Festival of Cultures
The Harvard PTO will sponsor its fifth annual Festival of Cultures, “Places to See,” Friday, March 16, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Hildreth Elementary School. The purpose of the two-part event is to embrace, celebrate, and value the diversity in our community.
From 6 to 7:15 p.m. in the HES gym, visitors will have a chance to meet with “ambassadors,” Hildreth Elementary School family members with direct experience in the roughly 18 countries or regions they represent. Children will receive passports as they travel from country to country, learning about landmarks, art, culture, sports, religions, food, history, music, and locations. A hands-on craft area will offer crafts from around the world. A silent auction will include donated international food items and meals delivered or served at a future date.
The second half of the program will feature live performances in the cafetorium from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. No food will be served at either part of the event. For more information, visit web.me.com/deb.barton/Festival_of_Cultures.
The Elementary School Art Show will open the same evening.
Alan Reid Concert for the Organ Restoration Fund
Alan Reid, one of the original members of Scotland’s famed Battlefield Band, will be in concert with Rob Van Sante at the Harvard Historical Society, 215 Still River Road, on Friday, March 16, at 8 p.m. Harvard’s Chris O’Rourke-Friel and friends will open for the duo. Reid and Van Sante will present an evening of music featuring Reid’s compositions, Battlefield Band favorites, and Van Sante’s own songs.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $12 for students. Family discounts are available. Advance tickets are available by mailing a check to the Harvard Historical Society, PO Box 542, Harvard MA 01451; or email curator@harvardhistory.org requesting a reserved seat with payment at the door. Tickets will be available the evening of the concert.
Part of the proceeds for this concert will go to the Harvard Historical Society’s Organ Restoration Fund. Reid will be incorporating the use of this organ into his concert.
‘Kilimanjaro: Journey to the Roof of Africa’
Peter Christoph, a respected photographer and president of the Camera Club of Central New England, will lead a photographic journey through five climate zones, from tropical rain forest to arctic conditions, toward the summit of 19,340-foot high Mount Kilimanjaro Friday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. in Volunteers Hall in the Harvard Public Library. Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. This event is part of the Warner Free Lecture Series.
Painting Class with Jill Pottle
Artist Jill Pottle will teach a class on “Painting Materials and Methods with Oils and Acrylics” for beginning and returning artists who want to learn or brush up on fundamental painting skills Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. beginning March 16 through April 27 at Fruitlands Museum. To register call 978-456-3924, ext. 292, or email mdelaney@fruitlands.org.
Tree Grafting Workshop
Harvard horticulturist Denis Wagner will lead a hands-on workshop to learn about grafting apple trees Saturday, March 17, at 1 p.m. at Fruitlands Museum. Participants will need to bring a grafting knife or one can be purchased on the premises, pruning shears, and cuttings from a favorite apple tree to graft. Rootstocks and scion wood will be supplied. Requests for a certain variety of apple scion wood should be mentioned when making reservations, which are required as space is limited. Fee is $40 for members and $50 for nonmembers. To register call 978-456-3924, ext. 292, or email mdelaney@fruitlands.org.
Family Presentation by Children’s Author Pallotta
Children’s author Jerry Pallotta will be presenting on Thursday, March 22, from 6 to 7 p.m. in Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School. Pallotta will explore the craft of researching and writing, editing, and reworking a book. Pallotta’s illustrated series of elementary math books includes “Apple Fractions,” “Hershey Multiplication,” “One Hundred Ways to Get to 100,” and “Count to a Million.” His curriculum-based books focus on reading, writing, math, and science, with a dose of humor and the unexpected. Parents and students are invited to this presentation, which is sponsored by the Harvard PTO.
Knit Wits for Students
The Harvard Public Library will host Knit Wits, a workshop for all levels of knitters in grades four through 12 led by teen volunteer Janet Sorrells, Monday March 19, at 3:30 p.m. Projects will depend on skill levels of group members; more advanced knitters may bring their own projects to work on. Please register.
Annual Lego Expo
Time to start building for Harvard Public Library’s Fourth Annual Lego Expo Saturday, March 24. Participants bring constructions of their own design to the Expo to share with others and to be judged. Group times are: ages 3 to 5, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; ages 6 to 8, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.; ages 9 to 12, teens 13 to 18, and adults (18+), 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Register in the Children’s Room where construction guidelines will be available. Due to space limitations, the Lego Expo is open only to Harvard residents and children who attend school in Harvard.
Bare Hill Rowing Arts, Crafts, and Bake Sale
Bare Hill Rowing Association and the Bromfield/Acton-Boxborough Rowing Team will host an arts, crafts, and bake sale on Saturday, March 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pilot Project at the Old Harvard Library, 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard. Featuring an assortment of local treasures, the sale showcases the unique works of artists, artisans, and crafters from Harvard to Cambridge and surrounding communities. Baked goods will also be available. Admission to the sale is free and purchases may be made by cash or check only. Donations will be accepted. Proceeds of the sale will benefit Bare Hill Rowing and the Bromfield/Acton-Boxborough Rowing Team. For more information, contact Leslie Hart at 978-772-1340.
An Evening of Music and Dance to Build an African School
Build a School in Africa, a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization helping to build schools in deserving communities in Mali, West Africa, will be hosting the 11th Annual “African Rhythms” show on Saturday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School. This event is a significant part of the 2012 fundraising campaign. The show will feature music and dance from the African Diaspora, and is offering drumming led by Malian djembe player Sory Diabaté, traditional West African dances by the Teriya Dance Company and Troupe Teranga, hip-hop numbers by the Hip-Hop Mamas and a teen group from the Acton Movement Center, Latin/Caribbean selections from the Harvard Academy of Dance, a jazz funk group headed by Derrick Davis from the Dance Theater of New England, and a multi-generational group under the direction of Alice Heller.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students. All proceeds from the show will be used to build a school in the under-served rural area around Sikasso, Mali. For more information or directions visit www.BuildaSchoolinAfrica.org.
Electronic and Appliance Recycle Day
Electronic and Appliance Recycle Day will be Saturday, March 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Congregational Church of Harvard parking lot, 5 Still River Road. All electronics, including monitors, computers, stereo equipment, copy and fax machines, and televisions will be accepted. Also accepted will be any appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves, air conditioners, microwaves, and dehumidifiers. If it has an electrical plug or battery, it can be recycled, as can items containing Freon. In addition, lawn mowers and snow blowers (without gas), gas grills, and exercise equipment will be accepted. The fee will be $5 for each monitor or computer, $10 for any appliance such as washers, $15 televisions over 19 inches, and $20 for televisions over 32 inches, as well as large projection TV’s and wood consoles. Cell phones, cameras, tools, car batteries, and bikes are free. For more information contact j.wood36@yahoo.com.
The Joys of Drawing
The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden, 145 Bolton Road, will sponsor “The Joys of Drawing” on Saturday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. In this class, participants will draw from observation as well as from imagination. Exercises such as gesture, contour, and automatic drawing will be included. No special skills are needed. All are welcome to participate. The class leader, Karen Beaver, has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and has studied expressive therapy at Lesley University. She has also been a client at the Healing Garden. The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members and includes the materials fee. This class is limited to 10 participants. Contact the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden at 978-456-3532.
‘Faith-Lifts: Food for Thought’
Singer-songwriter David Roth will perform “Faith-Lifts: Food for Thought” at the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church on Sunday, March 25, at 10 a.m. Roth has earned top honors at premier songwriter competitions in Kerrville, Texas, and Falcon Ridge, N.Y., and taken his music, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries for more than two decades.
Eat Yourself Healthy
John and Fifi Ball are facilitating a five-week video and discussion course on nutrition that started March 14 and runs through April 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church Fellowship Building at 7 Elm St. Participants may attend any part or all of the film and discussion course. A free CD-ROM will be offered to attendees at the last meeting of the series. There is no charge for attendance or for light refreshments. Advance registration is encouraged but not required. To find out more about the course or to register for the series, contact John Ball at JohnABall@verizon.net or 978-456-3552.
Realistic Artistic for Students
Teen volunteer Nicole Lynch will lead lessons in simple art skills and tips for grades 4 to 8 Wednesday March 28, at 1:30 p.m at the Harvard Public Library. Space is limited to six; please register.
OUT OF TOWN
Concert Series at the Bull Run
The Bull Run Restaurant on Route 2A in Shirley continues its concert series with:
- Saturday, March 17: Yoke Shire, Celtic Show for St. Patrick’s Day.
- Friday, March 23: Bellevue Cadillac.
- Saturday, March 24: Buskin & Batteau.
- Saturday, March 24: Robin Lane.
Beauty and the Beast at NRHS
The Nashoba Regional High School Drama Society’s spring musical, Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” will be performed in the NRHS auditorium, 12 Green Road, Bolton, on Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24, at 7:30 p.m.; matinees are Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25, at 2 p.m. A special “children’s tea” will immediately follow the Sunday matinee, allowing the children in the audience to meet and greet the characters and allow parents to take pictures. Young Disney devotees are encouraged to wear their favorite Disney costumes to this event. Show information and online ticket sales are available at www.nashobadrama.com.
What’s So Cool About a Vernal Pool?
Discover the insects and amphibians that live in and around a vernal pool. On Saturday, March 24, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Nashua River Watershed Association naturalists will lead this family adventure to look for salamander and frog eggs, fairy shrimp, and aquatic insects. The workshop is appropriate for all ages. The program site is in Groton; directions will be provided upon registration. The cost is $8 per person or $24 per family for NRWA members; and $10 per person or $30 per family for non-members. Registration is required. Space is limited. To register, contact Stacey Chilcoat, NRWA River classroom director, at 978-448-0299 or email StaceyC@NashuaRiverWatershed.org.
March Family Barn Dance
Groton Grange presents its March Family Barn Dance on Saturday, March 24, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at historic Groton Grange Hall, 80 Champney Street. Live music will be provided by Groton’s own Contra Banditos. Dudley Laufman, a well-known dance caller from New Hampshire, will make a return appearance to introduce square, circle, and contra dances appropriate for beginners, teens, families, and young at heart. Donation at the door is $5 for adults, $3 for children and seniors, with a maximum of $15 per family. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Brad at 978-448-3418.
Ayer Freemasons Welcome Public
The Freemasons of Ayer’s Caleb Butler Lodge join with Masonic lodges across the state to open their doors to the public on Saturday, March 25, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., as part of the 2012 Early Spring Open House, a state-wide celebration of Freemasonry. Anyone wondering who the Freemasons are, whether they might be descendants of Old World master cathedral builders or the Knights Templar, how they answer the challenges of the 21st century, and what their buildings contain is welcome to visit.
