Bacon Free Library

Read to a Dog
2023-07-28 15:00 - 16:15 (America/New_York) | 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. Please register for each child attending.

Cinéphile Mondays
2023-07-31 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
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 July 31
We will be discussing: Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi) by Agnès Varda, France 1985
Available on DVD in the Minuteman Network HERE
If you are interested in attending this Zoom discussion, please contact Graziella at glesellier@minlib.net

Science Heroes: Saving Earth Together!
2023-08-01 17:00 - 18:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Science and stories collide in this interactive STEM program presented by Talewise! Two unlikely heroes must learn to work together to stop a super-polluting mastermind. Throughout the story, you’ll help the performer conduct amazing science experiments all about air pressure, the laws of motion, chemical reactions, and much more!
Recommended for ages 3-11. Weather permitting, this program will take place outdoors on the library lawn, so bring a blanket or chair (and a picnic if you’d like!).
If it rains, the program will move indoors and space will be available on a first come, first served basis until we reach our building capacity.

Messy Play Time
2023-08-02 10:30 - 11:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us outdoors for some messy, creative fun! Explore simple, open-ended projects like making oobleck, experimenting with baking soda and vinegar, or fingerpainting with shaving cream.
Geared toward ages 1-6 with adult supervision. Remember to wear clothes and shoes that can get messy!
If it rains, we’ll offer a less-messy craft indoors and save the messy projects for another day.

(Virtual) Seed Saving with Mass. Master Gardener, Gretel Anspach
2023-08-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
VIRTUAL: Seed Saving with the Mass. Master Gardener Association
Thursday, August 3, 12:00—1:00 PM
Online in collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.**
During this presentation we will talk about the reasons for saving your own seeds and learn some of the basic techniques for ensuring genetic purity. We will include discussions about the home garden plants from which seeds can be easily saved and stored for future use. Led by Gretel Anspach, a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association. She won the MMGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Gretel established and maintains a 20,000 square foot food production garden that has provided fresh produce to the Marlboro and Maynard Food Pantries for the last ten years. Her primary interest and focus is always in the science behind horticulture.
Register directly on Zoom HERE.
NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 24 hours of the program.

Mystery Book Club
2023-08-03 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Join us for a virtual Zoom discussion of The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand. Copies available at the library, or borrow as an ebook or digital audiobook on Libby. Please email cstirling@minlib.net to register and receive the Zoom link.

Mindfulness for Kids
2023-08-08 16:00 - 17:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Families will create mindful moments together in this outdoor workshop with Traci McCubbin from The Mindful Squirrel. Traci shares, “At The Mindful Squirrel we believe that mindfulness is for everyone at all times of day and in all environments. We support all ages in developing a mindful practice that evokes a sense of gratitude, acceptance, joy, play, and peace.”
This program is geared toward children ages 4-10 with a parent/caregiver. We will meet outside on the library lawn, or inside if it rains. Registration is required. Please register for each child attending.

CANCELED Jammin With You
2023-08-09 10:30 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
We’re sad to say that this program has been canceled for 8/9 due to unforeseen circumstances. Sorry for the inconvenience! Jammin With You will be back on 8/23 for some musical fun.

Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank

History Book Club
2023-08-10 11:00 - 12:00 | MA
Join us for a virtual discussion of: Beautiful country : a memoir / by Qian Julie Wang.
Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. Call 508-653-6730 to arrange pick up.
Order your own copy HERE
Available on Overdrive 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.

Award-Winning Music - Our Band
2023-08-15 17:30 - 18:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us indoors at the BFL for Our Band which will win your heart. Sasha Papernik and Justin Poindexter bring their award-winning songwriting and bold interpretations to a rich Americana soundscape. With their airtight harmonies, irreverent humor, and astounding instrumental virtuosity, the pair’s restless creativity knows no bounds – both in concert and in their unique music videos. Together, they have performed for audiences in some of the world’s greatest venues, from Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. In 2018-19 they toured Poland, Germany and Estonia as ambassadors of American music for U.S. State Department.

Stacey Peasley Concert
2023-08-22 17:30 - 18:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Let’s celebrate summer reading with BFL favorite, Stacey Peasley! With her creative lyrics, fun rhythms, and contagious energy, Stacey will infuse pure joy into your evening.
This concert will be outdoors on the BFL lawn, so bring a blanket or chairs to get comfy. Feel free to bring a picnic dinner as well!
If it rains, the show will be indoors at the Morse Institute Library.

Book Club
2023-08-22 18:30 - 19:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
This month, we will read and discuss Violeta by Isabel Allende
We meet in hybrid format. Join us live at the library or on Zoom for the discussion.
Copies of the book are available at the library.
Order your own copy HERE.
Available in Large Print and Spoken CD
Digital audiobook Available on OVERDRIVE
EBOOK available on OVERDRIVE
If you are interested in attending, please contact Graziella at glesellier@minlib.net

Read to a Dog
2023-08-25 15:00 - 16:15 | 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. Please register for each child attending.

Read to a Dog Oct. 18

Child's Name*Child's Age*Email*

Choose a time slot*10:40-10:55

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Nonfiction Book Club
2023-08-26 10:00 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
This month, we will discuss The Address Book: what street addresses reveal about identity, race, wealth, and power by Deirdre Mask.
Kirkus Reviews describes this book as: “An impressive book-length answer to a question few of us consider: ‘Why do street addresses matter?’ “
Copies of this book are available at the library.
The BFL is not open on summer Saturdays, therefore our discussion will be held on Zoom. Please register here to receive the meeting details:

Nonfiction Book Club Registration - February 2026

your nameemail*

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Cinéphile Mondays
2023-08-28 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
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 August 28
We will be discussing: Sweet Bean by Naomi Kawase, Japan 2015
Available on Kanopy HERE
If you are interested in attending this Zoom discussion, please contact Graziella at glesellier@minlib.net

(Virtual)Take a Walk in Paris (Live Tour)
2023-08-29 10:30 - 11:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
VIRTUAL: Take A Walk In Paris (Live Tour)
Tuesday, August 29 10:30—11:30 AM Online in collaboration with the Tewksbury Public Library

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.**
French tour guide Patrick Herpe will give viewers a live tour of Paris. He’ll be walking while ZOOMing with us to show live video of Notre Dame, the Pont Neuf, the river Seine, Sainte-Chapelle, and more. He’ll discuss the history of each Paris landmark he spotlights, and offer tips for traveling to Paris.
Register directly on Zoom HERE. Sponsored by the Corning Foundation and the Friends of the Library.
NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 24 hours of the program.

Closed for Labor Day
2023-09-04 | MA
The library will be closed today, Monday, September 4th, in honor of Labor day.

Baby Time
2023-09-06 10:00 - 10:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us for a cozy storytime filled with lap bounces, rhymes, songs, and simple stories. Geared toward infants and young toddlers with their grownups.
**NEW DAY! Now on Wednesdays**

Featured Artist - Barbara Levine
2023-09-07 - 2023-10-18 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Barbara paints in oils and in gouache. She loves the texture and fluidity of oil paints and the ease with which you can layer the paint. She says that although gouache is a water based paint and can be used in ways similar to watercolors, it is more opaque and can be layered as well. She notes that these days both have an enormous variety of colors available to use and to mix.
Barbara learned to paint primarily “en plein air” in a New England impressionist tradition and she says that it has been a wonderful adventure for her. She comments that being outside trying to capture in paint the light at particular moments as it flows onto or around the forms one is looking at can be extremely exhilarating.

Barbara has a Masters Degree in Social Work and many, many years of postgraduate trainings in the field of psychotherapy. She says that she is sometimes tempted to say her work is somewhat disconnected from painting but realizes that it has taught her to be especially observant and aware of subtle visual nuances which has helped in her painting. Her training in painting has been through years of local, national and international workshops. Her teachers have included: Gloucester artist David Curtis, Boston artists George Nick, Charlotte Gibbs, Robert Cormier, and Michael Dowling, Israeli artist Elie Shamir, and nationally and internationally known artists Kelly Carmody, Victor Butko, Scott Christenson, Ann Blair Brown, Lori Putnam, and Kevin Macpherson.

Mystery Book Club
2023-09-07 13:00 - 14:00 | MA
Join us for a virtual Zoom discussion of The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker. Copies available at the library, or borrow as an ebook or digital audiobook on Libby. Please email cstirling@minlib.net to register and receive the Zoom link.

Art Reception: Barbara Levine - Here and There
2023-09-12 17:30 - 18:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us for a reception to welcome Barbara Levine and her art show entitled “Here and There” at the Bacon Free Library. Barbara paints in oils and in gouache. She learned to paint primarily “en plein air” in a New England impressionist tradition and she says that it has been a wonderful adventure for her. She comments that being outside trying to capture in paint the light at particular moments as it flows onto or around the forms one is looking at can be extremely exhilarating.
Barbara’s paintings will be on display at the Bacon Free Library from September 6th – October 18th.

History Book Club
2023-09-14 11:00 - 12:00 | MA
Join us for a virtual discussion of: River of doubt : Theodore Roosevelt’s darkest journey / Candice Millard.
Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. Call 508-653-6730 to arrange pick up.
Order your own copy HERE
Available on Overdrive 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.

Read to a Dog
2023-09-16 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 and opens one month before the program. Please register for each child attending.
This program is full. If you would like, you may join the waiting list by filling out this form:

Event Waiting List

Name(Required)

First

Last

Email(Required)

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Environmental Book Club
2023-09-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join us for a ZOOM discussion of:
Slow Birding : The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard by Joan E. Strassmann
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) James Herriot: The Simple Life of the World's Most Famous Veterinarian
2023-09-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Join Anglophile and former UK resident Claire Evans as she recounts the life and times of Alf Wight, an unassuming country veterinarian who practiced for 50 years in one of England’s most beautiful places, the Yorkshire Dales. He rose to international fame later in life under the pen name James Herriot as he recounted the heartwarming animal stories and colorful characters of a bygone era, inspiring films and multiple television series. Of the latest TV adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small, shown on PBS’ Masterpiece, The Guardian said, “Switching it on was the television equivalent of taking your brain out and dunking it into a bucket of warm tea (Yorkshire, obviously).”
Bask in the visual beauty of Claire’s recent Yorkshire Dales visit and learn the surprising story of the vet whose books still entertain millions.
This program will be held on Zoom. Please register to receive the Zoom link via email.

James Herriot

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Comments

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Nonfiction Book Club
2023-09-23 10:00 - 11:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
This month, we will discuss Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura Bates.
Author Laura Bates has spent many years working as a volunteer and as an instructor in prisons in Chicago and Indiana. In this book, she chronicles her experience teaching Shakespeare to inmates in the solitary confinement unit. Starting out, she hoped to interest at least one inmate; eventually, she would have as many as fifty prisoners on her waiting list.
Copies of this book are available at the library.
Our discussion will be held in a hybrid format. The host will be in person at the BFL, while some members will join over zoom. You are welcome to join either way. For zoom, please register here to receive the meeting details:

Nonfiction Book Club Registration - March 2026

your nameemail*

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Cinéphile Mondays
2023-09-25 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
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 September 25
We will be discussing: La Ciénaga by Lucrecia Martel, Argentina 2001
DVD Available in the Minuteman Network HERE
If you are interested in attending this Zoom discussion, please contact Graziella at glesellier@minlib.net

Pure and Simple Flower Design
2023-09-26 17:00 - 18:00 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
The class is open to adults who want to learn more about floral design. The class will include, ideas on basic floral designs, sustainable
mechanics, and floral conditioning. We will provide a vase, and you will be able to select and share flowers from the flower table for greens/
filler flowers/focal flowers/and branches. You will be able to take home your finished arrangement in a box.

The instructor Monica Foley has been learning about Floral Design for the past 10 years through classes, lectures, and local art in bloom
events.

Please bring some special flowers/greens etc. from your garden if you want them in your design, but there will be enough flowers for the
class. If you have a favorite pair of floral scissors please bring them too. We will have a variety of scissors and hand clippers for your use.

This is event is geared towards ages 16 years and up. Please register in advance. If you are registering more than one person, please fill out a form for each one. Our supplies are limited to 8 people in total.

This program is full, if you would like you may join the waiting list by filling out this form:

Event Waiting List

Name(Required)

First

Last

Email(Required)

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Book Club
2023-09-26 18:30 - 19:30 | Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
This month, we will read and discuss Ms. Demeanor: A Novel by Elinor Lipman
Join us live at the library or on Zoom for the discussion.
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
