Happy Birthday, Concord! Free history tours all week to Concord residents!

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Happy 387th Birthday, Concord!

September 12th marks Concord’s 387th Birthday!

The Concord Visitor Center will commemorate the event with 1pm daily history tours during the week of September 12-17th, free to all Concord residents with proof of residency!

Visit Visitor Center for more info!

And Happy 20 years to the Concord Visitor Center! Swing by the Visitor Center, 58 Main Street, 12:30pm on Thursday, September 15th for ribbon cutting and cake!

Wacky Wednesday : Concord History with a Chocolate Twist!

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For Wacky Wednesday ONLY!

If you book 3 people, the 4th is FREE- must mention Wacky Wednesday and this promotion is subject to availability.

Contact Concord Visitor center at 978-318-3061 or visitors@concordma.gov to reserve.

Concord History with a Chocolate Twist

Dates : February  13th, 20th, 27th ONLY

Tour Start Time : 1:00pm, departs Concord Visitor Center at 58 Main Street

Reservations required by 3pm Friday before tour by calling 978-318-3067

Tour End/Arrival at Colonial Inn : 2:00pm

Cost : $30 per guest

 

The 90-minute experience will introduce guests to the Downtown Concord area and will touch on Concord’s rich Revolutionary and Literary history while visiting sites such as The Milldam, Monument Square, The Old Hill Burial Ground and more.

Enjoy a taste of locally roasted nuts combined with handcrafted chocolate as you venture to Gräem Nuts and Chocolate, with a taste of their Signature Handmade Bark.  End your tour at the Colonial Inn for some Colonial Hot Chocolate and Monument Cake!

 

February Staycation Ideas

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No plans to leave town for the Concord Schools February Vacation Week?

You’re in luck – Concord & Carlisle have so many wonderful offerings to keep your crew entertained!

The Concord Free Public Library offers free take and make crafts each week to help inspire creativity and fun for children. Sign up for February 19th session!

Tap into your inner artist! At The Umbrella, they believe that everyone is an artist. The Umbrella February Vacation Week programs give students the opportunity to discover, explore, and experiment in the arts.

Looking for fun outdoor activities for your school-aged children over February vacation week? Discover the wonders of winter at Clark Farm!

Vacation Week Cartooning Afternooning! This online February Vacation Week class is perfect for 7-12 year olds who love cartoons and drawing!

 

President Lincoln is beaming in to answer your questions! The Concord Museum is pleased to bring its popular Presidents’ Day program A Visit with President Lincoln to the virtual stage.

Check out special Black History Month program from the Concord Museum! Join the Concord Museum Forum: Sarah Johnson’s Mount Vernon with author Scott Casper.

Concord History with a Chocolate Twist Tour Dates : February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th Tour Start Time : 1:00pm, departs Concord Visitor Center at 58 Main Street

The Concord Free Public Library is teaming up with The Nature Connection to invite children to explore plants and animals, geek out over nature, and connect with self and others in new ways – all through nature-based stories and poems!

Manga! Draft images of silly dragons, charming creatures, ghosts, and goblins. In this easy-paced online February Vacation Week class with popular Umbrella Arts teacher Alicia Herman, time travel back to ancient Japan! Learn about how the tradition of manga comics started long ago and experiment with creating our own. Sketch, blend, and overlap colors with illustrative markers.

 

Thinking of learning to play an instrument? Now is a perfect time! The IMSCC Winter-Spring session is underway and we welcome new students!

Looking to connect hands-on learning to big ideas? Students will access foundational design learning by creating their own Escape Room style lock codes. Escape room design is a fundamentally social process which taps design principles such as deduction, induction, design space, feedback loops, and more. Sign up here!

Teddy Bear Sewing Project! Sew your own huggable bear! You’ll learn how to construct and sew the bear, and design it yourself by choosing different felt muzzles, noses, belly patches, and more. You’ll learn basic hand stitching and some embroidery stitches, too.

Take a family friendly tour of Concord, spend 45 minutes to discover more about the town where we live!

The Concord Free Public Library invites children of all ages to join us on Thursday, February 18 at 11am on Zoom and talk about your favorite books. We will share a few of our favorites, and invite each child to share some of their favorites.

Trivia Night at the Concord Museum! Calling all history nerds and trivia champs! Join us for an evening of virtual trivia at the Concord Museum on Thursday, February 18!  Test your knowledge of American history, geography, and all things Concord in this friendly competition.

Check out art show at a local Three Stones Gallery. The paintings and mixed media works of Helen Canetta and Jill Goldman-Callahan transmit a dynamism and fresh perspective as we release this past year and catapult into lighter days ahead. This is the last week of the show so don’t miss it!

Interactive sing-along! The Concord Free Public Library invites kids and families to join us for an interactive sing-along with Ed Morgan, “The Music Man”, on Friday, Feb 19, 10 am on Zoom. Enjoy fun rhymes and tunes, and connect with your family through music. These family-friendly performances will have everyone up moving, dancing, and singing.

Have some fleece-y fun when you create your own one-of-a-kind fleece headband! Sign up with the Umbrella Arts for this fun class!

Family Trivia Night!

Learn about Winter Habits and Winter Movement... Animals respond and adapt to the winter by burmiating, aestivation, hibernation, migration, and embracing the snow! Learn about all the cool ways animals thrive in the winter through interactive stations, games, creative movement, investigations of art and nature, and creating original art projects for the whole family!

 

 

Movie / Game night at home – Grab a special meal from one of our many fabulous restaurants !

 

Take a hike on a local trail then grab some hot cocoa or treat from cafe / bakery!

 

Enjoy your week!

Winter Market Goes to Town!

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Each year, The Umbrella Arts Center comes alive with festive holiday energy during Winter Market, which brings thousands of visitors to Concord during the first weekend of December. But for this extraordinary 2020 season, we’ve reimagined it as an opportunity to safely connect artisans, retail and hospitality businesses with holiday celebrants.

 

Instead of hosting a market at 40 Stow Street, “Winter Market Goes to Town” connects area businesses hosting Umbrella Artists to enliven four Concord retail districts with art. Downtown, the Depot, Nine Acre Corner, and West Concord will become a moveable festival of holiday arts, attracting shoppers and tourists from throughout the region — not just for a weekend, but throughout an extended holiday retail season!

 

Be sure to check out all of those on list (addresses list below) and see a glimpse of a few here:

 

Barbara Willis’ scarves and Lonnie Harvey’s monoprints panels are on display at Sarah Campbell in Concord Center (Photo courtesy Lonnie Harvey):

 

 

Lois Andersen’s Concord paintings are on display at Graem Nuts & Chocolate, “Winter Market Goes to Town”:

 

 

Head to Comina and you’ll see Carole Parrish’s work:

 

 

What a wonderful opportunity for our community to see & support the work of these gifted artists while also shopping local this holiday season to support our local shops.

 

 

Albright Gallery
32 Main Street, Concord, MA
Wayne Geehan
Ilse Plume

Artinian Jewelry
39 Main Street, Concord, MA
Jean Lightman

Colonial Inn
48 Monument Square, Concord, MA
Denise Kracz

Comina
9 Walden Street, Concord, MA
Carole Parrish

Concord Cheese Shop
29 Walden Street, Concord, MA
Sarah Paino

Concord Teacakes
59 Commonwealth Avenue, Concord, MA
Deb Loverd

Debra’s Natural Gourmet
98 Commonwealth Avenue, Concord, MA
Deb Richardson

Dunkin Donuts West Concord
1191 Main Street, West Concord, MA
Linda Grom

Frame-ables
111 Thoreau Street, Concord, MA
Max Payne
Hilary Taylor

Graëm Roasters
49 Main Street, Concord, MA
Lois Andersen

Joy Street
49 Commonwealth Avenue, Concord, MA
Julie Hagan

Lucy Lacoste Gallery
25 Main Street, Concord, MA
Suzanne Hill

Patina Green
59 Main Street, Concord, MA
Pierre Chiha

Sara Campbell
41 Main Street, Concord, MA
Barbara Willis
Lonnie Harvey

The Concord Museum
53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA
Paul Ruhlmann
Margaret Savage

Trail’s End
97 Lowell Road, Concord, MA
Louise Arnold
Anne Denna
Cynthia Katz

Verrill Farm
11 Wheeler Road, Concord, MA
Jill Goldman-Callahan
Carol Krauss

Pandemic: Changes & new offerings we have embraced and liked

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We all want the Pandemic to come to an end… But what about things that have come about or were started due to the Pandemic that we don’t want to end? Here are some thoughts…

One Concord resident wrote this: “Overall, I think people are much more friendly and kind, here and elsewhere. Seems the ‘We are all in this together’ idea is bringing out best in so many.”

Living Concord followers sent us some of their favorite things:

Curbside pick-up at Concord Library

Messages on staircase leading to Nesting shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outdoor classrooms

Eating Lunch outside at schools

Birthday Parades

 

Small, social distance concerts at your home. Some local musicians can come to your home to perform for you and small group.

Mobile ordering @ Haute Coffee

Curbside pick-up options at so many shops & restaurants

 

Al fresco dining, more outdoor seating options

Seeing many more people walking & biking

Library lawn cafe tables and chairs set up for safe social distance small gatherings

Free parking in town

Easier commutes (b/c less traffic) or no commute

No business travel

Graduation Parades & CCHS Administration stopping by each Graduate’s home in the Graduation Celebration School Bus

Drive-in movies at CCHS, from Concord Recreation

Concord Ag Week (not just Ag Day)

Less activities has allowed for more family dinners, more free time, more game nights

Zoom calls with family & friends

Concord-Carlisle Community Chest Driveway Project

Celebratory take out dinner options offered by local businesses

Chalk messages & more messages of gratitude and kindness around town

Playing games like Kahoot or Risk with friends and family

Being in your pajamas longer and having more leisurely mornings

All the new library offerings

Special take-out dinner offerings / “celebration dinners” from local restaurants

Sidewalk sales / sidewalk displays

Outdoor town meeting (with no presentations)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Umbrella’s productions you can watch via Zoom

Summer Quest

Concord Together, Concord Solstice and Fall In Love with Concord

Paperless menus  – just scan QR code with your phone.

All the new Umbrella offerings

More options to sit around town

Go Out Doors along the Rail Trail

People seem less in a hurry, kinder.

These are just a few of the good things that we have learned, started and liked during this trying time. Thank you to all of you who have worked so hard to make these things happen.