The Natick Center Cultural District

Natick Farmers Market
2025-01-25 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-01-18 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-01-11 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-01-04 09:00 - 13:00, 2024-12-28 09:00 - 13:00, 2024-12-21 09:00 - 13:00, 2024-12-14 09:00 - 13:00, 2024-12-07 09:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Natick Common
The Natick Farmers Market is a year-round program of the Natick Center Cultural District and is open every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.

Visit natickfarmersmarket.org for current location and vendors.
Spring and Summer
Natick Town Common
The intersection of Routes 27 and 135
Natick

Fall and Winter
Common Street Spiritual Center
13 Common Street
Natick

Puppet Story Time
2025-01-24 10:30 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Through Me To You Puppetry invites you to join Newton and the gang for some story time fun at the Bacon Free Library! Newton and his puppet friends take turns reading stories and singing songs with the kids. At the end of the show, the kids are invited to say hi to Newton and even play with some of the puppets during a hands-on free play session.
All ages welcome. Registration is required.

In Conversation with Author and Historian Philippa Langley: Finding King Richard III and “The Princes in the Tower” (virtual)
2025-01-22 14:00 - 15:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
We are looking forward to chatting with author and historical sleuth, Philippa Langley, about her book The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case and her discovery of the grave of King Richard III in 2012. Join us as she discusses her research methods, her team, her findings, and how solving this cold case affects our understanding of the royal monarchy (in the 1500s, of course).
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and is held in collaboration with the Bacon Free Library, the Ashland Public Library, and a multitude of MA Libraries.

PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK

About the Author:
Philippa Langley, MBE is an historian and award-winning producer, best known for her discovery of Richard III in 2012. She is co-author of the bestselling The Lost King with Michael Jones (first published as The King’s Grave, John Murray 2013), and Finding Richard III, the official account of her Looking For Richard Project. On the ten-year anniversary of discovering Richard III, her extraordinary story was released as the internationally acclaimed major feature film, The Lost King, directed by Sir Stephen Frears and starring Sally Hawkins.
In November 2023, Philippa once again rewrote the history books in her new work The Princes in the Tower: Solving History’s Greatest Cold Case (The History Press, UK; Pegasus, USA). Based on her remarkable new research initiative, The Missing Princes Project, its now seven-year investigation revealed the Princes survived to challenge Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, for the throne of England. It has been made into a feature-length Factual Special TV documentary by Channel 4, PBS in America and SBS in Australia.

About The Missing Princes Project:
Following years of intensive research by Langley and her international team, she reveals the findings of The Missing Princes Project. Using investigative methodology, it places the most enduring of mysteries about what happened to the Princes in the Tower under a forensic microscope, unearthing an astonishing untold story of survival and uncovering remarkable new archival discoveries of proof of life. It is the first time that police cold case investigation analysis has been applied to a centuries-old historical mystery, leaving no stone unturned, and the results are extraordinary.

If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of Philippa’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.

MLK Jr. Day Service Opportunity - Fill the Van!
2025-01-20 09:00 - 11:00 | Natick High School
Help SPARK Kindness “Fill the Van” for the Natick Service Council on MLK Day!
We encourage community members and event attendees of Natick’s 20th Annual MLK Day Community Celebration to bring donations to help fill the van. Items can be dropped off on Monday, Jan. 20th from 9:00-11:00am at Natick High School.
Items needed include (unopened, not expired):

peanut butter & jelly
canned foods (tuna, beans, etc.)
pasta & sauce
soups
juice
cereal
soap (bars)
and toothpaste

Natick’s 20th Annual MLK Day Community Celebration
2025-01-20 09:00 - 11:00 | Natick High School
For community members of all ages! In person, with options to view the program virtually!
Celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy that inspires and empowers us all. Our program will feature performances from student groups, Middle School MLK Day Creative Contest winners, community leaders and partners, Interfaith Clergy representatives, a moving and interactive keynote from Jamele and Amy Adams, and more!
Join us immediately before the program at 9:00am for a Community Connection Event, including special MLK Day activities for all ages, and time to meet student groups, community organizations, neighbors and friends. Free refreshments for all guests will be provided by Starbucks! Our MLK Day program will begin promptly at 10am.
Can’t join us in person? You can livestream the program through Natick Pegasus or watch through Natick Community Television channels: RCN 3, Comcast 99, and Verizon 29 beginning at 10am. Visit https://tinyurl.com/NatickMLKDay2025 for more information about this special community event.

Jammin with You
2025-01-17 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.

Registration is required due to space limitations.

Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank

How Birds Created the World and other stories from “The Complete Language of Birds” with Author Randi Minetor (virtual)
2025-01-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
We’re very excited to chat with author and journalist Randi Minetor who, with her photographer husband Nic, has visited 354 (out of 429) National Parks! All of their travels have inspired one of Randi’s books, The Complete Language Of Birds. In this program, Randi will discuss her latest book, birds and their evolution, and (hopefully) some of her travels.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and held in collaboration with the Bacon Free Library, the Ashland Public Library, and several NH and MA libraries.

PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Randi Minetor discovered the backcountry wonders of America’s national parks in 1992 with her husband, photographer/lighting designer Nic Minetor. That first trip changed her life, and by 2000, the Minetors had pledged to see all 391 (now 429) national parks in their lifetimes. They found a way to subsidize this passion in 2006, when they began writing and photographing books on the parks for The Globe Pequot Press (now Rowman & Littlefield). Today Randi has written more than 90 books, including seven books in the nonfiction Death in the National Parks series, ten hiking guides in New York State, several bird-finding guides, and even reference books on health topics. To date, they have visited 354 national parks. In addition, Nic’s photography appears in eight Quick Reference Guides to the Birds, Trees, and Wildflowers of New York City and New York State, and The Trees and Wildflowers of the Mid-Atlantic States. The Minetors live in Rochester, NY.

About The Complete Language of Birds:

If you’re a nature lover who thrives on bird videos and photography, go beyond the scope of standard field guides with this comprehensive reference. Each entry of The Complete Language of Birds provides not only the bird’s name and physical qualities, but also its history, symbolic meanings, and hidden properties from mythology, legends, and folklore.

If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of Randi’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.

Winter Sowing
2025-01-11 11:30 - 12:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Winter sowing is a simple way to start seeds outdoors during the wintertime. All you need is a milk jug, potting soil, seeds, and a sunny, protected location. Once you’ve sown your seeds, you can practically forget about them until it is time to transplant the seedlings into your spring garden bed.
At this workshop, hosted by the Bacon Free Library, you’ll learn all about this process while creating your own winter sowing jug.
All supplies will be provided in the workshop. Registration is required.

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

Vous parlez français ?
un peu, beaucoup, pas de problèmes.
Venez nous rejoindre pour parler ou pour écouter.

Art Across the Globe
2025-01-11 10:00 - 11:00
Watch & learn from Artist Dr. Avijit Majumder
What to expect:

To get the best out of the demo, we recommend that you listen and observe the instructions during the workshop and paint the artwork later.
Meet the artist.
Q&A session with the artists.
Access the workshop video for 3-weeks and complete your artwork.
Share your artwork with fellow participants and the organizers.

Sponsored by Natick Center Cultural District and facilitated by Artsy Way of Life.

Reserve your spot today!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

2024 Holiday Hustle
2024-12-22 - 2024-12-24
December 20 to 24

SHOP LOCAL! Enjoy holiday specials like these from participating member businesses downtown:
Five Crows Gallery and Handcrafted Gifts 20% OFF framed wall art and quilts! Holiday Hours: Mon. – Fri 11 – 7:00 pm, Sat. 10 – 5:00 pm Sun. 11 – 4:00 pm, Christmas Eve 11 – 3 pm
Calliope Paperie 40% off all Christmas items! Christmas Eve from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

43 Main St. Studios Unique designs make perfect gifts!

Ten Trees Books No-cost gift wrapping! Extended Holiday Hours: 9 am – 8 pm
Baylee Bee Surprise discounts every day! Mon-Saturday 10- 7:00, Sunday 12-7:00
Stucchi Jewelers NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY! Holiday Hours: 10-7pm. Christmas Eve 10-3:00pm

Metro Pets 10% off Christmas and Hanukkah toys! Hours 10 – 6:00 pm daily!
Vivilicious Chocolates Sweet gifts, artfully handcrafted in chocolate! Mon – Fri. 12-7pm; Sat 9-5pm, Sun. 10-5pm, and Christmas Eve – 9-2
Boston Body Pilates Gift card sale – $25 for every $100 spent.
Planted Collective Plant-inspired gifts! December 20-24 open from 10 to 7 pm
Uni – T Get 10% OFF any single item by mentioning this offer in store!
Villari’s Martial Arts Sign up in December for $20!

Jammin with You
2024-12-20 10:30 - 11:00, 2024-12-06 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

Brack Career Center Walk In Hours
2024-12-12 11:00 - 15:00 | Natick Service Council, 2 Webster St., Natick, MA, 01760
Drop in during our Walk In Hours and meet with a mentor to talk about your job search, resume, and general employment goals.
Whether you are just starting to think about a change, or you have been searching for some time, we have professionals to help you discuss your employment goals.
Come visit us at the Brack Career Develpment Center to get help on resume writing and review, LinkedIn profiles, job search advice, interview tips, and more. Open to all Natick residents at no cost!
If you have a resume make sure to bring that along. And do not stress if you don’t have one!

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.

2024 Holiday Stroll and Holiday Tree Lightning
2024-12-07 14:00 - 18:00
STROLL, SHOP, AND ENJOY THE LIGHTS IN NATICK CENTER!
Events on Natick Common:
Come celebrate the season with Natick Recreation and Parks Department from 2-4:45pm! Enjoy a festive afternoon filled with holiday crafts, fun games, and special performances. Santa will be visiting Natick’s elementary schools on his fire truck from 2:45 to 4:45 and he’ll return to the Common at 4:45 to light the tree. MORE DETAILS HERE
Bach to Rock will be hosting an Instrument Petting Zoo from 2 to 3pm.
Empire Dance Company Join us on the Common from 3 to 3:30PM as we prepare for the holiday season with a festive performance! Offering free trials through January 31, 2025. empiredancecompanyma@gmail.com (508) 397-2219

Main Street and Beyond:
SHOP LOCAL! Enjoy holiday specials like these from participating shops and restaurants downtown:

Baylee Bee Visit to find that perfect holiday outfit, have your photo taken with Santa’s Elf, and get 20% off all apparel!

Five Crows Gallery & Handcrafted Gifts 20% OFF all Wall Art & Quilts over $30!
Dates and Olives Dining inspired from Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, keeping foods delicious fresh and nutritious in a vibrant ambience.
Paper Fiesta Shop for the holidays and enjoy Free Balloon Twisting from 2 to 5pm with Jonah’s Twisters!
Planted Collective New store offering a curated selection of plant-inspired decor, gifts, and beautiful house plants.

Ten Trees Books will be giving away a canvas store tote with each purchase over $100.
TCAN Come see ELF on the big screen at 2pm! Free popcorn to anyone who mentions the Holiday Stroll!

Uni – T Enjoy a 10% discount on any single item when you mention this promo.
Vivilicious Chocolates Truffles – turtles – hot chocolate – teas and coffees, complimentary samples – perks and gift sets!

First Congregational Church – Enjoy caroling with accompaniment from young musicians and a living crèche from 3 – 4:30 on the Front Porch of First Congregational Church of Natick.
