The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

arts

News acorns – 6/19/15

Summer movies in the park starting tonight; Boston walking tour on Saturday

Inspired by the Walking Sculpture exhibition, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum’s outdoor film series features walking-focused films, starting with The Wizard of Oz on Friday, June 19 at 8:15 p.m. (rain date: June 24). Bring a blanket, chairs, and snacks. Arrive early to catch the sunset! $5 general admission, free for members. Future films will be March of the Penguins on July 17 (rain date: July 22) and Homeward Bound on August 14 (rain date: August 19).

On Saturday, June 19 at 4 p.m., Walking Sculpture artist  Catherine D’Ignazio and guest speakers will lead “Boston Coastline: Future Past,” is a collective walk tracing a route from the prediction of the city’s coastline to its history, as a way of physically understanding the future and past of a city changing at scales that are difficult to see and comprehend. Free, but registration is required; click here for details.

Group screens New Orleans movies

The Lincoln Library Film Society is celebrating its 100th night of movie-showing on Tuesday, June 23 with a screening of WUSA (1970) with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. There will be pizza and lemonade; doors open at 6:30 p.m. The next films in the group’s current series, “The Big (Un)Easy: New Orleans After Dark” are Elia Kazan’s Panic in the Streets (1950) starring Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas and Jack Palance on Saturday, June 27 and New Orleans Uncensored (1955) on Tuesday, June 30. For more information, dates and titles, call 781-259-8465 or email Lincolnlibraryfilmsociety@gmail.com to sign up for the mailing list.

First Parish offer summer meditation and prayer

The First Parish Church in Lincoln offers summer services in the form of guided visualization meditations and prayer. Services are led by Isabella Nebel and held at 10 a.m. starting on Sunday, June 21 and continuing on June 28, July 5, and August 9, 16, 23, and 30. These services are open to all. Isabella Nebel, MEd., LC, is a researcher and educational consultant. A guest lecturer at MIT on the subjects of pregnancy, lactation, and parenting, she specializes in biological intervention in the treatment of autism spectrum and in post-traumatic stress.

Council on Aging events in June

bemisAn exploration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition
June 5 at 2:30 p.m.
The 19th-century Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky is an ambitious musical work in 10 movements, each inspired by a particular artwork at an exhibition he visited. Come hear a live performance and learn about how and why it was composed as well as about the artworks that each movement interprets when Abla Shocair plays and discusses this work on Friday, June 5 at 2:30 p.m. at Bemis Hall. She will also play Papillons by Robert Schumann, which is believed to have had an influence on the Pictures suite and Franz Liszt’s Rhapsody #6 as it relates to Mussorgsky’s piano training. Abla, a civil engineer originally from Jordan, started playing piano at age 4.

[Read more…] about Council on Aging events in June

News acorns – 6/4/15

Sam Bayer

Sam Bayer

Sam Bayer featured at Monday’s open mic night

Sam Bayer will be the featured performer at this month’s LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mic Acoustic) on Monday, June 8 from 7-10 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. He’ll perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30 p.m. Bayer has performed at First Night, Passim’s, Sally O’Briens, the Nameless Coffeehouse and other venues and has four CDs to his credit.

[Read more…] about News acorns – 6/4/15

Letter to the editor: Lincolnites have the “write stuff”

letter

To the editor:

To mark the 10th anniversary of “Write Stuff,” a writers’ group in Lincoln, there will be a public reading by several members in the Tarbell Room of the Lincoln Public Library on Wednesday, May 27 at 7 p.m. As a “Write Stuffer,” I thought it’d be interesting to talk to a few of the people who have made the group what it is today.

Barbara Myles, director of the Lincoln Library, reflects back on how it all began: “Jeanne Bracken, our reference librarian at the time, was a very talented published author. I thought that it would be a good idea if she started a writers’ group at the library, so I asked her to do it.” Jeanne agreed and the group took off running. “She did a fabulous job,” says Myles.

Betty Smith, publisher of the Lincoln Review, is a strong supporter of “Write Stuff.” Always in search of new material from Lincoln writers, she felt that a critique group could help both beginning and seasoned writers produce new work.

“Hardly an issue of the Lincoln Review sees the light of day without a contribution from one or more Write Stuff members,” says Neil O’Hara, who has been Write Stuff’s facilitator since the fall of 2006. “Being part of this group has given me an even deeper grounding in the basics of good writing.”

I’ve listened to the pieces of my fellow “Write Stuffers,” made my comments and read my own pieces, and after each meeting I leave with more confidence. “One of the rules was that we were not to be critical,” says Palmer Faran. “Not to have anyone say, ‘Oh, this is terrible’ but to always say something positive. What we’re trying to do is to help and not shut the person down.”

“After listening to all of the supportive comments, this group gave me the confidence to write more,” says Joyce Quelch.

I believe that my writing has improved, but I continue to be puzzled as to why it’s so difficult, so I asked Neil O’Hara. “I think one of the great quotes that encapsulates the problem of why it’s so hard to write is by Mark Twain: ‘I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.’ And it’s just fabulous, because that’s the essence of it.”

“Write Stuffers”Anita Harris, Rick Wiggen, Jean Risley, Susan Coppock and Bracken have all tackled the difficulties of writing and are now published authors. Advice for writers from Bracken: “My BFF (best friend forever) in Maine and I say this all the time, it’s my mantra: ‘Stay on the bus. If you’re not on the bus, you’re not going to end the journey’.’”

If you’re a writer or would like to write, consider becoming a “Write Stuffer.” We’ll help you stay on that bus, and believe me, it’s well worth it.

Sincerely,

Debbie Dorsey
17 Bedford Lane

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

“Walking” in deCordova (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Linda Hammett Ory and Andy Ory were among the area art-lovers at the May 9 opening of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum’s new exhibits, Walking Sculpture and Integrated Vision. Photo by Melissa Ostrow.

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to news@lincolnsquirrrel.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

News acorns – 05/13/15

The Lincoln PMC Kids Ride kicks off.

The Lincoln PMC Kids Ride kicks off.

PMC Kids Ride draws hundreds

The first annual Lincoln Pan Mass Challenge Kids Ride on May 3 was a big success. Eighty riders—well in excess of the 50 hopes for—raised over $6,000 to help fight cancer. Organizers thank the many volunteers, including students from the middle school (thank you Steve Cullen for spreading the word) and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, the Lincoln Police Department (especially Det. Ian Spencer), the Lincoln Recreation Department (especially Dan Pereira and Stacey Mulroy), and sponsors including Lincoln’s Something Special and the Whistle Stop as well as Boston Sports Clubs, Dunkin Donuts, Spotify, Penny Lu Designs and Busy Bee Jumpers.

Correction

In a May 12 story about the Lincoln Garden Club’s photo contest, photographer Bob Wadsworth’s name was listed incorrectly. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.

Phone directory stuffing party

The Friends of the Lincoln Library’s 2015 Lincoln directory is being printed this week and they need help putting all of them into envelopes on Monday, May 18 in the library’s Tarbell Room between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Please call or email Belinda Gingrich (belinda.gingrich@verizon.net) if you can help for a couple of hours. Thanks for helping support the library.

ArtGala paintings on sale until Saturday

There are a few paintings remaining from the successful Lincoln Public Library ArtGala 2015 in the first floor gallery until Saturday, May 16 that are for sale at a discount. For those of you who missed the event, take a look at the ArtGala website for images and then visit the library to have a look. The show and sale must end Saturday to make way for a new show, so contact Julie Brogan at foll@lincolntown.org or 781-259-3558 if you’re interested in making a purchase. “The Julia Zanes Dream Image is a steal for serious collectors!” Brogan says.

Free jazz concert on May 27

To wind up the 35th year of classic jazz at Lincoln Library, there will be a concert on Wednesday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall featuring the Bay State Syncopators. The Syncopators are a reunion band formed in the 1980s by Paul Monat to rekindle the two-cornet sound of Bob Connor’s Yankee Rhythm Kings of the 1970s that featured Paul and Dave Whitney on cornet and Blair Bettancourt on clarinet. The band carries on the New Orleans sounds of Louis, King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, reborn in the 1950s by Lou Watters, Turk Murphy and Bob Helm in San Francisco.

May activities with the Council on Aging

bemisArabic conversation
May 4 and May 18 at 9:45 a.m.
Azza Omer from Sudan has generously offered to teach a free informal, light and easy conversational Arabic language class on Monday, April 6 at 9:45 a.m. at Bemis Hall. Learning something completely new is great for brain fitness and for having fun! You’ll learn some common words and phrases. Come give the class a try!

Lincoln Academy with Alison Taunton-Rigby: Biotechnology in Massachusetts
May 4 at 12:30 p.m.
Come to Bemis Hall on Monday, May 4 at 12:30 to hear Alison Taunton-Rigby discuss “Biotechnology in Massachusetts.” Bring a bag lunch. The Council on Aging provides beverages and dessert. The lectures last about an hour, including a question and answer period. Participants are welcome to stay after the program to continue their discussion. [Read more…] about May activities with the Council on Aging

News acorns – 4/30/15

acornPMC Kids Ride needs riders and volunteers; prizes announced

Lincoln’s first annual PMC Kids Ride to fight cancer is Sunday, May 3 (see this Lincoln Squirrel article for more information). If you can’t ride but wish to donate, Something Special is selling limited-edition PMC bracelets for $10 created by sixth-grader Will Levy, founder of the Lincoln event. All riders get a PMC Kids Ride T-shirt, water bottle and glow-in-the-dark wristband (volunteers get a T-shirt as well). The minimum fundraising commitment is $25 per rider, though most kids raise a lot more than that. Riders who raise $250+ also receive a PMC string bag and those who raise $750+ receive a special New Balance PMC backpack. In addition, Something Special will donate a $50 gift certificate to the child who raises the most money. To register to ride or volunteer, visit the Lincoln PMC Kids Ride page. Questions” Send email to pattylevy.pmckidslincoln@gmail.com.

Chinese animated short films to be shown

The Lincoln Library Film Society (LLFS) will show a medley of short Chinese animated films at the library on Tuesday, May 5 starting at 7 p.m. The animation industry in China was slow to recover from the stagnation of Mao’s cultural revolution, and it wasn’t until the early 1980s that animated films would start to be produced regularly. The best animated shorts to come out of Chinese studios show little influence from their larger and more lucrative counterparts in Japan and the U.S. A luminous example from 1981,The Monkey Who Wanted to Catch the Moon, uses nocturnal lighting and deep layering to make its 2-D moving figures appear as though they are lit from within. For more information on this and other LLFS events, email lincolnlibraryfilmsociety@gmail.com.

Walk in a maypole labyrinth on May 8

Celebrate Spring in one of Lincoln’s many secret wonders—a local labyrinth with our very own maypole. Walk the labyrinth with Jai Kaur Annamaria in a special Council on Aging event that’s open to all by donation on Friday, May 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (rain date: May 9). Location given upon registration; sign up by calling the COA at 781-259-8811. You’ll experience the ancient meditative practice of walking a labyrinth, indulge your senses in flowers, create your own may basket, and enjoy spring foods.

Panel on sexual assault at colleges

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable presents a panel discussion on “The Culture of Sexual Assault on College Campuses: Challenges and New Responses” on Tuesday, May 12 at 3 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room of the Wayland Public Safety building (38 Cochituate Road). The panel, moderated by Jessica Teperow, Director of Prevention Programs at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, will feature Karen L. Raye, assistant professor at Lasell College who teaches classes on domestic violence and in the college’s Criminal Justice Department; Jacqueline Anchondo Silva, director of Title IX Compliance at Mt. Ida College; and Steph Trilling, manager of community Awareness and prevention services at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Panelists will discuss their roles and what they want parents and/or students to know in regard to their own safety or safety of others when getting ready for college. There will be a Q&A session at the end.

News acorns – 4/14/15

acornTonight: talk on Revolutionary battlefield

“Discovering Parker’s Revenge Battlefield: April 19, 1775″ is the topic of a talk on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The speaker will be Dr. Meg Watters of PBS’s “Time Team America” and principal investigator for the ongoing Parker’s Revenge Project at Minute Man National Historical Park. She’ll discuss efforts to better understand the Battle Road engagement between the retreating British regulars and the militia and Minute Men of Lexington, Lincoln and surrounding towns on April 19, 1775. The site is on the border of Lincoln and Lexington within the national park.

Dr. Watters received her B.A. in classics from Trinity College, an M.A. in GIS and remote sensing in archaeology from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in new methods for archaeo-geophysical data visualization at the University of Birmingham, where she helped build the IBM Visual and Spatial Technology Centre, where she provided geophysical survey expertise.

The talk is one of several observances of the start of the Revolutionary War. For more information, click on one of the event titles on the Lincoln Minute Men website and battleroad.org.

HATS to meet with MBTA official

On Thursday, April 23, the Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS) will host Paul Regan, Executive Director of the MBTA Advisory Board. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Office Building.

Regan plans to discuss a broad range of topics related to the current state and future of the MBTA, including general matters raised by the recent winter’s challenges and the recently-issued report of the Governor’s special commission, as well as specific matters of concern to the four HATS communities. Also on the agenda for April 23 are updates on the Route 2 project and a status report from the MassPort/Hanscom Field Community Advisory Committee.

The public is welcome to attend all HATS meetings, which may also be viewed live on Lincoln public access media via lincolntv.pegstream.com, Verizon channel 33, or Comcast channel 8, or beginning several days after the meeting at lincolntv.pegcentral.com or on the local cable channels.

HATS is an alliance among the Selectmen and other officials of the towns of Lincoln, Concord, Lexington and Bedford that focuses on Hanscom Air Force Base, Hanscom Air Field, transportation and other regional matters. HATS recently had discussions with MassPort CEO Tom Glynn regarding MassPort’s strategic plans, various business and government experts helping manage Rt. 128 and related traffic concerns, the Air Force Base’s local commander, and senior representatives of the Governor’s Military Assets Task Force. For more information about HATS and access to agendas, minutes and videos, please visit www.hanscomareatownscommittee.com.

Film on wilderness preservation

Also on Thursday, April 23, join the Walden Woods Project for a special screening of a new film by Fulcrum Publishing, “Wilderness in America: From Conquest to Conservation.”  The 55-minute film chronicles the evolution of wilderness preservation in America over four centuries that ultimately led to the protection of 110 million acres.

The film will be shown at the Walden Woods Project’s Thoreau Institute at 44 Baker Farm Rd. in Lincoln. Free admission. To reserve seats, call (781) 259-4707 or email wwproject@walden.org. A wine and cheese reception, sponsored by the Cheese Shop in Concord will be held at 7 p.m. followed at 7:30 p.m. with remarks by  Robert C. Baron, Fulcrum’s founder and president, and the film screening.

The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization that preserves the land, literature and legacy of Henry David Thoreau to foster an ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Click here for other outdoor springtime activities coming up in Lincoln.

COA trip to Mt. Auburn Cemetery

See some of the fascinating and beautiful places and monuments in this amazing historical and nature site on Friday, May 22 with the Council on Aging. After the tour of the cemetery, the group will go to Belmont Center for lunch at Asai. Each person will pay for their own lunch and cash is recommended. The trip is limited to 30 people. The Doherty’s bus will be at Lincoln Mall at 9 a.m. and arrive back in Lincoln around 2 p.m. For more information, contact Donna Rizzo at donna@ecacbed.com or Claire Mount at mounts781@gmail.com.