March with the Lincoln Minute Men along Battle Road at 2:45 p.m. or meet at the capture site at 3 p.m. where Paul Revere’s ride ended in Lincoln. See Revere, Samuel Prescott, William Dawes, Mary Hartwell, Catharine Louisa Smith, and Major Mitchell tell the true story, despite poetic efforts by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to tell a different tale. Music and musket fire. For all ages.
- Evacuation scenario at the home of William and Catharine Louisa Smith, 9:30 a.m. – noon.
- Battle reenactment at Parker’s Revenge, MMNHP, noon–1 p.m.
- Battle of Tower Park, 1200 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington, 4 p.m.
Families prepare to evacuate their homes on April 19, 1775. Later, hundreds of British and Provincial soldiers recreate the running battle along the deadly stretch of road through Lincoln, from Elm Brook Hill to the Lexington border. Then both sides regroup to battle again at Tower Park in Lexington.
A Lincoln resident during the Revolutionary War reminisces about the fateful early hours of April 19, 1775. Capt. William Smith arrives on horseback to alarm the citizens of Lincoln. Bells ring, drums roll, and families say anxious goodbyes, as the Lincoln Minute Men assemble for musket drill and firing, and receive their orders to march.
The Lincoln Minute Men salute the Patriots buried in the Old Meeting House Burying Ground as they emerge from the mists for roll call. Fifers play a lament and the muskets fire a volley. Then join the Minute Men on their walk to Concord along Sandy Pond Road (three miles) amid colonial music and musket fire for the parade in Concord starting at 9 a.m. All ages welcome.
The Lincoln Minute Men host fife and drum groups from far and wide in a musical performance for your enjoyment. Bring your picnic basket and lawn chairs for rousing entertainment. In case of rain, see the Parks and Rec website.
March with the Lincoln Minute Men and British Regulars from Pierce House to the Old Burying Ground on Lexington Road to honor the Patriot dead and the five British soldiers killed in Lincoln along the Battle Road. Mary Hartwell and Catharine Louisa Smith tell their stories of burying British soldiers, an enslaved soldier tells how he gained his freedom, and a British mother laments the loss of her son. Ceremonies include music and musket salutes.
On Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. via Zoom, Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, will offer an overview of the history of the holiday and an exploration of the various ways Black communities have created traditions and cultivated the joy of emancipation and freedom. The program is free and open to all but advance registration is required. Sponsored by Belmont Public Library, Belmont Against Racism, Belmont Council on Aging, and the public libraries of Chelmsford, Lexington, Lincoln, Maynard, Newton, Sherborn, and Wayland. The Lincoln Public Library’s portion of the program is sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library.
All are welcome to an outing of the Transcendentalist Running & Cycling Club led by Rev. Nate Klug of the First Parish in Lincoln on Saturday, Oct. 22 from 8–9 a.m. Runners and cyclists of all ages and abilities are invited to join Nate for an hour of exercise, spirituality, and community. We’ll meet outside the church across from the library, stretch and say hello, and then hear a short passage of inspiration from one of the Transcendentalists. Then we’ll take off on a short run or bike ride through Lincoln. One person will lead the run, another person will lead the bike ride. After 40 minutes, we’ll meet back at the church to drink lemonade and reflect on what came up for us during our exercise.
There will be a memorial service for Robert “Bob” Lemire on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. at the First Parish Church in Lincoln. Lemire, who died in June at age 89, was active in local and national conservation groups and was founder of Lexia Learning.
For the animal lovers among us, drop by for a short and sweet, family-friendly “Blessing of the Animals” pet blessing service with First Parish in Lincoln co-minister Kit Novotny on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. The service will be held outside on the front lawn near the rainbow chairs, with guitar.
Join Nate Klug, co-minister of the First Parish in Lincoln, for a beer or soda at the monthly “Theology on Tap” discussion on Friday, Oct. 28 from 4:30–6 p.m. at the Tack Room. The month’s topic: “What is a saint?” Just in time for Halloween (All Hallows Eve) and All Saints/All Souls Day, we’ll review some of the wildly various notions of sainthood that different religions have put forward over time. What did Martin Luther mean when he said that everyone was “equally saint and sinner”? Who do you think of as a saint in your life – and why? No sainthood required to join the discussion, just a thirsty spirit!
The Lincoln Public Library will present virtual events hosted by the Tewksbury Public Library in collaboration with several Massachusetts libraries. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Library. Advance registration required. Details and registration.
Come to St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. for a short, but poignant service at which we remember those who are no longer with us at Christmastime by hanging white ornaments in their honor. Bring your own or hang one of ours, then marvel at the lighting of the tree. For those interested, this is followed by a Blue Christmas service in the sanctuary at 5 p.m., when candles, quiet, and prayers allow participants to reflect in love, grief, and joy. Communion will be available if requested. We welcome everyone from all walks of life and faith. For more information, visit StAnnesLincoln.org or email parishoffice@stanneslincoln.org.
Join us as the St. Julia Parish Choir members lead us in song, celebrating Christ’s Nativity. Refershments will be served following the concert.
There will be Christmas Eve Masses at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and a Christmas Day Mass at 8 p.m.. For more information on services at both churches, visit stjulia.org.
Civil War historian and Lincoln resident Megan Kate Nelson will give a talk about her new book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) at the Concord Museum on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Concord Museum. It tells the vivid story of how, 150 years ago, Yellowstone became the world’s first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. A narrative of adventure and exploration, the creation of Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance and the struggles of Black southerners during a turning point in the nation’s history. Nelson was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (read this Lincoln Squirrel profile of her). Click here to register.
All residents, especially parents and grandparents who are watching children during school vacation week, are invited to an intergenerational event on maple tree taping. Learn about how indigenous peoples in our area collected and boiled sap, sample some of Will and Abigail’s syrup, and then go outside to tap the sugar maples next to Bemis Hal with Nancy Bergen from Matlock Farm. Dress for outdoor weather. Sponsored by the Council on Aging and Human Services.
The Friends of Modern Architecture/Lincoln Film Series presents “The Oyler House: Richard Neutra’s Desert Retreat,” a first-run feature film release directed by Michael Dorsey, on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library as part of the 2023 Lincoln Winter Carnival. There will be a reception after the screening.
The Oyler house was designed for Richard Oyler in 1959 by Neutra in Lone Pine, Calif. The design resonates with Lincoln’s Modern architecture, where careful attention to specific site qualities has enabled architects to celebrate and enrich the experience of living with the land in modest homes. The film highlights a place that remains a valuable example of how Modern principles and sensibilities continue to resonate and enrich our lives today.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., join Emily Levine of Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site for “Freedom’s Cause: Historical Black Communities and George Washington’s Cambridge Camp,” a discussion of how free and enslaved Black members of Washington’s war camp interacted with one another, members of the local community, and the general himself. For example, Washington corresponded with poet Phillis Wheatley; he segregated the Continental Army, then reversed the decision. The family of Tony and Cuba Vassall, formerly enslaved by the first owner of the Cambridge house (which Lincoln’s Pierce House was designed to emulate), lived in freedom next to people enslaved by the Washingtons.
This event is hosted by the Wellesley Free Library. Click here to register.
The Friends of Minute Man National Park will host their winter lecture, “Minutemen Revisited: Rethinking Concord’s Role in the Revolution: A Conversation with Robert Gross and Friends,” on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Gross will discuss his revised and expanded edition of The Minutemen and Their World in conversation with Joel Bohy, J.L. Bell, and Jim Hollister. Free; click here to register. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Friends of Minute Man and Minute Man National Historical Park and is also supported in part by a grant from the Concord Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.