Spend a crisp fall morning with your family in the Sculpture Park and complete a series of gently ghoulish activities designed for preschoolers and toddlers and their caregivers. Explore in the morning mist, create a creepy crawly park creature, and work with educators to explore spiders through a collaborative rope web installation and sculptures inspired by the eight-legged arachnids. Costumes encouraged and all ages welcome. Preregistration is required — click here for details.
Practice your pumpkin poses and skeleton stretches. This kid-friendly yoga class weaves a rich balance between the imaginative world of the child with the distinct aspects of yoga practice that support mindfulness, self-regulation, and joy. The instructor comes from the teaching team at On The Mat Yoga in Concord. For ages 3-12 with a caregiver; meet on the third floor of the museum and bring a water bottle and mat. Click here for details and registration.
“I Remember Abuelito” — A Day of the Dead Story
Enjoy bilingual storytelling with this Day of the Dead story. This Mexican holiday is a celebration where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink, and celebration. After the story, we will reinforce Spanish vocabulary from the story as we sing, play, and do a craft. This program is for those who speak Spanish and those who want to learn. No registration or previous knowledge required. Recommended for children ages 5+.
Join us for a smashing good time at the third annual Great Pumpkin Smash at Codman Community Farms on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. This family-friendly event is all about having fun while also making a positive impact on our planet. Bring your jack-o’-lanterns and decorative gourds to smash and feed to the Codman Farm pigs. Enjoy a Codman Farm breakfast sandwich or scoop of ice cream from Reasons to Be Cheerful and live music with Risa Lavelle and the Honeysteelers. Get tips on how to get started with composting in your home.
Prepare your pumpkins for composting by removing any stickers, candles, and other decorations, and please leave your painted pumpkins at home. Suggested donation of $1 per pumpkin. Want to make this event even greener? Arrive with your pumpkins by bike to receive prizes.
Go into the woods with Farrington Nature Linc Educator and Program Manager Meg Ito to look for “Signs of Animals” on Saturday, Nov. 11 from 2–3:30 p.m. Expect to see some real animal bones, skins, and other signs as part of this workshop (including an introduction to local wildlife and a 45-minute walk around the site) featuring animal track cards and a small piece of snake skin home. Click here to purchase tickets ($25–$45).
Join us for “Recovering Lost Voices” on Sunday, Nov. 12 from 4–5 p.m. at the Codman Estate’s Carriage House with Jen Turner of the Robbins House as we explore an important and often overlooked part of our history here in Lincoln — the lives of people who worked this land, many of whom did so without choice. Click here to RSVP (appreciated but not required).
First Parish in Lincoln is hosting a movie night on Wednesday, Nov. 15 — get cozy and watch “Zootopia” with pizza at 5 p.m. and the movie starting at 5:30 p.m. with popcorn. Refreshments and cheese board for adults. We’ll have gluten-free options as well. We will also be collecting diapers for the Metro-Boston Diaper Drive — any and all unused diapers welcome, loose or in packages. Please RSVP so we have an accurate count for food (note: this is not a drop-off event). To make a suggested donation of $10/family to help cover food costs, click here, select Youth Programs and type “Movie Night 11/15” in the notes field.
State Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-Sudbury), whose district includes part of Lincoln, will hold virtual office hours for constituents on Monday, Nov. 20 in virtual meetings via from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Any constituent who wishes to speak with him can sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing his legislative aide Ravi Simon at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic so Rep. Gentile can prepare.
Do you need holiday gift book suggestions for the young readers in your life? Join the children’s librarians as they review their favorite new books of the year as well as some perennial favorites. The event is open to all adults. Email dleopold@minlib.net for the Zoom invite.
Make holiday snacks and charcuterie plates with Happy Jars owner Jodi Gorman. For children 10+. Please email sfeather@minlib.net to register.
Come to Pierce Park on Friday, Dec. 1 from 6-7 p.m. for a flashlight candy cane hunt. Music, prizes, and hot cocoa. Free but preregistration required at lincolnrec.com.
Residents of area towns are invited to the annual holiday tree-lighting ceremony at Hanscom Air Force Base on Monday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. outside the base chapel. Col. Taona Enriquez and Chief Master Sgt. Alan Weary, installation commander and command chief, will be joined by Santa Claus to officially light the Hanscom AFB tree following a parade through base housing that begins at 3:15 p.m. and ends at the chapel. For off-base attendees, there will be reserved parking inside the Sartain Gate off Hanscom Drive. Security personnel will be on-site to provide parking instructions and guide visitors to the tree-lighting location. Visitors to the base must present a valid driver’s license or state ID upon arriving at the gate.
Sulinha’s Trio will perform songs for children and families on Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 10:30-11:15 a.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. You will hear songs in the style of bossa nova and baiao using Brazilian instruments like berimbau and bandolin. No registration necessary.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. In a virtual session on Thursday, Dec. 7 from 7-8 p.m., Prof. Benjamin L. Carp will bring to life the diverse array of people and places that the Tea Party brought together, from Chinese tea-pickers to English businessmen, Native American tribes, sugar plantation slaves, and Boston’s ladies of leisure, and he’ll show how a determined group of New Englanders shook the founders of the British Empire and what this has meant for Americans since. Registration required; click here.
On Thursday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m., join an online talk with critical care neurologist Jonathan Rosand, M.D. about brain care and brain health prevention with an emphasis on lifestyle behaviors and modifications that can help delay or prevent the incidence of dementia and late-in-life depression. Click here to register for the Zoom link.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Winston Pingeon will give a talk titled “Three Years Later: A Reflection on the January 6th Insurrection” on Friday, Jan. 19 at 12:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Winston grew up in Lincoln and moved to Washington, D.C. in 2012 to study at American University. Upon graduation. he joined the U.S. Capitol Police and was an officer from 2016–2021. Join us to learn what life was like as an officer and what it was like to be an officer on January 6, 2021 and the days following.
State Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-13th Middlesex) will hold virtual office hours on Friday, Jan. 22. Meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams video call from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing Rep. Gentile’s legislative aide, Ravi Simon, at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic. Please provide all necessary details in describing the topic of discussion so that Rep. Gentile may prepare for the meeting.