The Natick Center Cultural District

Virtual: Jane Austen’s Sanditon: From Unfinished Swan Song to British Costume Drama
2025-10-22 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Bacon Free Library
Join author, former UK resident, and Anglophile Claire Evans for a look at Austen’s final, unfinished manuscript and its path from family heirloom to a fully imagined costume drama, airing on PBS. Learn about the real-life people and locations that informed Austen’s last work before her untimely death at age 41, as well as how the seeds of her ideas came to life on the small screen.
About the Speaker
Claire Evans is an author, former journalist, attorney, and college lecturer who started her love of most things British as she and her mother watched countless Britcoms on PBS. She studied abroad in London and, against the odds, she married a Brit she met in Peoria, Illinois. They lived in England for a number of years. Her business, Tea with Claire, grew from friends asking for travel advice. Her memoir, High Tea and the Low Down, is the true story of what it’s really like to marry a witty Englishman and move to Britain.

This program is hosted by the Bacon Free Library; it will be held on Zoom. Please register to receive the Zoom link via email.

Virtual: Taylor Swift Style – Fashion through the Eras
2025-10-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
For Taylor Swift, fashion and music go hand-in-hand — each playing a powerful role in shaping the narrative of this generation’s most prolific storyteller. From cowboy boots to teetering heels, fairytale dresses to bleach-tinged tresses, and the many memorable moments in between, learn the fashion story behind every single Taylor Swift album, tracing Swift’s musical evolution along with her ever-changing personal style. Author Sarah Chapelle will deliver a fascinating presentation based on her recent bestselling book, Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras.
This virtual program is presented in collaboration with the Bacon Free Library and the Tewksbury Public Library.
Please register her to receive the Zoom link.

About the Author
Sarah Chapelle, creator of the successful Instagram and blog Taylor Swift Style, has spent more than a decade documenting Swift’s fashion choices and the intention behind each ensemble.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Walnut Hill Theater Presents: The House of Bernarda Alba
2025-10-19 14:00 - 16:30, 2025-10-18 19:30 - 22:00, 2025-10-18 14:00 - 16:30, 2025-10-17 19:30 - 22:00 | Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Keiter Center, 146 Bacon St, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Set in a small Andalusian village just before the outbreak of The Spanish Civil War, The House of Bernarda Alba follows the well-to-do Bernarda and her five unmarried daughters in the days just after her husband’s death. Trapped inside Bernarda’s white-walled house by a combination of their mother’s tyranny, their society’s restrictive gender roles, and their lack of anywhere else to go, the five daughters struggle to imagine futures for themselves and start to fight over the one eligible bachelor left in town, the womanizing Pepe el Romano.
The House of Bernarda Alba will be performed in the Keiter Center for the Arts. Tickets are available at walnuthillarts.org/alba.

Natick Artists Open Studios
2025-10-19 11:00 - 2025-10-20 17:00 | Natick Center and surrounding locations
This event is Saturday, October 19, 2025, and Sunday, October 20, 2025, from 11:00 AM-5:00 PM each day.
Natick Open Studios is an opportunity for the public to meet and visit with artists living or working in Natick in informal settings to learn about their art and to purchase unique artistic creations directly from the artists.
The Natick Art Association is presently comprised of more than seventy artists working in a broad array of artistic mediums. They include painters, printmakers, sculptors, potters, mosaic artists, jewelers, fiber artists, photographers, and mixed media artists. Many of the organization’s members will participate in this year’s Open Studio weekend.
Traditionally held the third weekend in October, this year marks the 23rd anniversary of this town-wide event. Open studios are held at several group locations in Natick Center and at private studios all across town.
Some artists will offer live demonstrations during the open studio weekend and refreshments will be offered.

Annual Diwali Celebration
2025-10-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Common Street Spiritual Center
Annual Diwali Celebration
Songs – Prayers – Art – Reflection
All are welcome to this free special event happening in lieu of Common Street Spiritual Center’s weekly Open Circle.

Sunday, October 19, 2025. 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
Common Street Spiritual Center
13 Common Street, Natick, MA 01760

TCAN Annual Benefit 2025
2025-10-18 19:30 - 23:00 | The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), 14 Summer Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
TCAN Benefit 2025 continues a tradition of support for the positive impact the arts have on our community. Proceeds from the Annual Benefit support TCAN’s nonprofit mission to present artistic programming and community outreach initiatives throughout the year. Through subsidized tickets to world-class performances, scholarship opportunities, hosting of local nonprofit events and more, TCAN is dedicated to providing affordable and accessible arts programming that everyone can enjoy. Sponsors and patrons of TCAN Annual Benefit 2025 play an important role in supporting the TCAN mission.
As TCAN celebrates its 28th year as a community-based arts organization, TCAN Benefit 2025 features a performance by acclaimed composer and performing artist Bruce Hornsby.
About Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby has built one of the most diverse, collaborative, and adventurous careers in contemporary music. Drawing from a vast wellspring of American musical traditions, the singer/pianist/composer/bandleader has created a large and accomplished body of work and employed a vast array of stylistic approaches. Throughout this period, Hornsby has maintained the integrity, virtuosity, and artistic curiosity that have been hallmarks of his work from the start. Hornsby and his band The Range’s first album, The Way It Is (1986), was steadily and slowly building in popularity in the U.S. when, in August, the title track exploded on BBC Radio One in England, then Europe, the rest of the world, and finally in the United States.
His three Grammy wins (along with his ten Grammy losses!) typify the diversity of his career: Best New Artist (1986) as leader of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Best Bluegrass Recording (1989) for a version of his old Range hit “The Valley Road” that appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will The Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two, and a shared award with Branford Marsalis in 1993 for Best Pop Instrumental for “Barcelona Mona”, a song written and performed for the 1992 Olympic Games.
Visit: brucehornsby.com
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsors of TCAN Benefit 2025 receive premium seating for the concert, invitations to exclusive pre- and post-show events, special benefits, and recognition for your support. For more information, contact TCAN Development Manager Nicola Anderson at (508) 433-6140.

Natick Farmers Market
2025-10-18 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-10-11 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-10-04 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-09-27 09:00 - 13:00, 2025-09-20 09:00 - 13:00 | 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

Jammin with You
2025-10-17 10:30 - 11:00, 2025-10-03 10:30 - 11:00, 2025-09-19 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.
This program will be held outdoors on the BFL lawn, so bring a blanket or chairs. In case of rainy or cold weather (under 45 degrees), it will be rescheduled.

VIRTUAL: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift
2025-10-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Harvard professor Stephanie Burt will deliver a fascinating presentation based on her brand new book, Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift. Burt, who is a poet and literary scholar, will offer an insightful and heartfelt critical appreciation of Taylor Swift, her body of work, and the community that her art has fostered. Drawing from her 2024 Harvard course, Taylor Swift and Her World, as well as from her years as a Swiftie, Burt will examine Swift’s particular form of genius — not the destructive genius of tortured poets, but the collaborative and joyful genius of an artist who has mastered her craft.
This virtual program is presented in collaboration with the Bacon Free Library and the Tewksbury Public Library.

Please register here to receive the Zoom link.

About the Author
Stephanie Burt is the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University. Her work appears in the New York Times Book Review, the New Yorker, and the London Review of Books, among others. Her other books of poetry and literary criticism — 14 in all — include We Are Mermaids, Advice from the Lights, and Don’t Read Poetry: A Book About How to Read Poems.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Naturally 7
2025-10-11 20:00 - 22:30 | The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), 14 Summer Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Certain experiences burn themselves in your memory from the very first encounter. The jaw-dropping audio pyrotechnics that Naturally 7 put on display every night absolutely belong in that category. “A capella group” so vastly underplays what they create onstage that they had to coin a phrase – “Vocal Play” – to more accurately depict what they do. Naturally 7 is more than a tightly orchestrated collection of great singers. They transform their voices into actual human instruments, effortlessly producing music of any genre. Their vocal choreography is so perfectly interwoven that they compelled the musical maestro himself, Quincy Jones, to declare that “Naturally 7 is the future of vocal music!!” Their sonic mastery was on full display in a series of unforgettable performances on “The World’s Best” TV show, which premiered on CBS immediately following Super Bowl LIII. Hosted by comedian and “Car Karaoke” collaborator, James Corden, Naturally 7 reigned supreme as the world’s “Best Group”, and cemented their singular status among the planet’s musical elite.
This was only icing on the cake of a still-vibrant 20-year career, which includes 3 world tours – nearly 500 shows – with the incomparable Michael Bublé, shared billing with global phenomenon Coldplay – including a sold out show at the Barclays Center – and owned the spotlight in a pair of national Cheerios commercials. In addition to Bublé, Naturally 7 has shared the stage with numerous icons, including Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Quincy Jones, Sarah Connor, Lionel Richie, Ludacris, The Roots, and more. Counted among their world-famous fans are President Barack Obama, Will.I.Am., Ellen DeGeneres, Craig Ferguson, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jay Leno, Allan Titchmarsh, Mo’Nique, Jools Holland, and Arsenio Hall, along with countless others.
With the release of their latest project, 20/20, Naturally 7 comes full circle, adding a fresh spin on 20 fan favorites, hand selected by fans the world over. This, their eleventh studio album, celebrates their 20th anniversary in the music industry, giving music lovers all they could hope for, and then some. For the members of Naturally 7 – “Ricky“ Lee Ricardo Cort, Rod Eldridge, N’namdi Bryant, Sean Simmonds, Dwight Stewart, Roger Thomas, and Warren Thomas – it’s a privilege to do what they love and bring so much joy to the hearts of their fans each and every night. It’s exactly what you would expect. When something is pure magic it’s destined to withstand the test of time. Naturally… Naturally 7.
Visit: naturallyseven.com

John Gorka
2025-10-10 20:00 - 22:30 | The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), 14 Summer Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. Though small, Godfrey Daniels was and is one of the oldest and most venerable music institutions and has long been a hangout for music lovers and aspiring musicians. In the late 1970’s, John was one of these aspiring musicians. Although his academic coursework at Moravian College lay in Philosophy and History, music began to offer paramount enticements. Soon he found himself living in the club’s basement and acting as resident MC and sound man, encountering legendary folk troubadours like Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton and Claudia Schmidt.
Their brand of folk-inspired acoustic music inspired him, and before long he was performing his own songs – mostly as an opener for visiting acts. Soon he started traveling to New York City, where Jack Hardy’s legendary Fast Folk circle (a breeding ground for many a major singer-songwriter) became a powerful source of education and encouragement. Folk meccas like Texas’ Kerrville Folk Festival (where he won the New Folk Award in 1984) and Boston followed, and his stunningly soulful baritone voice and original songwriting began turning heads. Those who had at one time inspired him – Suzanne Vega, Bill Morrissey, Nanci Griffith, Christine Lavin, Shawn Colvin – had become his peers.
Visit: johngorka.com

VIRTUAL: The Allure of Vampires with Bill Thierfelder
2025-10-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library
Vampire stories have captivated people for centuries. Books, games, TV, and film have drawn audiences in with a mix of horror, sensuality, and the appeal of eternal life. The first mention of vampires was over a thousand years ago and since then their legend has become a part of our culture, with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of the character, and Anne Rice’s beguiling series of novels living long in the memory.
But why have the tales of the undead endured? What makes them so appealing in the modern day? This program, presented by retired arts & humanities professor Dr. Bill Thierfelder, explores the ongoing allure of these powerful creatures.
This virtual program is held in collaboration with the Groton Public Library and a variety of other local libraries; it is sponsored by the Groton Public Library Endowment Trust.
PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK.

About the Speaker
Bill Thierfelder, PhD, MA, is a retired professor of arts and humanities, with a PhD in English literature, an MA in theology, and a BA in English with additional concentrations in music history and art. After a stint teaching 2nd graders and then high schoolers, Bill spent the next 32 years teaching a variety of courses at several New York universities and colleges. He is currently docent emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History where he continues to give both Zoom and in-person presentations, work on special editing projects, and give tours. He also lectures regularly for libraries and educational organizations nationwide via Zoom. Learn more about Bill on his website: Making Wings.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

No Safety for Us: The internment of Native Americans on Deer Island
2025-10-04 11:00 - 12:00 | Natick Historical Society Museum
This year marks the 350th anniversary of King Philip’s War. This 14-month rebellion, which was led by the Wampanoag chief Metacom (later known as King Philip), was the Native Americans’ last-ditch effort to resist English authority and stop English settlement on their lands (history.com).

Soon after the war began, colonists set up an internment camp on Deer Island to relocate “Christianized” Indigenous people whom they believed could turn against the English and join the rebellion. In the winter of 1675-76, approximately 500 Native Americans were imprisoned on the island, many of whom perished without adequate food or shelter in the harsh New England temperatures (National Park Service).

The Natick Historical Society and the BFL will host Shawn Quigley from the National Park Service to discuss this tragedy on Deer Island. Shawn’s program will explore the historic use of the Boston Harbor Islands, their role as an internment camp for Native Americans from praying towns, and stories of survival and reliance from those imprisoned on Deer Island.

This program will take place at the Natick Historical Society, located downstairs from the BFL.

Registration is required.

Robin Baratz Oil Paintings
2025-10-02 09:30 - 17:30 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Robin Baratz creates oil paintings that depict her instinctive connection to natural land and water and to the people. She motors and sails to reach and capture countrysides, harbors, and cityscapes of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Europe, and Canada on her canvas. But, no matter what the actual locales, the scenes have broad appeal, reminding us of people and places we remember fondly.
Come to the Bacon Free Library to view her work, which will be on display from August 28th through October 9th. You can also enjoy this collection of oil paintings at The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) during the month of November.

Virtual: The Politics of Chocolate with Cocoa Beantown
2025-09-30 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
It’s hard not to smile when there’s chocolate around, but behind the deep, rich taste, there’s a whole world of serious –and fascinating– issues. Dive into the world of chocolate, exploring its entanglements with child labor; its aspirations with women-owned cooperatives and the Fair Trade movement; and its intrigues, including corporate espionage. The experts at Cocoa Beantown will tell us all about it.
This virtual program is presented by the Bacon Free Library in collaboration with the Groton Public Library.
Please register HERE for the Zoom link.

Virtual: Who REALLY Wrote Shakespeare? with Author and Historian David Kruh
2025-09-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Who Really penned all the works attributed to Shakespeare? The doubts have been around for over 300 years. How could William Shakespeare — a man who never sailed — have written with such accuracy about sailing in The Tempest? Or how — without studying law — could he have written with such insight about lawyers, courts, and legal issues, in plays such as Henry IV? Or — without ever serving in the military — written so splendidly of the rigors and technical aspects of war as he did in Hamlet? That he couldn’t and didn’t is a fascinating concept that has amused many, tantalized others, and consumed the lives of a few, including a Boston man who, in 1916, went to court to prove that someone other than Shakespeare wrote all those great works. Before you laugh… he won the case.
Hear the story of one man’s search for the “real” author of the works attributed to William Shakespeare and how — in a stunning piece of historical irony — that search played a role in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
This program is offered by the Bacon Free Library in collaboration with a multitude of MA Libraries; it is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.

Please register here for the Zoom link.

About the Author
David Kruh is a former New Yorker and a 1978 graduate of the University of Maryland. While earning his Masters in Computer Engineering at Boston University, David worked as an engineer at WRKO Radio. He has also worked full time as a copywriter, computer programmer, radio producer, radio engineer, and, for a few years in the mid-1990s, as a spokesman and web master for the Big Dig. He retired a few years ago from a semiconductor manufacturer, where he was the direct marketing manager. He is also the author of several other books, notably two on Boston’s Scollay Square and Building Route 128. David’s most recent book is Inseparable, based on the audacious 1962 escape by three inmates from Alcatraz.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Natick Powwow: Annual Harvest Moon & Creator Celebration
2025-09-27 10:00 - 17:00 | Cochituate State Park, 43 Commonwealth Rd, Natick, MA, 01770
Hosted by the Massachusett Praying Indians of Natick Tribe.
Host Drum: Generations
Natick Praying Indian wedding ceremony, singing, dancing, storytelling, food, flute and more!

Skin Studio Grand Opening
2025-09-25 18:00 - 20:00 | Skin Studio, 20 Main Street, Natick, MA, 01760
You are invited to Skin Studio Grand Opening! We would love for you to celebrate this new chapter with us!
Thursday, September 25, 2025, 6:00-8:00 PM.
20 Main Street, Suite 301, Natick, MA 01760
Visit www.skinstudioboston.com.

Virtual: Cooking Demo with Heidi McIndoo: Sloppy Joes & Deep Dish Cookie Pie
2025-09-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library – 58 Eliot Street Natick, MA 01760 United States
Just in time for the fall, learn how to make some yummy comfort food! Dietitian and chef Heidi McIndoo will walk us through making sloppy Joes and deep dish cookie pies. The recipes will be sent out prior to the program so you can cook along in real time, if you’d like.
This virtual program is brought to you by the Bacon Free Library in collaboration with a multitude of MA & NH libraries, and is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.

Please register here for the Zoom link.

About the Chef
Heidi Reichenberger McIndoo, MS, RD, LDN, is a nutrition consultant, spokesperson, author, and freelance writer with 25 years experience as a registered dietitian. She loves helping people realize that eating nutritiously doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor and pleasure. And, that giving up favorite foods is not a must.
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 Calorie 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 magazines articles and television broadcasts.
Heidi lives in the metro Boston area with her husband, and their daughter and son.

Recording Note: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Natick Porchfest 2025
2025-09-20 14:00 - 18:00
Natick Porchfest
Saturday, September 20, 2025, 2:00-6:00 PM
We will stop accepting applications on Friday, September 12, 2025.

If you have a band and want to play during Natick Center Porchfest, fill out this form.
If you have a porch near Natick Center and would like to host bands during Natick Center Porchfest, fill out this form.
Check out the street list below to see which neighborhoods have been selected:
Area #1: Washington St., Walnut St., Harvard St., Franklin St., Florence St., David Drive.
Area #2: Grant St., Wilson St., Sheridan St., Sherman St., Avon St., Garfield St., Chester St., Morse St.
Area #3: Pond St., Maple St., Plain St., Park St., Western Ave., Floral Ave., Waban St.
Note: Additional Areas/Locations will be considered based on the volume of interest and availability of artists.

For a full listing of porches and bands, visit the website here.

It is generously sponsored by Music Go Round Boston located on Rt. 9 in Natick.
Natick Center Porchfest will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 2:00-6:00 PM on the porches of generous hosts, who are sharing their porches and lawns with neighbors and the community around Natick Center!
The rain date is the following day (September 21) from 2:00-6:00 PM.
Email us at natickporchfest@gmail.com.
This event is organized by Natick Center Associates and a fantastic team of energetic community volunteers.

Atlanta Rhythm Section
2025-09-18 20:00 - 22:30 | The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), 14 Summer Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
The Atlanta Rhythm Section… ARS… In the annals of rock and roll, where do they fit? They put out 15 albums of excellent original material, and consistently put on entertaining live shows-both of which helped establish a broad if not huge fan base. They had some big hits and have been a major player in the Southern Rock scene. But is that the whole story? In some circles, maybe. But for those who’ve really gotten to know their music over the years, there’s a lot more to the story.
You know Atlanta Rhythm Section from the hits So Into You, I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight, Champagne Jam, Imaginary Lover, and their session work on the original recording of Spooky made famous by the Classics IV, and later re-recorded by ARS.
ARS was paired with contemporaries Lynyrd Skynyrd as the successors to the Allman Brothers – carrying the mantle of “Southern Rock” in the late 70s. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it may have made sense at the time. But performing songs that were more musically diverse and having hits that had a softer, pop sound, the “Southern Rock” label was a mixed blessing and many of their unique musical accomplishments became lost in a genre that has lived on to this day-but never really fit ARS.
Visit: atlantarhythmsection.com
