Update: Shamrock Ball, Author Becomes Mrs. Somebody

Did you go to the ball?

Saturday night the Hunt Gym was transformed into the Shamrock Ball, an enchanting evening of fun, food and dancing for kids and their parents. Did you go to the ball? Share a photo with your friends at Concord Patch. I already have one photo I am going to run tomorrow, and would love to share yours. You can send it to me by email. Include the names of everyone pictured, from left to right. Actually, make sure it’s OK to post someone’s photo on the Internet. Tomorrow, I hope to run your photo and include the final tally of money raised for the Recreation Department's summer camp scholarship program. Can’t wait to see how great everyone looks!

Snow, Snow, It’s going away!

What a difference a week makes. The weekend before last, the sidewalks were caked in ice and snow, and there was very little ground visible. During my early morning walk Saturday, I saw a bit of snow, but so much more ground, and I did not have to maneuver around treacherous walkways. And get this, I also saw neighbors raking their lawns. Yes, Not a shovel in sight! Neighbors were actually raking the hard damp ground, before it becomes too soft and muddy, in hopes of fertilizing their lawns this coming weekend. Wow! Their reward for their hard work will be beautiful lawns this spring.

Of course, I have yet to be able to keep up with the neighbors as far as lawn care goes. I think that’s why I always liked the snow cover of winter. For a few months each year, my lawn looks the same as everybody elses.

Library Hosts another Winner!

This Thursday, Tracy Winn, an award-winning writer, will speak on her debut collection of short stories, Mrs. Somebody Somebody, as part of the Library’s Thursday Author Series. Tracy’s collection of linked stories take place in Lowell, Mass., during 60 years of the the city’s economic downturn. Her characters come from different socioeconomic situations and ethnicities. She draws the reader into examining the complex worlds of people from different classes and ethnicities of her characters. Tracy captures the frustrations, illusions and hopes of her characters, who like the city itself, must confront the changes of post-war America.  

Tracy earned her MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for writers. Her work has been supported by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Barbara Deming Memorial Trust.  She has also received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Millay Colony.  Mrs. Somebody Somebody has been recognized as a finalist in fiction for the John Gardner Book Award, the Julia Ward Howe Award and the Massachusetts Book Award. Her short stories have appeared in journals such as the Alaska Quarterly Review, the New Orleans Review and Hayden’s Ferry Review.

This program, sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library, begins at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 17, in the Periodical Room. The Thursday Author Series runs monthly from September through June. Programs are free and open to everyone. Following each presentation, books are typically available for purchase and signings by the author, and guests are always welcome to continue conversations with the author. For more information, call the library at 978-318-3300 or visit www.concordlibrary.org.

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at mcb23@comcast.net and I will be happy to help spread the news.