Calendar

Sep
15
Thu
Post 390 Farm-to-Post Dinner Series #5: Kimball Fruit Farm
Sep 15 @ 6:00 pm

Join Post 390 for the fifth of a 6-part “Farm to Post” dinner series in 2106. This dinner will highlight the best of Kimball Fruit Farm, a third generation family-run farm owned and operated by Carl and Marie Hills. The evening will start with a reception, followed by a four course dinner.

Tickets are limited and are available for $55.

The final date for the the dinners series will be November 2nd for their “Novemberfest” celebration.

About Kimball Fruit Farm

Kimball Fruit Farm grows a variety of fruits and vegetables for the retail and wholesale trade at their Pepperell store and 12 farmers markets throughout New England. Aside from over 70 varieties of award-winning heirloom tomatoes, they are swimming in peaches (white and yellow freestone), corn (white and two color), apples (nearly 40 varieties), pears (6 varieties), and an amazing array of other fruits, vegetables, greens and herbs.

Oct
6
Thu
Working with Decorative & Fine Art
Oct 6 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

This event will be a prime opportunity for attendees to experience decorative arts as well as fine arts. Two very important aspects to decorating a home are art and rugs. You will experience the decorative art of Stephanie Saunders and the fine art of Dover Rug. The history, inspiration, and correlation behind the two types of arts and those involved in making them.

stephanie-saunders-art-dover-rug

This event will teach attendees a scope of matters. Those attending the event will learn the fine art of rug making and what goes in to it. For three generations, The Jafri family has been designing, weaving, and exporting fine, hand-knotted rugs and carpeting from Pakistan, India and Nepal to Western Europe, The United States and, to other parts of the world. At this event, the attendees will be able to have a look into this journey and learn how the rugs are made. The attendees will also have the opportunity to learn about Stephanie Saunders Art Gallery. Stephanie Saunders, who is the owner and artist of Stephanie Saunders Art Gallery and a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston will be displaying pieces of art and explaining to guests the inspiration behind her paintings and the process of her work. Both Dover Rug and Stephanie will also let the attendees know how to decorate their homes with art and how art and rugs are to match and compliment one another in the home.

Apr
23
Sun
29th Annual Literary Lights
Apr 23 @ 6:00 pm

The Associates of the Boston Public Library is pleased to invite you to the 29th Annual Literary Lights awards dinner.

Join the BPL on Sunday, April 23, 2017, at the Boston Park Plaza for a spectacular black tie (optional) evening honoring distinguished authors from the Northeast for their contributions to literature and the written word. The evening begins with a reception at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner and the awards program at 7:00 PM.

The Associates of the Boston Public Library are honored to recognize the following authors as their 2017 Literary Lights:

Kwame Anthony AppiahKwame Anthony Appiah 

Presented by: Hentry Louis Gates, Jr.

Appiah is a philosopher, novelist, professor and cultural theorist.  He grew up in Ghana and earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Cambridge University in London. Professor Appiah has lectured around the world and taught at Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Duke and Harvard Universities before moving to New York University where he now teaches in the Department of Philosophy. In 2009 Forbes Magazine named him one of the world’s most powerful thinkers, in 2010 he was on the list of Foreign Policy Magazine’s top global thinkers, and he was awarded the National Humanitarian Medal at a White House ceremony in 2012. Appiah, the author of numerous books and articles, has traveled around the world giving lectures on multiculturalism, global citizenship, courage, identity, and religion. One of his early books, In My Father’s House, which explores the role of African American intellectuals in shaping contemporary African life, won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Herskovits Award for the most important scholarly work on African studies published in English. Appiah is well known for his columns and podcasts as the Ethicist for the New York Times.

 

Susan FaludiSusan Faludi

Presented by: Christopher Lydon

Faludi is a journalist and author who has written extensively on gender issues. In 1991 she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for a piece on the leverage buyout of Safeway Stores, focusing on the “human cost of high finance.”  After graduating from Harvard University, where she wrote for The Harvard Crimson, she was a contributor to the New Yorker, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Nation, as well as many other publications. In the 1980s Faludi wrote several pieces on the feminist movement and the resistance to it, resulting in her 1991 book, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, for which she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction.  She went on to write Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, The Terror Dream, and, most recently, The Darkroom, which was inspired by her father’s transsexuality. She was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies in the 2008-2009 academic year and a 2013-2014 Tallman Scholar in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at Bowdoin College.

 

Wally LambWally Lamb

Presented by: Andre Dubus III

Lamb is the best-selling author of She’s Come Undone, I know This Much is True, The Hour I First Believed, and Wishin’ and Hopin’. His first two books were selected for Oprah’s Book Club, were New York Times best-sellers, New York Times Notable Books of the Year and, between them, have been translated into 18 languages. His latest novel is We Are Water.  Lamb has also edited two volumes of essays: Couldn’t Keep it to Myself and I’ll Fly Away, written by students in his writing workshops at a women’s prison in Connecticut. He has taught creative writing in the English department at the University of Connecticut, was founder and director of the Writing Center at Norwich Free Academy, has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Connecticut Commission for the Arts, and was honored with the Connecticut Center for the Book’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Brian SelznickBrian Selznick

Presented by: Gregory Maguire

Selznick graduated from RISD where he studied illustration and, while there, took classes in set design at Brown University. After graduation, he worked at a children’s book store in New York City while writing his debut book, The Houdini Box. In 2008 he won the Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association, for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the first such award for a book this long; 533 pages with 284 illustrations. The book was adapted into a 2011 film, Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese. He has also been awarded a 2002 Caldecott Honor for his illustrations of Barbara Kerley’s The Dinosaurs of Waterhorse Hawkins.  In addition, Mr. Selznick has received the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award and the Christopher Award, given to media which “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.”

 

Chief Justice Margaret MarshallChief Justice Margaret H. Marshall (Keynote Speaker)

Presented by: David Leonard

Marshall was born in South Africa where, as a student, she led the National Union of South African Students, working to end oppressive minority rule and achieve equality for all South Africans.  Marshall first came to the US as a high school exchange student in Wilmington, DL in 1962, as the civil rights battles were beginning to boil over, and later returned to the US for graduate school, where she became involved with the anti-war and the women’s movements. After Yale Law School, she entered private practice, became President of the Boston Bar Association, Vice President & General Counsel for Harvard University, and then went on to the State’s Supreme Court, where she became the first female Chief Justice of the oldest continuously serving appellate court in the Western Hemisphere. Though she has had many accomplishments, Justice Marshall is most renowned for her 2003 opinion which led Massachusetts to become the first state in the nation to outlaw the ban on same-sex marriage. Although she loved her time on the bench, Justice Marshall stepped down in 2010. She now mentors young lawyers at her former law firm, Choate Hall & Stewart, and teaches at Harvard University.

 


 

In addition to celebrating the accomplishments of these outstanding writers, proceeds from Literary Lights support the David McCullough Conservation Fund, William O. Taylor Art Preservation Fund, Associates Endowment Fund, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library’s operations. The Associates created the McCullough Fund in 2001 to provide a consistent source of funding for the conservation and preservation of books, manuscripts, works of art and historic documents in the BPL’s Special Collections.

If you would prefer to receive a mailed invitation or for more information about sponsorship opportunitiesplease contact the Associates office at associates@bpl.org or (617) 536-3886. Thank you.

Feb
28
Wed
Boston Forecast: Future Growth & Opportunity hosted by SERV
Feb 28 @ 8:45 am – 11:00 am

Join SERV for a Breakfast and Panel Discussion 

We’re excited to announce our seventh seminar in a series of speaker and networking events for private events managers! Join us on February 28th at Grill 23 for breakfast and a discussion. The focus of this discussion will be on local urban development, upcoming conventions, future corporate neighbors, overall trends to expect and how this will affect our events industry as we know it.

PANEL SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

  • Jeffrey Gates-Partner, The Aquitaine Group: Aquitaine, Gaslight, Metropolis, Cinquecento
  • Chris Coombs-Chef / Owner, Boston Urban Hospitality: Deuxave | Boston Chops | dbar
  • Bob Luz-President & CEO, Massachusetts Restaurant Association
  • Lisa Deveney-Director of Convention Services, Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Rosemarie Sansone-President & CEO, The Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (BID)

 

SERV

 

SCHEDULE:

8:45am – 9:30am – breakfast and networking

9:30am – 10:30am – panelist discussion

10:30am – 11:00am – Q+A

SERV (Society for Event Planners: Restaurant Venues) is anorganization of private event managers who provide support and education to industry professionals. The quarterly speaker series includes a panel and networking opportunities over light breakfast. The panel discussions span a wide variety of topics from business and professional development to event technology, vendor relations and marketing, all pertaining to the private events industry with a focus on restaurant venues.Currently, SERV chapters exist in Boston and New York.

Jul
13
Fri
Tour de Rose Party to Benefit Ellie Fund
Jul 13 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Drink Pink on Bistro du Midi’s Patio for a Cause

Bistro du Midi Boston Back Bay        Photo Credit: Bistro du Midi

Join Bistro do Midi in their street level Bistro and on the patio for their Tour de Rosé Summer Party! They’ll be celebrating summer, sipping rosés, enjoy delicious food and partying with great friends – all while making a difference! Ticket proceeds will go to the Ellie Fund, dedicated to fighting breast cancer and providing free services to ease the effects on cancer patients and families.

Tickets are $50 and include Chef Robert Sisca’s seasonal hors d’oeuvres, two drink tickets for your choice of rosé and beer, and your chance to win great raffle prizes.

To learn more about the Ellie Fund, visit their website here.

Aug
10
Sat
Sweet & Savory Travel Cake Class @ Grill 23
Aug 10 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Learn how to make your very own sweet and savory travel cakes, cakes that stay moist and travel well, with Executive Pastry Chef Valerie Nin!

Join Grill 23 for an intimate two hour class where you’ll prep, bake and decorate vanilla buttercake and cornbread. Optional additions of fruit, sweets, jalapenos and cheese will be available for that extra touch. Also learn how to make lemon royal glaze and chcocolate glaze. Finally, enjoy your creations with tea and coffee (or take them home) during their fun Q&A .

Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

Tickets are limited.

Sep
19
Thu
Battle of the Breweries at the Lenox Hotel
Sep 19 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The second annual Back Bay Battle of the Breweries returns with all of your favorite local craft brewers in one spot!

Enjoy samples from over 20 New England Breweries and then place your vote for your favorite!

The winning brewery gets a Tap Takeover in City Table, City Bar and Solas!

Ticket price includes unlimited beer samples, customized tasting glass, hors d’oeuvres created by Chef Sean MacAlpine, live music with Jason Silverman of Hot Mess and a night full of good eats, brews and fun!

Be sure to get your tickets early – the last Back Bay Battle of the Breweries sold out quickly!

PARTICIPATING BREWERIES:

Night Shift Brewing – Everett, MA

Idle Hands – Malden, MA

Lord Hobo – Woburn, MA

Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers – Framingham, MA

Cambridge Brewing Company – Cambridge, MA

Devil’s Purse Brewing – South Dennis, MA

Widowmaker Brewing – Braintree, MA

Westfield River Brewing Company – Southwick, MA

Bantam Cider – Somerville, MA

Bent Water – Lynn, MA

Aeronaut Brewing Company – Somerville, MA

Turtle Swamp – Jamaica Plain/Roslindale, MA

Naked Ox – Dorchester, MA

Small Change Brewing Company – Somerville, MA

Notch Brewing – Salem, MA

Definitive Brewing – Portland, ME

Great North Aleworks – Manchester, NH

Athletic Brewing Company – Stratford, CT

Castle Island Beer – Norwood, MA

Citizen Cider – Burlington, VT

Cisco Brewers – Nantucket, MA

Winter Hill Brewing – Somerville, MA

*All attendees must be 21+ with a valid ID. Nobody will be allowed into the event who is under 21 or who doesn’t have a valid ID.

For more information, check out the Lenox’s BLOG!

Feb
1
Sat
La Chandeleur at the French Cultural Center
Feb 1 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Meet and mingle with other Francophiles while celebrating La Chandeleur!

Also called Crêpe Day, la Chandeleur is a French holiday during which people traditionally eat crêpes and drink cidre. Though la Chandeleur is often associated with the Catholic holiday of Candlemas, it actually stems from pagan traditions. And, of course, there is the traditional coin ritual: if you can flip a crêpe while holding a coin in your other hand, you and your family will not have to worry about financial problems. There is even a fun legend that ties Napoleon’s misfortune with his time in Russia with the flipping of the crêpes!

The French Cultural Center will observe this popular holiday with crêpes and a variety of delicious toppings. All ages are invited and welcome to attend!

Please note: When you register for a family, you are registering per family. You will be required to answer a question on the number of family members that will attend.

Early RSVP recommended.

To learn more about the French Cultural Center, please click here.


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