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  • Medford Public Library Year In Review

    The following came via the Board of Director’s newsletter. It is a short review of the year for the Medford Public Library. If you have not yet subscribed to this newsletter, you can do this by visiting their website – https://www.medfordpubliclibraryfoundation.org/

    During my five years as a library trustee, our library has grown by every measure: circulation, visits, user participation, live events, art creation… Terry E. Carter captured this story in his poem, A Library Card.

    While our library is growing and serving more of our community, many public libraries across the nation are facing challenges. Against this backdrop, I am grateful for our generous library supporters.

    As we reflect on our year this holiday season, there is so much to celebrate:

    January: Marshall Sloane joined the board of directors of the MPLF.
    February: The library received support from the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator to make our local history room archives accessible and searchable online.
    March: Adaptive programming for special needs teens expanded to include monthly events like karaoke night and Spanish story time.
    April: 3D-Printing workshops taught adults and teens how to create lithophanes.
    May: Cambridge Chamber Singers performed in Bonsignore Hall. Leilani Germain was appointed library trustee.
    June: The Fairy Tale Ball drew 900 attendees. And, we celebrated the library’s 150th anniversary at 111 High Street.
    July: The library went fine-free for overdue books.
    August: A NASA Flight Path grant was secured for bird science programming.
    September: A makerspace technician was hired thanks to a grant from the Cummings Foundation. October: All new Medford Public School teachers received a youth services orientation and tour. Eighth grade classes were scheduled for library visits.
    November: Four Monday evenings were dedicated to writers who participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
    December: An archivist intern from Simmons University joined the digitization effort, scanning delicate items using a newly purchased flatbed scanner. The new digital archives will launch in 2026!

    Thank you for helping ensure that our library remains a center for innovation, opportunity, creativity, and learning.

    Sincerely, David Chia

    Chair, Charlotte & William Bloomberg Medford Public Library Trustees Secretary, Medford Public
    Library Foundation Board of Directors DONATE Here’s an excerpt from A Library Card:

    The more you read,
    the more you know.
    The more you know,
    the smarter you know.
    The smarter you grow,
    the stronger your vision.
    The stronger your vision,
    the clearer your voice,
    when speaking you mind,
    or making your choice.
    In libraries, we must rejoice.
    In libraries, we must rejoice.
    — T. E. Carter
    Would you prefer to make your gift through the mail?   If so, please send your gift to the library: 
    Medford Public Library Foundation 111 High Street Medford, MA 02155 (Check payable to Medford Public Library Foundation)
    Questions? Please contact Joey Leroux staff@medfordpubliclibraryfoundation.org | (207) 408-3602

  • Week ahead – December 22 to December 28

    This should be a somewhat quiet week ahead, I’m hoping that your week at work will be meeting free! The previous week was an outstanding one in Medford. If you said there is nothing to do, you didn’t try to look. Seeing Patti Smith at the Chevalier was among the highlights. Last Friday, Jonathan Fagen brought his jazz trio and opened the floor to have other musicians join in. All night we have all ranges of people playing and these were top shelf musicians who were having a great time and we did this at the Danish Pastry House on Boston Ave. If you haven’t been yet, absolutely do that.

    It takes a special kind of person to run, especially on a Sunday morning but if you are one of those exceptional people, come join the crew that runs every Sunday.

    NEW RUNNERS ALWAYS WELCOME – JUST SHOW UP!

    ALL LEVELS OF RUNNING/PACES ENCOURAGED

    The Plan:

    Meet at 11am in front of the brewery
Coats and bags may be left inside
Choose from 3, 5, or 7-mile loops (or do your own)
Taproom opens at noon with cold beer waiting for you at the finish!

    *Sunday run is organized by the Kier Byrnes Freedom Runners

    Monday evenings are Makerspace drop ins. While it is no secret that the Medford Public library plays host to the most events in Medford hands down, the only problem you will have is being paralyzed by indecision as there is so much to choose from. I’ve been to a few Makerspace drop ins and tonight will be no different, I hope to see you there! What do the Friends of the Medford Public Library have to do with anything? They raise the money to help the library put on these events.

    MakerSpace Drop-In
    Monday, December 22 6:00—8:00 PM MakerSpace Medford Public Library111 High Street, Medford, MA,

    Stop by the Medford MakerSpace and work on your personal projects or ask our in-house expert about how to use the space and equipment. General Safety badging is available during this time as well.

    This program is for adults and teens 16+.

    This session’s host is Kate!

    Music

    Please check out the following sites to see who will be playing locally. See why Medford is the new cultural center of MA!

    Deep Cuts Featuring Maximum Rock n Roll – open tue-thurs 12pm-9pm, fri & sat 12pm-11pm
    HOURS MAY CHANGE FOR EVENTS
    21 MAIN ST MEDFORD, MA 02155
    (781) 219-3815 – https://www.deepcuts.rocks/events

    Medford Brewing Company – The best community bar in Medford! You will not see a more civically engaged business. If there is a major event in Medford, chances are they are there, serving their outstanding array of craft beers! They feature different events and that info can be found below. OPEN MON – THURS 3PM TO 10PM, FRI/SAT 12PM TO 10PM AND SUN 12PM TO 8PM
    https://medfordbrew.com/events/
    30 HARVARD AVE. MEDFORD MA 781-874-0406

    Mrs Murphys Live Irish music every day! 25 SALEM ST. MEDFORD MA 781-874-0527 – https://www.mrsmurphs.com/

    The Ford Tavern – Live Irish music. The Ford also features Trivia night every Wednesday from 7pm – 9pm. 61 LOCUST ST. MEDFORD MA 781-874-0406 https://www.thefordtavern.com/

    ART

    Arts Collaborative Medford – OPEN Tuesday – Thursday: 12-3pm
    https://artscollabmedford.org/ – This weeks events are on the main page of the website.
    162 MYSTIC AVE Medford, MA 02155

    The Coalition for Arts, Culture and a Healthy Economy (CACHE), their venerable calendar can be found here – https://www.cacheinmedford.org/event-calendar/

    The Medford Public Library – featuring Arts, Crafts, Book events, they literally host all events. https://medfordlibrary.org/events/ Summer hours end August 31st. They are OPEN MON – THUR 9AM to 9PM, FRI 9AM to 6PM and SAT 9AM to 1PM. 111 HIGH STREET MEDFORD 781-395-7950

  • Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the crew of Medford Happenings!

    Yes and there is a podcast too! You can save it by right clicking on the mp3 player and saving the file. This will be among one of our changes for the new year. We’ll have a proper podcast page and an rss feed for those who want it pushed to their players once the show has been posted.

    John and the crew wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, whatever you enjoy this time of year, grab with both hands and embrace it. I think most of us take this time to decompress, it has been a year. Our focus in the near future will be the redesign of the website slated for the first of the new year. We will have a wider array of guests on our show and some real surprises in store so stay tuned! There are some new places opening up in Medford so those reviews will follow shortly. Much, much more to come!

  • Palm Press Sale and Dark Room services

    We will be open Monday 12/22 and Tuesday 12/23 from 11-6 for you last minute shoppers. The online sale will continue through 1/1.

    We will be closed to the public from 12/24 – 1/1. You can email gus@palmpress.studio with any questions & queries.

    We can’t thank you all enough for a wonderful year of exciting new projects, insightful events and artist talks, and the sense of a strong and supportive photographic community. We have big plans for 2026!

    Happy Holidays from Palm Press!

    Darkroom Rental (beta)

    We’ve been exploring the idea of opening our darkroom for rental a couple days a week. We’re passionate about silver printing, and we know that access to a darkroom and material costs are the barriers that keep people from being able to share that passion. We are offering it to all you fine folks first, so we can optimize the process before we offer it to the public.

    We’ll be offering two modes, so to speak:

    The Hands-off option, where we leave you alone to work after showing you the basics of how our darkroom operates.

    The Guided option for less-experienced printers who want to learn the ropes and begin to fine tune their craft. We will get the ball rolling in regards to lenses, negative carrier, easel, chemistry, etc. and we will continue to be available to offer guidance on exposure, contrast, burning & dodging, etc.

    If this is something that interests you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to inquire and we will come up with a plan together!
    Email info@palmpress.studio

    We offer a 10% discount for students on all goods & services, bookstore and studio!

    To join their mailing list shoot them an email – info AT palmpress dot .studio

  • Patti Smith at the Chevalier 12-17

    Wednesday night Patti Smith entertained folks who were lucky enough to get tickets to her sold out show. I arrived late to the show, it was supposed to have started at 7:30 and I got to the Chevalier at 7:30. I was surprised at how long the lines were. The line extended beyond the post office parking lot! However, once the doors had opened the line moved pretty swiftly, it took all of 10 mins to get from line to my seat. What surprised me the most, the woman I walked to the theater came from Western MA. Once we took our spot in line, the gentleman behind us traveled from Portsmouth NH. I told him I grew up in the next town over in Dover NH. A couple in front of us said they lived there. Needless to say, the word got out far and wide for this show.

    Despite getting in late, Patti herself was late. There was also a problem with the book give-away. Your paid ticket got you a hard cover copy of her book “Bread of Angels”. However the books were all gone by the time the late arrivers showed up. She apologized for the late start and joked it was in honor of the stragglers of which she was one herself. Scanning through the audience, its clear the crowd was a nice even mix of both young and old. Its probably safe to say her legacy may outlast that of her friend and former roommate Robert Mapplethorpe. What was a coincidence was that while the show started late, the show once started did not take off right away. The first story sort of dragged a bit, however once she sang her first song of the night, the next stories were as riveting as most of us have come to expect from her. Whether it was overcoming the neighborhood bully or to tell the story of how she met her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, formerly of the MC5 or even stories about her mother and father, the song selection became more recognizable as the night went on.

    Among the stories and songs was how she chose Jimmy Iovine to produce her album – Easter and how Jimmy brought her a hit song from Bruce Springsteen which she reluctantly recorded. Patti didn’t want to use this song because she wanted the album to be just her songs. However, while waiting for her soon to be husband, Fred, to make their weekly phone call, he was late and as fate would have it, she played the tape that Iovine had given her. Needless to say it was one of her biggest hits. Among the songs I did recognize were the last three. Dancing Barefoot from the album Wave, Because The Night from Easter and a Neil Young cover which is weird because at one point in the night I was thinking of a Neil Young song that would have fit nicely in the set, however this night the song would be – After The Gold Rush. With such an extensive catalog of music of her own, I get the choice and as this was a memoir it was a fitting end to the evening. The show was just barely over one hour long but the best news of all was as we were leaving the theater, the books that has been scooped up for the first arrival of the crowd, were replenished for those of us who did not get their copy on arrival. Should she write another book and go on tour, I won’t wait to buy my ticket for next time. This was great for bringing back memories for those of us who are in the back nine of their own lives and it should set fresh memories for those new to her books and music. It was the best show I’ve seen all year.

  • Jazz at the Danish Pastry House Friday 7-9pm

    From the folks who run the Medford Jazz Festival, Director Jonathan Fagen will be bringing his trio to the Danish Pastry House this Friday. Jonathan writes:

    We’re trying something new with this one: after making a splash at the festival over the summer, the Danish Pastry House is beginning to host live music in their café at 330 Boston Avenue, Medford. This coming Friday, December 19th from 7-9 will be the first live jazz event in quite some time, huge shoutout to Traci and Dirken for making it happen! Gordon Engelgau (drums), Max Ridley (bass) and I (piano) will play a few holiday-themed tunes as the house band before opening things up as usual. And while you’re listening there will be an amazing variety of sweet and savory treats available for purchase-if you haven’t experienced their full store, you’re in for a wonderful surprise. Donations to the festival are encouraged but not required.

  • The city info regarding waste management and recycling

    There is a lot to the city’s garbage program slated to start in 2027. Here is the link from the city’s website – https://www.medfordma.org/for-residents/recycling/waste-system Wherever you fall on this issue, at least see what the city’s stance is and make an informed choice. Any concerns you have please reach out to the city council and the mayor. As John says ‘Stay informed!’

  • Week ahead – December 15 to December 21

    Snow was in the air yesterday and it was a reminder that Christmas is a short time away and Hanukkah is in full swing. Whatever holidays you celebrate, embrace this time you have with family. In the mean time here are some events to check out.

    The Beagles are a Medford based group of musicians that plays your favorite songs about humans’ best friends, dogs! Come find out if they live up to the hype of being more popular than Jesus!

    December 18 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
    Live Music with The Beagles
    Medford Brewing Company 30 Harvard Ave., Medford, United States

    The ACM plays host to Spinning Words, Singing Worlds! This event will be hosted by Medford Poet Laueate Vijaya Sundaram. This event features Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson! While this event is free a suggested donation of $5/$10 would help pay the expenses for putting this event on. Also check out their calendar link below in the post. ACM plays host to more and more live events and they have everything from children’s workshops to drawing for adults. More info can be found here –

    Arts Collaborative Medford – OPEN Tuesday – Thursday: 12-3pm
    https://artscollabmedford.org/ – This weeks events are on the main page of the website.
    162 MYSTIC AVE Medford, MA 02155

    Music

    Please check out the following sites to see who will be playing locally. See why Medford is the new cultural center of MA!

    Deep Cuts Featuring Maximum Rock n Roll – open tue-thurs 12pm-9pm, fri & sat 12pm-11pm
    HOURS MAY CHANGE FOR EVENTS
    21 MAIN ST MEDFORD, MA 02155
    (781) 219-3815 – https://www.deepcuts.rocks/events

    Medford Brewing Company – The best community bar in Medford! You will not see a more civically engaged business. If there is a major event in Medford, chances are they are there, serving their outstanding array of craft beers! They feature different events and that info can be found below. OPEN MON – THURS 3PM TO 10PM, FRI/SAT 12PM TO 10PM AND SUN 12PM TO 8PM
    https://medfordbrew.com/events/
    30 HARVARD AVE. MEDFORD MA 781-874-0406

    Mrs Murphys Live Irish music every day! 25 SALEM ST. MEDFORD MA 781-874-0527 – https://www.mrsmurphs.com/

    The Ford Tavern – Live Irish music. The Ford also features Trivia night every Wednesday from 7pm – 9pm. 61 LOCUST ST. MEDFORD MA 781-874-0406 https://www.thefordtavern.com/

    ART

    Arts Collaborative Medford – OPEN Tuesday – Thursday: 12-3pm
    https://artscollabmedford.org/ – This weeks events are on the main page of the website.
    162 MYSTIC AVE Medford, MA 02155

    The Coalition for Arts, Culture and a Healthy Economy (CACHE), their venerable calendar can be found here – https://www.cacheinmedford.org/event-calendar/

    The Medford Public Library – featuring Arts, Crafts, Book events, they literally host all events. https://medfordlibrary.org/events/ Summer hours end August 31st. They are OPEN MON – THUR 9AM to 9PM, FRI 9AM to 6PM and SAT 9AM to 1PM. 111 HIGH STREET MEDFORD 781-395-7950

  • Hotstove

    As the snow falls, its certainly a nice day to settle in and catch some shows on Netflix or HBO Max. Some suggestions – The New Yorker at 100 (Netflix). While it is interesting that the documentary portrays Harold Ross as the guiding hand in the early stages of the magazine, that conflicts with The New Yorker’s own article on its’ first 100 years. While you cannot deny Ross’ role in the creation, for whatever reason, his wife’s role was almost non-existent. Some feel that Jane Grant played a much more prominent role in the creation of the New Yorker. I will have to cite my source some other day. To paraphrase from the New Yorker article was that Grant was clearly the brighter of the two as Ross’ mind is uncluttered with culture or facts. Wherever you fall on the two camps it is still an entertaining watch!

    The sport of baseball can be exceptionally boring at times, especially Major League Baseball but it took me a long time to realize that baseball is so much more than the sport itself. It can be something that you take a long lost friend to when you’re trying to reconnect or simply looking for a place to sit with someone for a couple of hours. There is a lot of value to that. For families, I can’t suggest a sox game unless you’ve come into some small forture, a sox game can cost a family of four upwards of $200 a game now! No, families who can, should jump into a car and travel up Route 93 to Manchester NH and catch a Fishercats game! Its 30 mins door to door. They are the farm team for the Toronto Bluejays but they do play the Red Sox affiilate, the Portland Sea Dogs at least four times a year. Tickets are $20 and the games are geared towards family, I challenge you not to have a good time at these games – https://www.milb.com/new-hampshire

    Which brings us to another show worth checking out. That is Brockmire (HBO Max). This is not kid friendly and you could say this is the video equivalent to Jim Bouton’s book “Ball Four”. Bouton’s book infuriated the MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn, that Kuhn sought a lifetime ban for Bouton. Jim’s book exposed the seamy underside of baseball, from the copious amounts of drinking, to the womanizing, to the clueless coaching that goes on. It is all there. There are also memorable quotes “Knowledge and assumptions, those are like Loggins and Messina. They seem similar, but time proves one of them to be completely worthless.” Its fun and its adult so enjoy!

  • Palm Press Inc and Amani Willett book event today!

    Website: https://palmpress.studio/
    Email: info@palmpress.studio
    Phone: 617-307-6527
    Address:
    19 High St, Medford MA 02155
    Open Wednesday-Friday 10-6 and Saturday 11-4.

    On my way to the library book sale last weekend, I passed Palm Press Inc. Books happen to be my siren song and seeing they had books on their shelves, I walked in. At first glance you realize this isn’t a regular bookstore. Looking through the shelves, the books were about the art of photography. Everything from instruction books to biographies of prominent photographers or more accurately books about visual arts. It is much more than that. I should also make a note, that I should return to the store and take better photographs, a cell phone camera can be an affront to this place. However, the manager of this store and studio, Ross was super nice and indulged me and my questions.

    I’ll refer to this place as a proper studio for a couple of reasons, more below. The bookshelf above features books by up and coming visual artists. Among those artists is Amani Willett who will be at Palm Press today at 1pm for his book signing pop-up event! The book shelf at the back contain books about visual art, visual artists, the craft of photography and anything else dealing with the visual medium.

    The shelves above hold used books, and if you’re looking for anything in particular, you should find it here. I ended up buying a copy of “Stieglitz, O’Keeffe & American Modernism”. We’ve all seen O’Keeffe’s “flower” art, but there is so much more to her body of work. I didn’t realize that her partner was Alfred Stieglitz, but that is a discussion for another time. I saw books ranging from Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding to instructional books about the use of lighting in photography.

    While the picture above does not do the studio any justice, it serves to highlight another service that Palm Press features: a full-service studio that includes a professional darkroom for developing photos, and high-quality framing services—not the cheap kind you find at copy shops. They also assemble high-quality portfolios for artists wishing to display their work.

    The last point I will make is that this place, much like Deep Cuts last week and Real Gusto a couple of weeks back, is a community hub. These businesses directly reflect the character of their owners. The owner of Deep Cuts built his place around the things he enjoyed. The same could be said for the owner of Palm Press, Gus Kayafas. The picture above shows various books about some aspects of visual art, which are from the reference section of his personal collection. Yes, you can look at them, but they cannot leave the store. I will definitely return to do a more thorough review of this studio, and with a real camera, too! In the meantime, if you have not had a chance to stop in, and you are interested in the visual arts or have a work of art you need framed, I encourage you to choose Palm Press Inc.

    As mentioned today at 1pm – Amani Willett

    For more about Amani, his website is here – https://www.amaniwillett.com/