The Phantom Tollbooth
Superstar Productions will present The Phantom Tollbooth, a musical theater production, Friday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m. at Bromfield’s Cronin Auditorium. Nine Harvard fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders, directed by Kate Hoch, will bring the 1961 classic children’s book to life with acting, dancing, and song. Tickets on sale at the door will be $5; children younger than 5 will be admitted free.
Family Movie Night
The Harvard Public Library will host a Family Movie Night, featuring the movie G-Force (PG), Friday, Jan. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the library. Popcorn and water will be served. Seats are limited; pre-register by calling the Children’s Room at 978-456-4114.
Fruitlands talk: ‘A Natural History of Boston’
Fruitlands Museum will begin its off-season Sunday lecture series with a talk by author John Hanson Mitchell, who will discuss his newest work, The Paradise of All These Parts: A Natural History of Boston, Sunday, Jan. 10, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Fruitlands Museum. In 1614, John Smith sailed into what was to become Boston Harbor and referred to the wild lands and waters around him as “the Paradise of all these parts.” Fifteen years later a company of Puritans arrived and within a few decades, a new city, known as Boston, was rising among the hills of the peninsula. In his book, Mitchell sets out to explore what remains of Smith’s “Paradise” through a series of looping walks around what is left of the Shawmut peninsula. Admission is free for museum members and $10 for nonmembers. For more information visit www.fruitlands.org.
Fanfare! Concert Rehearsal Benefit
Fanfare! will host an open rehearsal of the Worcester Chamber Music Society to benefit the music departments in the Harvard Public Schools Sunday, Jan. 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. at a residence on Willow Road. Performers will share the rehearsal experience with their guests. Wine and hors d’œuvres will follow an interactive rehearsal of one movement of Brahms’ Piano Quintet. Tickets are $50 per person; proceeds will fund the WCMS educational program at the Bromfield School on Jan. 11. Contact Lillian Burkart at 978-456-8970 or e-mail lillian@burkart.com for details.
Tracking Field Trip
The Friends of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge will begin its 2010 field trip program Sunday, Jan. 10, from 10 to noon. Naturalist Janet Pesaturo, founder of Nashaway Trackers, will lead participants in exploring the refuge for tracks and signs of the many animals who make it their home. Trackers should wear sturdy footwear and extra-warm clothes, and plan to meet at the entrance to the refuge off Still River Depot Road. Participation is limited; early reservations are recommended. For more information and to reserve a spot call Rona Balco at 978-779-2259. Snow date is Jan. 17.
Program on Energy Efficiency for Older Homes
On Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m. the Harvard Energy Advisory Committee will host a talk in Volunteers Hall at the public library on how to make an older home more energy-efficient. The presenter, Jeffrey Rhodin, is a Lexington resident who founded Sustainable Energy Analytics in 2008 to help educate builders and homeowners and provide them with services that maximize the return on their energy-efficiency improvement budgets. He holds a degree in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University College of Engineering.
Rhodin will discuss the constantly expanding list of products and services that promise all sorts of benefits and will help homeowners understand what they should do first and what is the best use of a family’s budget. He will also discuss important safety issues, basic concepts of home energy conservation, best-practice energy-efficiency improvement processes, and a case study that puts it all together.
Harvard Pro Musica First Rehearsal
Harvard Pro Musica’s first open rehearsal for the spring 2010 season will be Tuesday, Jan. 12, from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m. at the Harvard Unitarian Church. All voice parts are welcome; no audition is required. The May 2010 concert will be a joint performance with the Sounds of Stow chorus and will feature the music of Eric Whitacre. For more information visit www.harvardpromusica.org, e-mail info@harvardpromusica.org or call 978-456-5039.
WBN Roundtable
The Women’s Business Network will offer small roundtable discussions addressing business challenges WBN members face in owner-operated businesses Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7:15 p.m. at Holy Trinity Parish (formerly St. Theresa’s Church). The meeting will be designed to help members get to know each other and to gain from others’ experiences and ideas in brainstorming sessions. Members will gather in small groups to discuss specific challenges they are facing. Discussions will be summarized and then shared with the rest of the participants. Sue Jackson of Harvard Art and Kate Deyst of Growing Places Garden Project will coordinate the evening. For more information visit www.wbn-ma.org or call Renee W. Senes at 978-456-9600.
Lego Club
The Harvard Public Library will host a Lego Club for children age 5 and older Saturday, Jan. 16, from 1:30 to 3 p.m at the library. Participants should bring their own Lego and/or Duplo bricks. Creative building is encouraged; the library will have Lego books available for inspiration. Parents are encouraged to join in the fun and assist with supervision. Pre-registration in the Children’s Room is requested; enrollment is limited to 20.
Chamber Music on the Common
The Worcester Chamber Music Society (WCMS) will perform “Winter Romance,” Sunday, Jan. 17, at 3 p.m. at Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church. A pre-concert talk will begin at 2:30 p.m. The society’s first concert of the new year features soprano Maria Ferrante singing two Mozart arias. Award-winning composer-in-residence, Mark Berger, will join WCMS for a performance of his latest quartet for flute and strings, “Spell,” which will also be presented in a special show at the Bromfield School on Jan. 11. Ian Watson will be featured in Brahms’ “Piano Quintet” and Mahler’s “Piano Quartet.” Tickets are $20 for seniors, $10 for students, and $25 for other adults. For more information call 978-456-2730 or visit www.worcesterchambermusic.org.
Warner Free Lecture: Tales of the Blizzard of ’78
The Warner Free Lecture Series will offer “Ten hours until dawn: A blizzard of ’78 tale of heroism and tragedy,” a talk by author and adventurer Michael Tougias, Friday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. at Volunteers Hall. The narrated slide presentation will tell the tale of two boats at sea during the storm. “The best story of peril at sea since Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm,” said a Booklist review.
OUT OF TOWN
Indian Hill Art Exhibit
The Gallery at Indian Hill will present hand-colored lithographs of American Indians of the early 1800s by Joseph O. Lewis, on loan from Fruitlands Museum, through March 12 at 36 King St. in Littleton. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. Call 978-486-9524 or visit www.indianhillmusic.org for more information.
Teen Open Mic
Indian Hill Music School’s next Jammin’ on the Hill open mic night for teens ages 13 to 18 will be Friday, Jan. 8, from 7 to 10 p.m. at 36 King St. in Littleton. Local bands and solo acts are invited to perform in a safe, informal setting. Refreshments will be served. There will be a $5 cover charge for audience and performers. Call 978-486-9524 or e-mail sal@indianhillmusic.org to request a spot. Learn more at www.indianhillmusic.org.
Footloose, the Musical
Starz-N-Lightz Repertory Theatre’s Teen Ensemble will present Footloose, the Musical, Fridays and Saturdays, Jan. 8, 9, 15, and 16, at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, Jan. 10 and 17, at 2 p.m. at Littleton High School auditorium, 56 King St. in Littleton. This musical is about a father longing for the son he lost and a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. Tickets, which are $13 for adults and $11 for students and seniors, will be available through MKTix.com, at West Acton Market, and Danny’s Place, and by calling 978-760-3116 or e-mailing Tickets@StarzNLightz.org.
Chamber Music at Indian Hill
Indian Hill Music will present chamber musicians Donald Weilerstein (violin) and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (piano) performing works by Schumann, Ravel, and Enescu, Saturday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. at The Kalliroscope Gallery, 264 Main St. in Groton. Tickets, which include a post-concert wine-and-cheese reception with the artists, are $25 for adults and $15 for students. For more information call 978-486-9524 or visit www.indianhillmusic.org.
Parker School Applications
The Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School will hold informational programs about the school Sundays, Jan. 10 and 24, at 1 p.m. at the school in Devens. The programs will offer an overview of the curriculum and Parker staff, with current students and parents on hand to answer questions about the academic program, extra-curricular activities, and student life. All prospective students and their parents must attend an information session as part of the application process. For more information call the school at 978-772-3293 or visit www.parker.org.
Oak Meadow Montessori Tour
Oak Meadow Montessori School will hold a tour for parents of prospective students for the 2010-2011 school year Monday, Jan. 11, from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m at 2 Old Pickard Lane in Littleton. To register, call 978-486-9874, ext. 226 or e-mail admissions@oakmeadow.org.
Cyber Safety Program
The Exchange Club of Clinton, in conjunction with the Clinton School System, will host a free Cyber Safety program for parents in the community Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 6 p.m. at the Clinton Middle School cafetorium at 300 West Boylston Road in Clinton. The Cyber Crime Unit from the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley will provide an informative seminar covering the latest trends in social networking such as FaceBook, Twitter, and MySpace, and online computer safety over the Internet.
Indian Hill Jazz Jam
Amateur jazz instrumentalists and vocalists are invited to an open jam session led by Indian Hill Music School faculty Friday, Jan. 15, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Indian Hill Music School, 36 King St. in Littleton. Admission is $5 per person. Call 978-486-9524 for more details and to sign up or visit www.indianhillmusic.org.
‘Bach’s Lunch’ Concert
Indian Hill Music School’s free monthly faculty series will present jazz standards with vocalist Paul Pampinella and guitarist Eric Baldwin Thursday, Jan. 21, from noon to 1 p.m. at 36 King St. in Littleton. Coffee, tea, and cookies will be served; bring a lunch. For more information call 978-486-9524 or visit www.indianhillmusic.org.
Family Pajama Jam
Digital Federal Credit Union will sponsor a Family Pajama Jam Friday, Jan. 22, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Indian Hill Music School, 36 King St. in Littleton. Young families are invited to sing, dance, and play musical instruments during the free musical story hour. For more information call 978-486-9524 or visit www.indianhillmusic.org.
Become a Beekeeper
The Groton Grange will offer a six-week beekeeping class Thursday evenings, beginning Feb. 25, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Groton Grange, 80 Champney St. in Groton. The cost is $70, which includes a beekeeping manual and a membership to Middlesex County Beekeepers Association. To register, mail a check made out to “Groton #7 Grange” to Al Horton, 30 Oak St., Dunstable, MA 01827. For more information e-mail Al Horton at anhljp@aol.com.
