About Town

The Holidays Start Here

The library hosts their Holiday Book Sale, the Umbrella hosts their Winter Market, and the Health Survey is here.

  Well, here we are, Thanksgiving behind us, and hurtling headlong into the holiday season. Gifts to buy, cookies and other goodies to bake – in our house, fudge is the goody of choice – lights to put up, dead trees to decorate. All the fun stuff that will fill our spare time over the next month. Where to start?? Good news is, we have the library’s annual Holiday Book Sale coming up at the end of this week! All year long, people drop off their used books for the library to sort and catalog; twice a year, the Friends of the Library take all those books and hold a sale, selling perfectly good books for a mere fraction of what you’d pay on Amazon. The bigger sale happens on the lawn in June, but their winter sale is just as fabulous, and is a…

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About Town

Ice Cream at the Library, New Music Program, and Awards

Concord Library welcomes Deb Ervin; Concord Conservatory teams up to offer music program for tots, and Concord Players bring home the bacon.

  Oh, man, I cannot believe it’s Aug. 30 already!! How the time does fly – seems like only yesterday we were welcoming in the lazy days of summer, sipping our ice tea and lemonade, and basking in the warmth that stays for too short a time in these parts. And now here we are, ready to close out another summer season. Sigh. Good news is there are still five more days till Labor Day, so there’s still time to cram in some last minute summer fun. And fortunately, our fabulous library is here to help you do just that. With ice cream, my favorite frozen treat. You may have heard that Director Kerry Cronin is welcoming an Assistant Library Director, Deb Ervin, to the library. And what better way to introduce her to the community she’ll be serving …

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About Town

Take a Breather

Three ways to take a moment and relax during the crazy holiday season.

  I don’t care what religion you are, or what holiday you celebrate, there is just no way to escape the craziness that marks the weeks between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25. Nonstop media messages, urging us to spend more; racing to a million stores, looking for that perfect gift. Baking pies, cookies and candies to give out to loved ones, or to serve at holiday parties. Makes my feet ache just thinking about it. That’s why I’m here to tell you about three ways to slow down and take a break from the insanity of the season. That’s right: take a minute now for yourself, and you’ll be in better shape to sprint to the finish line. Plus, they are all right here in town, so no travel is involved. Pretty sweet! Enjoy the trees The Family Trees exhibit…

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About Town

Update: Chapter Closes for Alcott Librarians; The Language of Trees

Author Ilie Ruby takes part in the "Thursday Author Series."

The CCHS Class of 2011 aren’t the only ones saying goodbye to Concord Public Schools. Last week, the Alcott School community gathered to say goodbye and send best wishes to longtime librarian Sandy Peirce and her assistant, Penny Staples. I was fortunate to volunteer with Sandy, when my son was in kindergarten. Sandy was ideal in her role as the children’s librarian, and it was so much fun, as the little ones would come into the library and pick out books, with our assistance, of course. Sandy would then read a story and have the children totally engrossed, before they headed back to their classrooms. Sandy had such a wonderful way with the children. She was always so gentle and patient. It is hard to believe that those youngsters are now …

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About Town

Update: Book Sale, Ducky Race Bring out the Crowds

Concordians shine in great weather and Deborah Clark has a new housemate.

Deborah Clark has a new housemate, Cider, a 7-year old golden retriever, who came to live with her about two weeks ago. “She is very, very sweet,” Deborah said, adding that Cider was not a fan of last week’s inclement weather. Cider came to Concord from a farm in Maine and is well-traveled. She was born in Budapest, after which she lived in the Canary Islands before heading to New England, all with the same owners. “She has her own passport,” Deborah jokes. Cider came to live with Deborah after the original owners realized they could not tend their farm and an active retriever. Being such a world traveler, no doubt Cider will fit right in as a Concordian. *** Good morning, and happy Monday, fellow Concordians! Weather Brings Out the Best …

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Janet Beyer

10:34 am on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Four star video. And catch Al and friends at the Dem. town comm. picnic, July 2. Contact Mara Dolan, maradolan@hotmail.com   more ›

About Town

Update: Ice Cream is Good for Schools. Sunday in the Library with Poetry

April is school month at Bedford Farms. Two area poets read from their work.

What could be better than eating ice cream without the guilt? Scoops for Concord Schools lets you do just that: for the entire month of April, you can purchase a “Concord School Gift Card” at Bedford Farms,  load it up with money, and use it to buy ice cream, cakes, pies, t-shirts, etc. Then, at the end of April, Bedford Farms will give 20 percent of the total amount placed onto the cards back to the Concord Schools, to be split equally among Alcott, Thoreau, Willard, CMS and CCHS. You can reload the card throughout the month and keep using it; it doesn’t expire and you can use it anytime. Buy them for yourself, buy them for friends, or if you’re really thinking ahead, pick them up for those end-of-school-year thank-you gifts for coaches …

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Fowler Library To Open March 26

Library Trustees Raise Over $3.4 million.

Sue Gladstone, development director for the Concord Library, reports that the long-awaited opening of the West Concord Fowler branch library is coming soon. "The Fowler Library will once again be a busy place with young children and parents, middle schoolers, telecommuting adults, and seniors taking out materials, reading newspapers, using the Internet, working and meeting friends," Gladstone said in an email. "This popular community center in West Concord has been renovated and redesigned with funds generously donated from local residents as well as $375,000 of CPC funds for preservation of this historic building." The Trustees of the Library with architect J. Stewart Roberts and builders C.E. Floyd have completed the project on-time and …

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About Town

Update: Open Table Appeal; Doctor and Author to Speak

Annual fundraising begins at community super, and resident to talk about his book at Library on Thursday.

Open Table's annual appeal While this is the season to be jolly and gather with family and friends, it is also the season when many of our neighbors (and maybe even ourselves) are wondering what everyone is so happy about. Last week, the national unemployment rate bumped up to 9.8 percent from 9.6. That may seem like a small number in itself, but it represents millions of Americans, some of whom live in Concord, who are looking for a job. No job equals no income and often no health insurance. These families are making sacrifices just to meet a meager standard of living, yet the gap between what they need and what they can afford continues to grow. Open Table, which offers weekly community suppers, as well as a food pantry to qualifying …

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