Nature Photography by Lia Vito
2024-10-31 - 2024-12-11 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Lia Vito has brought the autumnal beauty of Acadia National Park to the walls of the BFL. Come in to enjoy her photography featuring the rich golden hues of the Maine foliage along with up-close and personal peaks into wild birds in action.

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Lia’s work, in her own words:
My interest in action photography led me to a fascination with birds and other wildlife. Observing their behaviors and interactions has been educational as well as entertaining.
With a telephoto lens and lots of patience, I have been able to capture special moments like the ones I have on exhibit here. These interactions between members of bird families warm my heart.
I love visiting Acadia National Park. I have observed many beautiful natural scenes there and tried to do justice to them with my images.

Lapsit Storytime
2024-12-04 10:00 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Stories, bounces, and songs for babies 0-24 months and their grownups!
The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This program is also offered in an accessible location at the Morse Institute Library (click here for dates, times, and more information).

Mystery Book Club
2024-12-05 13:00 - 14:00
Join us for a virtual Zoom discussion of The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer. Copies available at the library, or borrow through Libby. Please email cstirling@minlib.net to register and receive the Zoom link.

Jammin With You
2024-12-06 10:30 - 11:00, 2025-01-03 10:30 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Be prepared to laugh, dance, sing, and jam your way through 30 minutes of non-stop family fun! This performance is geared toward kids ages 1 – 7, but fun for the whole family. With modern takes on children’s classics and classic original tunes, you’ll be humming and bopping all the way home.
Registration is required due to space limitations.

Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank

All Together: Preschool Storytime
2024-12-09 10:00 - 10:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us on Mondays and Tuesdays for stories and songs!
The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This program is also offered in an accessible location at the Morse Institute Library (click here for dates, times, and more information).

Food Explorers - Spring Rolls
2024-12-10 16:00 - 17:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join Food Explorers for a delicious cooking program!
You’ll be making spring rolls with a Registered Dietitian. Learn how to soak and wrap your spring rolls and fill with an assortment of fresh veggies, rice noodles, and soy sauce. The recipe is nut free but will contain soy.
This in-person cooking class is for ages 16 and older. Registration is required.

Book Club
2024-12-10 18:30 - 19:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us at the library for a discussion of: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Copies of the book are available at the library.
Order your own copy HERE
If you are interested in attending, please contact Graziella at glesellier@minlib.net

Carlos Santiago Art
2024-12-12 - 2025-01-22 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Carlos Santiago’s still lifes walk a line between representational and abstract art, with his primary source of inspiration being flowers and vases. In flowers, he finds complicated patterns, shapes, and repetition; elements that show up in all of his paintings.
Please join us for a reception with Carlos on Tuesday, December 17th. You can also enjoy his paintings through January 22nd.

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Carlos has developed a signature technique that employs a sharp edge to create clean straight lines that extend the limits of his subjects, adding drama and energy and a bold recognition to each painting. His use of shadow plays an important role in his work, enhancing the contrast between the darkness and his vivid colors.
Carlos doesn’t simply paint the still life subjects he sees, but the dream-like gestures that he feels. Working with familiar compositions, he hopes to create artwork that conveys not only the visual reality of his subjects, but the vibrant extension of energy into their surroundings.
Carlos Santiago is from Caguas, Puerto Rico. He obtained his BFA in fine art from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. He subsequently worked for ten years as a design professional in the fashion industry in New York City. Now, Carlos lives and works in Boston, Ma.

History Book Club
2024-12-12 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for a virtual discussion of: White House Wild Child: how Alice Roosevelt broke all the rules and won the heart of America by Shelley Frazer Mickle.
Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library.
Order your own copy HERE
For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact mking@minlib.net
The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent at a later date.

Français à la bibliothèque
2024-12-14 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-01-11 10:00 - 11:00
BONJOUR !

Vous parlez français ?
un peu, beaucoup, pas de problèmes.
Venez nous rejoindre pour parler ou pour écouter.

Art Opening Reception: Carlos Santiago
2024-12-17 17:30 - 18:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us for a reception for artist Carlo Santiago, whose art will be featured at the BFL from December 12th – January 22nd. This is your chance to meet the artist and to enjoy his art. This reception is free and open to the public.

Environmental Book Club
2024-12-17 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us for a Zoom discussion of Alfie & me: what owls know, what humans believe / Carl Safina
Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library.
Order your own copy HERE
Join environmental enthusiast, Arthur Ensroth, in discussing current, historical and future environmental issues through books! We’re finding ways to become more engaged and participatory in the natural world, educating ourselves on the climate challenges we face and looking at the history and philosophy of how the environment has been viewed through the ages.
The BFL is collaborating with Broadmoor, Mass Audubon with this book group. We thank them for sharing their mission with us.
Please email glesellier@minlib.net for the Zoom meeting details.

VIRTUAL: Great American Unsung Heroes Who Changed The Course Of History -- Elizabeth Freeman
2024-12-18 19:00 - 20:15 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Dennis Curran is excited to continued his monthly “Great American Unsung Heroes Who Changed The Course Of History” series.
Learn about Elizabeth Freeman, a little-known national hero, and a symbol of courage and spirit to all who cherish freedom. She was among the first slaves in Massachusetts to sue for and win her freedom. During the Revolutionary War, Freeman heard the Massachusetts Constitution read aloud, and heard these words: “All men are born free and equal….” Freeman recognized the potential legal and moral significance of these words and sought out an attorney to sue for her freedom under the newly-ratified state constitution. With the help of an attorney who was an abolitionist, she pled her case for freedom in a western Massachusetts court. The jury ruled in her favor and she became the first African-American woman set free under the Massachusetts constitution. Her case helped end slavery in Massachusetts.
Dennis J. Curran served as a Massachusetts judge for 16 years, including in the Superior Court from 2006 to 2018. Prior to his time on the bench, Curran worked as an Assistant District Attorney and First Assistant Legal Counsel to the Governor, in addition to work in private practice. A graduate of Boston Latin School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Curran has taught law at Tufts University, Roger Williams University School of Law, and Brown University.
Register directly on Zoom HERE. In collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tewksbury Library.
RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Jammin With You - CANCELED
2024-12-20 10:30 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Read to a Dog - CANCELED
2024-12-21 10:00 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Build confidence and practice your reading skills by reading out loud to a registered therapy dog! Children ages 5 and up can sign up for a 15 minute reading session with Sophie, a gentle golden retriever who loves belly rubs, stories, and cuddles.
Registration is required for each child attending.

NO Book Club
2024-12-24 18:30 - 19:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
There will be no meeting in December.
Thank you for your patronage.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Closed for Christmas Day
2024-12-25
The library will be closed today in honor of Christmas.

Playful Engineers: Chain Reactions & Creative Contraptions
2024-12-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Hands-on, play-based, STEAM-powered learning with Playful Engineers! Design, build, test, and play with chain reactions and creative contraptions, like Rube Goldberg machines, paper constructions, domino towers, and more.
Geared toward ages 5 and up. Registration is required for each child attending.

Instrument Petting Zoo - December
2024-12-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
The Bacon Free Library is partnering with Bach to Rock in Wellesley to bring you this instrument petting zoo. B2R will bring a variety of musical instruments to the Bacon for 60 minutes of instrument exploration to give people of all ages a chance to learn about instruments and experience playing them.
Please stop by to try out an instrument, or two, that you’re curious about. No registration required.

Clay Melted Snowman Craft
2024-12-30 14:00 - 15:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Embrace the fun of winter with this class led by Pop Up Art School! Create a whimsical melted snowman using air-dry clay, and bring your piece to life with vibrant acrylic paints—all in one session. You’ll leave the class with a completed, playful winter decoration that’s ready to display.
Geared toward ages 8 and up. Registration is required for each participant.

Cinéphile Mondays
2024-12-30 16:00 - 17:00
Cinephilia is an academic word literally meaning “love of cinema,” but it also contains hints of nostalgia and passion for a film art that was undoubtedly the defining media experience of the twentieth century.
As such, cinema has a variegated and fascinating history which extends well beyond the Hollywood we are all familiar with. Meant as a tribute to the film art around the world, from the days of silent cinema to the new waves and beyond, our cinephile Mondays is a slow and tasteful appreciation of the First Century of Cinema. The films will be selected on the basis of their relevance for the development of the film art. On the last Monday of the month, cinephiles of the world unite!
Watch a movie at home and then join Film history & Media studies Professor MV for a virtual discussion.
For Monday December 30
We will be discussing: Perfect Days by Wim Wenders, Japan/Germany 2023
Available on Kanopy HERE
If you are interested in attending this Zoom discussion, please contact Graziella at glesellier@minlib.net

Closed for New Years Day
2025-01-01
The library will be closed today in honor of New Years day.

Mystery Book Club
2025-01-02 13:00 - 14:00
Join us for a virtual Zoom discussion of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. Copies available at the library, or borrow through Libby. Please email cstirling@minlib.net to register and receive the Zoom link.

Read to a Dog
2025-01-04 10:00 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

VIRTUAL: Q&A with Author Erica Cirino: Healthy Plastic-Free Pregnancy and Parenting
2025-01-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Erica Cirino, author of Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis, joins us to help new parents (and all concerned!) with reducing plastic in their lives as they also welcome new life into their homes. Plastic pollution is particularly harmful to unborn babies, infants, and children due to their rapidly growing bodies. Unfortunately, plastic is almost everywhere and can feel particularly unavoidable when pregnant and parenting. Yet there are many simple steps you can take to minimize your family’s exposure to plastics.

By providing evidence-based solutions, practical tips, and resources to make change, Erica will show us how to eliminate plastics from pregnancy and parenting.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and in partnership with a multitude of MA & NH libraries.
PLEASE REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK.
This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

About the Author:
Erica Cirino is a science writer and artist exploring the intersection of the human and nonhuman worlds. Her widely published photojournalistic works depict the numerous ways people connect to nature—wild creatures in particular—and shape planet earth.

About Thicker Than Water (according to Island Press):
Much of what you’ve heard about plastic pollution may be wrong. Instead of a great island of trash, the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of manmade debris spread over hundreds of miles of sea—more like a soup than a floating garbage dump. Recycling is more complicated than we were taught: less than nine percent of the plastic we create is reused, and the majority ends up in the ocean. And plastic pollution isn’t confined to the open ocean: it’s in much of the air we breathe and the food we eat.
In Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis, journalist Erica Cirino brings readers on a globe-hopping journey to meet the scientists and activists telling the real story of the plastic crisis. From the deck of a plastic-hunting sailboat with a disabled engine, to the labs doing cutting-edge research on microplastics and the chemicals we ingest, Cirino paints a full picture of how plastic pollution is threatening wildlife and human health. Thicker Than Water reveals that the plastic crisis is also a tale of environmental injustice, as poorer nations take in a larger share of the world’s trash, and manufacturing chemicals threaten predominantly Black and low-income communities.
There is some hope on the horizon, with new laws banning single-use items and technological innovations to replace plastic in our lives. But Cirino shows that we can only fix the problem if we face its full scope and begin to repair our throwaway culture. Thicker Than Water is an eloquent call to reexamine the systems churning out waves of plastic waste.
If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of Erica’s book, you can do so through Aesop’s Fable. In the “notes” section of checkout, write that you would like the book signed.

History Book Club
2025-01-09 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for a virtual discussion of: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library.
Order your own copy HERE
For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org
The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent at a later date.

Music & Movement with Walnut Hill
2025-01-10 10:30 - 11:15 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join Miss Katie from the Community Theater Academy at Walnut Hill School for the Arts for a fun program that emphasizes the bond between children and their caregivers, while enriching their musical, cognitive, and physical development. Caregivers are led in enjoyable, simple rhythmic patterns, dances, and activities. Instruments like rhythm sticks, bells, shakers, and drums are used, as well as scarves, balls, bubbles, and more.
Geared toward ages 6 months to 4 years. Registration is required.
Sponsored by the Community Theater Academy at Walnut Hill School for the Arts.

Winter Sowing - In-person 2025
2025-01-11 11:30 - 12:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Winter sowing is a simple way to start seeds outdoors during the wintertime. All you need is a milk jug, potting soil, seeds, and a sunny, protected location. Once you’ve sown your seeds, you can practically forget about them until it is time to transplant the seedlings into your spring garden bed.
At this workshop, you’ll learn all about this process while creating your own winter sowing jug.
All supplies will be provided in the workshop. Registration is required.
