Codman Estate researcher and lead guide Camille Arbogast will present “A Tale of Two Chauffeurs: True Crime in the Age of Early Motoring” on Wednesday, March 22 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. One morning in June 1914 the Codman family awoke at their country estate in Lincoln to discover their prized new Peerless motorcar — as well as their chauffeur — were missing. This mystery, full of colorful characters and misadventures at the edge of the law, winds its way from the Lincoln station to Rutland, Vt., with detours across New England. Click here to register.
The final session in the “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m. José G. González, founder of Latino Outdoors and co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath, will speak on “Wayfinding and Belonging in the Outdoors.” As a Partner in the Avarna Group and through his own consulting, his work focuses on equity and inclusion frameworks and practices in the environmental, outdoor, and conservation fields. The series is organized by the Walden Woods Project, Mass Audubon, Farrington Nature Linc, The Food Project, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust. Click here to register.
Join Lincoln Conservation Ranger Will Leona to visit different trails in Lincoln on the first Saturday of each month (March 4, April 1, and May 6) from 9:30–11 a.m. Walks are generally two miles long and are appropriate for all ages. Click here for registration, which is required to keep group size under 15 people and to ensure we can contact you in case of cancellation due to weather.
The First Parish in Lincoln will host a talk by Bill McKibben on his book, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened at the white church and online on Sunday, April 2 from 3–4:30 p.m. The event will also be simulcast live at St Anne’s Church.
McKibben helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, and recently helped found Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 for action on climate and justice. Click here for more information.
The Lincoln Garden Club invites the public to a lecture on vegetable gardening in containers with Sara Rostampour, director of horticulture at Green City Growers, on Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. The lecture will be in person at Bemis Hall as well as on Zoom. She will cover the basics of container growing such as location, design, and soil while considering garden goals. She will also talk about crop planning and show how to make a crop map for a successful experience. Click here for more information and to register. Click here to register.
When we think about Abraham Lincoln’s origins, we don’t usually think of Massachusetts, but he had a compelling connection to the state. Lincoln addressed a Whig convention in Worcester where he so impressed party leaders that he was invited to dinner the next evening at Gov. Levi Lincoln’s home. Justice Dennis J. Curran (ret.), a Massachusetts trial judge for 15 years, will explore how one seminal event spurred Lincoln’s emotional and political growth, and how Lincoln’s family heritage provided a backdrop for what was to come. Click here to register.
Meet some real owls on Monday, April 17 at 1 p.m. when Farrington Nature Linc hosts naturalist Marcia Wilson from Eyes on Owls. She’ll introduce the audience to owls found in New England and other parts of the world and imitate the owls’ calls herself before bringing out six rehabilitated owls on at a time (each owl has a permanent disability which prevents them from surviving on their own in the wild). There’ll be plenty of time for close-up views, photos, and questions. Click here to register. you can also share a coupon code “SPRING” that will provide a 15% discount.
Are you thinking about what to do over school vacation with the grandkids? Bring them to this intergenerational book intro, meet Lincoln resident Ruth Mendelson (author of The Water Tree Way), and enjoy ice cream sundae cups on Friday, April 21 at Bemis Hall. There will also be a short video of Jane Goodall, who volunteered to write the preface for the book. RSVP to reserve a free signed copy of the book by calling 781-259-8811 (limited to the first 20 callers; limit one book per household). Sponsored by the Council on Aging & Human Services and the Friends of the Lincoln Library.
there will be two sessions on “Spring Floral Sculptures: Workshop with Derby Farms” from 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 1–2:30 pm. Learn how to arrange flowers in three-dimensional, sculptural ways using early spring garden flowers. Click here to register.
Historic New England is hosting two consecutive events at the Codman Estate and Codman Community Farms on Sunday, April 23 starting at 1:30 p.m. During “Sort Apples, Make Butter – Country Life!” Family Food Fun, adults on a special outdoor/indoor tour will learn what was grown and preserved on the estate and visit with Codman lead guide Camille Arbogast, who will discuss how the Codmans’ approach to food connects to present culinary attitudes. Meanwhile, kids age 6 and up will have fun in the kitchen with Codman site manager Wendy Hubbard, shaking, making, and stamping butter while eating apples. They can take home their work along with some tasty shortbread cookies from the Codman family’s recipes. Admission is $5 for kids and $10 for adults. Advance registration required; click here to register.
At about 2:30 p.m., the “Sow Seeds. Make Broth – It’s Spring on the Farm!” tour will highlight Codman Community Farms’ innovative and sustainable farming approach, highlighting its no-till market garden and historic barnyard, livestock, egg-washing process, and commercial kitchen. Participants will take home a seasonal farm treat. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.
The Lincoln Public Library invites children in grades 4-6 to a natural treasure hunt with author and educator Clare Walker Leslie on Thursday, April 27 at 4 p.m. Learn how to observe and preserve your thoughts about the natural world by creating a beautiful journal that integrates science, art, math, and writing. Clare’s nature journaling method inspires students to draw conclusions and make observations that instill a respect for the natural world around us and promote conservation into the future. This program will include classroom instruction and a low intensity outdoor walk, weather permitting. Leslie’s books will be available to purchase at the event. Space is limited; please email sfeather@minlib.net to register. The program is funded thanks to a partnership between the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and the Friends of the Lincoln Library.
Join Lincoln Conservation Ranger Will Leona to visit different trails in Lincoln on the first Saturday of each month (March 4, April 1, and May 6) from 9:30–11 a.m. Walks are generally two miles long and are appropriate for all ages. Click here for registration, which is required to keep group size under 15 people and to ensure we can contact you in case of cancellation due to weather.
Learn how to promote biodiversity in your yard by using materials you have on hand. When you remove an invasive shrub, replace it with a native shrub that will thrive. Cardboard and mulch one small patch of invasives and encourage rowdy, less loved native plant “party crashers” into your designed native plant gardens to knit together a layered team of plants that keep invasives at bay. Click here for information and registration.
Learn more about Operation Desert Storm from U.S. Army veteran Robert Lewis on Friday, May 12 at 3 p.m. in Bemis Hall. He’ll examine how deception played a key role and show actual leaflets used during one of the shortest and least costly of America’s military victories. Sponsored by the Lincoln Council on Aging & Human Services.
The Lincoln Garden Club will hold its biennial plant sale on Saturday, May 13 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at Station Park (corner of Lincoln Road and Ridge Road). Share plant knowledge, see friends, enjoy snacks, and tour the club’s flagship garden. The plants to be sold come from club members’ gardens, parks they maintain, and generous donors around town. If you have plants to donate, please contact Belinda Gingrich at belinda.gingrich@gmail.com. There will also be garden paraphernalia for sale and even a few handmade bluebird nesting boxes which you could set up right away and maybe catch a second laying.
Also on offer will be native plugs ordered through commercial nurseries: Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master), Polemonium reptans (Jacob’s ladder), Packera aurea (golden ragwort, available after June 19), and Aquilegia canadensis (eastern red columbine, available on or after May 19). These are very small and will need babying in a pot or well tended garden plot.
Lincoln author Elizabeth Graver and Judy Bolton-Fassman will discuss Graver’s latest novel, Kantika, on Wednesday, May 17 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. Kantika is a dazzling Sephardic multigenerational saga that moves from Istanbul to Barcelona, Havana, and New York, exploring displacement, endurance, and family as home, inspired by the story of Graver’s grandmother, Rebecca née Cohen Baruch Levy. Copies of the book will be on sale at the event.
Graver’s fourth novel, The End of the Point, was long-listed for the 2013 National Book Award in Fiction and selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her other novels are Awake, The Honey Thief, and Unravelling.
Joe Wallace and his mother Barbara.
An exhibit featuring local photographer Joe Wallace presented by the Liberty Alzheimer’s Partnership will kick off with a reception in Bemis Hall on Thursday, May 18 from 2-3:30 p.m. Joe will share the story of his book and traveling exhibit, “Portraits of Dementia,” created to destigmatize those living with dementia. Trained as a journalist, Wallace has been a portrait photographer and storyteller for 20 years, and like many, he has a deeply personal connection with dementia: both his material grandparents had dementia, and in recent years, his mother Barbara has begun her journey with the disease. Space is limited; please RSVP by calling the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24/7 helpline at 800-272-3900.
The Lincoln Public Library will host a “Tea in Time” event on Friday, May 19 at 1 p.m. with Rita Parisi in the role of Mrs. Michael Gordon, a woman from 1908 who will regale you with humorous, eye-opening stories about shopping in Boston and the latest trends in fashion, entertainment, opinions, transportation, and more. Hats, gloves, Victorian garb, and audience participation encouraged. Tea and light refreshments. Call 781-259-8811 to sign up for this free event. Sponsored by the Friends of Lincoln Library and the Friends of Lincoln Council on Aging & Human Services.
Look into the fascinating lives, vision, and grand accomplishments of Julian deCordova and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dana deCordova, whose dream of a “castle on a hill” became their home and later a museum and sculpture park. On Sunday, May 21 from 10–11:30 a.m., we’ll tour the building outside and inside to discover unusual architectural features, changes over the years, hear some fun and interesting stories, and discuss some of the sculptures that are important to deCordova’s history. The cost is $12 for members and $20 for nonmembers (free for children). Click here to learn more and register.
Join Hannan Healthy Foods in celebrating Lincoln’s farming heritage with its community-wide kickoff event to the 2023 growing season on Sunday, May 21 from 1–3 p.m. (rain date: Saturday, May 27 at the same time) at Umbrello Field (270 South Great Rd.). This free event is open to all ages and will feature live music, farmland tours, food and drink (including South Asian specialties), raffles, CSA opportunities, farm photo ops, and more.