Harvard Farmers’ Market
Each Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, in front of Hildreth Elementary School, the Harvard Farmers’ Market offers a variety of vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood, baked goods, flowers, dairy products, live music, and more. Visit www.harvardfarmersmarket.org for more information.
Senior Citizens’ Chicken Barbecue
The Ayer Rotary Club will hold its annual Senior Citizens’ Chicken Barbecue Saturday, Sept. 15, at 11:30 a.m. at the Devens Community Center next to Rogers Field. The event is free to seniors in Ayer, Devens, Harvard, and Shirley. No reservations are needed. For more information call Dave Swain at 978-456-9850.
Lions Club Fall Festival
The Lions Club annual Fall Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 16, at 150 Ayer Road. The weekend lineup will include the Saturday Night Concert with stage show and dance party band Booty Vortex from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Fireworks will be held at 8:30 p.m., a new time to accommodate families with young children. A bonfire will follow the fireworks. Other events and features include the Mass State Championship Barbecue, crafters, a classic car show, activities for toddlers and kids, teen challenges, live music all day, and a variety of food offerings.
Daytime admission Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is $5 per person for all ages. The Saturday night concert and fireworks admission from 5 to 10:30 p.m. is $15 for adults and $10 for students. The daytime fee is waived for evening concert admissions purchased before 3 p.m. Saturday. Parking is free. More details are available at www.harvardfallfestival.com.
Harvard Shaker Village Tour
The Harvard Historical Society will sponsor an unprecedented opportunity to tour eight private homes in Harvard Shaker Village and the village conservation areas Saturday, Sept. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Historical Society will also exhibit selections from its Shaker collection at 215 Still River Road. Fruitlands will sell tickets and allow tour-goers free admission to Fruitlands on September 15 or 16 to visit the original Shaker Office, which is now a museum on site. Tickets are $75 and $60 for Harvard Historical Society members. To purchase from the Historical Society call 978-456-8285. For tickets from Fruitlands email education@fruitlands.org or call 978-456-3924, ext. 239.
Bird Banding Demonstration
The Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge will hold a Bird Banding Demonstration Sunday, Sept. 16, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a banding station on Depot Road in Still River. Adults and children with parents are welcome, with or without experience, anytime during the banding to help catch birds, take them out of the nets, collect data, band them, and let them go. To help set up the nets, participants should arrive before 8 a.m. Call Dr. Brown at 978-582-4734 and leave a message as to how many people are coming and when. The rain date will be Sept. 23.
Old Frog Pond Farm Sculpture Walk
Old Frog Pond Farm’s Sculpture Walk, “Around the Pond and Through the Woods,” will return with the work of 16 New England sculptors with an opening Sunday, Sept. 16, from 1 to 5 p.m. This year’s invitational exhibit will include four Harvard sculptors: Alicia Dwyer, Geoffrey Koetsch, Greta Minervini, and Linda Hoffman. Local bluegrass band Still River will play traditional bluegrass, as well as rock and roll and folk. Lila Terry, grower of “light root,” an Asian wild yam, will be on hand to give tours of the on-site light root boxes and discuss the medicinal and energetic properties of this new addition to the farm.
The sculpture walk can be toured weekends from 1 to 5 p.m. through Columbus Day. More information is available on the farm’s Facebook page and at www.oldfrogpondfarm.com.
Artist Panel Discussion
Fruitlands Museum will offer an artist panel discussion, “The Transcendentalist Landscape,” Sunday, Sept. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m., when panelists with varied creative and professional backgrounds will discuss unique approaches to documenting, interpreting, and transforming a landscape as a creative exercise. The panel discussion will be hosted by Fruitlands Museum Curator Mike Volmar and moderated by architect and artist William Turville. Free with admission.
Library Storytime
Storytimes at the Harvard Public Library will resume the week of Sept. 17. Exact days and times are available in the calendar at www.harvardpubliclibrary.org.
Well Adult Clinic
Nashoba Associated Boards of Health, in conjunction with the Harvard Board of Health, will hold a Well Adult Clinic Tuesday, Sept. 18, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Hildreth House. Drop in for blood pressure check, pulse screening, and diet teaching. No appointment is necessary. For further information, contact Nashoba Associated Boards of Health at 978-772-3335 or 1-800-427-9762, ext 333.
Lego Club
The Harvard Public Library’s Lego Club for all ages 5 and up will meet Saturday, Sept. 22, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Parents are encouraged to join in the fun and assist with supervision. See the Children’s Librarian for more information and to preregister.
Fanfare Home Concert
Fanfare, the music booster organization for Harvard public schools, will host “An Evening with Warren Vaché,” with accompaniment by Andy Brewster and Marc Lauritsen, Saturday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. in an intimate home concert. Warren Vaché is an accomplished cornet, trumpet, and flugelhorn player. Home Concert tickets are $30 per person and include wine, dessert, and coffee. Contact John Chapman at jpnchapman@yahoo.com for more information or to reserve a seat. More information about Vache is available at www.warrenvache.com.
Harrod Memorial Bike Ride
The Third Annual Ken Harrod Memorial Bike Ride, sponsored by the Harvard Firefighters, will take place Saturday, Sept. 22, at 9 a.m. at the Harvard Fire Station. For more information visit www.bikeride.com/calendar/event.asp?id=24239.
Cliff Eberhardt in Concert
Harvard Friends of the Arts will present Cliff Eberhardt in Concert Saturday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Harvard Public Library. The doors will open at 7 p.m. Seating is limited; reserve tickets ahead by calling 978-456-4114. Admission is free, but donations will be appreciated. For more information visit www.harvardpubliclibrary.org or www.cliffeberhardt.net.
Garden Club Daylily Sale
On Saturday, Sept. 22, the Garden Club of Harvard will sell divisions of the hardy, long-lived daylilies that have been growing beside Town Hall since club members planted them there some 15 years ago. The sale will be held beside Town Hall from 9 a.m. till noon, unless supplies run out earlier. Generously sized divisions will be available at $5 apiece, bagged in plastic for easy transport. The daylilies range from deep red through orange and gold to light yellow. Plants will be identified by color, and photos to show the colors are available on the Garden Club’s website http://harvardgardenclub.blogspot.com. Proceeds from the sale will go toward landscaping around Town Hall when its renovations are finished. For additional information, call Kathy Jackson at 978-456-8864 or email kaction@charter.net.
Scout Achievement Workshops
Fruitlands Museum will offer hands-on Scout Achievement Workshops to fulfill Boy Scout “Indian Lore” badge and Girl Scout “Native American” badge requirements Saturday, Sept. 22, and Saturday, Oct. 12. Scout groups may book for two-hour time slots at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.; customized programs are available. The cost is $12 per scout. Call 978-456-3924, ext. 239 for details.
Fruitlands Artist Talks
Fruitlands Museum will host talks by two artists whose works are displayed in the Visceral Murmurs exhibit. Painter Brian Burris will discuss his works Saturday, Sept. 22, from 1 to 3 p.m., and painter Cynthia Woehrle will talk about her work Sunday, Sept. 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. The talks are free with admission.
Nature Journals for Kids
Fruitlands Museum offers kids an opportunity to create nature journals at its Family Learning Center during its Nature Hike Sunday, Sept. 23, all day. Free with admission.
Early Release Movies for Bromfield Students
The Harvard Public Library will show an Early Release Movie for Bromfield students Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. The movie is rated PG-13.
OUT OF TOWN
Concert Series at the Bull Run
Upcoming concerts at the Bull Run Restaurant on Route 2A in Shirley:
• Friday, Sept. 14 Caravan of Thieves
• Friday, Sept. 14 Pete Anderson Band
• Friday, Sept. 21 Paula Poundstone, two shows
• Friday, Sept. 23 Air Traffic Controller
Tickets and information at bullrunrestaurant.com.
NRWA Hawk Watch and Hike
The Nashua River Watershed Association will lead a Hawk Watch and Hike Saturday, Sept. 15, at 9 a.m. on Mt. Watatic in Ashby. In the event of a steady rain, the event will be held Sunday, Sept. 16. On a good day in mid-September, a keen-eyed observer may see up to 3,000 hawks from the various peaks of the Wapack Range.
A 30- to 40-minute, moderately difficult hike, with a few steep sections, will begin at the trail head. The group will spend about three hours observing at the summit before heading back around 1:30 p.m. Participants should bring binoculars (a must), spotting scopes, bird book, food and water, hat, hiking seat, and a windbreaker. The hike is free, open to the public, and limited to the first 20 people who register. Children should be old enough to hike on their own—12 years and up—and be patient enough to spend several hours at the summit staring into the sky. No dogs.
To register or for more information, contact Mark Archambault at 978-448-0299, or email MarkA@NashuaRiverWatershed.org. Directions to the meet-up location will be given upon registration.
NRWA Outdoor Wellness Walking Program
The Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA) Outdoor Wellness Walking program’s opening day for the fall season will be Thursday, Sept. 20, at 8 a.m. at the Nashua River Rail Trail at the Station Street kiosk in Groton. Staff from the Nashoba Valley Medical Center will be on hand to conduct free blood pressure screenings. NRWA program directors will lead a 45-minute, approximately two-mile walk on the trail. Preregistration is required. Participants who preregister will receive a free pedometer, along with a packet of materials on exercise, diet, and walking. The program is free and open to the public. To register for opening day, contact Al Futterman, NRWA Land Programs Director, at 978-448-0299, or email AlF@NashuaRiverWatershed.org.
NRWA will lead free wellness walks four days a week at 8 a.m. on the rail trail. Group walks will be in Ayer on Mondays, Pepperell on Tuesdays, and Groton on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Participants can attend as many walk sessions a week as they choose.
NRWA Hike at Pine Meadow
The Nashua River Watershed Association will lead a free, guided hike Sunday, Sept. 23, from 1 to 2 p.m. at Pine Meadow Conservation Land in Ayer. For the comfort of all, no dogs are allowed. Registration is encouraged for planning purposes. For more details, visit Upcoming Programs and Events at www.NashuaRiverWatershed.org. To register, contact Al Futterman at 978-448-0299 or email AlF@NashuaRiverWatershed.org.
Organic Lawn Care Program
Bolton Local will sponsor an Organic Lawn Care Program Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. at the Bolton Public Library. Jan Johnson, the presenter, is a teacher and a Northeast Organic Farming Association Certified Landscaper with six years helping to manage an organic farm in New Hampshire. Learn more about Bolton Local at www.BoltonLocal.org.
Tales from the Hive
Groton Local will screen “Tales from the Hive” Thursday, Sept. 27, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. in Legion Hall, 75 Hollis St., Groton. The NOVA documentary chronicles a year in the life of a honeybee colony and takes viewers inside the innermost secrets of the hive. The event is free and open to all.
