Carlisle Garden Club prepares for a new year
If you enjoy gardening, or are interested in becoming more successful as a gardener and would like to meet others who like to share their expertise and love of gardening, the Carlisle Garden Club extends a warm welcome for you to get in touch to learn about the club and become a member. In addition to monthly meetings, many with speakers on a wide range of topics, the club has a busy calendar filled with social events, community collaborations and enrichment. Visit carlislegardenclub.org for an astonishing array of local horticultural insights, as well as information about upcoming club activities and past events. Contact Membership Chair Elizabeth Aquaviva at 978-369-0364 or epacqua@comcast.net to learn more and attend our first meeting of the season on the evening of Monday, September 9.
The Carlisle Garden Club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to gardening education, town beautification and supporting the Debbie Wright Scholarship. All are welcome, from novice to expert.
“Researching Your Ancestral Places”
Local genealogy novices and enthusiasts are invited to the Gleason Public Library on Tuesday, August 13, at 6:30 p.m. for a class on “Genealogy Research: Researching Your Ancestral Places” with local genealogist Claire Smith. She will be covering building place guides, finding resources to research the history, geography and culture at the time and places our ancestors lived. She will look at where to find historic maps, boundary changes, information about local history, and more.
Registration required; visit gleasonlibrary.org/calendar or call 978-369-4898 and ask for Reference.
Wee Forest Folk Workshop Tour
Come with the COA and visit Carlisle’s own Wee Forest Folk Workshop on Monday, August 19. Meet the sculptors, painters and everyone else who is a part of the mouse making process. First come, first served, maximum of six people for the tour, Carlisle residents only. After the tour, we will go to Ken’s NY Deli in Bedford for lunch on your own. The van fee is $2. The van leaves the Congregational Church at 10:45 a.m., returning around 1-2 p.m. Call the COA Van Line at 1-978-371-6690 to register by August 12.
CCF Dragonfly Walk, August 10
Come look for dragonflies and damselflies at the Cranberry Bog on Saturday, August 10, at 10 a.m. on the Carlisle Conservation Foundation’s last dragonfly-themed walk of the year. The walk, led by Alan Ankers and Susan Emmons, is suitable for all ages and interests, and will also include looking for butterflies, birds and anything else that interests the group. Bring binoculars if you have them. For announcements of CCF outings see www.carlisleconservationfoundation.org. If you have questions, contact Alan Ankers by email alankers@comcast.net.
Sign up for emergency notifications
Carlisle has a new emergency notification system (RAVE Alert/Smart 911). Those who were previously signed up for alerts will need to register again for the new system. Sign up online (www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=CARLISLEMA). For more information, call the Selectmen’s office at: 978-369-6136.
Democratic Town Committee meets August 15
The Carlisle DTC meetings are open to all. They will discuss whether to endorse Ranked Choice Voting in Massachusetts. Come on Thursday, August 15, in the Hollis Room of Gleason Library. The meeting at 7 p.m. is preceded by informal conversation at 6:40 p.m.
Concerned about the 2020 elections? Visit their website and come see what they do: www.carlisledems.org. Visitors are always welcome to the meetings.
Carlisle Farmers Market has sweet corn
Sweet corn has arrived at the Carlisle Farmers Market. Picked early on Saturday morning, this summertime treat is as fresh as can be. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, summer squash, peppers and onions are now in season too. Peaches and berries will make brief appearances in August as they ripen. Also find eggs, baked goods, crafts, music and more.
The Carlisle Farmers Market is held every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. until noon at the Kimball Farm Ice Cream parking lot at 343 Bedford Road (Route 225) in Carlisle. Visit www.carlislefarmersmarket.org for more information.
Book Bingo for adults
There’s still time to pick up a Book Bingo card at the Gleason Public Library. Adults who make a “bingo” and return it to the library by 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, and will be entered in the raffle to win three $50 gift certificates for local restaurants (reader’s choice of Adelita (Concord), Blue Taleh (Lowell), or Fiorella’s (Concord). Try out some new genres or settings while you’re on the beach, at the cabin, reading with children or grandchildren or catching up on your “to-read” pile.
Summer Reading for all ages is sponsored by the Friends of the Gleason Public Library. For more information, call the library at 978-369-4898 or visit www.gleasonlibrary.org.
Book clubs at Gleason
The “Mysterians” will be meeting at the Gleason on Monday, August 26, at 7 p.m., to discuss Entry Island by Peter May. Copies are available at the library for check out; contact Janet Hentschel at 978-369-4898 or jhentschel@gleasonlibrary.org with any questions.
The Community Book Club will meet to discuss The Coddling of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff, on Monday, September 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the Gleason Public Library. Books are available at the library circulation desk; advance registration is not required. The following meeting will be Monday, October 7, and the book will be Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry Truman, by Merle Miller.
COA doings
Senior Moments: Seniors 60+, come to Ferns on Monday, August 12 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. This casual drop-in is for Carlisle seniors to greet, meet, and eat (free goodies are provided by the COA and Bridges by EPOCH, Westford). Ferns gives a 10% discount to senior attendees for coffee.
Free Reiki healing: Carlisle resident Elisabeth Bojarski, certified Reiki master and member of the Emerson Hospital Reiki Team, will offer free 10-12 minute Reiki sessions to Carlisle seniors on August 13. Reiki is an energy therapy that originated in Japan and means “universal life energy.” It can help manage stress, reduce pain, ease anxiety and promote relaxation. Call the COA at 1-978-371-2895 to make an appointment between 1:30 and 3:15 p.m.
Free garden class: Join master gardeners at Center Park on Thursday, August 22 from 9-11 a.m. in a “hands-on” and “how-to” class where creating and maintaining sun and shade gardens and landscapes will be discussed and demonstrated in a real garden setting rather than a classroom. Dress for the weather, and bring garden gloves, your favorite bug repellent, hydration for yourself and clippers if you have them.
What’s the current state of our democrary?
On Sunday, August 18, at 10 a.m. at the First Religious Society, join in a discussion on the current state of our democracy. Where is our country headed and how did our history lead us to this time? How do we deal with polarization and the erosion of democracy, and is there something positive we can do? Kerry Kissinger and Ellen Huber will lead an informed and thoughtful dialogue on ideas presented in the book How Democracies Die by Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.
In preparation for the August 18 service, you might like to read the book, or watch a video of Livitsky speaking at First Parish in Concord ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rci4tmDLd6M&t=193s). This promises to be an engaging discussion and an opportunity to share ideas about where we are headed. All are welcome.
Guest scholar at FRS On Sunday, August 11, at 10 a.m., Ted Johnson, Professor of Conflict Resolution and Non-Violence at Brandeis University, will address “Gun Violence in America, How did we get here, and where can we go from here,” along with Tom Rourk. We will talk about what happened this past week and ask why, and look at factors including guns, fringe groups and the distortion of message and reality, racist rhetoric and spiritual starvation—and governmental inaction. We will also, most importantly, talk about ways we can confront this, and how we can make a difference as individuals and as a community. Prof. Johnson, a former prosecutor out of Orange Co., Ca., has aided in Conflict Resolution Forums in the US and Israel, and has conducted workshops for the promotion of peaceful dialogue. Come to Union Hall this Sunday. All are welcome to this extraordinary opportunity.
