the skills taught in each workshop will build on one another, so organizers recommend signing up for all three. Register online via Eventbrite. The supply list will be emailed once you’re registered for the class (please be sure you have acquired the necessary materials ahead of the workshop).
“On Belonging in Outdoors Spaces” is a free virtual speaker series running until June featuring prominent speakers whose are advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the benefits of time in nature. The series is organized by the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Farrington Nature Linc, The Food Project, Mass Audubon, and The Walden Woods Project.
First up in the series is “Meaningful Nature Engagement in Stressed Populations” with Akiima Price on Wednesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. Her innovative programming strategies feature nature as a powerful medium to connect stressed youth, adults, and families in meaningful and positive experiences. She is a former National Park Service Interpretation Ranger and has worked for national work with environmental and social service organizations. Other speakers in the series will be Evelyn Rydz, Dr. Monica White, and Dr. J. Drew Lanham.
To register for any or all of the presentations, visit www.onbelongingoutdoors.org. Additional support is provided by the Ogden Codman Trust, the Lincoln Garden Club, and the Bemis Free Lecture Series.
Would you like to read or listen to library books on a Kindle or iPhone? Elizabeth Creighton and Kate Tranquada can show you how to borrow e-books and audiobooks and are available for troubleshooting as well. Contact Kate at ktranquada@minlib.net to get the Zoom link.
The Council on Aging invites seniors to a drive-up ice cream sundae cup event on Tuesday, March 16 in the parking lot of the First Parish Church. Please help stagger arrivals by coming at the time that corresponds to your last name (A–G, arrive from 12-12:45 p.m.; H–R, arrive from 12:45-1:30 p.m.; S–Z, arrive from 1:30-2 p.m.). Ice cream sundae cups generously sponsored by the Friends of the COA.
The First Parish in Lincoln is running a Community Woodland Egg Hunt runs from 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 27 until 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 4. Participants may choose to begin at the Parish House playground or use the QR link to this FPL web page, which has a map giving the general locations of eggs, though you’ll still have some looking to do.
Several camera-ready feline “yogis” will participate in “MeowMaste: Do Yoga with Cats!” on Sunday, March 28 at 7 p.m. Phinney’s — a nonprofit that provides financial assistance and caregiving support to low-income people so they can keep their pets — “is committed to working with people who experience loneliness and isolation, which the current pandemic has exacerbated for some clients, and the class is a way for us to honor that commitment by focusing on an experience designed to give people of all ages and experience levels a way to boost their own mood by interacting virtually with a cast of amazing cats and getting expert instruction on how to do some of the most popular yoga poses,” said Daniela Caride, president of Phinney’s. Register on the Meowmaste web page with a $10 donation.
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust will host a Lincoln Pollinator Action Plan workshop on Thursday, April 1 from 7–8 p.m. On fronts lawns, in back gardens, at woodland edges, in open fields, and along wet meadows, functionally diverse native pollinator habitats serve as building blocks for linking intact natural areas across a fragmented landscape. But what to plant? When to mow? Where to focus? Evan Abramson of Landscape Interactions will break down the science behind native plantings and explore the crucial role of native pollinators with regards to ecosystem health, climate resiliency, and food security. He’ll also explore the recently released Lincoln Pollinator Action Plan, created in collaboration with LLCT — a town-wide blueprint on supporting at-risk bees and butterflies in Lincoln and beyond. There will be time for questions from the audience. Click here to register and get the Zoom link.
Join the LLCT and Matt Burne, senior ecologist with BSC Group, Inc., and vice president of the Vernal Pool Association, for “Vernal Pool Virtual Exploration” on Thursday, April 8 from 7–8 p.m. In lieu of an in-person walk this year, Matt will be sharing his photos and stories via Zoom and will answer audience questions after his talk. Click here to register and get the Zoom link.
Come join the community PUTT (Pick Up The Trash) event at the Lincoln School campus on Saturday, April 10 from 10 a.m. – noon. We will provide garbage bags so volunteers can spread out around the campus and pick up litter (socially distanced). Please bring your masks, gloves, sunscreen and water. Reusable items are encouraged! Check in at the Smith parking lot (the red playground) starting at 10 a.m. If the weather is too cold and/or wet, our rain date is the following day (Sunday, April 11). RSVPs are preferred but not required — email puttlincoln@gmail.com or call 978-430-9934. If the weather is iffy, feel free to call or text on Saturday morning to check on the status. Community service credit is available for L-S students. Many thanks to Donelan’s Supermarkets and the Lincoln School PTO for sponsoring the event.
Join Farrington Nature Linc and the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust on Thursday, April 22 from 2–3 p.m. via Zoom for “Owls Up Close,” a virtual version of “Eyes on Owls.” Naturalists Marcia and Mark Wilson will introduce everyone to six live owls up close and personal, followed by some owl call practice with a hooting lesson. They’ll highlight the owls’ unique adaptations, habitats, and behaviors in the wild, while sharing tips on how you can look for owls yourself. All are welcome at this family friendly program. Register here to receive the Zoom link. This is a free program, but donations are encouraged and help us bring this program to the community. Viewers may purchase copies of Mark’s book, Owling (signed and personalized by the author) by emailing eyesonowls@earthlink.net.
Artist Evelyn Rydz will speak on “Close Attention: Exploring a Creative Practice Inside and Outside the Studio” on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. Exploring the vulnerability and the resiliency of natural and cultural ecosystems, Rydz invites viewers and participants of her projects to imagine a different future — one shaped by our connections and care for local and global communities. Her talk is part of “On Belonging in Outdoors Spaces,” a free virtual speaker series featuring prominent speakers whose are advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the benefits of time in nature. Register here and get more information about the presentations and speakers.
In honor of Earth Day, the First Parish will host a talk and Q&A with Concord native John Bunker, who has devoted much of his life to seeking out, identifying, and saving as many old apple varieties in Maine as possible. “Changed Forever by an Apple Tree” takes place on Sunday, April 25 at 10 a.m. Click here to join the Zoom meeting (passcode: 749004). Bunker has been farming and homesteading in Maine at the Maine Heritage Orchard for almost half a century and is author of Apples and the Art of Detection: Tracking Down, Identifying, and Preserving Rare Apples.
Outdoor exercise for senior is back. Join Derry Tanner, retired nurse and certified personal trainer, for Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL), a 45-minute fitness class for adults 65+. Strength, balance, and flexibility exercises will make you stronger, feel better and improve your balance minimizing the risk of falls. The eight-week series runs from Friday, May 7 through June 25 from 12–12:45 p.m. in the Pierce House tent. To register, call Amy at the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 or email gagnea@lincolntown.org.
Monica White, author of Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement, will speak on Wednesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Her talk is part of “On Belonging in Outdoors Spaces,” a free virtual speaker series featuring prominent speakers whose are advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the benefits of time in nature. Register here.