Free family fun on the Common
Join the Harvard Historical Society for A Common History Day, a free day of family fun on the Common Saturday, Sept. 25, noon to 4 p.m., with a rain date of Sunday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. Featured will be a scavenger hunt for kids featuring important structures on the Common; strolling musicians; goats and oxen around the town pound; and a chance to sit in the town stocks.
At 1 and 2:30 p.m., Carlene Phillips will give a talk based on her book “A Common History: The Story of Harvard’s Identity,” followed by an opportunity to meet four living-history characters who will be in front of the houses on the Common where they lived in past centuries.
Have a Jessie Day 5K ‘Your Way’
Through Sunday, Sept. 19, run or walk 5K on your own to benefit the Jessica Peterson Scholarship Fund. Submit a picture of yourself participating to jhorton@psharvard.org. Downloadable bibs provided to all registrants. Cost is $15. Register at tinyurl.com/HaJD5K.
Outdoor story times and book groups
Weekday story times and book groups will be held outdoors on the library lawn, 4 Pond Road, socially distanced under a tent. Registration is required for all story times due to limited space. If a story time nears capacity, priority will be given to Harvard/Devens/Hildreth Elementary School families. In case of rain or other predicted bad weather, story time will be moved to virtual format (Zoom links will be sent to all registrants). Sign up at forms.gle/ku8orCyKE8NYZXoC6.
Book groups are limited to Harvard residents and Hildreth students. Register at forms.gle/gg9xnRKxyFQyTkrh9.
- Infant story time for infants to 2-year-olds: Mondays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.
- Story time for 2s and 3s: Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.
- Story time for 4s and 5s: Mondays, 1:30 p.m.
- Virtual Saturday story time via Zoom: Ages 3 to 7: Saturday, Sept. 25, 10:30 a.m. Email childrensroom@harvardpubliclibrary.org to be added to the Saturday story time email list.
- Book discussion group for first- and second-graders: Monday, Oct. 25, 4 p.m.
- Book Group for Third-Graders: Monday, Oct. 4, 4 p.m.
- Book Group for Fourth-Graders: Monday, Oct. 18, 4 p.m. Fully registered—no spaces available.
- Book Group for Fifth-Graders: Tuesday, Oct. 12, 4 p.m.
- Book Group for Sixth-Graders: Tuesday, Oct. 26, 4 p.m.
Muster on the Common this Saturday
The Wachusett Muster League will host its annual muster Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on and around the Common. Festivities begin with a parade of firetrucks at 11 a.m., followed by six separate events featuring teams of firefighters demonstrating their skill and speed in fire-related tasks. The muster coincides with the Harvard Fire Department’s 100th anniversary, so be prepared to root for the home team. Parking is at the Bromfield School’s lot; local traffic will be directed through the event, but trucks will be rerouted.
Harvard’s stone wall mysteries solved!
Have questions about Harvard’s old stone walls? Join Harvard Conservation Trust and professor of geology Dr. Robert Thorson as he decodes mysteries from the thousands of stones that make up stone walls laid by colonists, Native Americans, and enslaved people.
This interactive Zoom presentation takes place Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. Register by Sept. 25 at bit.ly/HarvardStoneWalls.
Sketching, yoga, children’s activities at Fivesparks
Fivesparks is located at 7 Fairbank Street, Harvard.
- “in•sight: Together, Apart.” Four local artists invite the community to share their journeys through and work created during the pandemic. View Tuesdays through Fridays, noon to 6 p.m., open periodically Saturdays.
- Sketching basics: 10 weeks, Tuesdays 9:30 a.m.
- Dance, yoga, pilates fusion for adults: 10 weeks, Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.
- Introduction to still-life painting: 10 weeks, Thursdays 9:30 a.m.
- School early-release class: felted jack-o’-lantern. In-person class with Rachel Benson. Wednesday, Sept. 29,
- 1:45-3 p.m. Ages 8-11.
- Felted candy corn Zoom class: Thursday, Sept. 30, 4 p.m. Ages 8-adult.
- Painting with wool, fall scene Zoom class: Thursday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m. Ages 12-adult.
Register for all classes via the calendar at fivesparks.org.
Apple Harvest Ramble
The Apple Harvest Ramble Half Marathon and 5K through the back roads of Harvard takes place Sunday, Sept. 19, with race headquarters at the Bromfield School, 14 Mass. Ave. Registration, 7 a.m., half marathon, 9 a.m., 5K race 9:15 a.m. Learn more and register at bit.ly/2VkwVpP.
Free COA wellness classes
The Harvard Council on Aging offers free weekly wellness classes with instructor Nancy Webber. Stretch 101 takes place with an in-person option on the Hildreth House porch (weather dependent), 15 Elm Street, or online with Zoom. Tuesdays, September, 21 and 28, 9:30 a.m., or Fridays, Sept. 17 and 24, 9:30 a.m. In-person spots are limited; call 978-456-4120 or email dthompson@harvard-ma.gov to reserve. See the COA newsletter for more information, or call 978-456-4120.
Folk performer at Healing Garden
The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden Cancer Support Center, 145 Bolton Road, will present folk performer and songwriter Tom Smith in an outdoor, free benefit concert, Sunday, Sept. 26, at 3 p.m. Registration is required; visit healinggardensupport.org for more details and to register.
Out of Town
Music at Indian Hill
Indian Hill Music, 36 King St., Littleton, resumes its schedule of live performances, including orchestral, chamber, jazz, roots, and global music presentations. The Headliner Series opens Friday, Oct. 9, 8 p.m. with jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner. On Saturday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., the Orchestra of Indian Hill performs Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Hailstork. Visit bit.ly/3DUJdGH for more information.
Explore little-known African American history
Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area September programs:
- Wednesday, Sept. 22: “Concord’s Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary & Civil Wars: What were they fighting for?”
- Saturday, Sept. 25: “Letters From an Early Civil Rights Activist.”
- Wednesday, Sept. 29: “Free Blacks from the Revolutionary War-Civil War: How free were free people of color?”
Learn more at freedomsway.org.
Beer, wine, and spirit tasting in Devens
Tickets are available for “A Toast to Hope,” Thursday, Oct. 14, 6 p.m., at Devens Common Center, 31 Andrews Parkway, Devens. The event features tastings of wine, beer, spirits, and appetizers from local distributors and benefits Habitat for Humanity. Advance tickets $30; register at conta.cc/3jsZdrr.
Photos by Gordon Lankton, icon museum founder
The Museum of Russian Icons, 203 Union St., Clinton, is open Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Masks required. On view now: “The Long Way Home: A Photographic Journey with Gordon Lankton,” over 40 stunning photographs Lankton—who founded the Museum of Russian Icons—took during his journey from Germany to Japan on an NSU motorcycle in 1956 and 1957. More information at museumofrussianicons.org.
