Santa and Mrs. Claus at Franklin Police Station - Sunday, Dec 3 from 9 AM to noon

Via Franklin Police Dept: 

"Looks like Santa and Mrs. Claus are trading in the sleigh for a squad car this year! Watch out, naughty list - the Franklin Police Department just got a festive upgrade! 

This Sunday, December 3 from 9 AM to 12 PM, Santa and Mrs. Claus will take over the Chief’s Office. 

This event is free, however we do ask for a toy donation (new and unwrapped). Toys collected through our toy drive go back to the children in our community who need a little extra Christmas cheer."

Shared from -> https://www.instagram.com/p/C0PCGJGMuZl/

Santa and Mrs. Claus at Franklin Police Station - Sunday, Dec 3 from 9 AM to noon

2023 Charles River Photo Contest - submit today!

Calling all photographers–do you love to capture our favorite river?

Submit your photos today! 

Share your top three images with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) by Friday, November 17th for a chance to win exciting river-themed prizes and features on CRWA's digital channels. 

Shortly after the deadline, finalists will be selected, and CRWA members will be called upon to vote for winners in next month's River Current.

Submit photos here. 

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/2023-charles-river-photo-contest

2023 Charles River Photo Contest - submit today!

Photos from the FHS Cheerleaders 1st place in New England

Thanks to the Zubs for creating the folder and sharing the album of photos of the FHS Cheerleaders team

Folder -> https://www.thezubs.photos/2023/2022-23-FHS-Cheer/2023-03-18-New-Englands-FHS-Varsity-Cheer/

Shared from Instagram (by following the links accordingly) ->   https://www.instagram.com/p/CqEoRwvKoAK/

Photos from the FHS Cheerleaders 1st place in New England

Alert: Realistic-looking but fake AI images make news literacy skills more urgent

Fake images showing the supposed arrest of former President Donald Trump are circulating on social media, but they're generated using artificial intelligence and are not authentic.

Hello Franklin, Fake images showing the supposed arrest of former President Donald Trump are circulating on social media, but they're generated using artificial intelligence and are not authentic. Share this RumorGuard entry now and let your friends and family know about this new kind of convincing (and often misleading) technology. These images of Trump being arrested are fakes generated by AI After former President Donald Trump announced that he expected to get arrested for charges related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, a flurry of images circulated on social media. These were generated using artificial intelligence and depicted Trump being taken into custody. Let's take a closer look at these AI-generated images. Share this RumorGuard entry using these easy links: Did someone forward you this email? Join the RumorGuard by signing up for our email alerts here. RumorGuard, a resource from the News Literacy Project, helps you stay on top of viral misinformation that is trending online with clear, concise explanations of credible fact-checks. It also provides insights and resources designed to help you take control of your social media feeds and help others avoid being exploited by falsehoods. We want to hear from you! Provide your feedback about RumorGuard here or send us a recent rumor you think we should cover at rumorguard@newslit.org.

Support news literacy by donating today.

2023 Employee Spotlight - Franklin Recreation -> Heather Grammaticas

It's a new year. and we would like to kick off the 2023 Employee Spotlight by highlighting someone we hired last year and is already doing amazing work for the Recreation Department. Heather Grammaticas!!

Heather Grammaticas is our Volleyball Instructor / Department Photographer. She started working for the Rec Department in February 2022 during the basketball season as a contracted sports photographer. Heather continued to take photographs of different programs to help the Rec Department build online content. In October 2022, Heather joined the department as our Volleyball Instructor, coaching middle school girls volleyball clinics Heather is gearing up to coach additional volleyball classes starting January 12th.

Heather grew up in Chelmsford, MA and went to UMass Amherst. Heather has lived in Franklin for the past 13 years with her husband Peter and two children Alex (14) and Lolo (12) and their golden retriever Nook. In her spare time Heather and her family loves to ski and sail.
Fun facts about Heather: She once caught a football from Julian Edelman when he parked at her house. She can also play the trumpet, guitar, ukulele, and the banjo. She once camped in a tent for 83 consecutive days one summer when she was a kid.

Shared from Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm4O6sgrbUc/

2023 Employee Spotlight - Franklin Recreation -> Heather Grammaticas

Pantherbook: "A Closer Look at Franklin High’s Creative Media Team"

Lily Eattimo, has this write up for Pantherbook: 

"Fall Sports are now officially over – Photographers Sammy Patel and Hunter Smith are preparing for Winter Sports, including basketball, hockey, and indoor track, among others. 

You may have seen Patel and Smith’s work on Franklin High’s TV’s, or your Instagram and Twitter, as they run the Creative Media Team for Franklin High School.

The Creative Media Team is a subsection of Pantherbook, focused on creating, editing and designing graphics for Franklin High School sports. Their work, including both photo and video, is distributed on the Franklin High TVs, seen throughout the school, or on their Instagram and Twitter accounts. Their work keeps the community involved with Franklin sports, including some exciting shutouts and losses."

Continue reading about the Creative Media Team ->   https://franklinpanthers.us/clubs-activities/2022/12/04/a-closer-look-at-franklin-highs-creative-media-team/

Pantherbook: "A Closer Look at Franklin High’s Creative Media Team"

 

Franklin Cultural Festival 2022 - photos by Jake Jacobson

Thanks to local photographer, Jake Jacobson for sharing his 200+ photos of the Franklin Cultural Festival on Saturday. 

For a limited time these photos are available for download. If you want to use a photo, give credit to Jake Jacobson!

prior to the Indian Wedding Showcase  (Jake Jacobson photo)

Check out the 200+ photos in the Google Photo album ->   https://photos.app.goo.gl/xmKLFvJyZbjJfLYw9

salsa dancing at the end of the day to the music by Eguie Castrillo Salsa Orchestra (Jake Jacobson photo)

Celebrate with Pride - 2022 (photo essay)

Hundreds of folks strolled through the Town Common Sunday afternoon, checking out the vendor tents, organizational information available, lingering for the varied open mic, and musical entertainment.

The first Pride day was successful. The next one is already being planned for. Hold the date for June 25, 2023.

A sampling of my photos follows. The full album can be found here

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7Xg6xHJ5RE1opPm29

Jake Jacobson graciously shares some of the photos he took of the event in this album

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JCkXhcYmehRaCZ1fA

the art wall helped frame this view

First Universalist Society of Franklin provided info at their tent

the Franklin LGBTQ+ Alliance tent was centrally located and busy all day

PFLAG Attleboro, just one of many neighboring communities represented

Escape into Fiction was there with books

Sioo MC'd the open mic portion and performed a few of her songs

group photo L-R yours truly, Melanie Hamblen, Jeff Roy, and Sarah Mabardy

Singer Krisanthi Pappas and Bass Player Steve Skop closed out the day with their performance

FHS baseball tops Catholic Memorial 4-2 on Wednesday

Via HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the FHS spring sports action on Wednesday:  

Softball = Franklin, 3 @ Walpole, 6 – Final

Baseball = Franklin, 4 vs. Catholic Memorial, 2 – Final 
– Franklin scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to break open a tie game and tacked on a key insurance run an inning later to take down Catholic Memorial, snapping a three-game skid. Tied 1-1, Joe Tirrell drilled a solo home run to left on the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Panthers back in front. Jack Marino followed with a one-out single, took third on an error, and scored on a single from Evan Raider to put the Panthers ahead 3-1. CM struck with two outs in the next inning to get back within a run but Tirrell reached on a dropped third strike, courtesy runner Luke Sidwell stole second and took third on a passed ball, and scored when Ryan Gerety reach on an error to make it 4-2. Jacob Jette tossed a complete game for the win, allowing two runs (none earned) on five hits and no walks, striking out six.

Milford Daily News has a photo gallery from the game (subscription may be required)  https://www.milforddailynews.com/picture-gallery/sports/2022/04/20/franklin-high-school-baseball-defeats-catholic-memorial-april-20-2022/7389743001/

For other results around the Hockomock League

https://hockomocksports.com/wednesdays-schedule-scoreboard-04-20-22/

FHS Panthers

Franklin Historical Museum hosts photos with Easter Bunny (4/9) and next speaker for Second Sunday Series (4/10)

Saturday April 9 – Bring the kids to have a fun photo taken with the Easter Bunny from 10:00AM to 12Noon. We’re thrilled to have this special visitor join us to delight the kids.

Sunday April 10 – The next installment of our Second Sunday Speaker Series features the return of Karen Antonowicz from Spirits of Fashion who will speak on the delightful era of the Swingin’ Sixties. Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Mary Quant, Biba, and the list goes on!  Discover the fashions of the Swingin’ Sixties, beginning with the Mod styles of London, traveling through the hippy era, and culminating in the bohemian styles and hot pants of the early ‘70s.  Join us to explore what drove these changing styles and how they affected people of all ages during this turbulent time!

-------------

The museum is located at 80 West Central Street, is wheelchair accessible and entry is always free.

You can also visit the Historical Museum on the web at
http://franklinhistoricalmuseum.org/   

or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FHM02038

Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central St 

Franklin Garden Club Features Program on Gorgeous Gardens - March 1

The Franklin Garden Club and Medway Garden Club will co-sponsor a program on “Gorgeous Gardens of New England” on Tuesday, March 1, at 7:00 PM at the Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill Street, Franklin, MA.  

The program will be presented by Joanne Pearson of Fair Haven Photographs and is open to the public at no charge.  It is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the beauty of some of the finest gardens in New England.  This presentation features a slideshow of public and private gardens in our region. Pearson will share the fascinating history of these gardens and some valuable tips on garden design and techniques for photographing flowers and gardens.

Pearson has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. Prior to her career as a photographer, she was a registered landscape architect in the state of Massachusetts where she practiced for 12 years, including 4 years at the renowned multi-disciplinary firm, Sasaki, headquartered in Watertown, Ma. 

Her photographs of gardens, landscapes and people have been featured in numerous magazines, books and calendars. Among them are Yankee, Vermont Life, Mahoney Publishing, BrownTrout Publishers Inc., Willow Creek Press, Vermont Illustrating LLC, Farm and Ranch Living, Country, Offshore, Insight Guides and Lonely Planet. She is the solo photographer for Mahoney Publishing’s “Flowers and Gardens of New England”. She photographs interiors, exteriors, gardens, lifestyle and food for inns and resorts throughout New England for their websites and collateral print marketing. Joanne regularly lectures on gardens and photography seeking to inspire and educate her audiences with her beautifully illustrated presentations. 

Joanne Pearson of Fair Haven Photographs

Franklin Police Dept. to Santa and Mrs. Claus for pictures on sat, Dec 4

*** SANTA IS COMING TO TOWN ***

Join us at the station this Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 9 AM - 12 PM and get your picture taken with Santa! 

Pictures are free but we're asking for donations of new and unwrapped toys to benefit our annual toy drive and the Santa Foundation. 

Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/ch8woluW72

Franklin Police Dept. to Santa and Mrs. Claus for pictures on sat, Dec 4

The Franklin Police Station is located at 911 Panther Way in Franklin.

Peter Willis Photography - do your holiday photo gift shopping with Peter at Maks

Peter Willis Photography will be at Maks Roast Beef on Saturday, November 27 from 10 AM to 3 PM get your holiday shopping done! 

Can't make it to the event, you can still chat with Peter and place your order at https://www.peterwillisphotography.com anytime and get you favorite image delivered to your door.

Thank you in advance for your support!!!! 😃📸

https://www.peterwillisphotography.com/what-s-happening

Pete 

Peter Willis Photography 

https://www.peterwillisphotography.com/

Peter Willis Photography - do your holiday photo gift shopping

Franklin Public Library is pleased to be sponsoring The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape, from October 1 to October 31

Franklin Public Library is pleased to be sponsoring 

The Bay State: A  Multicultural Landscape, 

from October 1 to October 31 

   

The work of noted photographer Mark Chester, the exhibit celebrates Massachusetts newest citizens hailing from 195 countries around the globe!  

Franklin Public Library is pleased to be presenting the work of nationally known photographer Mark Chester. His traveling exhibit, The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape –Photographs Of New Americans, is on display from October 1 - October 31, 2021 at 118 Main Street Franklin, MA in the Friends of the Franklin Library Room. The exhibit was made possible by the Franklin Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. It will be open during regular library hours.  

Mark Chester's powerful photographs showcase Massachusetts newest citizens, who hail from 195 countries and territories around the globe. Through Mark Chester's lens, viewers can share and celebrate the richness of the Baystate's cultural heritage. The project supports the mission of MIRA, the largest coalition in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees. For further info on the project, log on to markchesterphotography.com.  

Chester attended naturalization ceremonies across the state to personally meet some of the hundreds of individuals who have become America's newest citizens and residents of the Bay State. Mark's long career has taken him across the Globe, with photographs that have appeared in Time, and Newsweek among a host of other national publications. He was the photographer for Charles Kuralt's book DatelineAmerica. For further information on the  exhibit, call the library at 508.520.4941.

Shared from the Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/news/franklin-public-library-pleased-be-sponsoring-bay-state-%C2%A0-multicultural 

Peter Willis scheduled for the Harvest Festival - good time to check out his photos of Franklin

I will be at the Harvest festival in Franklin to sell my photos at Franklin downtown
on October 2th 12-5pm

If you can't make it to the event, you can still chat with Peter and place your order at https://www.peterwillisphotography.com anytime and get your favorite image delivered to your door. Thank you in advance for your support!!!! 

The rain date 3rd  is the Sunday 12-5pm

Pete

https://www.peterwillisphotography.com/

https://www.facebook.com/PeterJWillisPhotography/

Peter Willis scheduled for the Harvest Festival

Invisible Stories - #7 - "Suitcase Joe Captures the Humanity of Skid Row"

"It needs to be done, and it needs to be done right"

Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal) tweeted on Sun, Jul 11, 2021:

Invisible Stories is a mini-doc series that goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages understand and can't ignore. 

Link to the 7th of the series: https://youtu.be/7YG8KMFGA4c

More photos of the life on Skid Row by Suitcase Joe   https://suitcasejoephotography.tumblr.com/

Link to the series: https://t.co/Y0NRNIujar 

Shared from Twitter:   https://twitter.com/hardlynormal/status/1414284287034155020

Note: I met Mark at a social media conference many years ago and have been following his work. This series is very well done. Yes, the series is set in LA but homelessness is an issue all around us whether visible or not.

 

Franklin Historical Museum announces re-opening celebration - July 15

The Franklin Historical Museum is excited to announce the re-opening of the museum to its regular pre-pandemic operating schedule, Thursday evenings, Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons now that all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in the state.

The museum will host a re-opening celebration on Thursday afternoon, July 15 at 5:00 PM. With a ribbon cutting, new exhibits and refreshments.

We are working on an exhibit celebrating the History of the Davis Thayer School. The building of course, was opened in 1924 as Franklin High School, and has served Franklin students for 97 years. Sadly, for many, it has closed its doors as of the end of this school year.  

Join us for a look back at the building, the students, faculty, athletic teams, stories and memories. 

• Do you have a special memory of the school? 
• Did you spend your High School years there? 
• Attend double sessions in the 70’s when it served as a Jr. High School? 
• Attend Davis Thayer Elementary? 

Many families had generations of students attend that school. We’d love to hear from you. Visit our Facebook page and share a memory, or email us at franklinmuseum1778@gmail.com. The exhibit will run from mid-July through the end of the summer.

We also have a new permanent exhibit on display, The Federal Parlor Room, from the Oliver Pond Home, generously donated by James C. Johnston in memory of his mother Clara J. Foss Johnston. The elegant pieces of furniture, from the Federal and Empire periods, are made of mahogany and were collected by the Johnston family over a period of many years. The room is beautifully appointed with fashionable décor from the family collection.

We will also be resuming our popular Second Sunday Speaker Series in August. The first event on the schedule, Sunday August 8, is a first look at the private collection of glass plate negatives from Franklin photographer Nathan Wales (1886-1969). These priceless images, purchased at auction, depict everyday life in Franklin from approximately 1910-1915. A selection of the now digitized photos will be presented and discussed. Join us and see how early 20th Century Franklin residents once lived. Their beautiful homes, their clothing styles, their cars, their pets and their daily lives were all captured for us to view.

Visit our newly refurbished Gift Shop with many Franklin related items.  We welcome back our regular patrons and new visitors alike. Thursdays 5 PM - 7 PM; Saturdays 10 AM - 1 PM; Sundays 1 PM - 4 PM. Admission is always free and we are ADA compliant. We’re always looking for volunteers to host, so let us know if you are interested in joining our volunteer team that keeps Franklin history alive.

Come in and find your history! We look forward to seeing you soon. 

Franklin Historical Museum announces re-opening celebration - July 15

Boston Camera Club: The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views

Experience The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views A 250-ft Long Photo Exhibition at Fan Pier

The Boston Camera Club invites the public to view 88 large-scale photographs displayed in a series along an entire city block at Fan Pier on the Public Green in Boston's Seaport District

Free and open to the public from Memorial Day weekend through November 2021

May 17, 2021 – BOSTON, MA – The Boston Camera Club this week announced The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views, an outdoor photography exhibition on the Public Green at Fan Pier in Boston's bustling Seaport District. Spanning an entire city block at Northern Avenue and Marina Park Drive, the photo banner exhibition will run from Memorial Day weekend through November 2021. 

For the first time in the club's history, the imagery of BCC members will be on display outdoors in an immersive exhibition featuring 88 images printed on a large-scale banner, 5-feet high and 250-feet long. One image from each participating member's submissions was selected, and expertly sequenced by curator Emily Belz. Each image speaks to the next by subject, color, composition or use of light to form a bridge, creating a compelling visual experience, honoring each individual's view as well as that of the collective whole.

"It's a joyful experience for me to curate connections between photographs, pulling out what are sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden, and sometimes even humorous, parallels between pictures," said Belz. "Indeed, in this installation each photographer presents a Unique View and a meaningful contribution to this collective public art project," she added.

This project has a companion website, www.BostonCameraClub.photos, featuring an artist statement from each photographer and creative contributions from community groups from across the greater Boston area, including: Actors' Shakespeare Project; Boston Latin Academy Photography Club; Boston Latin Academy 7th Grade English Language Arts class; Mission Hill Women's Writing Group; Never Too Late to be a Poet; Rehearsal for Life; and Zumix. Participants from these organizations contributed poems, prose, audio, video, and artwork in response to the exhibition's photographs. All viewers of the banner and website are encouraged to share their own reactions on social media using the hashtag #BCCPHOTOBANNER.

"The community partner collaborations enhance the viewing of the individual images as does the professional sequencing of photographs on the banner," said Boston Camera Club President Tom Hill, who noted that the project was entirely conceived and developed by club members. "Collaboration with these community groups has built bridges among artists of all ages who would not otherwise have had opportunities to connect within the greater-Boston community. The timing of the exhibition could not be better and will supplement the diversity of outdoor art in Boston at a time when residents, workers, and visitors are breaking out of their pandemic cocoons." 

The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views is generously funded by Tufts Medical Center, Blue Hour Photo Ventures and two anonymous gifts. The Boston Camera Club is especially thankful to the owners of Fan Pier for warmly welcoming the photo exhibition to the Public Green.

About the Boston Camera Club

Founded in 1881, the Boston Camera Club is dedicated to the advancement of photography as an art and a science. The club currently has over 150 members, ranging in experience from novice to professional, from all over the greater Boston metropolitan area. Meetings are held weekly and include photo competitions, critiques, educational lectures, and studio portrait sessions. Additionally, the club sponsors exhibitions, field trips to local points of interest, and special events and workshops led by well-known photographers. For more information on club activities and membership, visit www.bostoncameraclub.org or connect with the BCC on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

 

The Focused Eye: Our Unique Views 

Photography – Reflecting Through Lens and Pen (video)

Marjorie Sardella of Beaux Regards Photographic Art recently gave Zoom presentation to the Franklin Art Association titled "Reflecting Through Lens and Pen."

If you missed the presentation on Zoom, you can view it on YouTube!
https://t.co/5LRLnjc5Uu  or here https://youtu.be/e10hYd1yP00
#fdp
#photography

Franklin Art Association: Marjorie Sardella - Photography - April 7, 2021

FAA member Marjorie Sardella will talk about her approach to photography. Monthly meeting Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 6:30 PM. 

Marjorie S. Sardella ~ Marjorie’s love of photography began at the age of ten with her first Brownie Camera. She later painted in oils for several years, but eventually returned to her first love, photography. Having taken several photography courses in the past, at Boston College, she came to love the process of creating a finished photo from a developed negative in the darkroom, skills Marjorie now applies to her photographic works, using mostly traditional darkroom techniques in her “digital darkroom” when required. 

Often, her photographic works are mistaken for paintings, perhaps reflecting on her earlier experience in oil painting. For twenty years, Marjorie was the event photographer and Photo archivist for the Boston College Presidential Scholars Program, which involved traveling to France for over a month each year, offering her the opportunities to travel to other western European countries as well as ventures throughout the northeastern part of the US. 

Through the years, Marjorie’s photos of land, sea, and cityscapes, of wildlife and people seek to capture moments in time that also evoke a sense of timelessness, inviting viewers to enter into a world that rouses, renews and rewards their inner selves.

Zoom link for FAA Meeting Apr 7 =>  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82181910922?pwd=ME9aTGtvRVJFVlg2aDBlMllVT1ZZdz09

Franklin Art Association:  Marjorie Sardella - Photography - April 7, 2021