We recently received a nice note from Japan from a woman who saw Marilyn’s quilts featured in the Japanese magazine “MY HOME”. Several of Marilyn’s colorful quilts were featured in the December 2009 issue. her latest exoeriment is in black and white. The effect is dramatic. One gets lost in the swirl and contrast of pattern.
Our guests often ask us where we go to get away. We try to stay at the finest of the small Inns. Earlier this summer we had the pleasure to visit with Jim and Cyndi, owners of the beautiful Inns at Blackberry Common in Camden, Maine. This fine property (of two adjacent buildings) is restored true to period with crisp detail and rich colors. The Inn is a short walk down to the bustling ocean-side town with many restaurants, fine-arts shops and scenic vistas. Camden, a deep-water port, is an easy 3 hour drive along the coast from Concord. We had time to stop for some lobsters on the way. On our second day we took the kayaks inland a few miles to a stunning lake surrounded by consevation land. We returned home refreshed from the outing. You can find the Inns at Blackberry common: www.innsatblackberrycommon.com
A day near Camden
We took a little kayak trip down the Concord River and caught sight of a monster snapping turtle sunning on a rock. That is the Old North Bridge in the background.
Friday, October 8, 2010 through March 27, 2011
Special Exhibition
A little scrap for recollection’s sake: Quilts from the Concord Museum
Rarely exhibited, the quilts on view in this special exhibition range from doll size to full size, and include bold geometrics, traditional patchwork, signature quilts and crazy quilts, most dating from the second half of the nineteenth century. Also included in the exhibition are patterns, quilt tops, shams and sewing tools. Of particular interest are:
Each quilt on exhibit has a story to tell about the creative makers, the communities they lived in, and the period of history in which they were working. Free with Museum admission; Members Free. Through March 27.
Concord's 375th Birthday
Concord was the first English settlement above tide-water in North America. Incorporated on September 11, 1635, we will celebrate 375 years with a bash. There will be a parade with over 90 units, brass cannon and 50 horses. Fireworks will light the sky, music will fill the air, stories will be told and there will be dancing and merriment at the Ball. Join us for this spectacular event. For a shedule of events go to: http://www.concordma.gov/pages/concordma_bcomm/Letter%20details%20for%20375th-A.pdf
Bert and Ernie
April 3 – June 27, 2010
The exhibition features 100 original artworks, including drawings, cartoons and storyboards that illustrate Henson’s talent as a storyteller and visionary. Among the variety of exhibition objects are puppets and television and movie props, photographs of Henson and his collaborators at work and original video productions, including excerpts from Henson’s early career and experimental films. Free.
The Museum of Bad Art, located in Dedham, Massachusetts, is dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and celebration of bad art in all its forms and in all its glory. The museum was founded in the fall of 1993 and presented its first show in March 1994. The response was overwhelming. Since then, MOBA’s collection and ambitions have grown exponentially.
MOBA was first housed in the basement of a private home in Boston, but now is available to all at the MOBA Permanent Gallery, in the Dedham Community Theater, in Dedham Square, Massachusetts. Conveniently located just outside the men’s room, the gallery is open whenever movies are showing, typically 5 to 11pm on weekdays, noon to 11 on weekends and school holidays. Admission to the Museum of Bad Art is free, so this important institution is supported entirely by voluntary contributions and sales of MOBA gifts. http://www.museumofbadart.org/
Have you ever been up close to a 50-foot, 40-ton whale? Once you have, it’s an experience you won’t soon forget. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Massachusetts is one of the top-ten whale-watching spots in the world!
Whale-watching is a fun day-trip from the Hawthorne Inn.
You can be dock-side in less than an hour from the Inn. Onboard with a naturalists you’ll head out 25 miles to Stellwagen Bank and be treated to awe-inspiring sights of humpback, pilot, minke and blue whales breaching and spouting through the deep Atlantic Ocean. The season runs April-October.
We have gone out several times with Seven Seas and have always seen many beautiful animal. Once, while drifting among a pod, we were looking over the boat-rail directly onto the back of a lounging humpback, he opened his blow-hole and spouted all over us. Now that is a close look at whales.
Seven Seas Whale Watch http://www.7seas-whalewatch.com/
Did you know: "Mobey Dick" was dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Join us for the Thoreau Society’s annual gathering, entitled “New England Transcendentalism Then and Now”. You can stimulate your mind and spirit with four days packed with workshops, panel discussions, artist gallery talks, visits to Walden Pond and the Thoreau birth home, and collaborative event with the Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Margaret Fuller Societies. Bringing together, authors, environmentalists, artists, intellectuals and the curious from around the world this is a time to visit Concord not to be missed. You can preview the program: www.thoreausociety.org/_activities_ag.htm
The Hawthorne Inn is offering special rates for a three-day visit.
Call for room availability 978-369-5610
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In recognition of National Preservation Month, Doors Open Lowell takes place May 14-16, 2010. This free event celebrates the city’s architectural heritage, urban living, history and culture by allowing visitors to tour several historic buildings not generally open to the public, including historic mills, banks, mansions, churches and an 1870s Boston and Maine Railroad depot. Come and see what makes Lowell such an exciting place to live and work! For a complete schedule of events, map and list of buildings, visit www.doorsopenlowell.org.
Historic Mill in Lowell