Friday, October 8, 2010 through March 27, 2011
Special Exhibition
A little scrap for recollection’s sake:  Quilts from the Concord Museum

Rarely exhibited, the quilts on view in this special exhibition range from doll size to full size, and include bold geometrics, traditional patchwork, signature quilts and crazy quilts, most dating from the second half of the nineteenth century. Also included in the exhibition are patterns, quilt tops, shams and sewing tools.  Of particular interest are:

• A signature quilt made for Rebecca Brooks and Joseph Allen Smith on the occasion of their Concord wedding in 1849, with 96 squares signed by friends and family, each “a little scrap for recollection’s sake”
• A crazy quilt celebrating the work of 19th-century children’s book illustrator Randolph Caldecott
• A Concord quilt featuring an early example of the “Pieced Pineapple” pattern in vivid colors of “turkey red,”  “cheddar,” and “poison green”
• A quilt passed down in the family of Hannah Dawes Newcomb, the daughter of William Dawes, who was an alarm rider like Paul Revere on the night of April 18, 1775 
• A quilt from the collection of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, attributed to Abigail (Abby) May Alcott, mother of the famed author of Little Women

Each quilt on exhibit has a story to tell about the creative makers, the communities they lived in, and the period of history in which they were working. Free with Museum admission; Members Free. Through March 27.

Concord's 375th Birthday

Concord was the first English settlement above tide-water in North America. Incorporated on September 11, 1635, we will celebrate 375 years with a bash. There will be a parade with over 90 units, brass cannon and 50 horses. Fireworks will light the sky, music will fill the air, stories will be told and there will be dancing and merriment at the Ball. Join us for this spectacular event. For a shedule of events go to: http://www.concordma.gov/pages/concordma_bcomm/Letter%20details%20for%20375th-A.pdf

Bert and Ernie

April 3 - June 27, 2010

 National Heritage Museum

 The exhibition features 100 original artworks, including drawings, cartoons and storyboards that illustrate Henson’s talent as a storyteller and visionary. Among the variety of exhibition objects are puppets and television and movie props, photographs of Henson and his collaborators at work and original video productions, including excerpts from Henson’s early career and experimental films. Free.

The Museum of Bad Art, located in Dedham, Massachusetts, is dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and celebration of bad art in all its forms and in all its glory. The museum was founded in the fall of 1993 and presented its first show in March 1994. The response was overwhelming. Since then, MOBA’s collection and ambitions have grown exponentially.

MOBA was first housed in the basement of a private home in Boston, but now is available to all at the MOBA Permanent Gallery, in the Dedham Community Theater, in Dedham Square, Massachusetts. Conveniently located just outside the men’s room, the gallery is open whenever movies are showing, typically 5 to 11pm on weekdays, noon to 11 on weekends and school holidays. Admission to the Museum of Bad Art is free, so this important institution is supported entirely by voluntary contributions and sales of MOBA gifts. http://www.museumofbadart.org/

Have you ever been up close to a 50-foot, 40-ton whale? Once you have, it’s an experience you won’t soon forget. According to the World Wildlife Fund,  Massachusetts is one of the top-ten whale-watching spots in the world!

Whale-watching is a fun day-trip from the Hawthorne Inn.

You can be dock-side in less than an hour from the Inn. Onboard with a naturalists you’ll head out  25 miles to Stellwagen Bank and be treated to awe-inspiring sights of humpback, pilot, minke and blue whales breaching and spouting through the deep Atlantic Ocean.  The season runs April-October.

We have gone out several times with Seven Seas and have always seen many beautiful animal. Once, while drifting among a pod, we were looking over the boat-rail directly onto the back of a lounging humpback, he opened his blow-hole and spouted all over us. Now that is a close look at whales.

Seven Seas Whale Watch http://www.7seas-whalewatch.com/

Did you know: "Mobey Dick" was dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Join us for the Thoreau Society’s annual gathering, entitled “New England Transcendentalism Then and Now”. You can stimulate your mind and spirit with four days packed with workshops, panel discussions, artist gallery talks, visits to Walden Pond and the Thoreau birth home, and collaborative event with the Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Margaret Fuller Societies. Bringing together, authors, environmentalists, artists, intellectuals and the curious from around the world this is a time to visit Concord not to be missed. You can preview the program: www.thoreausociety.org/_activities_ag.htm

The Hawthorne Inn is offering special rates for a three-day visit.

Call for room availability 978-369-5610.

In recognition of National Preservation Month, Doors Open Lowell takes place May 14-16, 2010. This free event celebrates the city’s architectural heritage, urban living, history and culture by allowing visitors to tour several historic buildings not generally open to the public, including historic mills, banks, mansions, churches and an 1870s Boston and Maine Railroad depot. Come and see what makes Lowell such an exciting place to live and work! For a complete schedule of events, map and list of buildings, visit www.doorsopenlowell.org.

Historic Mill in Lowell

Arnold Arboretum

Meander through the flower-filled Boston Public Garden, then hop on a Swan Boat. Savor the sweet smell of lilacs on May 9th, Lilac Sunday, at Boston’s Arnold Arboretum. Peruse more than 1,000 native plant species, many rare and endangered, at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  Discover the Secret Garden and its fragrant perennials at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston. At the Mount Estate & Gardens in Lenox, admire Edith Wharton’s formal Italianate walled garden. In Shelburne Falls, stroll the Bridge of Flowers, an old trolley bridge, now a riot of color in spring.