Franklin Garden Club to explore “Bringing Books to Life” as a floral craft - Oct 7

Franklin Garden Club to explore
“Bringing Books to Life” as a floral craft - Oct 7

A “Bringing Books to Life” floral craft night will highlight the October meeting of the Franklin Garden Club. 

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at the Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill Street, from 6:00– 8:30 PM   An informal social get-together will take place from 6:00 – 6:30 PM followed by a business meeting and craft activity, which will be conducted by Deb DeGrazia, club secretary and expert crafter.  

The meeting is open to the public, including those interested in becoming a member.  All attendees are asked to bring a book that can be cut out for the decorative arrangement that will be created.  

  

The Franklin Garden Club is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts.  

Book & virtual author & conversation & liquid beverages & snacks at Pour Richard's Aug 17

Book & virtual author & conversation &
sip & snack at Pour Richard's Aug 17

book: The Correspondent
author: Virginia Evans
location: Franklin, MA
host: Pour Richard’s
date: August 17th
time: 2-5PM

In partnership with Pour Richard’s Wine Shop in Franklin, MA we are excited to have you join us for a dayTREAT! What is a dayTREAT?

A little taste of one of our weekend retreats or summer camps! Join us at Pour Richard’s Wine Shop in Franklin, MA for an afternoon of BOOKISH BLISS! YOUR TICKET INCLUDES: AUTHOR CHAT with Virginia Evans. In this virtual chat and Q&A, she will be discussing her debut book, The Correspondent. WELCOME GIFT of The Correspondent and some Book a Break Goodies. BOOKISH CRAFTS to create on site and take home after the event. PLOT TWIST: you came for books, but Pour Richard’s is serving up swoon-worthy sips and snacks that might just steal the show. A little taste here, a new favorite there… suddenly your reading break comes with a charcuterie pairing.

TICKET DETAILS -> https://www.bookabreak.org/retreats/p/book-a-break-daytreat-ka7rl

Shared from -> https://www.instagram.com/p/DM-TAh0xPaX/

Franklin Cultural District: Ben's Book events all week & more as #artshappenhere

Wednesday, January 17

9:30am Ben Franklin Autobiography* LIVE Readathon (Franklin Historical Museum)

11:00am Franklin Q&A (Franklin Senior Center & remote)

6:30pm SPECIAL Trivia Night (Teddie Gallagher’s)

7:00pm State of the Commonwealth Address (online, & YouTube)

Thursday, January 18

8:30am Town Council Office Hours (Franklin Senior Center)

6:30pm World PREMIERE, “The Boatbuilders” Pre-release Screening & Discussion (Franklin Public Library)

Friday, January 19

1:00pm Library Book Sale (Franklin Public Library)

2:00pm Get to know ‘Ben’s Books’ (Franklin Public Library)

6:00pm Jigsaw Puzzle Tournament and Sale (First Universalist Society in Franklin (FUSF))

Saturday, January 20

9:00am Library Book Sale (Franklin Public Library)

10:00am Ben Franklin, America’s First Scientist (Franklin Historical Museum)

10:00am Jigsaw Puzzle Tournament and Sale (First Universalist Society in Franklin (FUSF))

10:30am Children’s Ben Franklin Story Time (Escape Into Fiction Bookstore)

11:00am Preschool & Kindergarten Open House (Sunrise Montessori School)

1:00pm Library "Books by the Bag Sale" (Franklin Public Library)

6:30pm Vera Meyer and Ben Franklin’s Glass Armonica (Franklin Public Library)

Sunday, January 21

7:30am All you can eat Breakfast (Franklin Rod & Gun Club)

1:00pm Ben Franklin Considered and Reconsidered (Franklin Historical Museum)

1:00pm Children's Museum of Franklin pop up (Elks Lodge)

Tuesday, January 23

2:30pm Rainbow Café

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The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open for viewing (and purchasing the art displayed) during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Visit the Cultural District page ->  https://www.franklinculture.org/

Find the full Community event calendar   https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:   https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Library calendar of events ->    calendar link

The Senior Center calendar of events ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/node/39/events/month/39/2023-12

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26 

Franklin Cultural District: Arts are happening here!

Events for Ben Franklin Book Week January 14-21, 2024

Tues. 1/16 Ben Franklin’s Journey from Slaveholder to Abolitionist AND African Son, a discussion. Local historian Jim Johnston and Historical Commission Chair, Alan Earls, will start the discussion with Jim regarding Ben Franklin’s initial acceptance of the institution of slavery and his eventual “conversion” within the context of the 18th century world, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, and the American Revolution. Jim will then take the story of slavery into the 19th century with a discussion of his novel, African Son*, which traces the fortunes of an African man who is enslaved in 1815 and has his survival skills tested in his new “home” in pre- Civil War Georgia…6:30 PM at the Franklin Historical Museum. FREE

Weds. 1/17 Ben Franklin Autobiography* LIVE Readathon at the Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central Street, 9:30 AM on Ben’s Birthday, Jan 17 2023. Come and participate! Contact Alan Earls with any questions (alan.r.earls@gmail.com). FREE. Note, the ‘kick off ‘ speaker will be Franklin’s Congressman, Jake Auchincloss followed by State Senator Becca Rausch and State Rep. Jeff Roy.  Volunteer readers typically participate for 10-15 minutes in sharing this classic work of American literature. Completion times vary but the event will likely end around 5 PM. Sign up for a reading slot here or just come by to listen.

Ben Franklin Book Week

Weds. 1/17 SPECIAL Trivia Night at Teddy Gallagher’s on Main Street. The BEST TRIVIA NIGHT South of Boston happens on Tuesday Nights at Teddy Gallagher’s Irish pub in Franklin. In honor of Book Week, there will be an ADDITIONAL Trivia night on Wednesday, focusing on ‘bookish” topics — Come for the fun, bring your friends and a smartphone. 6:30 PM at 30 Main Street. See you there!

Thurs. 1/18 World PREMIERE, “The Boatbuilders” Pre-release Screening & Discussion Thursday January 18th. 6.30 PM Franklin Public Library. Join Director Gregg Seibert and Producer & Dean College Historian R. A. Lawson for a Pre-release screening of the first episode and Discussion of their new Documentary Series, “The Boatbuilders”! The docuseries uncovers the historical legacy and present-day impact of the boat building community, showcasing boatbuilders, sailors, and owners who speak to the realities of boat building today. FREE

Fri. 1/19 Get to know ‘Ben’s Books’ — Meet Reference Librarian Vicki Earls on the second floor of the Franklin Public Library, at the display case, at 2 PM for the story of the books Franklin donated to our town — what are they and how did they end up in Franklin! Attendees will receive a newly published, illustrated mini-book all about THE books! FREE

Fri. 1/19 BIG Library Book Sale. Friday, January 19th, 1:00 - 5:00 PM and Saturday, January 20th, 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. All books are just one dollar!

Sat. 1/20 Children’s Ben Franklin Story Time. 10:30 AM at Escape Into Fiction Bookstore, 12 Main Street FREE

Sat. 1/20 Ben Franklin, America’s First Scientist — a talk and demonstration by engineer-entrepreneur John Berg, on Saturday, Jan 20, 2023 from 10 to 1 at the Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central St. FREE

Sat. 1/20 Bag Sale Finale of Library Book Sale. 1 PM to 4 PM  $5 per bag!

1/20 Vera Meyer and Ben Franklin’s Glass Armonica. Among Ben Franklin’s most amazing inventions is the glass armonica, a series of concentric, rotating crystal glass bowls that can be played (think of the sound of wine glass rims being rubbed). Mozart and others composed music for it. And Boston area musician and expert Vera Meyer will return to Franklin for a performance featuring many styles of music. Don’t miss the haunting, ethereal, and beautiful sounds of the armonica at the Franklin Public Library 6:30 - 8 PM. FREE (School St entrance)

1/21 Ben Franklin Considered and Reconsidered — an authorized showing of PBS interviews with modern leaders discussing the many facets of Ben Franklin. Sunday Jan 21, 2023 from 1-4 PM at the Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central St. Audience members will be encouraged to continue the discussion! FREE

Check for updates -> https://benfranklinbookweek.com/

In Franklin, MA, It’s All About the Benjamin!

Birthday Celebration for a Founding Father Goes BIG This Month!

Franklin, Massachusetts’ biggest claim to fame is that it is named for the great 18th century polymath and patriot, Benjamin Franklin, and that Franklin in his wisdom, repaid the compliment with a generous gift of books. The town’s people made the most of this and turned this gift into the first free public lending library in North America. 

It was a good move. Franklin farm boy, Horace Mann, the ”father” of American Public education, educated himself in large part through the books donated by Ben and Oliver Dean, another local influenced by access to Ben’s books, founded Dean Academy in Franklin (now Dean College)!

Today, with the town’s growth and a renewed focus on arts, culture, and history in the town’s Cultural District, a literary and library past is being celebrated with Ben Franklin Book Week, Jan 14-21, “A Community Rediscovery of Ideas, Literature, and the Shared Gift of Language.” This new annual event that celebrates the birthday of Benjamin Franklin (Jan. 17) and his gift of books to the town AND it recognizes the town’s ongoing book- and culture friendly environment, with a growing slate of events and activities! 

Book Week is cosponsored by the Franklin Historical Museum, Franklin Public Library, and Escape into Fiction book store with funding provided by Mass. Cultural Council through the Franklin Cultural District Committee.

Events include lectures, a film premiere, a live ‘readathon’ of Ben Franklin’s Autobiography, a concert with the Glass Harmonica instrument invented by Ben Franklin, a lecture and demonstration of Ben’s fundamental contribution to the understanding of electricity, and more. 

More information is available at https://benfranklinbookweek.com

In Franklin, MA, It’s All About the Benjamin!

Franklin's Event Outlook: January 12, 2023 to January 18, 2024

Friday, January 12

7:00pm Steve Demers (live music) (Raillery Public House)

7:30pm Electric Youth Debut Concert (ticketed event) (THE BLACK BOX)

Saturday, January 13

9:00am KoC Free Throw Tournament  (Hockomock YMCA)

10:00am Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

10:00am Train Town Franklin; Part 2 (Franklin Historical Museum)

2:30pm FHS Best Buddies fund raiser basketball game (Franklin High School)

7:00pm Steve Demers (live music) (Raillery Public House)

8:00pm Joe Jencks (live music) (ticketed event) (Circle of Friends Coffeehouse)

Sunday, January 14

1:00pm Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

1:00pm Train Town Franklin; Part 2 (Franklin Historical Museum)

1:15pm Second Sunday Speaker Series (CANCELED): Joe Landry on History of Thompson Press (Franklin Historical Museum) 

Monday, January 15 -  Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Tuesday, January 16

6:30pm Ben Franklin’s Journey from Slaveholder to Abolitionist AND African Son, a discussion (Franklin Historical Museum)

7:30pm Voice of Franklin, part of Toastmasters International (Franklin TV Studio)

Wednesday, January 17

9:30am Ben Franklin Autobiography* LIVE Readathon (Franklin Historical Museum)

6:30pm SPECIAL Trivia Night  (Teddie Gallagher’s)

7:00pm State of the Commonwealth Address (live broadcast)

Thursday, January 18

8:30am Town Council Office Hours (Franklin Senior Center)

6:30pm World PREMIERE, “The Boatbuilders” Pre-release Screening & Discussion (Franklin Public Library)

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The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Find the full Community event calendar  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

The Cultural calendar displays only the cultural events      https://www.franklinculture.org/things-do/pages/calendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26 

Franklin's Event Outlook: January 12, 2023 to January 18, 2024

Senior Scribblers Book Release Party celebrated at the Franklin Senior Center (video)

For those who missed the book release party, you can watch recording of the event by Franklin TV.  A number of the contributors to the books read one or more selections. 

Those in the audience could leave with a copy of the book.  You still have a chance for a copy:

• If you want to buy a copy of the book, some are in the gift shop in the Senior Center ($5)
• You can also check out a copy at the Franklin Public Library via the circulation desk
• If you want to download the PDF file of the book to read on your device, follow this link ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bgpdM9_m3ERc9h3QkGlG40NsWcrFuL0B/view?usp=sharing

Video link -> https://youtu.be/oDFSNn55kYg?si=dIY1BBadObM9Y7Ur

Faith Flaherty (left) and Al Larkin (right)

Franklin TV: The Senior Writers Group – Book Launch - Sep 26 at 10 AM

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 09/24/2023

Oh yes, we did. Our third Writers Book will be officially launched at the Senior Center on Tuesday morning (09/26/23) at 10 AM.

Writings from the Senior Scribblers

Third Edition – by Scribblers Press

This time we arranged for our collected works to be beautifully printed and bound as a self-micro-published run of 100*. 

It’s a real book book – 77 pages of collected writings and storytelling. Simple stories? Personal adventures? Musings? Poems?

There’s something for every reader.

It’s not in The Library of Congress. You won’t find it on Amazon or Google Books. It’s available only at the Franklin Senior Center. Come to our great unveiling, Tuesday, Sept 26 at 10 AM.

Join us for selected readings and copies of our latest ‘best seller’. The N Y Times literary critic wasn’t extended a special invitation. Not even Oprah’s Book Club. Just you.

Do you have some stories and scribbles in you? You can be part of our next book. 

And – as always –

Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm. 

And, thank you for watching.

* Note - of the 100 copies, the contributors got their share and there are 45 available for first come, first serve at the book launch.

PROGRAMMING NOTE:

Our assigned Comcast channels have changed. Verizon is not affected.

Our Public All-Access TV channel has moved from 8 to 6. 

Our Franklin Pride School channel has moved from 96 to 8.

Our Town Hall TV Government channel has moved from 11 to 9.

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf   

Books to Go at Horace Mann Middle School - Aug 8 from 11 AM to 1 PM

Next Books to Go is August 8th. Hope your summer is filled with good people and good books!

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

Books to Go at Horace Mann Middle School - Aug 8 from 11 AM to 1 PM

"Lucky Jack" POW Book Presentation by local author Sue Bavey - Jan 23 at 11 AM

"Lucky Jack" POW Book Presentation by local author Sue Bavey

Monday Jan 23, 2023 at 11 AM, Franklin Senior Center

"Lucky Jack" POW Book Presentation by local author Sue Bavey - Jan 23 at 11 AM

Shared from Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/veterans-services/news/lucky-jack-pow-book-presentation-local-author-sue-bavey

New book club for LGBTQ middle & high school students at Escape into Fiction - Jan 26 at 6 PM

"A new book club is coming to #EscapeIntoFictionBookstore!

Thursday 1/26/23 at 6 PM

First #book will be Heartstopper #1

This group is geared for all #lgbtq middle school and high school students, and those who are #lgbtqally"

shared from Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUOX0ZrsCC/

New book club for LGBTQ middle & high school students at Escape into Fiction - Jan 26 at 6 PM

The Economist reads | The hunt for votes

Earlier this month (Sep 4, 2022), The Economist published an article on the 5 best books about Presidential elections. The choices were recommended by their former Washington correspondent. Oddly, the identity of the correspondent is not revealed. The author of the article is not identified. Aside from that matter, the listing of the books chosen is well explained.

The books are:

1. A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign. By Edward Larson
2. The Making of the President: 1960, by T.H. White
3. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. By Hunter S. Thompson
4. What It Takes. By Richard Ben Cramer
5. Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House. By Michael Lewis

With the presidential election coming in 2024, this might be good preparation.

What book (or books) have you read on presidential elections, or elections in general, that you would recommend? Send me an email, or add your book via comment.

The Economist article can be found ->

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-reads/2022/09/04/what-to-read-to-understand-american-election-campaigns (subscription required, but it is free via email to the online version. You'll get notifications and offers to subscribe to the print version.)

What to read to understand American election campaigns

Escape Into Fiction sets up teacher wish lists

"New #teacher wish lists in the store for our #localteachers. Come in or email to create yours!  

We love our #teachers. Mail@escapeintofiction.com 10 books/author, grade, school!  

#franklin #franklinpublicschools

@FranklinPSNews

@FranklinMatters

@TOFranklinMA

#wrenthamma #kpschools"

Shared from Twitter ->  https://twitter.com/EscapeIntoFictn/status/1562446370036142080

Where is Escape Into Fiction? 12 Main St in downtown Franklin or visit them on the web at -> https://escapeintofiction.com/

Escape Into Fictions sets up teacher wish lists