Category: Events

Events for adults, families and kids in Newton, MA.

A Celebration of Women’s Health: Girls Night Out!

On Tuesday, October 22 from 6:30-8:00pm, Newton-Wellesley Hospital will host a Girls Night Out: A Celebration of Women’s Health, at the Newton Marriott 2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton.

Welcome Reception – 6:30-7:00pm

Start the night off with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a wine reception while visiting a variety of health and wellness displays. Enter to win a door prize!

Expert Health Panel – 7:00-8:00pm

Health Questions You’re Afraid to Ask — Stephanie Morris, MD

Do you have health questions that you’re uncomfortable asking your doctor? Are you curious about symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause such as changes in sexual function, body changes and hot flashes? Are you experiencing abnormal uterine bleeding that is bothersome or embarrassing? Are you concerned about having an HPV (Human Papillomavirus) infection or an abnormal pap smear?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then join us for a discussion on some of the top issues patients find difficult to bring up to their doctor. There will be an opportunity to anonymously ask your own questions to be addressed during the talk.

Caring for Yourself Through the Decades — Jennie Mastroianni, NP

Learn the health-focused essentials to keep you on track during each decade of your life with a focus on self-care, healthy living and disease prevention strategies.

What Does Your Family History Tell You — Taryn Rourke, Genetic Counselor

A family history of certain types of cancers can increase your risk of breast, colon and gynecological cancers. Come and learn about who should have genetic testing and the benefits and risks of these tests.

Registration is strongly encouraged. To reserve your space, email carefinder@partners.org or call 617-243-6622.

October 13, 2013
FREE Opera for Kids! Mooch the Messy

This Columbus Day Weekend, The Boston Conservatory is offering the opportunity to introduce your children to opera in a way they’ll truly enjoy, for free! For the second time this year, The Conservatory is presenting the children’s opera Mooch the Messy.

The show is specifically recommended for preschool and elementary school-aged children. It’s based on the 1979 book by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and tells the story of Mooch, a rat from Boston, who learns about neatness and responsibility when his father comes for a visit. He also learns to be himself in a delightful mix of humor, music and fun.

You can see Mooch the Messy Saturday, October 12^th at 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. at The Boston Conservatory’s newly renovated Seully Hall, located at 8 The Fenway in Boston. You can also catch special showings on Monday, October 14^th (Columbus Day) at the Boston Children’s Museum at 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. The Conservatory show is free; and the museum show is free with the purchase of admission.

You can see an example of part of Mooch the Messy here:

Music is by Marcus DeLoach
Lyrics are by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Marcus DeLoach

About The Boston Conservatory

The Boston Conservatory trains exceptional, young performing artists for careers that enrich and transform the human experience. Known for its intimate and supportive multi-disciplinary environment, The Boston Conservatory offers fully accredited graduate and undergraduate programs in music, dance and musical theater, and presents more than 200 performances each year by students, faculty and guest artists. Since its founding in 1867, The Boston Conservatory has shared its talent and creativity with the city of Boston, the region and the nation, and continues to grow today as a vibrant community of artists and educators. For more information, visit us here.

October 11, 2013
The Needham Craft Fair & Silent Auction

Join us on OCTOBER 19, 2013 at The Needham Craft Fair. My friend Sharon Schindler will be be there too with her wonderful photographs, some of which are made into these really cool stone coasters!

Fun Shopping for the whole family. Get your holiday shopping done early!

Visitor Hours

Craft Fair
9:30-4

Silent Auction
10-3

$6 Admission
$5 Seniors
Free for under 13

See our 2013 Crafters

The Needham Craft Fair & Silent Auction is an enormously popular shopping event combining a juried craft show along with a silent auction. Each year, the event draws savvy shoppers and generous bidders from all over Massachusetts.

The Needham Craft Fair is hosted at the Needham High school every year near the end of October. Come explore over 100 selected exhibitors from towns in MA and the surrounding states and see an extensive array of beautiful and unique fashions, gifts, home goods, body products and more.

The Silent Auction provides an opportunity for our local Needham businesses to gain exposure by donating to the Needham High School PTC fundraiser. We see items from small and large surrounding businesses, and all crafters are asked to donate an item.

Get your holiday shopping out of the way early! The craft show and auction make the perfect opportunity to take care of your holiday and Christmas shopping.

Shop for jewelry, woven goods, hand painted items, paper products, floral arrangements, photography, tasty condiments, sauces and more. Bid on services like spa treatments, products, and gift certificates to restaurant and hotels.

Be sure to stop by our incredible Bake Sale which offers cookies, cakes and breads which you can enjoy that day or take home to enjoy later.

Sandwiches, water and coffee are also available for purchase if you are shopping around lunch time.

October 9, 2013
Susan Cooper at Wellesley Free Library (The Dark is Rising!)

Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper, author of the award winning The Dark is Rising sequence, is coming to the Wellesley Free Library on Wednesday, October 9th at 7:00pm.

With her signature sense of history and enchantment, Ms. Cooper ignites the imagination of young readers with her latest historical novel, Ghost Hawk.

Don’t miss this chance to hear about her writing process, ask questions, and get a book signed by this beloved author.

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October 7, 2013
Yogurtland Celebrates Grand Opening: Free Yogurt and Family Entertainment

Yogurtland Newton Center will celebrate the grand opening of the popular frozen yogurt shop with free yogurt and family entertainment. Yogurtland Newton Center, which opened in August, is located at 1231 Centre Street and is open Sunday thru Thursday from 11:30 am – 10 pm, and on Friday and Saturday until 11pm.

The grand opening events include:

   Free yogurt and toppings from 11 AM – 3 PM;

   Balloon artist and face painter from 11 AM – 1 PM;

   Prizes and giveaways from 5 – 8 PM;

   And buy-one, get-one free yogurt and toppings from 8 – 11 PM.

This location is owned and operated by business partners Anthony Parrinello and Noah Siegel, who will be developing a half dozen more locations.

“With its distinctive custom-made flavors, Yogurtland is different and better than any other frozen yogurt options, and we are excited to provide this great tasting yogurt experience to the Newton community. Yogurtland has received a warm welcome from Newton residents, and we look forward to celebrating with the community on October 5th,” said Noah Siegel.

At Yogurtland’s self-serve frozen yogurt shops, guests are welcomed by a bright, cheerful wall of sweet and tart yogurt flavors and a topping bar filled with healthful and indulgent options. Paying by the ounce, guests can choose among 16 yogurt flavors and more than 60 fruit and premium toppings to create their own delicious frozen treat and top it off their way.

October 5, 2013
Family Bike Event: Tour de Newton!

Sign up for the “Tour de Newton” – The first annual Tour de Newton is scheduled for October 6 and it promises to be a great event for everyone – kids, adults, experienced bicyclists and casual riders.

The Tour will be a 20 mile bicycle ride that will start simultaneously in all 13 villages at 9:30am.

Bike the whole loop with a group of your neighbors and be guided by a leader and a sweeper who know the route. The route’s been carefully chosen to be a fun, safe and pleasant ride.

As the group arrives at each village, you’ll be met by greeters who’ll give you a specially designed village badge and tell you a bit about the highlights of their village. Complete the whole route and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a new bike from International Bicycle on Needham St.

It should be a great event, so sign up here.

September 30, 2013
Peirce Elementary School Playground Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser

Peirce Elementary School is raising money for a new playground and everyone is welcome to use it when it is complete.

But the price tag is high. In order to get an inclusive playground with a rubber surface that allow for wheelchairs, the cost is $175,000. So far, Peirce is almost half way there. But We Need Your Help!

We’re holding a Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser on Saturday, October 5th from 11 am to 4pm. Please buy a pumpkin and help us get closer to our goal.

This is the playground we hope to install. If we don’t meet our fundraising goal over the next 6 six weeks, we will have to use woodchips instead of the rubber surface. Woodchips won’t allow for inclusion and are not as safe for falls as the rubber surface. Also, part of the playground structure might have to be eliminated.

Figuring out an idea play structure was a team effort. Peirce students weighed in with ideas such as these:

Please consider Peirce for your Fall and Halloween pumpkin needs! We hope you will visit our pumpkin patch!

September 28, 2013
Sports Injury Expert to Speak at JCC (FREE Event)

Dr. William Meehan, III, a national expert on sports injury prevention and director of The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention in Waltham, will discuss sports injuries and concussion prevention at a free talk at the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton on Sunday, October 6 at 9am.

Dr. Meehan is also the director of the Sports Concussion Clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital, the author ofKids, Sports and Concussions: A Guide for Coaches and Parents, and the director of Research for the Brain Injury Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is the team physician for the Northeastern University men’s ice hockey team.

Organized sports participation by children and teenagers is at an all-time high,” says Dr. Meehan. “Approximately 38 million children and teenagers participate in organized sports.

The benefits of sports participation are numerous. However, these benefits come with the risk of injuries. Proper preparation for individual sports that involves injury prevention education and training is where parents, coaches and schools can make a difference.”

The Micheli Center educates and trains athletes of all ages to minimize the risk of sports injuries.

The talk is open to the entire community.

The JCC is located at 333 Nahanton Street in Newton Center. For more information, contact 617-558-6459.

September 24, 2013
Meet the Female Scientists at Discovery Museums Acton! FREE

The Discovery Museums Continue Popular

First Friday Nights Free! Program for 2013 – 2014

Special “Meet the Scientists” Event on October 4

The Discovery Museums are pleased to announce their First Friday Nights Free! program for 2013-2014, offering free admission to both museums along with extended evening hours on the first Friday night of the month.

Between October 2013 and June 2014, both the Children’s Discovery Museum and the Science Discovery Museum will be open until8:30pm, with free admission beginning at 4:30pm. Families are invited to picnic under the stars when the weather permits, and enjoy the Museums at night.

Special program October 4: Meet the Scientists

During the season’s opening First Friday Nights Free!, the Museums will be host to several scientists participating their ongoing Portal to the Public program, a national network of museums bringing scientists and the public together in face-to-face interactive programs. The “Meet the Scientists” event will take place from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Friday, October 4. Visitors will have the opportunity to talk to real scientists and do hands-on activities that they have developed, including:

Laura Proctor of MathWorks – will lead participants in performing numeric sorting of numbers to determine patterns that would be helpful in sorting hundreds of numbers, similar to how a computer might apply an algorithm, or pattern, to finish a task.

Professor Melissa Kosinski-Collins of Brandeis University – will be exploring how scientists tag molecules in a cell using fluorescent markers. Participants will “search” for hidden items in a cell model.

Dr. Sarah Sundelacruz of Tufts University – visitors will explore how scientists grow tissues to help our bodies heal.

Dr. Jocelyn LeBlanc from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School – will show how the brain is the most remarkable part of the human body through “tricks” demonstrating the amazing ways the brain can adapt.

Dr. Dimitra Pouli of Tufts University – will demonstrate the multifaceted nature of light.

Dr. Mathangi Krishnamurthy of Fitchburg State University – will lead an activity showing how we can affect the speed/rate of chemical reactions, namely decomposition, by using chemical substances called catalysts.

Suanna Selby Crowley, PhD, RPA of Boston College – will lead several activities exploring the textures, components, and facts about archaeological soils and sediments and how they help tell the story of ancient sites.

Dr. Casey Wade of Brandeis University – will explore the relationship between chemistry and electricity.

First Friday Nights Free! is an important component of the Museums’ Open Door Connections program, which provides opportunities for those who face a variety of barriers—financial, geographic, developmental, or cultural—to experience the Museums. The program is sponsored by Emerson Hospital with additional support from the local cultural councils of Acton-Boxborough, Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Harvard, Hudson, Leominster, Lexington, Littleton, Maynard, Waltham, Wayland and Westford.

Collections for Local Food Pantries

The Discovery Museums will collect non-perishable donations for Open Table of Concord and Maynard and the Acton Food Pantry on Fridays as party of this special family promotion. Suggested items include peanut butter, canned proteins, coffee, tea, cereal, pasta sauce, juice boxes, jam/jelly, canned vegetables, and baking mixes.

September 23, 2013
Harvest Festivals All Over Massachusetts

Celebrate New England’s colorful fall season at one of these harvest festivals.

For New Englanders and visitors alike, the changing colors of the leaves to vibrant oranges, reds and browns in the fall are the highlight of the year. Celebrate this visually striking season at the many harvest festivals throughout Massachusetts. These annual celebrations highlight nostalgic activities like pumpkin picking, hayrides and savoring the tasty fall flavors.

For more information on fall activities and happenings, visit massvacation.com or check out the “MassFinds” blog at massvacation.com/blog.

Greater Boston

Newton Community Farm Festival, Sunday, September 29th from 11 am to 3 pm.

Harpoon Octoberfest ~ Boston, MA
Friday, October 4, 2013, 5:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. and October 5, 2013 ~ 2 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Boston-based brewery, Harpoon, threw their very first Octoberfest in Boston in 1990. Now it has become a beloved New England fall celebration. Nibble on bratwursts, marvel at a German chocolate cake-eating contest and toast your favorite beers while lederhosen-clad musicians waltz. This year marks the 23rd Anniversary of the original New England-style Octoberfest. For more information, visit HarpoonBrewery.com.

Boston Local Food Festival ~ Boston, MA
October 6, 2013, 11a.m. – 5 p.m.
For one day only, Boston’s Greenway transforms into the nation’s largest local and sustainable food hub. Local food growers, producers, educators and supporters, gather to taste the artisan foods of Boston. Festivalgoers will have the opportunity to learn creative ways to grow food, take home food from local farmers and producers, taste beer, mead and wine and more. For more information, visit BostonLocalFoodFestival.com.

Cape Cod and the Islands

The Milestone Cranberry Bog and the Nantucket Foundation’s 11th Annual Cranberry Festival ~ Nantucket, MA
October 12, 2013, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Watch this plump red fruit being harvested, learn about the history of cranberry farming on Nantucket and enjoy live music and autumn scenery. Take a self-guided tour of the bogs to learn about their historic role in Nantucket agriculture and then snack on fresh cranberries from the bogs, chocolate covered cranberries or cranberry bread. For more information, visit the Nantucket Foundation’s website.

Wellfleet Oysterfest ~ Wellfleet, Cape Cod, MA
October 19 – 20, 2013, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
One of the oldest oyster guidelines instructs to only eat oysters during the months that include the letter “r.” Seeing as October fits the bill, what better month to celebrate an oysterfest? Once you are full on these little bivalves, visit the booths of more than 75 artisans, enjoy live music and kids activities like face painting and moonbounces. Continue onto an oyster reef tour, a nature walk or act as a spectator at the Annual Oyster Shuck-off Competition. Then it’s back to more oysters at the 12 raw bars at the festival. For more information, visit WellfleetOysterFest.org.

North of Boston and Greater Merrimack Valley

Newburyport Fall Harvest Festival ~ Newburyport, MA
October 13 – 14, 2013, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
A Newburyport tradition for more than 3 decades, Fall Harvest Festival features skilled artists offering handmade crafts, live music and food from Newburyport’s best restaurants. Catch this festival at the tale end of Columbus Day weekend and don’t miss the scarecrow contest showcasing a gallery of inventive scarecrows throughout Market Square. For more information, visit this website.

South of Boston

Silverbrook Farm Fall Harvest Festival ~ Acushnet, MA
September 21, 2013 – October 27, 2013, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Every Saturday and Sunday from the end of September to the end of October, Silverbrook Farm hosts their Fall Harvest Festival. Travel through the farm aboard a horse drawn hayride or go exploring in a corn maze. Try your hand at pumpkin painting and don’t forget your free sugar pumpkin at the end of the day to take home. For more information, visit TheSilverBrookFarm.com.

Central Massachusetts

Applefest ~ Princeton, MA
October 19 – 20, 2013, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
More than 75 craft and farmers’ market booths unite on Wachusett Mountain to pay homage to the fall season and its most popular fruit. Enjoy a mountainside BBQ, pony and hayrides and chainsaw carving demonstrations. After cruising the market, head to the beer garden for live music, German cuisine and a tasty beer in true Oktoberfest fashion. For more information, visit wachusett.com.

The Big E ~ Springfield, MA
September 13 – 29, 2013
The Eastern States Exposition very much resembles a state fair complete with a colossal Ferris wheel, novelty carnival foods, and livestock. The Big E, however, is the only fair in the country with multiple states participating. Take a stroll along the Avenue of States to see replicas of each New England state’s original statehouse sitting on the land actually owned by that state. Finish the day with The Big E Cream Puff, the fair’s signature dessert that debuted in 2002. For more information, visit TheBigE.com.

North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival ~ Orange, MA
October 5 – 6, 2013
Self-named “the festival that stinks,” the 15th annual garlic festival is a celebration of the artistic, agricultural and cultural bounty of the region, emphasizing what is homegrown, handmade and high quality, as well as what helps preserve and support the environment and the community. Events range from the more eccentric garlic-themed type like a garlic and egg toss or tug of garlic to lessons on growing garlic and the more artistic lesson on making wooden bowls. For more information, visit GarlicandArts.org.

Western Massachusetts

Fall Foliage Festival and Parade ~ North Adams, MA
October 6, 2013, 1 p.m.
This annual festival embraces the rich history of folklore in Western Massachusetts. This year’s theme is “Haunts, Legends, and Ghost Stories,” will carry into all of the festival’s activities from a craft fair to a children’s fair, road race, leaf hunt and live performances. Don’t miss the Fall Foliage Parade that marches through downtown North Adams. Dozens of businesses and organizations take part in the parade, forming a collection of people who showcase the heart of the Berkshires. For more information, visit FoliageParade.com.

Shaker Suppers ~ Hancock, MA
October 19, 2013 or November 30, 2013
Dine in a brick dwelling from 1830 at the Hancock Shaker Village, formerly an actual Shaker village and now museum. A 4 p.m.guided tour occurs before supper where interpreters in period attire present an introduction to Shaker life as you explore the Village’s collection of Shaker furniture and artifacts. After a cider and cheese reception, dinner is served by candle light with recipes from The Best of Shaker Cooking by Amy Bess Miller. For more information, visit HancockShakerVillage.org.

The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) is the state agency dedicated to promoting Massachusetts as a leisure-travel destination. An integral part of the state’s economy, tourism generates close to $1 billion in state and local taxes and $16.9 billion in travel related expenditures, supporting 124,700 in-state jobs. massvacation.com

September 20, 2013