The Natick Center Cultural District

Author Heather Wolf Discusses "Find & Identify More Birds: How to Pick a Patch" (virtual)
2024-09-23 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Library to bring you bestselling author Heather Wolf, who will be discussing how to find and identify more birds by picking a “patch,” a place close to home where you can watch birds often. She’ll give tips on how to pick a patch and how to use it not only as a “classroom” to become a better birder, but also as a way to connect more deeply with the nature that surrounds you.
Please register HERE for the Zoom link.

Canning, Freezing, & Dehydrating with Blackstone Valley Veggie Gardens (Virtual)
2024-09-25 18:00 - 19:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Got way too much production from your garden this year? No problem! We’ll show you the easiest and best ways to preserve it all.
The Bacon Free Library is happy to welcome the experts at Blackstone Valley Veggie Gardens to teach us about canning, freezing and dehydrating.
This program will be held over Zoom; register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Changing Weather in MetroWest: Extreme Heat, Flooding, & Wind (virtual)
2024-09-25 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Climate change is here and impacting our weather systems.
Join us for this virtual program to learn how weather systems are changing in MetroWest, how extreme heat has impacted MetroWest, and how we can prepare for extreme weather.
Last summer, Natick, Ashland, Framingham, and Holliston took part in a heat study conducted by the McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University. The findings of that study are helping to explain the relationship between nature and heat islands located in MetroWest. This program is presented by the sustainability staff from Ashland, Natick, and Framingham in partnership with Dr. Irene Porro, the Director of the McAuliffe Center.

The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Public Library, the Framingham Public Library, the Holliston Public Library and the Morse Institute to bring you this program.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Library in collaboration with the sustainability coordinators in Ashland, Framingham, and Natick.

Please register HERE for the Zoom link.

Mind Reader Gregg Dwyer
2024-09-28 11:30 - 12:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Gregg Dwyer has been involved in the arts for many years and is willing to give you a peek into the magical world which has been hidden from most. Gregg’s goal is not to trick you, but to help you see the vast potential that lies deep within your own mind. Gregg started as an escape artist and an illusionist on Doug Henning’s Broadway hit “The Magic Show.”

Join us on the lawn of the Bacon Free Library for this amazing experience. No reservations necessary.
In case of rain, this event will be held indoors with limited seating.

Great Boston Fires with Author and Historian David Kruh (virtual)
2024-09-30 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Public Library to bring you author and historian, David Kruh.
In this virtual program, David will guide us through several devastating fires and their impact on Boston, from the many “great” fires of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries (including the truly Great Fire of 1872), the Cocoanut Grove tragedy of 1942 (which killed 492), and the Hotel Vendome fire of 1972 (which resulted in the deaths of eight fire fighters.)
How did these fires happen? What was learned from these events? What, if anything, was done to try to prevent similar catastrophes? David’s newest slide show, filled with images from these events, answers these and other questions.
Please register HERE for the Zoom link.

Read to a Dog
2024-10-05 10:00 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Children can build confidence and practice their reading skills by reading out loud to a registered therapy dog at the Bacon Free Library.
Children ages 5 and up can sign up for a 15-minute reading session with Sophie, a gentle golden retriever who loves belly rubs, stories, and cuddles.
Registration is required for each child attending.

Art Reception – Quilts by Frances Caruso Daneault
2024-10-08 17:00 - 18:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is thrilled to welcome back former Assistant Director and Children’s Librarian extraordinaire Fran Daneault to exhibit her spectacular collection of quilts. Along with raising her two sons in Natick and working at the Bacon, Fran has also spent years perfecting her crafting skills. She applies the same energy, creativity, joy, and humor to her artistic works that she brought in working with children and families at the BFL, where she frequently wore and gifted some of her handmade creations.
A longtime resident of Natick, Fran and her husband recently relocated to New Hampshire, where Fran can be found walking on the beach, volunteering in her local library, and quilting up a storm.
Fran’s quilts will be on display at the BFL from September 19th – October 30th. Join us at this reception to view the quilts and visit with Fran.

From Fran:

I am a scrappy, wonky, modern, art quilter who sometimes makes traditional quilts.
I like learning in classes and workshops but have trouble sticking to a pattern.
For fabric, I collect randomly spaced dots, paisleys, loudly busy prints and happy colors. I think, perhaps wrongly, that they all go together.
I own way too much fabric but still feel the need to give orphaned fabrics a home.
I hope you enjoy this collection of quilts.

Closing the Garden (virtual)
2024-10-09 18:00 - 19:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
As the gardening season comes to a close, we at the Bacon Free Library are looking for advice on closing down the garden. In this virtual program, the experts at Blackstone Valley Veggie Gardens will explain why fall is the best time to get a jump start on the following year. We’ll explore pruning, seed saving, mulching, composting, and more.

This program will be held over Zoom. Please register to receive the program link.
Image by AC works Co., Ltd. from Pixabay

In Conversation with Historical Fiction Author Madeline Martin (virtual)
2024-10-10 19:00 - 20:00
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Public Library to bring you author Madeline Martin.
This one is for book lovers everywhere! We’re so pleased to be chatting with author Madeline Martin about her newest release, The Booklover’s Library, as well as several of her other book-related books such as The Keeper of Hidden Books and The Librarian Spy. We hope you can join us for this fun and fascinating conversation.

Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and internationally bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into more than 25 languages.
She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the minions), two incredibly spoiled cats, and a man so wonderful he’s been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she’s not writing, researching or ‘moming’, you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos. She also loves to travel, attributing her fascination with history to having spent most of her childhood as an Army brat in Germany.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK.

Preschool Pumpkin Party
2024-10-25 10:30 - 11:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Join us at the Bacon Free Library for some messy fall fun!
We’ll have a variety of craft stations, sensory bins, and fine motor activities, all involving pumpkins. Recommended for ages 1-5 with a caregiver. Wear clothes and shoes that can get messy!
This program will be outdoors, weather permitting. Due to limited supplies, registration is required. Please register separately for each child attending.
Pumpkins donated by Tilly & Salvy’s Bacon Street Farm.

Celebrate Diwali – take & make craft for all ages
2024-10-28 09:30 - 17:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Stop by the Bacon Free Library during the week of October 28th and pick up your free Take & Make Diwali craft. This easy-to-make craft is for all ages.

Even More Haunted Lighthouses of New England with Author Jeremy D’Entremont (virtual)
2024-10-28 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Just in time for Halloween, join us for some spooky tales set in the hauntingly beautiful lighthouses of New England. The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Public Library to bring you author Jeremy D’Entremont.
Jeremy is the president and historian of the American Lighthouse Foundation, historian for the U.S. Lighthouse Society, and the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He’s the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s podcast, Light Hearted. He has appeared on the popular Ghost Hunters TV show, as well as Haunted Lighthouses of America on the Travel Channel. He has also appeared on the History Channel, Public Television, and National Public Radio speaking about lighthouses.
NOTE: This program will be recorded and available to view on the Ashland Library’s YouTube Channel.
PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK.

Jammin With You
2024-11-01 10:30 - 11:00, 2024-11-15 10:30 - 11:00, 2024-12-06 10:30 - 11:00, 2024-12-20 10:30 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Be prepared to laugh, dance, sing, and jam your way through 30 minutes of non-stop family fun at the Bacon Free Library! This performance is geared toward kids ages 1 – 7, but fun for the whole family. With modern takes on children’s classics and classic original tunes, you’ll be humming and bopping all the way home.
With the cooler weather, we have moved this program indoors. Registration is required due to space limitations.

Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank

Nature Photography Exhibit by Lia Vito
2024-11-07 08:00 - 17:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Local photographer Lia Vito has brought the autumnal beauty of Acadia National Park to the walls of the Bacon Free Library. Come in to enjoy her photography featuring the rich golden hues of the Maine foliage along with up-close and personal peaks into wild birds in action.
Lia’s photographs will be on display from October 31 – December 11th.

Holiday Baking Demonstration with Heidi McIndoo: Mini Pumpkin Pie Tartlets (virtual)
2024-11-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Public Library to bring you this scrumptious cooking demonstration. If you are looking for a sweet treat for the holidays that won’t sabotage your healthy eating goals, join registered dietitian Heidi McIndoo to make mini pumpkin pie tartlets.
Heidi Reichenberger McIndoo, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., is a nutrition consultant, spokesperson, author, and freelance writer with 25 years experience as a registered dietitian. She loves helping people to realize that eating nutritiously doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor and pleasure.
Heidi currently works with Hannaford Supermarkets and in corporate wellness. She’s the author of When to Eat What and the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to 200-300-400 Calories Meals. In addition, she has written for several magazines including, All You, Today’s Diet & Nutrition, Parents, Family Circle, Self, Prevention, Fitness, Shape, and Woman’s Day; and newsletters such as Environmental Nutrition and Women’s Nutrition Connection. As a former national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) she’s been quoted as an expert in hundreds of magazine articles and television broadcasts.
Heidi lives in the metro Boston area with her husband and their daughter and son.
This event will be held over Zoom. Please register to receive the meeting link.
RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Sourdough Starter Workshop
2024-11-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Join us at the Bacon Free Library for a workshop led by Sourdough Brandon.
You’ll learn how to make, maintain, and store a sourdough starter and you’ll go home with a piece of Brandon’s sourdough starter.
Registration is required.

Q&A with Author and Historian Kathleen DuVal: “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America” (virtual)
2024-11-25 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Ashland Public Library to bring you this conversation with Native American historian Kathleen DuVal. Listen in to learn more about the history of local Indigenous Peoples as well as for insight into their resilience and battle for self-sovereignty.
Professor, historian, and author Kathleen DuVal will discuss her book Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. According to The Wall Street Journal, DuVal’s latest book is “An essential American history that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today.”
Kathleen is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her field of expertise is early American history, particularly interactions among Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans on the borderlands of North America. Her books include Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution and Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. Find her on X.

This program will be held over Zoom. Please register to receive the meeting link.
To purchase a signed copy of her latest work, go to the Aesop’s Fable website and request a signed book in the notes section at check out.
RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Bead Bracelets and Corn Husk Dolls with the Natick Nipmuc
2024-11-30 11:00 - 12:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Stop by the Bacon Free Library and make a beaded bracelet or a corn husk doll with members of the Natick Nipmuc. In honor of National Native American Heritage month, members of the Natick Nipmuc Tribe will be on-site to teach you how to create these lovely traditional crafts.
This event is held in collaboration with the Natick Historical Society.
No need to sign up. Just stop by.

Food Explorers -- Spring Rolls
2024-12-10 16:00 - 17:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Join Food Explorers for a delicious cooking program at the Bacon Free Library!
You’ll be making spring rolls with a Registered Dietitian. Learn how to soak and wrap your spring rolls and fill with an assortment of fresh veggies, rice noodles, and soy sauce. The recipe is nut free but will contain soy.
This in-person cooking class is for ages 16 and older. Registration is required.

Playful Engineers -- Chain Reactions & Creative Contraptions
2024-12-27 10:30 - 11:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Bring your kiddo to the Bacon Free Library for hands-on, play-based, STEAM-powered learning with Playful Engineers!
In this program, kids will design, build, test, and play with chain reactions and creative contraptions, like Rube Goldberg machines, paper constructions, domino towers, and more.
This program is designed for kids ages 5 and up. Registration is required for each child attending.

Instrument Petting Zoo
2024-12-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with Bach to Rock (B2R) in Wellesley to bring you this instrument petting zoo. B2R will bring a variety of musical instruments to the BfL for 60 minutes of instrument exploration to give people of all ages a chance to learn about instruments and experience playing them.
Please stop by to try out an instrument, or two, that you’re curious about.
No registration required.

Clay Melted Snowman Craft
2024-12-30 14:00 - 15:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Embrace the fun of winter with this class at the Bacon Free Library led by Pop Up Art School! Create a whimsical melted snowman using air-dry clay, and bring your piece to life with vibrant acrylic paints—all in one session. You’ll leave the class with a completed, playful winter decoration that’s ready to display.
This program is designed for kids and teens ages 8 and up. Registration is required for each participant.

Jammin With You
2025-01-03 10:30 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Be prepared to laugh, dance, sing, and jam your way through 30 minutes of non-stop family fun! This performance is geared toward kids ages 1 – 7, but fun for the whole family. With modern takes on children’s classics and classic original tunes, you’ll be humming and bopping all the way home.
Registration is required due to space limitations.

Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank

Read to a Dog
2025-01-04 10:00 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Kids can build confidence and practice their reading skills by reading out loud to a registered therapy dog at the Bacon Free Library.
Children ages 5 and up can sign up for a 15-minute reading session with Sophie, a gentle golden retriever who loves belly rubs, stories, and cuddles.
Registration is required for each child attending.

Q&A with Author Erica Cirino: Healthy Plastic-Free Pregnancy and Parenting (virtual)
2025-01-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Erica Cirino, author of Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis, joins us to help new parents (and all concerned!) with reducing plastic in their lives as they also welcome new life into their homes. Plastic pollution is particularly harmful to unborn babies, infants, and children due to their rapidly growing bodies. Unfortunately, plastic is almost everywhere and can feel particularly unavoidable when pregnant and parenting. Yet there are many simple steps you can take to minimize your family’s exposure to plastics.

By providing evidence-based solutions, practical tips, and resources to make change, Erica will show us how to eliminate plastics from pregnancy and parenting.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and in partnership with the Bacon Free Library and a multitude of MA & NH libraries.

PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK.
This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

About the Author:
Erica Cirino is a science writer and artist exploring the intersection of the human and nonhuman worlds. Her widely published photojournalistic works depict the numerous ways people connect to nature—wild creatures in particular—and shape planet earth.

About Thicker Than Water (according to Island Press):
Much of what you’ve heard about plastic pollution may be wrong. Instead of a great island of trash, the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of manmade debris spread over hundreds of miles of sea—more like a soup than a floating garbage dump. Recycling is more complicated than we were taught: less than nine percent of the plastic we create is reused, and the majority ends up in the ocean. And plastic pollution isn’t confined to the open ocean: it’s in much of the air we breathe and the food we eat.
In Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis, journalist Erica Cirino brings readers on a globe-hopping journey to meet the scientists and activists telling the real story of the plastic crisis. From the deck of a plastic-hunting sailboat with a disabled engine, to the labs doing cutting-edge research on microplastics and the chemicals we ingest, Cirino paints a full picture of how plastic pollution is threatening wildlife and human health. Thicker Than Water reveals that the plastic crisis is also a tale of environmental injustice, as poorer nations take in a larger share of the world’s trash, and manufacturing chemicals threaten predominantly Black and low-income communities.
There is some hope on the horizon, with new laws banning single-use items and technological innovations to replace plastic in our lives. But Cirino shows that we can only fix the problem if we face its full scope and begin to repair our throwaway culture. Thicker Than Water is an eloquent call to reexamine the systems churning out waves of plastic waste.

If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of Erica’s book, you can do so through Aesop’s Fable. In the comment section of checkout, note that you would like your book to come with a signed bookplate.

Music & Movement with Walnut Hill
2025-01-10 10:30 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
The Bacon Free Library is happy to welcome Miss Katie from the Community Theater Academy at Walnut Hill School for the Arts for some music and movement. This program emphasizes the bond between children and their caregivers, while enriching their musical, cognitive, and physical development. Participants will enjoy simple rhythmic patterns, dances, and activities. Instruments like rhythm sticks, bells, shakers, and drums are used, as well as scarves, balls, bubbles, and more.
This program is geared toward children ages 6 months to 4 years. Registration is required.
Sponsored by the Community Theater Academy at Walnut Hill School for the Arts

Français à la bibliothèque
2025-01-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
BONJOUR !

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un peu, beaucoup, pas de problèmes.
Venez nous rejoindre pour parler ou pour écouter.
