The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust will host a virtual program on backyard biodiversity, climate change, and solutions to a looming ecological crisis on Thursday, Dec. 8 from 7–8:30 p.m. Headlines about global insect declines, the impending extinction of one million species worldwide, and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at protecting the plants and animals that sustain us. The night’s focus will be on how to create backyard biodiversity in Lincoln, connect habitats throughout town, and increase resilience against climate change. A Zoom link will be sent to all participants who register here.
Tallamy is a Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. His award-winning books include Bringing Nature Home, Nature’s Best Hope, and The Nature of Oaks.
The Lincoln Library Film Society presents Umberto D. (1952, Italian with subtitles) on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. This neorealist masterpiece by Vittorio De Sica follows an elderly pensioner as he strives to make ends meet during Italy’s postwar economic recovery. Alone except for his dog, Flike, Umberto’s simple quest to satisfy his basic needs — food, shelter, companionship — makes for one of the most heartbreaking stories ever filmed, and an essential classic of world cinema.
The annual L-S Cabaret Concert on Friday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. will feature a capella groups, vocal soloists, symphonic and concert jazz ensembles and jazz combos. Admission is $5. L-S Friends of Music will have tasty snacks and beverages available for sale, including cheese plates and dessert. Join us in the L-S Café. To learn more about the LSRHS Music Program, visit L-S Friends of Music at www.lsfom.org.
Everyone is invited to Wreck the Halls, an all-ages holiday drag show hosted by local teen drag queen Velvet Vision on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Also appearing are drag queens, kings, and in-betweens that will knock your stockings off: Bozo, Andi With An I, Stabitha Christie, Zalad, Ben A. Flick, and and Zeizar. Tickets are $7 at the door, free for those under 11 (tipping encouraged), or buy in advance here.
Join us for a musical book-signing celebrating Sarah Jane Nelson’s book, Ballad Hunting with Max Hunter: Stories of an Ozark Folksong Collector, in the Clark Gallery on Sunday, Dec. 18 from 3–6 p.m. The event will feature fiddle music by the High Strung Strummers (a duo specializing in the old-time dance music of Appalachia and Anglo-American ballads), ballad singing, and a “Crankie” folk art performance.
Originally from Brazil, Sulinha’s trio features songs in the style of bossa nova and baiao, and you will see Brazilian instruments like berimbau and bandolin. Her trio features Sulinha on vocals and acoustic guitar, Ian Coury on Bandolin and Erico Menino on percussion. All ages welcome. No registration necessary.
Jodi Gorman, registered dietitian/nutritionist and owner of Happy Jars, will lead a cooking class for children aged 10 and up to teach basic cooking skills and simple, nutritious soup recipes at the Lincoln Public Library on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Sign up for one of two sessions: 2–3 p.m. or 3:30–4:30 p.m. Space is limited; register by emailing sfeather@minlib.net. Please indicate which session you’d like to attend and whether you have any dietary restrictions.
Join us for a book talk on Who’s Raising the Kids? with author Susan Linn hosted by Lincoln Nursery School at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. in the museum’s Dewey Gallery. Linn, an expert on the impact of big tech and big business on children, provides a deep dive into the roots and consequences of the monumental shift toward a digitized, commercialized childhood, focusing on kids’ values, relationships, and learning. Linn is a psychologist, a research associate at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. Read the New York Times review of her book. Click here to register for the talk.
Come meet Lincoln’s new state Representative, Carmine Gentile (Precinct 1, west Lincoln), on Saturday, Jan. 21 in Bemis Hall. For many years, Rep. Tom Stanley was Lincoln’s representative, but in the recent redistricting, Lincoln was split into two districts along its voting precinct line. Get acquainted with Gentile, hear his perspectives on important issues and policies, and ask questions. The event starts at 2:30 p.m. with refreshments and conversation, and the meeting starts promptly at 3 p.m. Hosted by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee but open to all, regardless of party affiliation.
NOTE: Rep. Alice Peisch was originally scheduled to attend as well, but she had to bow out and will reschedule a session in Lincoln for another time.
Meet artist Fares Alti and see his photos at the opening and reception at the Lincoln Public Library main art gallery on Sunday, Jan. 22 from 2-4 p.m.
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.
Gentile will hold virtual office hours for constituents (which include residents of southwestern Lincoln in Precinct 1) on Friday, Jan. 27. Meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams video call from 10 a.m.–noon. Any constituent who wishes to speak to him may sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing his legislative aide, Ravi Simon (a Lincoln resident), at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic.
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.
Gov. Maura Healey will join the crowd when Ms. G, the official groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, makes her annual prediction at the Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln for Groundhog Day on Thursday, Feb. 2. Families and children attend the popular event each year, eager to watch Ms. G emerge from hibernation and explore her special enclosure, which includes groundhog treats like fresh veggies.
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., attendees can learn how animals, including Drumlin Farm’s sheep, keep themselves warm and healthy in cold weather. Ms. G will make her appearance at 10 a.m., with Mass Audubon President David J. O’Neill and State Sen. Michael Barrett, a leading voice for climate change and renewable energy on Beacon Hill, welcoming the governor and attendees. Participants will then be encouraged to enjoy other event-related programs from making groundhog crafts to meeting live animal ambassadors and learning how they adapt to winter as the climate changes.
“The impacts of climate change and loss of biodiversity in New England are already clear,” O’Neill said. “They can only strengthen our resolve to find policy- and nature-based solutions to the major environmental challenges of our times.”
Free with admission. To learn more, visit massaudubon.org/groundhogday.
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.
Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee (LSSC) candidate Ravi Simon of Sudbury (an L-S graduate and legislative aide for State Rep. Carmine Gentile) will host a campaign kick-off event at on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. at the First Parish of Sudbury (327 Concord Rd., Sudbury). The host committee includes Gentile, Sudbury LSSC members Cara Endyke-Doran and Candace Miller, former LSSC member Nancy Marshall of Lincoln, and former Sudbury LSSC members Jack Ryan, Tania Vitvitsky, Josh Troop, and Andrew Blair. RSVPs using this online form are appreciated but not required. For more information, email RaviforLincolnSudbury@gmail.com.
he Joyful Voices Gospel Choir featuring Lincoln resident RL Smith will give a concert on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. in Donaldson Auditorium. Featuring a repertoire of stirring gospel music interspersed with stories about its origins and history as a uniquely American art form, this free, all-ages concert is a highlight of the Winter Carnival experience at the start of Black History Month. Sponsored by the Bemis Free Lecture Series.
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.
Social media, pandemic effects, school pressures. These and other issues affecting the mental health of teens and children — and how to cope with them — are addressed as part of a series, “Are the Kids Okay?” sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Sudbury.
This forum, “Spotlight on: Youth Mental Health,” is part of a continuing effort to highlight children’s issues and resources. The forum will air Thursday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. on SudburyTV cable channel 8 (Comcast) and channel 31 (Verizon) and be available on the video-on-demand service on SudburyTV’s website, www.sudburytv.org. No cable subscription is needed for the on-demand service accessed through any computer.
Five panelists approached the youth mental health issue from different vantage points.
Dr. Jamie Micco, co-director of the Concord Center and a licensed clinical psychologist, outlined some causes of the current mental health crisis for youth, including the impact of social media and the pandemic.
Sarah Greeley, wellness teacher at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, and Maia Proujansky-Bell, a parent representative of Sudbury Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), discussed the role of the schools in identifying mental health problems and supporting students.
Sudbury Police Chief Scott Nix and Taylor Hayden, a clinician with Advocates who works with the Sudbury police, explained their joint response program for mental health calls, including how many of the calls in Sudbury involve teens and children.
The panelists also discussed how parents can identify problems and how to talk to children about stress and difficult topics. They outlined how and where to find help, what resources are available, and how to navigate the system.
The forum was moderated by Julie Dereshinsky of the League and was developed by the League’s education and healthcare committees.
All are invited to a program about the history and significance of the most cherished and enduring love songs of the 20th century at “The Greatest Love Songs of All Time” on Friday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Hear more about classics including Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” Tony Bennett’s “The Way You Look Tonight,” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable.” Presented by John Clark & the Great American Music Experience and hosted by the Council on Aging & Human Services.