Arts and Culture

BCA Photo: Photo Restoration with Sue Anne Hodges

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The BCA Photo Group invites you to learn about Photo Restoration with professional photographer and educator, Sue Anne Hodges. In addition to her commercial and fine art photography, Hodges (sueannehodges.com) has made a career teaching printing, Lightroom, and Photoshop at the New England School of Photography and more recently, the Griffin Museum of Photography. Her clients and publications include the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Down East Magazine, Maine Bureau of Tourism, National Parks Magazine, Outside Magazine, Audubon, Country Inns. She has also provided the photography for a number of books, including “A Pocket Guide to Carriage Roads of Acadia National Park.”

In-person meetings of the BCA Photo Group are suspended until further notice. We’ve been holding meetings online with great success.

Arts and Culture

BCA Photo: Stephen Tourlentes on “The American Landscape in the Age of Mass Incarceration”

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The BCA Photo Group welcomes photographer and educator Stephen Tourlentes to discuss his work, “The American Landscape in the Age of Mass Incarceration.”

Tourlentes is a Visiting Professor in Photography and Studio Manager at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. His images have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Chicago Art Institute and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. He’s received many prestigious fellowships and prizes, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his images are collected by major art institutions (http://www.tourlentes.com/). In-person meetings of the BCA Photo Group are suspended until further notice. We’ve been holding meetings online with great success.

Arts and Culture

Free January Presentation on Forgery via Zoom

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Please join us on Sunday, January 10, 2021 from 4:00pm – 5:00 pm for a free, Zoom presentation on (yes!) forgery. Scandal!  Notorious Deeds!  First Parish’s Bob Doud will speak on the forensic science of handwriting and forgery investigation.  Bob worked with his father – a noted Forensic Document Examiner, Donald Doud – for a number of years. Bob will relate some of the high-profile investigations that he was involved in, including King Henry VIII’s will and the Howard Hughes cases. Bob Doud is a Technical Marketing Director in the cloud security field and worked as an assistant to his father during high school and college. He and his wife have been First Parish members for 25 years and active on numerous church committees, including the Building Committee where he coordinated the 1999-2000 addition project.  In his spare time, Bob enjoys working with and mentoring middle and high-school youth through various church programs and the Rotary RYLA program.  Come and enjoy this engaging presentation!

2020 COVID-19

Bedford Santa Thanks its Many Volunteers

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As it observed its 75th year, the 2020 Bedford Community Santa Claus Project had to resort to a different scheme due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Planning began as usual in August.  After many individual meetings and consultations with a member of the Select Board, the Town Manager and the Bedford Board of Health, many options were discussed and discarded. 

Conservation

If You Build It, They Will Come

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The 13th annual Yankee Stick Swap found a surprise this year on Christmas Eve morning.  Overnight, a large monolith appeared at the Clark Conservation area. 

Was it aliens? Neighbors? Amazon Prime? 

A mystery!

Unlike most mysteries, this one came with a note: Aliens have promised it will be removed on January 3rd.

Schools

Superintendent’s Update ~ Friday, December 18, 2020

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I hope that everyone stayed safe during our first snow day of the school year. I want to assure the students that I did not consult the website Snow Day Calculator. Instead, I relied on the expert analysis of David Manugian, our Director of Public Works, forecasts from Precision Weather Forecasting, and the National Weather Service in Norton, MA. Thank you to the Department of Public Works and the Facilities Department for getting us ready for school on Friday morning. DPH Vaccine Update
On Monday we had the opportunity to hear from Marylou Sudders the Secretary of Health and Human Services about the distribution of COVID vaccine.

Arts and Culture

JOY ~ Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony ~ Celebrating the Composer’s 250th Birthday ~ Sunday at 4 pm

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“Beethoven: We Need More (Ode to) Joy! — Exploring a Masterpiece” will be presented by First Parish Music and Choral Director Brad Conner via Zoom from 4 to 5 pm on Sunday, December 13 in celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday. The program is part of the Lyceum series at First Parish, Unitarian Universalist Church in Bedford.

Les Misérables ~ Coming to BHS as the 2021 Spring Musical

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There will be a 60th annual Bedford High School musical, to be presented in May 2021.

It will be just a little different.

The first Zoom audition workshop took place this week for the epic sung-through musical Les Misérables (school edition), by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo.

Arts and Culture

Bedford Cultural Council Grant Applications Due on Monday, December 14

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The grant cycle for the Bedford Cultural Council ends on Monday, Dec. 14. All applications must be received by that date.

Application forms and more information about the Bedford Cultural Council Program are available online at https://www.mass-culture.org/Bedford.
 
For local guidelines and complete information on the Bedford Cultural Council, contact Barbara Purchia at (781) 275-2464 or bsrpurchia@aol.com.

Arts and Culture

Joyce Peseroff and ‘Petition’ ~ Her Sixth Poetry Collection

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Joyce Peseroff, a poet and a teacher for four decades, says she finds inspiration and intimacy in the open spaces around her home at Huckins Farm.

And that comfort has grown since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Just being able to have so much open space makes a difference,” said Peseroff, who has lived in the Dudley Road neighborhood for nine years. “It’s almost rural here. As someone who writes about the natural world, the environment has inspired me since Covid.”

Her sixth collection, Petition, was released by Carnegie Mellon University Press a few weeks ago. And there have been challenges. “I had six readings scheduled for three months and all of them were canceled.”

Schools

BHS Fall Play ‘She Kills Monsters’ via Livestream Friday and Saturday ~ Do You Have Your Tickets?

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The Bedford High School Performing Arts Department presents SHE KILLS MONSTERS: VIRTUAL REALMS, a fast-paced dramatic comedy set in the world of fantasy role-playing games.

TWO PERFORMANCES THIS WEEKEND

Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21

Both begin via live stream at 7 pm with a different cast for each performance. Tickets may be purchased through the BHS Performing Arts Department website: https://bhschorusandtheater.weebly.com/tickets.html

Extra, Extra!

Lowell Chamber Orchestra to Perform for MCC’s “World of Music”

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The Lowell Chamber Orchestra (LCO) will record a performance for Middlesex Community College’s Fall “World of Music” concert series. Due to the pandemic, concerts throughout the Fall semester have been recorded live and aired online. The LCO will perform “Hidden Landscapes” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 20.

Recorded at the Christ Church United in Lowell, the concert will be conducted by Orlando Cela, an MCC faculty member. The performance will include pieces reminiscent of places – both real and imaginary. Works include those by Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, and Aaron Copland. Soprano Barbara Quintiliani will be featured in the performance.

Arts and Culture

Painting Demo with Kathy DeFlice -Secor

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During this real-time demo via Zoom Kathy will create an abstract work on paper with acrylic paints and mediums. She will use a wide variety of brushes, drawing materials, and palette knives. Kathy will lead viewers through her artistic process as she works spontaneously and intuitively to let the dialogue build. You can view Kathy’s work at www.deflicesecor.com. Please RSVP by Monday, November 9, at RSVP@bacsma.org. BACS will email the Zoom link the day before the demo.

Arts and Culture

BCA Photo: Michael Milicia on “Manual Exposure – It’s Easier Than You Think”

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The BCA Photo Group presents “Manual Exposure – It’s Easier Than You Think” with Michael Milicia. Note that this event will take place on the 3rd Tuesday of the month rather than the usual 4th Tuesday. This session on metering and exposure begins with the basics and builds step-by-step, geared toward all skill levels. While Auto exposure will be discussed, the goal is for participants to become comfortable with shooting in Manual mode. In some situations, Manual exposure has many advantages over the automatic modes, can dramatically increase your percentage of “keepers” and may even be easier.

Extra, Extra!

Local Musicians: Stacy Swider ~ Stacy and the Party

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The performance season for Stacy Schalick and her band was a short one this year, thanks to the coronavirus Covid-19. Indeed, the restaurant where she sang last weekend will be hibernating for the winter.

Hibernation, however, is not in Schalick’s plans.

“One of the things I will be trying to do is get back to my saxophone playing – I just got the sax repaired,” she said. “And I can be rough on my guitars. I am going to get a new one, invest in a better instrument. And practice more.”

Homepage Featured

She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms ~ Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21 via Livestream

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Students in the Bedford High School Performing Arts Department are fine-tuning preparations for their production of “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms,” scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21, via livestream.

Tickets are $10 per adult and $8 per student or senior citizen and are available through the Performing Arts Department website: https://bhschorusandtheater.weebly.com/tickets.html

For this virtual performance, ticket sales are based on the number of devices watching the stream, rather than the number of people viewing per device. Ticket buyers are encouraged to make an additional donation toward the performance commensurate with the number of people in their household who’ll be watching the show.

2020 COVID-19

“She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms” ~ BHS Fall Drama Takes the Stage via Zoom on November 20 and 21

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The Bedford High School Performing Arts Department is going virtual with its fall production.

The students plan to present “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms,” a fast-paced dramatic comedy set in the world of fantasy role-playing games, by award-winning contemporary playwright Qui Nguyen.

Performances via live stream are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21. Tickets at $10 per adult and $8 per student will be sold through the Performing Arts Department website.

2020 COVID-19

Bedford’s South Asian Community Celebrates Diwali in the Time of Pandemic

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In a year where so much has changed due to the pandemic, our celebrations of festivals and holidays have also needed to be adjusted.   Diwali, or the festival of lights, is celebrated each fall by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists around the world and is underway. This year, the end of Diwali falls on Saturday, November 14.

Diwali is a 5-day celebration signifying the importance of knowledge, self-inquiry, self-improvement, knowing, and seeking the good and the right path.  It is a festive restatement of the belief that good ultimately triumphs over evil and light over darkness. 

Arts and Culture

BCA Photo: Anne Eder on “The Photographic Object: Materiality and Craftsmanship in Photography”

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The BCA Photo Group welcomes interdisciplinary artist and educator Anne Eder to speak on “The Photographic Object: Materiality and Craftsmanship in Photography.”

A working artist, Eder is on the faculty of Harvard University’s Ceramics program and the Penumbra Foundation, NYC, and has an MFA in Photography and Integrated Media from Lesley University. She has received many awards, including the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for photography three times. Her work has been shown in numerous museums, galleries and publications, and her outdoor installations may often be seen in the greater Boston area public parks and greenways (http://www.anneeder.com). In-person meetings of the BCA Photo Group are suspended until further notice. We’ve been holding meetings online with great success.

Arts and Culture

Online Art Auction Grand Finale

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Online Auction Grand Finale: Saturday November 7, 2020, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Boston-based artist David Moore has generously donated 17 of his paintings for auction by the First Parish in Bedford Music Committee, with the net proceeds to benefit First Parish. Moore’s works have been exhibited at esteemed galleries in Boston, New York City, and throughout the northeast. The auction features modern art compositions in an abstract form inspired by Moore’s travels to Ireland and Iceland, national affairs, and natural environments. They span nearly two decades of Moore’s artistic creation. Full details and the latest updates on these events are available at https://uubedford.org/fpb-art-auction.

2020 COVID-19

Bedford Cultural Council grant application deadline extended

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The Bedford Cultural Council announced that the deadline for artists, educators, and cultural organizations to submit applications for grants to support culturally enriching projects or programs to benefit the people of Bedford during 2021 has been extended to Dec. 14.
 
The extension of this deadline has been prompted primarily by the state Legislature’s delay in setting the Massachusetts state budget. The Bedford Cultural Council gets its funds from the Mass Cultural Council, whose budget is a line item of the state budget and also with funds from Bedford.

Arts and Culture

Pre-Auction Live Viewing of Works by David Moore

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LIVE VIEWING of works by David Moore, one of Boston’s most accomplished and respected artistic talents 

This event is sponsored by the Music Committee of First Parish in Bedford. When: Saturday October 31, 2020 from 1:00-4:00 pm

Where: First Parish Bedford (Front Door Narthex), 75 The Great Road, Bedford, MA  01730

Online Art Auction:  October 31 – November 7, 2020  https://uubedford.org/fpb-art-auction

Boston-based artist David Moore has generously donated 17 of his paintings for auction by the First Parish in Bedford Music Committee, with the net proceeds to benefit First Parish. Moore’s works have been exhibited at esteemed galleries in Boston, New York City, and throughout the northeast. The auction features modern art compositions in an abstract form inspired by Moore’s travels to Ireland and Iceland, national affairs, and natural environments. They span nearly two decades of Moore’s artistic creation.

Arts and Culture

BCA Photo: Jodi Hilton on “Giving Voice to the Disempowered Using Photography and Storytelling”

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The BCA Photo Group welcomes Jodi Hilton, speaking on “Giving Voice to the Disempowered: Using Photography and Storytelling to Empower Migrants, Minorities and Marginalized People.”

Hilton is a freelance journalist and documentary photographer who has recently returned to Boston after spending the last decade working in Southeast Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. Her work is focused on social and humanitarian issues. She is a co-founder of The Children’s Photo Workshop and team leader for Instagram @everydayeasterneurope (part of The Everyday Projects) and founder of The Balkan Press Club. She has been published in the Washington Post, New York Times, National Geographic, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, among others (www.jodihilton.com). In-person meetings of the BCA Photo Group are suspended until further notice.