A plethora of holiday events are on the horizon: It’s time to register for a visit from December’s most famous visitor; participate in Emerson Hospital’s Tree of Lights ceremony; take a guided walk along one of Bedford’s wilderness trails; visit the St. Paul’s Advent Fair; party with the Bedford Education Foundation; learn a bit about opera at First Parish; buy homemade cookies at Emerson Hospital; learn about Falstaff with Bedford Center for the Arts; watch Bedford Common glow when the holiday lights are turned on (and that famous visitor stops by!); or hear Rev. John Gibbons when he speaks in Concord.
Thursday, December 5
Here Comes Santa Claus: Register for Bedford’s longest-running event
The Bedford Community Santa Program is accepting registrations for this coming Christmas Eve. Registration cards have been mailed to all Bedford Residents. Please return your card to Box 797, Bedford, MA 01730. Early return of the cards by December 5 is needed for this year’s planning. You may also call or register online. The registration telephone number is 781-275-1680 or you may register online at www.bedfordsanta.com. Please leave the following information: family name, address and phone number of the home where the delivery is to be made and the number of gifts to be delivered. Gift Drop Off Day is Saturday, December 21 at the John Glenn Middle School. Gifts to be dropped at the school between 9am-5pm.
If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering with the program please call Lorraine at 781-275-4813.
Tree of Lights at Emerson Hospital
The Emerson Hospital Auxiliary continues its 25-year tradition of celebrating the holiday season with its Tree of Lights ceremony at 4:30 pm on Thursday, December 5. Bedford residents are invited to join Emerson staff and patients for a brief program in the hospital’s Cheney Conference Room, followed by the tree lighting in front of the hospital. The Holy Family Bell Choir will provide entertainment, and parking in the garage will be validated.
Tree of Lights is a way for the Emerson community to recognize special people or events in their lives by donating a light or a star in their honor or memory for this very special tree. All donations will directly benefit Emerson Hospital, and will be recognized in the Auxiliary’s Tree of Lights Tribute Book that will be displayed in the hospital lobby throughout the holiday season. Your donation of $10 will support a light on the tree and $25 will fund a star. Checks payable to the Emerson Hospital Auxiliary may be mailed to Denise Haartz, P.O. Box 1596, Concord, MA 01742 through December. 15.For a donation form or more information about the Tree of Lights, contact Donna Grinnell at (978) 263-9830 or [email protected].
The Emerson Hospital Auxiliary supports Emerson Hospital by increasing community awareness, supporting health-related education and conducting fundraising initiatives. Over the past decade, the Auxiliary has raised more than $3 million for hospital equipment, facilities and services. Anyone interested in becoming a member or learning about the Auxiliary should contact Karen McCarthy at (978) 371-2133. For more information, visit www.emersonhospital.org.
Saturday, December 7
December Trail Walk
Join the Bedford Trails Committee on Saturday, December 7, 2013 for an interesting two-hour guided walk through one of the Bedford Conservation Areas. Wear sturdy shoes; parts of the trail may be muddy. Partakers should bring water. Children and well-behaved dogs are welcome when accompanied by an adult. Participants should gather in the parking lot behind the Bedford Library, 7 Mudge Way at 9:45 a.m. to meet the trail leader and carpool to the trailheads.
St Paul’s Advent Fair
On Saturday, December 7, from 9 am to 2 pm, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will hold its annual Advent Fair featuring gifts, crafts, food, and holiday cheer for all ages, with all proceeds benefitting the work and ministries of the church. Click this link to read the full story.
BEF Winter Bash
The Bedford Education Foundation’s Winter Bash will take place at Waxy O’Connor’s on Saturday evening, December 7 at 7 pm. Tickets are $25 each and may be purchased at Chip-In Farm or online through the Recreation Department at https://bedrecregister.org/registrationmain.sdi (select “Special Events”).Click this link to read the full story.
Sunday, December 8
Opera Comes to the First Parish Lyceum
Bedford Center for the Arts’ opera buff Bob Bass brings an introduction to grand opera to First Parish. Through the magic of Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD performances at nearby movie theaters (with ticket prices less expensive than bleacher seats at Fenway!) great opera is readily accessible. Using video clips of recent performances, Bob will illustrate these exciting opportunities. If you’ve never seen an opera, this is an especially easy way to test its appeal. If you’re an opera buff, you’re invited to help tell the story. At 9am on Sunday, December 8 in Room 202 at First Parish on the Common; please use the fully accessible Elm Street entrance.
Monday, December 9
Emerson Hospital Auxiliary’s Cookies by the Pound Sale
The Emerson Hospital Auxiliary will hold its annual Cookies by the Pound sale on Monday, December 9th from 10 am to 1 pm at the hospital on Old Road to Nine Acre Corner in Concord. A wide array of home-baked, donated cookies, bars, chocolates, breads and jellies will be available. For more information on Cookies by the Pound, please email Julie Turner.
Bedford Center for the Arts’ Opera Series: Falstaff
Dave Collins, Opera Boston’s resident lecturer for eight years, will discuss Verdi’s Falstaff at 7 pm on Monday, December 9, in the Bacon Room at First Parish on the Common.
Based on Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is a standard repertoire opera buffa, or comic opera. The current production has been reset to post-war Windsor in the 1950’s, and will be broadcast live in HD on Saturday December 7 at several local movie theaters. Dave will prepare us for this new production with background on the story, video clips, and classic recordings from some of opera’s most famous stars. Tickets for the BCA lecture are still available at $15 per person.
Tuesday, December 10
Tree Lighting on Bedford Common
Join family and friends as we gather together for one of Bedford’s traditions, the annual Tree Lighting.
- At 6:15, Recreation
- Kids’ Club Staff will delight the children with stories of the season in the First Parish Church on the Common.
- At 6:45, gather on the Town Common in preparation of the grand count down and enjoy the music of Tree Lighting quartet “The Bedford Four.”
- At 7:00 p.m., Citizen of the Year, Ralph Hammond, will do the honor of turning on the lights when the count reaches “one.”
Once the Common is aglow, a special visitor from the North Pole will arrive atop a shiny red fire engine with candy cane treats and wishes for a very special holiday season.
As the evening winds down and everyone heads home, the holiday lights will continue to shine into the New Year. Click here to read the story.
Wednesday, December 11
Musings of a Lifelong Humanist and UU – Bedford’s Rev. John Gibbons speaks at First Parish in Concord
Rev. Gibbons, the Senior Minister of First Parish in Bedford, is involved in interfaith roundtables; serves as chaplain to the Bedford Minutemen; is a founding member of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, the Tuckerman Coalition, and Interfaith Alliance. Additionally, First Parish of Bedford was recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association as a “breakthrough congregation” in 2012. The doors will open at 7:00 pm on December 11, with socializing and refreshments; the program will begin shortly thereafter. For additional information, call 508-485-4795. First Parish in Concord is located at 20 Lexington Road in Concord; please use the lower door on right side of main building.
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