The discussion on Monday, May 1 from 7:30–9 p.m. with FPL co-minister Rev. Kit Novotny will be geared towards parents of toddlers and school-aged kids. The topic is “When Kids Ask Tough Questions,” sharing stories about the big questions that kids grapple with from a young age such as “Why do we die, and what happens when we die? What’s the future of our planet? Why is there injustice and racism? Where do babies come from? Is God real?” We’ll reflect on our role as parents in confronting big emotions and navigating our own uncertainties, values, and discomfort.
On Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Church in Weston (349 Boston Post Rd., Weston) join MetroWest Climate Solutions and special guest Rev. Mariama White-Hammond for “City and Suburbs: Addressing Climate Change and Equity Together,” a discussion on the intersection of climate change and questions of equity. A lifelong resident, pastor, and activist in Boston, Rev. Mariama will explore the question of how residents of the suburbs can most effectively take action to promote greater climate equity. If you prefer to join us online, click here to register.
Rev. White-Hammond was appointed as the City of Boston’s Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space in April 2021. She has supported the amendment of the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) to set carbon targets for existing large buildings and convened a city-led green jobs program. This event is supported by the First Parish in Lincoln, the First Parish in Wayland’s Lydia Maria Child Fund, and the First Parish Church in Weston.
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.
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.
The event on Monday, May 22 from 7:30–9 p.m. with FPL co-minister Rev. Nate Klug will focus on “Launching Kids and Letting Go” for parents of older kids, teens, and young adults. We’ll dwell together on that tender (sometimes abrupt, sometimes extended) threshold of launching teens and adult children to college and/or next life chapters, and the various challenges and joys that go along with this monumental shift. All are welcome, including parents of current high school seniors, as well as parents of young adults continuing to navigate the push-pull of connection and independence.
The Democratic Town Committee will hold a caucus to elect delegates to the 2023 Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention (to be held on September 23 in person in Lowell) on Sunday, June 4 at 2 p.m. at Bemis Hall. Doors open at 1:30 and close at 2:15 sharp, as required by Massachusetts Democratic Committee rules. Five delegate and four alternates will be elected to represent Lincoln at the 2023 Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention. All registered Lincoln Democrats are eligible not only to vote and be a delegate. Democrats who will be 16 by May 23, 2023 may pre-register for the caucus and participate and run as a delegate or alternate to the convention, although they are not eligible to vote in general elections until they are 18. Youth, minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals who are not elected as a delegate or alternate are encouraged to apply to be an add-on delegate to the caucus at the caucus or by visiting or at www.massdems.org/massdems-convention.
Come to eco-gardener Robin Wilkerson’s garden sanctuary where has been gardening for years to create a diverse habitat for birds, bees and butterflies to learn her methods for gardening to support the ecosystem. Click here for information and registration. Sponsored by Lincoln Common Ground.
Codman Community Farms will celebrate its 50th birthday at “An Evening in the Field” on Thursday, June 8 from 6–9:30 p.m. The adults-only event starts with cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres followed by a multi-course plated dinner at a long communal table nestled in the fields surrounded by fruit trees and gardens. Tom Fosnot and Ruth-Anne Adams of The Hyve, will serve a menu almost exclusively made of Codman-grown ingredients: vegetables and herbs from the gardens, eggs from their chickens, and protein from their pastured animals. Click here to order tickets.
Lincoln dietician and Happy Jars owner Jodi Gorman will offer a cooking class featuring summer parties and picnics for kids age 10+ on Friday, June 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library. Jodi will go over basic kitchen skills as well as how to create a versatile, tasty salad for all seasons. All materials will be provided. Email sfeather@minlib.net for registration and more information.
During an evening slide show and house tour on Friday, June 9 (as well as July 7, August 11, and September 15) from 7–9 p.m., see how Walter Gropius’s innovative lighting scheme comes to life at night. Gropius, founder of the German design school the Bauhaus, was one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. His 1938 home at 68 Baker Bridge Road highlights the clean lines of Modernist design. Light refreshments are individual “nibbles” picnic bags. $65 for Historic New England members, $75 for nonmembers. Advance tickets required; call 781-259-8098 or buy online.
Codman Community Farms will mark its 50th birthday with a celebration for all ages on Saturday, June 10 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. This will be a day of games, food, and music, with special T-shirts available for purchase. Among the activities:
- Live music by the Honey Steelers
- Farm themed games & entertainment for kids
- Strawberry pie-eating contest
- “American Gothic” photo contest
- Birthday cake and ice cream for all (cake-cutting at 1 p.m.)
- Food for purchase including Codman’s own smoked ribs or maple sausage, grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh veggie & hummus basket with pita chips, and beer/wine/nonalcoholic drinks
While the event is free for all and no tickets are required, please click here to “purchase” your free tickets as an RSVP. This will ensure enough fun for all.
The Housing Choice Act Working Group (HCAWG) has scheduled a virtual multi-board meeting and two public forums in June to discuss the town’s path towards compliance with the state housing law.
The goal of the Housing Choice Act is to create more transit-oriented zoning areas (meaning areas surrounding MBTA stops including Lincoln’s train station) where multifamily housing is allowed by right. Under the updated guidelines released last fall, Lincoln would be required to allow either 692 or 563 units in one or more multifamily zones, depending on whether or not the Hanscom housing units are counted. In March, HCAWG met with consultants from Utile Design to review how the state calculates developable land and to walk through an initial analysis of current zoning in Lincoln to begin identifying areas that might be logical places for rezoning.
The meeting co-hosted by the Select Board and the Planning Board will be on Tuesday, June 6 at 7 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link. The public forums will be:
- Friday, June 16 at 8 a.m. in person at the Town Hall
- Tuesday, June 20 at 7 p.m. via Zoom — click here to register.