Boston Flora

Category: Uncategorized

  • Sunday, October 4 – Sunday, October 11 – Fryeburg Fair

    Maine’s Blue Ribbon Classic agricultural fair will take place this year Sunday, October 4 – Sunday, October 11.  The West Oxford Agricultural Society, presenters of the Fryeburg Fair, was incorporated on June 3, 1851.  Originally, nine Maine towns were included, with six New Hampshire towns added in 1888.  After moving from town to town for the first few years, a permanent fair site was purchased in Fryeburg.  After nearly 30 years it moved to its present location, north of town, with the purchase of 26 acres for $133.  The first fair was held there in 1885.  Dyring the next 100 plus years it has expanded to 180 acres and includes 100 permanent buildings, with over 3,000 camping sites.  Currently, about 300,000 people attend the fair annually.

    Attractions include 4-H riding horse shows, sheepdog trials, poultry and flower shows, fleece and fiber shows, Society Pig Scrambles (no, we don’t know what that is), tractor pulls, woodsmen’s field days (watch people throw axes!), Christmas tree exhibits, lamb shows, dairy goat shows, llama shows, draft horse shows, blueberry dessert contests, and wreath making demonstrations, but this is just a drop in the bucket of the hundreds of activities scheduled.  For complete information, log on to www.fryeburgfair.com. Tickets are $8 Sunday through Friday and the last Sunday, and $10 on Saturday.  Parking on grounds is $5.  For information call 207-935-3268.

    http://www.fryeburgmaine.org/images/fryeburg-fair-lg.jpg

  • Wednesday, September 30, 2:00 – 3:30 pm – Food, Inc.

    Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has teamed up with the Museum of Science to present a free screening of the critically acclaimed film FOOD, INC., by noted documentarian Robert Kenner.  Narrated by experts Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto), and featuring interviews with forward-thinking entrepreneurs such as Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm and Joel Salatin of Pollyface, Inc,, FOOD, INC. reveals surprising, shocking truths about what we eat, how it is produced, who we become as a nation, and where we go from here.  The screening will be at the Museum of Science’s Cahners Theater, and the doors will open at 1:15 pm.  A panel discussion will follow with Gary Hirshberg, Chairman, President, and CEO of Stonyfield Farm, Jody Adams, James Beard award-winning Chef/Owner of Rialto, and Jessie Banhazl, Owner and Co-Founder of Green City Growers. This discussion will be moderated by Louisa Kasdon, writer and food editor of Stuff Magazine.  Registration is available through the Museum of Science , or you may email David Sittenfeld at forumrsvp@mos.org, or call 617-589-4258.

    http://veryculinary.com/_blog//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/food-inc-poster.gif

  • Sunday, October 18, noon – 4 pm – Fall Family Festival

    The New England Wild Flower Society holds its Fall Family Festival at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts, on Sunday, October 18, from noon to four.  Explore the changing season and enjoy special events, prior to the closing of the Garden for the season on October 31.  For more invormation, call 508-877-7630, ext. 3405, or log on to www.newfs.org.

  • Three Corn Maze Opportunities

    Have you ever walked through a corn maze?  This autumn, three fantastic opportunities await, one in Sterling, one in Sunderland, and one in Ipswich. The picture below, by the way, is not one of these featured mazes, but gives you an idea of what’s in store.  Pick a sunny day and commune with your inner child:

    Mega Maze Corn Maze — Sterling
    Now through November 15, 2009
    Every year brings a whole new puzzle, theme, and challenge.  Davis’ Mega Maze features more bridges than any other field maze in the world and the only double-decker bridge. There is more than one solution to the Mega Maze and there are several different levels of intensity at which the maze can be completed. All offer varying degrees of difficulty and a new maze experience. Location: Davis’ Mega Maze, 145 Redstone Hill. Time: August 6-Labor Day, open daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; September 8-10, closed; September 11-October 31, open weekends only, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; November 1-November 15. open weekends only, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Weather Decisions are made each day by 8 am. Cost: Adults, $16.95; seniors older than 60 and children age 5-12, $12.95. Information: 978-422-8888 or visit www.davisfarmland.com/megamaze.

    Mike’s Corn Maze at Warner Farm – Sunderland
    Now through October 31, 2009
    The 2009 Maze celebrates the 173rd anniversary of the conclusion of the voyage of The HMS Beagle. The maze features the famed British naturalist Charles Darwin with his penetrating gaze chiseled out of solid corn. Darwin is pictured with an assortment of the Galapagos finches whose habitats were isolated volcanic islands. Put on your farm appropriate footwear and come for a nature walk along miles of corn-lined trails. No pets. Location: Warner Farm, 25 South Main Street. Time: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: Adults over age 13, $9; students and seniors over age 60, $8; children age 4-12, $6. Information: 413-665-8331 or visit www.mikesmaze.com.

    Marini Farm Corn Maze – Ipswich
    Now through October 31, 2009
    Experience one of the largest and most challenging corn mazes in the New England region. Travel ear to ear in 8 acres of interactive learning and adventure. Maize Quest is great fun for families, scouts, youth groups, and birthday parties. Location: 259 Linebrook Road. Time: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m.; weekends, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Cost: Adults, $9.50; children younger than 12, $7.50. Information: 978-356-0430 or visit www.marinifarm.com.

  • Garden Club Table at NABB Street Sale Canceled Due to Rain

    The Garden Club hoped to participate today, September 12, in the NABB Street Sale, but the rain is pouring down, and most of our material is paper, so we regretfully will not be on the Dartmouth Street mall today.  Should the entire event be canceled and rescheduled, we’ll let you know.

    http://oregonstate.edu/cla/philosophy/sites/default/files/RAIN_CLOUDS.jpg

  • Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, October 11, 10 am – 4 pm – Annual Cranberry Harvest Celebration

    Join The A.D. Makepeace Company and the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association for the 6th Annual Cranberry Harvest Celebration, Saturday and Sunday, October 10 – 11, 2009, at A.D. Makepeace Company Headquarters at Tihonet Village, 158 Tihonet Road in Wareham.  10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine, admission $2.00, age 6 and under free. Free event parking.

    This fun family event features juried crafters, activities for children, cooking demonstrations, pony and wagon rides, and much more. The highlight of the day is a guided tour of a working cranberry bog. Please, no pets.

    The 2008 event drew a record 12,000 people from around the world. For additional information, contact:

    A.D. Makepeace Company
    Kim Houdlette
    khoudlette@admakepeace.com
    www.admakepeace.com
    508-322-4000

    Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association
    Dawn Gates-Allen
    dgatesallen@cranberries.org
    508-759-1041 x13

    Cranberry Harvest Festival Birds Eye View of Corralling Fruit

  • Saturday, September 19, 4 – 5 pm – Greenway Treasure Hunt: North End Parks

    Every third Saturday of the month, the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy invites families, adventurists, history-buffs, and anyone interested in getting to know the Greenway to join them for free thematic treasure hunts on the Greenway. Each hunt will focus on one of the four Greenway parks, the neighborhood surrounding the park, and its unique characteristics.  On September 19th we explore the North End Parks and neighborhood.  This is an all ages event. Rain or shine.  For a map and more information, log on to www.rosekennedygreenway.org, or www.hellogreenway.org.

  • Monday, August 31, 3 pm – One Long Table

    On Monday, August 31, come to a fabulous collaboration between Bay End Farm in Buzzards Bay and The Blue Room in Cambridge.  Know your roots!  Go back to the “farm to table” movement – the Bay End Farm is putting one long table back in the middle of the farm.  Join them amidst the beautiful farm of organic vegetables.  You will be sitting anywhere from just a few feet to a few miles from where your dinner will be sourced and only yards from where it will be prepared.  The hosts will be setting up the table out in the field and under the sun on a gorgeous late afternoon to feast on what the earth has offered. A farm tour begins at 3 pm, and the four course menu paired with organic wines dinner begins at 4.  Cost is $75 per person ($65 if a Bay End Farm CSA member), and please note this is a bring your own plate event.  The Blue Room chef Jorge Lopes will present his best work, and all proceeds from the dinner will facilitate Bay End Farm’s efforts to build their farm stand kitchen.

    Click here to make RESERVATIONS online. You will be directed to the Blue Room’s reservation page – book for 3 PM. Or you may call 617-494-9034 for directions and to reserve.

  • August is Asian Longhorned Beetle Awareness Month

    It was just over a year ago that the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was first reported by Worcester resident Donna Massie. Since that time, local, state, and federal entities have joined together to fight the infestation of an invasive pest that has caused negative impact to the City of Worcester and placed the Commonwealth as well as the entire Northeastern United States on high alert. To this end, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has worked with the Governor’s Office to declare August as Asian Longhorned Beetle Awareness Month, with the goal of encouraging every resident in the Commonwealth to learn to identify and report sightings of this invasive insect.  Aren’t you glad you know?

    http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/PI/AsianLongHornedBeetle.jpg

  • Sunday, September 13, 12 – 7 pm – Cambridge Carnival at Kendall Square

    Not exactly a garden event, but something of interest to our Boston members is the 17th Annual Cambridge Carnival International.  This is a colorful and festive celebration rooted in African traditions.  The festival attracts over 150,000 people, making it the largest festival in Cambridge, Massachusetts  The highlight of this annual Mardi Gras style festival is a grand costume parade accompanied by rich rhythmic musicality promoting all types of cultures.  The festival combines food and craft exhibits, costumes, masks, wire-bending, live music, steel pan, street parades and dancing, displaying the history and culture of the Caribbean traditions based on the models of Trinidad, Tobago, and Brazil.  For more information log on to www.cambridgecarnival.org.  The Children’s Museum will feature “Meet Me at the Table,” and will focus on food and art activities that relate to six different cultures around Boston: Brazilian, Haitian/Caribbean, Puerto Rican and Dominican, Cape Verdean, Chinese and Vietnamese. They will be setting a table with beautiful, artist-made play food, and will encourage festival participants to eat and play together. Activities will include making collage place mats that will then go back to the museum for use at our big end-of-summer party in September.

    Carnival Close-up by Steve_C.