Concord, MA

Umbrella Arts: "Tick Tick...Boom!"
2025-10-18 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-25 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | The Umbrella Arts Center, 40 Stow St., Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Tick, Tick…Boom!

Playing: Fri, October 10 – Sun, November 23, 2025
Previews: Fri, October 10 & Sat, October 11 | Press opening: Sun, October 12
Main Stage Theater 144
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
David Auburn, Script Consultant
Vocal Arrangements and Orchestrations by Stephen Oremus
Directed by Ilyse Robbins*
Before Rent, there was Tick, Tick… Boom!. This autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning composer of Rent, is the story of a composer and the sacrifices that he made to achieve his big break in theater. Tick, Tick… Boom! takes you on the playwright/composer’s journey through his quarter-life crisis that led to a Broadway blockbuster.
His girlfriend wants to get married and move out of the city, his best friend is making big bucks on Madison Avenue, and yet Jon is still waiting on tables and trying to write the great American musical. Set in 1990, this compelling story of personal discovery is presented as a rock musical filled with instantly appealing melodies and a unique blend of musical theater styles.

The Concord Orchestra presents "Always in Motion"
2025-10-18 20:00 - 22:00 | 51 Walden
The orchestra performs music by Michael Torke, Samuel Barber, and Margaret Bonds. Michael Torke’s Javelin was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for its 50th anniversary and performed at the opening ceremony of the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996. Samuel Barber’s lyrical Symphony No. 1 combines the four movements of a classical symphony into a single movement. Margaret Bond’s Montgomery Variations was composed in 1964 and dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. It portrays the early history of the Civil Rights Movement, in particular the Montgomery Bus Boycott and its aftermath.
A pre-concert talk is scheduled for 7:15 pm.
Tickets for adults and seniors are $25. Admission for youth under 18 is free.

Fall Fungal Foray 2025
2025-10-19 14:00 - 15:00 | Thoreau Farm, 341 Virginia Road, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Fall Fungal Foray with the Sauntering Society

FREE
Registration required. Limited to 16 participants.

Mycologist and author of Fascinating Fungi of New England, Fungipedia, Lawrence Millman, will be the foray leader on a mushroom identification walk in Hapgood-Wright Forest.

Author and Arctic explorer Lawrence Millman has written 18 books, including such titles as Our Like Will Not Be There Again, Last Places, Hiking to Siberia, At the End of the World, Fascinating Fungi of New England, Fungipedia, and Goodbye, Ice. He is also a contributor to Thoreau Farm’​s book: What Would Henry Do? Volume II. He has visited Henry’s grave more times than he’s visited either his mother’s or his father’s graves. He lives in Cambridge.

CYT: "Alice by heart"
2025-10-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Concord Youth Theatre, 53 Church St., Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Concord Youth Theatre presents “Alice by heart” October 17, 18 & 19!

The Concord Orchestra presents "Always in Motion"
2025-10-19 14:30 - 16:00 | 51 Walden
The orchestra performs music by Michael Torke, Samuel Barber, and Margaret Bonds. Michael Torke’s Javelin was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for its 50th anniversary and performed at the opening ceremony of the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996. Samuel Barber’s lyrical Symphony No. 1 combines the four movements of a classical symphony into a single movement. Margaret Bond’s Montgomery Variations was composed in 1964 and dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. It portrays the early history of the Civil Rights Movement, in particular the Montgomery Bus Boycott and its aftermath.
Tickets for adults and seniors are $25. Admission for youth under 18 is free.

Poetry at the Library with Jonathan Aaron and Linda Flaherty Haltmaier
2025-10-19 15:00 - 16:30 | Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library Poetry Series presents Jonathan Aaron and Linda Flaherty Haltmaier, two outstanding poets at the height of their powers.
Jonathan Aaron reads from his fourth collection, Just About Anything: New and Selected Poems (Carnegie Mellon University Press 2025). A poem uses words to try to get at what can’t be put into words. The best poems remain just out of reach; something in or about them remains mysterious. A poem itself is an inquiry or a search, that is never finished, never fulfilled.”
Jonathan Aaron is the author of three previous books of poems, including Second Sight, Corridor, and Journey to the Lost City. His work has received many honors, including fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell. His poems have appeared in the London Review of Books, The New Yorker, New York Review of Books, and Raritan, among others, and they have been included five times in Best American Poetry.
Jonathan was educated at the University of Chicago and Yale. He went on to teach English and Creative Writing at Williams College, at Yale, in Harvard’s Expository Writing Program, and finally in the Department of Writing and Literature at Emerson College, where he is now professor emeritus. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Linda Flaherty Haltmaier reads from her collection, Shadows Set to Burn, winner of the 2024 International Book Award for Narrative Poetry. She is the award-winning author of four poetry collections and the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Andover, MA. Named the winner of the Robert Frost Poetry Prize, she is known for her “sensational imagery, her deft ear for the music of language, and her emotional sonar for sounding the depths of love (and anger.)” Her latest offering, Shadows Set to Burn, is the winner of the 2024 International Book Award for Narrative Poetry.
Her debut collection, Rolling up the Sky, claimed the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize and her follow-up collection, To the Left of the Sun, won the American Book Fest Award for Poetry. Additional accolades include winning the JuxtaProse Poetry Prize and the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Competition, as well as Finalist honors for the Princemere Poetry Prize, the New Millenium Award for Poetry, the Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, the Rash Award for Poetry, and the Tucson Festival of the Book Literary Award, among others.
A four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Linda has been featured widely in journals and anthologies including Switchgrass Review, WSQ, Ink & Letters, Wild Word, and more. Her debut chapbook, Catch and Release, was published by Finishing Line Press. A graduate of Harvard, Linda leads poetry workshops, gives readings, and promotes poetry on the North Shore of Boston where she lives with her husband and daughter.
For more information on the Concord Festival of Authors, please visit www.concordfestivalofauthors.org.

The Umbrella Arts: "The Counter"
2025-10-19 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-10-23 19:30 - 21:30 | Umbrella Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Black Box Theater
Playing: Fri, September 26 – November 9, 2025
Previews: Fri, September 26 & Sat, September 27, 2025 | Press opening: Sun, September 28
Sundays at 3:00 PM, Thursday – Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 8:00 PM (with exceptions for two-performance days on October 12 & 26)
VIEW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
By Meghan Kennedy
Directed by Alex Lonati
This heartwarming play follows the unlikely connection between Paul, a retired firefighter who goes every morning to the same small town diner, and Katie, who’s always there to pour the coffee. After many months of small talk across the counter, the sharing of one secret grows into a deeply meaningful, life-affirming friendship—shocking both Paul and Katie into embracing the hopes and joys born of basic human connection. This award-winning play is a surprising and moving meditation on the everyday connections that can change our lives.
“The subtle beauty of The Counter lies in watching these two burrowing creatures develop the kind of bond that means they’re pulling each other back up towards the light.” — New York Magazine
“Kennedy deals in secrets and grief and escape, in running away and starting again, and most crucially in standing in front of a suddenly opened door: You either stay inside, crushed by your habitual fear and unhappiness, or bravely walk through.” — New York Stage Review

Additional Programming:
KidCare Performance: Sunday, October 5 at 3:00 PM
The Umbrella is pleased to offer our Kid-Care Show Program, giving parents and caregivers an opportunity to attend select performances while their child(ren) engage in art activities inspired by the production. This program aims to provide better access to arts and culture events and create a shared experience opportunity for families.
Post-show Talkback: Sunday, October 19
Dinner And A Show Thursday Night Out Packages: October 2, October 9, October 23, October 30
Thursdays in Concord are now a fun and easy entertainment Date Night thanks to optional pre-show dinners here at The Umbrella! Coming straight from work? Park free at The Umbrella, then take a load off and enjoy a delicious catered dinner, pick up beverage at concessions, and explore our free art galleries at your ease until it’s time for curtain!
Dinner boxes prepared by Nosh and Concord Market. All boxes come with a sandwich or bowl, Deep River chips, fruit, and a small sweet from Concord Market ($25).
Bowl 1
Cobb Salad: Spring Mix, Avocado, Bacon, Bleu Cheese, Hard-Boiled Eggs, Haricots Verts, Tomato, and Red Onion (GF)
Bowl 2
Mediterranean: Mixed Greens, Feta, Olives, Cucumber, Green Peppers, Oregano, and Pita Crisps (Vegetarian)
Sandwich 1
Roast Beef, Provolone, Caramelized Onions, Tomato, and Horseradish Aioli
Sandwich 2
Caprese Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil, and Balsamic Glaze (Vegetarian)

Kiss the Future - Feature Film Presentation
2025-10-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main St, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
This powerful documentary is a remarkable and uplifting look at the Bosnian War, focusing on the resilience of the citizens of Sarajevo and the efforts of an aid worker—Bill Carter—who recruited the band U2 to shine a global spotlight on the conflict. Kiss the Future delivers themes highly relevant to our current moment. By reminding us of the human cost when populist narratives divide neighbors, the film underscores the critical need to protect shared values of freedom and democracy. It’s a stirring message of hope, demonstrating how music and art can fuel reconciliation. Bill Carter visits Concord and hosts a discussion following the film.
IMAGE: U2’s Edge, Bill Carter, and UW frontman Bono

Tactile Tuesday Playgroup at Nashoba Brooks School
2025-10-21 09:15 - 10:00 | Nashoba Brooks School, 200 Strawberry Hill Rd, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Join us for one date or all dates in the Fall Series of the Tactile Tuesday Playgroup at Nashoba Brooks School. Aimed at children ages 1+ and a caregiver, but all are welcome for engagement with peers and school-readiness sensory activities. The Tactile Tuesday Playgroup is FREE and open to all. Feel free to share the information with a friend or neighbor! Register by emailing admission@nashobabrooks.org for attendance in this joyful start to Tuesdays!

Designing With Texture
2025-10-21 18:00 - 19:30 | Copper Penny Flowers, 9 Independence Ct, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Pumpkins and gourds and grasses, oh my! Embrace awesome Autumn with a design class featuring fall’s harvest and your own arrangement to take home and enjoy.

2025 Taste of Concord!
2025-10-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Nashawtuc Country Club, 1861 Sudbury Rd, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Join us at the Nashawtuc Country Club this year to experience the best flavors from our local Concord restaurants, including Bandoleros, Concord’s Colonial Inn, Concord Teacakes, Debra’s Natural Gourmet, Fiorella’s Cucina, Gräem Nuts and Chocolate, Main St. Cafe, Nashawtuc Country Club, Nashoba Brook Bakery, New England Olive Oil Company, The Cheese Shop, Twin Seafood, Verrill Farm, West Village Tavern, and Woods Hill Table.
The event also features a guided tasting experience with over 50 selections of wines from around the world, including California, Italy, and Spain, craft beers, mocktails, and a wide range of artisanal spirits curated and poured by West Concord Wine and Spirits. This is a large-scale tasting event where you can explore rare finds, small-batch favorites, and a variety of high-quality beverages, perfect for anyone who enjoys wine, spirits, and craft drinks.
**VIP option – Join us for an exclusive VIP Hour at this year’s Taste of Concord. From 5–6 PM, enjoy early admission, light bites, and the chance to get yourself a seat for the night.
Your VIP ticket includes a rare bourbon tasting led by a Sazerac Ambassador featuring EH Taylor Small Batch, Weller 12 Year, Stagg, Thomas H. Handy, and Pappy Van Winkle 10 Year. This intimate session provides an opportunity to taste, learn, and ask questions about some of the most sought-after spirits.
Purchase tickets here or stop by in person and buy your tickets at:
West Concord Wine & Spirits – 1216 Main St. Concord, MA
You must be 21 years and older to purchase tickets & enter the event.

Concord Museum: Haunted Fables from the Haunted Gables
2025-10-21 19:00 - 20:00 | The Concord Museum, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Join Salem’s master storyteller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, for a frightful evening of thrills and chills in the gloomy shadow of his Concord haunts! The famous author performs his most frightening tales, as well as the terrifying works of fellow writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Stories include “The House of the Seven Gables,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “Annabel Lee,” “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Raven,” and more. Experience the greatest Gothic horror stories ever written, brought to life by one of the authors himself! Oct 21, 7-8 p.m. at the Concord Museum

Richard Higgins: "Thoreau's God"
2025-10-22 18:00 - 20:00
In partnership with the Concord Festival of Authors, Richard Higgins will discuss his new book, “Thoreau’s God”, which recovers a central thread in Thoreau’s life and work that has been ignored or dismissed—his personal religiosity and iconoclastic theological vision. Both are woven through Thoreau’s work as a naturalist and his philosophical thought and ethical commitments. Thoreau’s eclectic, experiential spirituality is resonating with spiritual seekers in America today. More information about Mr. Higgins and this event can be found at: https://www.walden.org/events/richard-higgins-thoreaus-god/
The Walden Woods Project is hosting this event. There will be a wine and cheese reception from 6:15 to 7 pm, and Richard Higgins’ presentation will take place from 7 to 8 pm. Registration is required, please register at https://walden.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/richard-higgins-thoreau-s-god

Oktoberfest
2025-10-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Household Goods, 530 Main Street, Acton, MA, 01720, United States
Household Goods, Inc., has furnished homes for people in need, free of charge, for 35 years. On October 22, they are holding a community fundraiser to celebrate this milestone anniversary and kick off its Furnish the Future campaign to sustain Household Goods’ work well into the future. Household Goods warmly invites its community of new and long-time supporters to gather for a fun and informative evening at its center.

Co-Crafting Morning
2025-10-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Art for All
Co- Crafting
Thursday Mornings – October 2,9,16,23
10am-12pm
Art for All – 152 Commonwealth Ave, Studio 16, Concord MA 01742
Join other creatives using our studio. Work on your own project or co-craft. Materials cost for some activities.

Understanding Type 2 Diabetes and the Newest Treatments Thursday, October 23rd at 2:00 PM
2025-10-23 14:00 - 15:00 | Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main St, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Join Krystalee Fernandez, a graduate intern from Framingham State University, and Suzanne Reasenberg, a dietitian at Emerson Health, for an informative presentation tailored to those living with, or at risk for, Type 2 Diabetes. They will cover diabetes basics, tips for everyday nutrition, and current treatments, including the latestGLP-1 therapies such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Victoza. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or supporting someone who is, this talk will provide helpful guidance and resources. Call the COA to sign up at 978-318-3020. Space is limited.

Art with a Purpose
2025-10-23 15:00 - 17:00 | Art for All
Art with a Purpose
Thursday Afternoons- October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23th and 30th.
3pm-5pm
Art for All – 152 Commonwealth Ave, Studio 16, Concord MA 01742

Art for All’s handmade greeting cards are sold by local businesses through our Greetings for All program. Participation in other public art projects will be available on an as needed basis during these Thursday afternoon sessions. FREE, but please register to help with planning. Familiarity with arts and crafts materials is needed. CCHS and AB students can earn community service hours!

Please register at Eventbrite.

Inspire: An Evening of Connection and Impact, The Nature Connection
2025-10-23 17:30 - 20:00 | Concord Scout House, 74 Walden St., Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Join us for Inspire, our annual fundraiser celebrating the transformative power of nature connection and the community that makes it all possible. This special evening brings together friends, supporters, and changemakers for a night of inspiration, reflection, and impact.
Enjoy a delicious dinner accompanied by live music, followed by an engaging keynote from acclaimed author, physicist, and humanist Dr. Alan Lightman, whose work explores the intersection of science, spirituality, and what it means to be fully human.
Throughout the evening, hear firsthand from community impact speakers—participants, volunteers, and partners—whose stories bring to life the deep and lasting difference your support makes. Browse and bid in our online auction, featuring unique experiences, handcrafted items, and local treasures, all supporting our mission to bring the healing power of nature to those who need it most.
Whether you’re a long-time supporter or a new friend, Inspire is an invitation to connect, celebrate, and help us grow our impact in the year ahead.

The Umbrella Arts: "The Counter" Dinner before Show
2025-10-23 18:00 - 19:30 | Umbrella Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States

Concord Festival of Authors: The Robbins House Presents Tara Roberts, author of Written in the Waters
2025-10-23 18:00 - 19:30 | Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
The Robbins House presents Tara Roberts, author of Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home and Belonging.
When Tara Roberts first caught sight of a photograph at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History depicting the scuba and underwater archaeology group Diving With a Purpose, it called out to her. Here were Black women and men strapping on masks, fins, and tanks to explore Atlantic Ocean waters along the coastlines of Africa, North America, and Central America, seeking the wrecks of slave ships long lost in time. Inspired, Roberts joined them—and started on a path of discovery more challenging and personal than she could ever have imagined.
In this lush and lyrical memoir, she tells a story of exploration and reckoning that takes her from her home in Washington, D.C., to an exotic array of locales: Thailand and Sri Lanka, Mozambique, South Africa, Senegal, Benin, Costa Rica, and St. Croix. The journey connects her with other divers, scholars, and archaeologists, offering a unique way of understanding the 12.5 million souls carried away from their African homeland to enslavement on other continents. But for Roberts, the journey is also intensely personal. Inspired by the descendants of those who lost their lives during the Middle Passage, she decides to plumb her own family history and life as a Black woman to help make sense of her own identity.
Complex and unflinchingly authentic, this deeply moving narrative heralds an important new voice in literature that will open minds and hearts everywhere.
Tara Roberts spent the last six years following, diving with, and telling stories about Black scuba divers as they searched for and helped document slave shipwrecks around the world. Her journey was turned into an award-winning National Geographic-produced podcast called “Into the Depths” and featured in the March issue of National Geographic Magazine. Tara became the first Black female explorer ever to be featured on the cover of Nat Geo. In 2022, Tara was named the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year. Currently, she is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. And her book Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home and Belonging hits stands in January 2025.
Tara also worked as an editor for magazines like CosmoGirl, Essence, EBONY and Heart & Soul and edited several books for girls. She was a Fellow at the MIT Open Documentary Lab. She founded her own magazine for women who are ‘too bold for boundaries..’ And Tara spent an amazing year backpacking around the world to find and tell stories about young women change agents. The journey led to the creation of a nonprofit that supported and funded their big ideas.
This event is sponsored by The Robbins House, with support from the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.

Charm Bar Workshop
2025-10-23 19:00 - 20:00 | Concord-Carlisle High School, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Come join the fun and get charmed with CCACE and Concord local Emily Law! Whether you’re crafting a gift or designing a piece for yourself, you’ll learn how to assemble your own custom bracelet or necklace using a curated selection of charms, beads, and chain styles. We’ll go over basic jewelry-making techniques, including how to attach charms, sizing jewelry, and use jump rings. Bring your creativity and leave with a beautiful, personalized piece of jewelry you’ll love to wear! Great for all ages! (Children under 16 need an adult registered with them.) A materials fee of $30 for necklaces or $20 for bracelets is due to Emily at class.
Thursday, October 23rd from 7-8 pm at CCHS, $35 tuition
Register in advance: www.concordcarlisleace.org.

Spirits of the Old Manse
2025-10-24 | The Old Manse, Monument Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Step inside the Old Manse after dark, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, with timed tickets. It’s a rare, intimate experience through the rooms where history was lived – and still lingers. This is not a haunted house. This is something older, quieter, and more unsettling. Guided by candlelight, you’ll move room by room through the 18th-century home once occupied by Revolutionaries, philosophers, and writers like Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne. Along the way, you’ll hear true stories pulled from letters, journals, and the etched words left behind – literally – on the windows and walls

Yelena Beriyeva, Piano Inspirations
2025-10-24 19:30 - 20:30 | Concord Conservatory of Music, 1317 Main St, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Described as “a paragon of the concert pianist” by the LA Examiner and “a standout performer” by The Boston Musical Intelligencer, Georgian-born American pianist Yelena Beriyeva is recognized as a talented artist of her generation. Her powerful yet graceful performances have been showcased on radio and television both nationally and internationally.
Award winning pianist and CCM faculty member Yelena Beriyeva will perform Brahms’ introspective and penultimate piano work Klavierstücke, dedicated to Clara Schumann, followed by Debussy’s Estampes (“Prints”) inspired by sounds of the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The program will conclude with Mussorgsky’s iconic Pictures at an Exhibition, a musical narration of the composer’s visit to an exhibit of artist Viktor Hartmann and depictions of his paintings.

Wright Tavern Beer Garden
2025-10-25 11:00 - 18:00
Bring your kids in costume or wear your own costume!
Join us for another wonderful day at Wright Tavern Beer Garden,

Concord Festival of Authors: Debut Authors Panel
2025-10-25 14:00 - 16:00 | Fowler Library, 1322 Main Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library present The Debut Authors Panel 2025 moderated by Steve Edwards, Writer-In-Residence at CFPL.
Debut Author Panelists
Nicky Gonzalez is a writer from Hialeah, Florida. Her fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, BOMB, The Kenyon Review, Taco Bell Quarterly, and other publications. She has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Granum Foundation, Millay Arts, Lighthouse Works, and the Hambidge Center. Mayra, a literary Gothic novel set in the Everglades, is her first book.
Courtney Gustafson is a cat rescuer, community organizer, and creator of Poets Square Cats on TikTok and Instagram. Originally from Massachusetts, and an alum of both Fitchburg State University and UMass Amherst, she now lives and works in Tucson, Arizona. Her first book, Poets Square: a Memoir in Thirty Cats, debuted on the New York Times Bestsellers list.
Christine Murphy has lived, worked, and traveled in more than a hundred countries, including living for eleven months in a tent across the African continent and a year as a resident in a Buddhist nunnery in the Himalayas. A trained Buddhologist, Murphy has a Ph.D. in religious studies. Notes on Surviving the Fire is her first novel.
Blue Nguyen is a Vietnamese non-binary lesbian poet, artist, and organizer. Inspired by cartography and traditional symbolism in Viet architecture and culture–they research the architecture of grief, giving thanks, and livelihood. They work with poetic syntax, oral history, Vietnamese traditional woodworking, textile, and fiber techniques using organic materials. Their artistic journey began with poetry as a translation on grief, an act of prayer. Now as they research using materials off the page, their work questions what can a poem be made of– prayer as poetics, poetics as prayer. Material as an altar. In their free time they enjoy creating mixed media art using anything they can find in their apartment, weaving with yarn and fibers, learning how to woodwork, making sweet and slow breakfast in the morning with their girlfriend/người yêu, and singing bird songs to the moon. Blue’s poems explore translation as an act of weaving time and grief, as prayer, as apology. much of blue’s work is an ode to their ancestors, their family (chosen and not chosen), their lesbian (t4t) love, and queer viet grief and joy. Their art is most recently featured at 50 Arrow Gallery in a duo-collab exhibit with their người yêu titled, What the River Sees. Their poetry can be found at Palette Poetry, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Peach Mag, and more. Nominated for Best of the Net Anthology and Best New Poets Anthology, their debut book Hey Siri, What Time is it in Vietnam? is out now with GameOverBooks.
Moderator
Steve Edwards is the author of the memoir Breaking into the Backcountry, the story of the seven months he spent as the lone caretaker of a remote homestead along the federally designated “Wild and Scenic” Rogue River in Oregon. He is also the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in Fiction/Nonfiction, and the author of essays that have appeared in The Sun, Orion, Literary Hub, and Longreads, including works dedicated to Henry David Thoreau and the natural and literary spaces of Concord and beyond. His latest work, an essay about the intersection of writing, mental health, and neurodiversity, was one of The Yale Review’s most-read articles in 2024. Steve Edwards is the 2025 Writer-in-Residence at the Concord Free Public Library.
For more information on the Concord Festival of Authors, please visit www.concordfestivalofauthors.org.

Concord Band Fall Concert Premieres “POEtic Justice”
2025-10-25 19:00 - 21:00 | 51 Walden
The Concord Band will perform its Fall Concert on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 7pm, at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center in Concord MA. The Fall program features the world premiere of POEtic Justice by noted composer Roger Cichy, inspired by the dark, sinister tales of Boston-born author Edgar Allan Poe.
The composition was recently commissioned by one of the Band’s French horn players, Jean Patterson, along with her daughter, Alexandra Mattor. Both worked closely with Cichy, pitching their ideas for subtle, and not so subtle, musical themes for three of Poe’s classic short stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” On listening, one can “hear” and actually visualize the servant who is haunted by the incriminating heartbeat of his murdered master buried under the floorboards, or a drunken Fortunado wandering from the carnival down to the crypt only to be walled in brick by brick, or the chimes that ring out during a masked ball as Prince Prospero is pursued and hunted throughout the castle, room by room, by the Red Death.
To round out its seasonal program of eerie and beguiling musical themes, the Concord Band will perform several additional works. Dance of the Witches, a piece John Williams wrote for the 1987 film “The Witches of Eastwick,” involves three women who unintentionally form a coven and conjure a dashingly handsome man, whom they must then inescapably deal with. In composer John Barnes Chance’s Incantation and Dance, low and muted incanted rituals of magic bring forth wild and frenzied dancing, while Unquiet Spirits by John Mackey evokes unsettled and unsettling moods from the restless, to an ominous off-kilter, waltz-like dance, to a fiendish yet sparkling “moto perpetuo” (perpetual motion) finish. The Concord Band will perform two timeless masterpieces, Charles Gounod’s witty and ironically humorous Funeral March of a Marionette, and Johann Sebastian Bach’s powerfully majestic and rhythmically driven Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. The Fall concert program will close with Halloween by composer Morton Gould, which summons all the creatures and objects of darkness – ghosts, goblins, pumpkins and brooms – to spring to life to celebrate an unholy sabbath.
Admission is free and open to the public. A $20 per person donation is requested. Complimentary light refreshments will be served at a reception following the concert.

Nashoba Brooks School Admission Open House
2025-10-26 10:30 - 12:00 | Nashoba Brooks School, 200 Strawberry Hill Rd, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Come tour the Nashoba Brooks School campus to learn more about the programs and the school, which serves coed students in the Lower School from age 3 in Preschool through Grade 3 and girls in the Middle School, Grades 4-8. The whole family is welcome to explore the campus and to meet with many Nashoba Brooks School employees, students and families as you learn about the school. The event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Register for the Open House at the website below. Email admission@nashobabrooks.org with any questions. We hope to see you there!

Trunk or Treat
2025-10-26 14:00 - 15:30 | Beede Parking Lot, Walden Street, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Join Concord Recreation and the Beede Swim and Fitness Center for our 6th annual Trunk or Treat! This free event welcomes participants to decorate their vehicle/tailgate and pass out candy to kids walking with family from car to car. Truck or Treat allows kids to have all the fun of trick-or-treating in a safe, controlled environment. Register to host a car.
We provide the candy, you provide the spooky!
