The Acton Exchange team is working towards a new calendar function that allows more flexible and powerful access to Acton-relevant calendar information. In the meantime, short notices of upcoming events are published in the Bulletin Board. For now, email your Acton-relevant calendar notice (<150 words) to calendar@actonexchange.org. Your notice can include links to a website or email address, but no flyers or other graphics. Calendar editor needed!
Financial Literacy for HS Students
Wednesdays, 5:30 – 6:30 PM from now until Dec 11.
Cost: FREE
This course offered by Northern Bank and Danny’s Place teaches students crucial money management skills, including budgeting, saving, and using credit responsibly. Grades: 9-12
Meets: Wednesdays, 5:30 – 6:30 PM from now until Dec 11. Cost: FREE
Sign Up: https://www.hisawyer.com/dannys-place/schedules/activity-set/963253
Build your financial future. Register today!
Check out the other great opportunities at Danny’s Place.
ls for our health and for our environment. This is being hosted at a private home in Acton. The address will be sent when you register. Drop by for delicious food and great conversation! Info/registration HERE.
The Acton Food Pantry
Ongoing – Volunteers Needed!
Current needs include:
- Adults who have flexibility to volunteer for day time shifts, particularly on Wednesday.
- People who might be interested in helping with the Saturday morning pickups at Stop & Shop or Trader Joe’s.
- Fluent Portuguese speakers to help us better serve our large Brazilian client population.
Although these are specific needs, we welcome any interested potential volunteer as we always need a large roster of potential subs and have a variety of opportunities. If you know of anyone who might be interested in volunteering, please have them complete a preliminary application (link on the Pantry website here or email Cathy at Cathy@actonfoodpantry.org.
The Acton Food Pantry has been providing food for residents in need in Acton, Boxborough and surrounding towns since 1984. They typically serve 350 families per week and rely heavily on volunteers
NAMI Mental Health Course, in Person in Boxborough
(From National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Central Middlesex)
Mondays, November 11 to January 13 6:30 – 9:30 pm (excluding holiday weeks)
Boxborough
Family to Family is a free, evidence-based, eight-session, weekly course from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for those who love someone living with a mental health condition. Topics include understanding the symptoms of mental health conditions, learning about treatments & therapies, practicing communication & problem-solving skills, creating a positive team approach, and self-care. Importantly, the course offers family members the invaluable opportunity of open conversation and mutual support in a stigma-free environment.
The course will meet in person in Boxborough Mondays, November 11 to January 13, excluding holiday weeks, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Additional information and registration: namicentralmiddlesex.org/newsletter/family-to-family-fall2024-boxborough.
Drop & Shop our Local Businesses!
(from Danny’s Place)
Fri, Nov 22, 5 – 8:15 pm
Danny’s Place, 543 Mass Ave, W Acton
Drop off your kids at Danny’s Place and buy local! Looking to get a head start on your holiday shopping while supporting local businesses? The Friday before Black Friday, is all about community – bringing small businesses from all around the world together for one awesome day of SHOPPING SMALL FIRST!
At Danny’s Place, we’re making this experience even better by offering our Drop & Shop service, so parents and caregivers can shop stress-free while their kids are having a blast with us. Click here to pre-register your child (5-9 year olds). Space is limited, so reserve your spot today! Let’s make this holiday season special by supporting local businesses and creating fun memories for the whole family.
For more info, reach out to us at info@dannys-place.org or see here.
Sip ‘n’ Shop – Pink Friday
Friday, November 22
10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: West Acton
Details: Multiple Small Businesses in West Acton participating!! HOME, Wish, Silver Unicorn, E. Drumm Designs, Smudge Ink, Bees Knees, Eve and Murray’s.
Pink Friday is the Friday BEFORE Black Friday, and the idea is to get people to #shopsmallfirst. Before shopping at all the big retailers, don’t forget your small local retailers for your holiday shopping!
The Acton Lions Club’s 44 th Annual Ski & Skate & Gear Sale
(from Acton Lions Club)
Where: Conant Elementary School, 80 Taylor Road, Acton.
When: Drop-off:
– Friday November 22nd; 6:30 – 8 pm
– Saturday November 23rd; 8 – 10 am
Sale
– Saturday November 23rd; 11 am – 4 pm
– Sunday November 24th; 10 am – 2 pm
Pay-out or Pick-up:
– Sunday November 24th; 3 – 5 pm Pick up unsold items and consignment payout Sunday. The Lions Club will pay consignment donors 70 percent of the sale price of each item sold. Any items not picked up by 5 p.m. on Nov. 24th will be considered a donation. All money raised will go to local charities.
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Walks in Wetherbee Woods
(from Acton Conservation Trust)
Acton Conservation Trust will hold walks of Wetherbee Woods, along a viewing trail built earlier this year. Walks will be held during the week before the November 25 Special Town Meeting. The walks are free and open to the public.
Friday 11/22, 10:00 am
Friday 11/22, 1:00 pm
Sunday 11/24 10:00 am
Sunday 11/24 1:00 pm
For more information and to sign up for a walk, please visit ACT’s website events page.
Santa and Mrs. Claus visit Acton Women’s Clubhouse
(from Acton Woman’s Club)
Saturday, November 23.
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Santa! Take the kids and grandkids to see Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Acton Woman’s Clubhouse, 504 Main St., Acton Center. No charge, but donations gratefully accepted. [Santa is actually 93!] Acton Woman’s Club
Merrie Christmas Fair in Boxborough
Saturday, November 23
9 a.m.-1 p.m.
UCC Boxborough, 723 Massachusetts Avenue, Boxborough.
A Joyful Local Shopping Experience
Now in its 91st year, this well-known fair has something for everyone, regardless of the season. Shop home crafted, homemade gifts for birthday, holiday and Thanksgiving hosts. Enjoy the delicious Sugar Plum café with jazz singers, Santa dancing and an outside firepit for s’mores. Explore the ultimate thrift shop in Attic Treasures with floor to ceiling goods. Scoop up fresh greens and arrangements to place on the Thanksgiving table. Shop the online auctions with over 150 items beginning November 13 at https://www.biddingforgood.com/UCCBSilentAuction. Proceeds support the Boxborough Church (a FreeBee partner) with 10% going directly to North Central Massachusetts Habitat for Humanity. The Fair is located at UCC Boxborough, 723 Massachusetts Avenue, Boxborough. Meet a friend, have fun with your neighbors, and know that your dollars buy more than gifts, you are supporting your community as you shop.
UCC Boxborough (a partner with FreeBee Market) has its Merrie Christmas fair on November 23 at 723 Middle Road Boxborough from 9-1pm with its online Silent Auction opening November 13-November 23 at https://www.biddingforgood.com/UCCBSilentAuction
For more information, contact the church office at 978-263-7387.
Acton-Boxborough Farmers Winter Market
(from Acton-Boxborough Farmers Market)
Sun, Nov 24 10am – 1pm Indoors at W. Acton Villageworks! 525 Mass. Ave. West Acton
Stock up on winter provisions, staples and specialty foods for your celebrations! See https://abfarmersmarket.org for more information.
Special Town Meeting – Purchase of 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street
Monday, November 25, 2024
6 p.m.
Check In starts at 5:15 p.m. in the cafeteria area.
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Auditorium, 36 Charter Road
This purchase of 19 and 35 Wetherbee Street has been the topic of Select Board Executive Session discussions for several years. According to Town Manager Mangiaratti, state grant funding is now available, but to use it, a Special Town Meeting vote must be taken before the end of this calendar year. See related article about the LAND grant in the November 2 issue of the Acton Exchange as well as a short article about Town Meeting in this issue.
Heat Pump Pizza Party
(from Town of Acton Sustainability Office)
Wednesday, December 4th, 2024
6:00 PM -7:00 PM
Acton Memorial Library, First Floor Meeting Room (486 Main St., Acton, MA)
We hope to see you at the first annual Heat Pump Pizza Party hosted by the Town of Acton Sustainability Office and Energize Acton! Local volunteers and experts will share info on how heat pumps work, explain how to retrofit your home, review available incentives, and offer pricing information. There will be plenty of time for Q&A, and Acton residents who have installed heat pumps in their homes will be in attendance to share their experiences. Register here: https://bit.ly/HeatPumpParty.
Native Americans and the Revolution: The Times are Exceedingly Altered
(From The Friends of Pine Hawk)
Thursday, December 5, 7:00-8:30 pm
In person at the Acton Town Hall, Room 204, 472 Main St., Acton and via Zoom.
Event is free, but registration is required at tinyurl.com/pinehawk-2024
At the end of the 1780s, a group of Mohegans bemoaned that “[t]he times are exceedingly altered, yea the Times have turned everything topside down.” That was true for indigenous peoples in southern New England who survived the devastations of King Philip’s War a century earlier, as well as those between the Appalachians and the Great Lakes who were subject to a half-century of displacement and wars between European powers. Daniel Mandell, Professor of History Emeritus, Truman State University, and author of Tribe, Race, History: Native Americans in Southern New England, 1780-1880, will present information on how thousands of Native people were involved in and impacted by the Revolution, and how they sought to secure their rights in different ways.
Presented by The Friends of Pine Hawk. Funded by Freedom’s Way and cosponsored with Acton 250.
Questions? Email Friends of Pine Hawk.
Come to the FRS Greens Sale & Holiday Fair on Dec. 7
TheAnnual FRS Greens Sale & Holiday Fair will be held on December 7 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at 27 School Street in Carlisle. For the best selection of greenery (decorated & plain wreaths, boxwood trees, swags, and mantlepieces) and gingerbread house kits, you are encouraged to pre-order online at https://www.uucarlisle.org/2024-greens-sale–holiday-fair.html. On Saturday, December 7, we will have a limited number of wreaths (decorated and undecorated), other greenery, delicious homemade baked goods, and a variety of talented local artisans & vendors. The Holly Jolly Café lunch menu includes turkey & Boursin cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, beef and vegetarian chili, slices of pie, and hot and cold cider. Please place your pre-order for your greenery and Gingerbread House Kits between now and Thursday, December 5 at 6:00 pm. All online orders can be picked up at FRS on Saturday, December 7, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.