Joshua Mondshein Photography

The photography of Joshua Mondshein will transport you to beautiful and magical places.  Come to the BFL to view his work, which will be on display from July 1st through August 27th.  You can also enjoy this collection of photography at The Center for Arts in Natick (TC......More

The photography of Joshua Mondshein will transport you to beautiful and magical places.  Come to the BFL to view his work, which will be on display from July 1st through August 27th.  You can also enjoy this collection of photography at The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) during the month of October.    waterfall2waterleavesgrass2fieldcowestateboardwalk   Joshua Mondshein is a Natick resident whose passion for photography has led him to majestic landscapes throughout New England and across the world. Alluring sunsets and flowing waterfalls are two of his favorite subjects, and Josh is often found exploring local trails, parks and forests in search of the next striking photo opportunity.   Josh lives with his wife and Golden Retriever in the Walnut Hill neighborhood of Natick.  He loves playing tennis, watching baseball, and making the morning espresso he currently works as an application developer in higher education.               

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Summer Storytime

Join us on Mondays and Tuesdays for stories and songs! Outdoors, weather permitting. Bring along a blanket to get comfy. Note: if the weather is wet or below 55 degrees, we’ll move this storytime indoors. The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This pr......More

Join us on Mondays and Tuesdays for stories and songs! Outdoors, weather permitting. Bring along a blanket to get comfy. Note: if the weather is wet or below 55 degrees, we’ll move this storytime indoors. The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This program is also offered in an accessible location at the Morse Institute Library (click here for dates, times, and more information).

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Drop-In Plein Air Art Studio

Join Natick landscape artist Barbara Levine this summer for drop-in plein air painting on the grounds of the Bacon Free Library. (Other locations may be considered as well.) All levels of painters, and all mediums are welcome. Supplies will not be provided, so please br......More

Join Natick landscape artist Barbara Levine this summer for drop-in plein air painting on the grounds of the Bacon Free Library. (Other locations may be considered as well.) All levels of painters, and all mediums are welcome. Supplies will not be provided, so please bring your own equipment including: easels, paints, brushes, any solvents or mediums used, painting surfaces, paper towels, drinking water, hats, garbage bags, sunscreen and good humor. Barbara will be on hand to offer suggestions during this recurring 2-hour program. Come to as many sessions as you like and please arrive by 1:30pm in order to have time to set up. Please register for the sessions you will be attending, so that we have an idea of how many artists to expect each week and so we may contact you if the program is canceled due to inclement weather. This program is for adults only.   Drop-In Plein Air Art Studio Name*Email* Δ

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Summer Storytime

Join us on Mondays and Tuesdays for stories and songs! Outdoors, weather permitting. Bring along a blanket to get comfy. Note: if the weather is wet or below 55 degrees, we’ll move this storytime indoors. The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This pr......More

Join us on Mondays and Tuesdays for stories and songs! Outdoors, weather permitting. Bring along a blanket to get comfy. Note: if the weather is wet or below 55 degrees, we’ll move this storytime indoors. The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This program is also offered in an accessible location at the Morse Institute Library (click here for dates, times, and more information).

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Juggling Class for Adults

  Learn some basic juggling skills in this fun outdoor class from our neighbors at Eastern Acrobatics! This session is for adults. Registration is required. In case of inclement weather, the program will be held at Eastern Acrobatics (28 Eliot St.).  ......More

  Learn some basic juggling skills in this fun outdoor class from our neighbors at Eastern Acrobatics! This session is for adults. Registration is required. In case of inclement weather, the program will be held at Eastern Acrobatics (28 Eliot St.).  Adult Juggling Name*Email* Δ

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

NO Environmental Book Club

The Environmental Book Club does NOT meet in July and August  

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Lapsit Storytime

Stories, bounces, and songs for babies 0-24 months and their grownups! The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This program is also offered in an accessible location at the Morse Institute Library (click here for dates, times, and more information)....More

Stories, bounces, and songs for babies 0-24 months and their grownups! The historic nature of our building limits accessibility. This program is also offered in an accessible location at the Morse Institute Library (click here for dates, times, and more information).

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

VIRTUAL: George Boutwell - The Most Consequential American Political Figure You've Never Heard Of

Listen in as historian Jeffrey S. Boutwell discusses his new biography, Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy. George S. Boutwell is the most consequential American political figure you’ve probably never heard of.  For seven decades, George Boutwell sou......More

Listen in as historian Jeffrey S. Boutwell discusses his new biography, Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy. George S. Boutwell is the most consequential American political figure you’ve probably never heard of.  For seven decades, George Boutwell sought to “redeem America’s promise” through racial equality, economic equity, and the humane use of American power abroad.  During his career from 1839 to 1905, he was Governor of Massachusetts, served in the U.S. House and Senate, was Treasury Secretary for Ulysses Grant, and Commissioner of Internal Revenue for Abraham Lincoln, he also helped create the Republican Party in the 1850s, and challenged the efforts of Presidents McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt to annex the Philippines in 1900 following the Spanish-American war.  Boutwell was instrumental in framing the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, initiating the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and investigating white vigilante violence against blacks in Mississippi in the 1870s.   This virtual program will be held in collaboration with the Bacon Free Library and the Ashland Public Library.  It is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library. Please register here for the Zoom link.    About the AuthorJeffrey Boutwell is a writer, historian, and science policy specialist living in Columbia, Maryland, after a 40-year career in journalism, government and with international scientific research organizations.  He has written and spoken widely on issues ranging from nuclear weapons arms control to Middle East peace to environmental degradation and conflict.  He’s passionate about Shakespeare, Alpine skiing, improving US-Cuba relations, and road trips in his Mini Cooper.  Jeffrey and George share a common ancestor, the indentured servant James Boutwell who emigrated in 1632 from England to Salem, Mass.  RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Jammin With You

Be prepared to laugh, dance, sing, and jam your way through 30 minutes of non-stop family fun! This performance is geared toward kids ages 1 – 7, but fun for the whole family. With modern takes on children’s classics and classic original tunes, you’ll be humming and bop......More

Be prepared to laugh, dance, sing, and jam your way through 30 minutes of non-stop family fun! This performance is geared toward kids ages 1 – 7, but fun for the whole family. With modern takes on children’s classics and classic original tunes, you’ll be humming and bopping all the way home. This program will be held outdoors at the Bacon Free Library. If it rains, the program will be moved to the Morse Institute Library. Bring your own simple instruments if you can! We recommend shakers, rhythm sticks, and scarves, or homemade equivalents like a container of rice, a couple of wooden spoons, and a dish towel. Jammin With You has more instrument suggestions here. Sponsored by Middlesex Savings Bank

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States

Nonfiction Book Club

  This month, we will discuss Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach.  Copies of this book are available at the library.  Here’s an introduction to the book, excerpted from maryroach.net: What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and en......More

  This month, we will discuss Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach.  Copies of this book are available at the library.  Here’s an introduction to the book, excerpted from maryroach.net: What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as  New York Times  best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology. Our discussion will be on Zoom.  Please register here to receive the meeting details: Nonfiction Book Club Registration - August 23, 2025 your nameemail* Δ

Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States