Daily Archives: August 30, 2010


Saturday, September 25 – Sunday, September 26, 10 – 5 – 12th Annual Hancock Shaker Village Country Fair

The Country Fair at Hancock Shaker Village on Saturday and Sunday, September 25 – 26 from 10 – 5 celebrates the bounty of the harvest with agricultural demonstrations, wagon rides, a fabulous Farmers Market, and huge tents full of the work of the best local and regional crafters and artisans. Come out to the farm and see all the Country Fair has to offer. At the Country Fair, vendors fill the Village with delightful fresh produce, finished farm products, and crafts of all sorts. The Farmers Market tents boast vegetables, flowers, maple sugar treats and hand-made cheeses. Artisans have furniture, Shaker style oval boxes, original paintings, candles and hand-woven textiles available for purchase. Plan plenty of browsing time for this amazing marketplace! Don’t miss the Food Tent with area restaurants and brews! Try your hand as a Shaker Baker in our Country Fair Pie Contest – in 2009, thirteen pies were entered, and this year’s judges include New Yorker writer Susan Orlean, Berkshire Living editor Lesley Ann Beck, Berkshire Eagle executive editor Tim Farkas, and RuralIntelligence.com co-founder Marilyn Bethany.  A display of quilts in the Round Stone Barn ell has become an integral part of the Country Fair each year.  Over 60 antique and newly made quilts are displayed in this juried show, fine examples of craftsmanship and tradition. You can submit a quilt for exhibition.   Adults – $17, Children 13 – 17 – $8, Children under 12 and Hancock Shaker Village Members Free.  For directions and more information, log on to www.hancockshakervillage.org.

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Community Servings Herb Garden Call for Volunteers

With the help of hundreds of volunteers, business and corporate sponsors, and its dedicated staff and board members, Community Servings prepare and deliver 3,340 lunches and dinners each week to the homes of almost 700 individuals and families who are homebound with an acute life-threatening illness.  In June 2009, Community Servings planted seedlings for its first herb garden in 100 feet of planters along the side of its building at 18 Marbury Terrace in Jamaica Plain. Community Servings needs a volunteer to come a couple of times each week to help weed, water and pick the herbs from the garden. Hours are flexible. This is a great opportunity for those in a Master Gardening program or anyone interested in learning more about gardening!

The herb garden is a project developed in partnership with The Growing Connection, a grassroots project developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The herbs and arugula grown are added to free home-delivered meals for critically-ill neighbors and their families.  If you are interested please contact the Ashley Boyd, Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator at 617-522-7777 Ext. 228 or at aboyd@servings.org.


Wednesday, September 22, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Autumn Splendor in Two Gardens

Find inspiration with the New England Wild Flower Society on Wednesday, September 22, from 10 – 1, at Ellen McFarland’s four-season garden in Westwood, Massachusetts, beautifully designed by Gary L. Koller with a series of garden rooms surrounding the converted carriage house/ barn. Mature plantings of trees and shrubs provide a backdrop for the interplay of color and texture from masses of perennials. A landscaped swimming pool with cascading waterfall adds a soothing note midway through the garden. This garden combines the best in design, plantings, and hardscape, seasoned with works of art. Then travel to Dover where you are invited to “enter and forget from where you’ve come.” This is the intention of designer Kevin Doyle for his garden visitors. Set on a rocky rise in Dover, “Cairn Croft,” unfurls down a slope, infused with beauty, plant texture, and moments of surprise and fun. Explore a woodland path, pond, wetland, formal parterre and driveway courtyard enhanced by elements of sculpture and garden art. The fee is $32 if you are a member of NEWFS, and $38 if you are not a member. To register, and for more information, log on to www.newfs.org.  Painting below by Leif Nilsson.