Importaant things going on in town this weekend: a Freemasons open house; a barbecue celebration and fundraiser; a Sundance Film Festival winner, The House That I Live In, at First Parish; Oktoberfest; and Crop Walk, a multi-town fundraiser that helps to support the Bedford Food Pantry.
Local Freemasons Welcome Public on October 19
Joining with Masonic lodges across the Commonwealth, Freemasons of Frank W. Thompson Lodge, A.F. & A.M. meeting in the First Church of Christ Congregational 25 Great Road, will open their doors to the public on Saturday, October 19th, between 9 am and 3 pm, as part of the Square and Compasses Day, a state-wide celebration of Freemasonry. If you’ve ever wondered who the Freemasons are, whether they are the descendants of the Knights Templars, or what the inside of their buildings look like, here’s your chance to find out!
“Square and Compasses Day is a great opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about Freemasonry to meet and talk with Masons in their community,” said Richard J. Stewart, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, and the presiding officer of over 32,000 members. “Although many have heard of us, very few are aware that for over 280 years we have been part of an unbroken tradition of great men who have changed our world in ways both big and small. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thurgood Marshall, and John Glenn, for example, all joined the Masons prior to achieving the greatness we recognize them for. There are countless other great men, whose names are not widely known, that made their families, workplaces, and communities better because they were Masons. I warmly invite the public to join us on October 19th.”
For additional information, please call 800.882.1020, or visit www.askafreemason.org.
Sundance Festival Winner: The House I Live In, on October 19
The community is invited to a screening of The House I Live In, winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, that will be shown in the Common Room at First Parish on the Common at 7 pm on Saturday, October 19.
This 55-minute film captures heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of America’s War on Drugs. From the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, the film offers a penetrating look inside America’s longest war — a definitive portrait revealing its profound human rights implications.
The film is co-sponsored by the First Parish Peace and Justice Committee, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), Middlesex County Prison Co-Ordinating Committee (MCPCC), and Concord Prison Outreach (CPO). Barabara Dougan, Massachusetts Project Director of FAMM, will lead a post film discussion.
Barbecue Celebration on October 19, noon to 5 pm
The Bastey Boys, a team of barbecue pitmeisters led by former Bedford resident Andy King, will lead a celebration of Ken Dakai’s life to raise funds for the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Care Center and for the Dakai Family Fund at the Maynard Rod and Gun Club on Saturday, October 19 from noon to 5 pm.
Along with his wife Kathie, Ken Dakai nurtured, promoted, and supervised more barbecue competitions than anyone in the northeast. As a past president and board member of NEBS, his humor and thoughtful insights will be missed. Ken always ensured that everyone had fun at a barbecue competition! And because of the NEBS connection, you can be certain that the food will be outstanding.
In addition to income from admission fees, the Bastey Boys will be raffling off a catered barbecue meal for up to 20 people, and the New England Barbecue Society will raffle a number of other donated items including a Pig Roast by Uncle Jed, a Big Green Egg cooker worth $800 and more. Raffle tickets are $10 each, and can be purchased using Paypal on the New England Barbecue Society’s website, www.nebs.org. Important: Please click on “Add instructions for the seller” prior to checking out, and add the item for which you are purchasing raffle tickets. Raffle tickets may also be purchased at the event where there will be other raffles and silent auction items as well.
Whether you knew Ken or not, please join us at the Celebration of Ken’s Life because Ken asked for a party, not a funeral. We will celebrate with stories, legends, tall tales, jokes, and food! We will be cooking on Ken’s old Klose Smoker. To raise money for The Dakai Family Fund, there is a suggested $20 donation for an all-you-can-eat-extravaganza! If you’d like to come but can’t stay to eat, and if your budget allows it, we’d gladly accept a $10 donation. Your attendance is what is most important.
The Maynard Rod & Gun Club is located at 45 Old Mill Rd in Maynard. Please RSVP at www.nebs.org so that we can plan on having plenty of food for the event!
Oktoberfest at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, on October 19
There will be a festive German supper, beer, and fellowship at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, beginning at 7 pm on Saturday, October 19. If you haven’t gotten your ticket yet ( $25 adults/$20 seniors), please call the church office (781-275-8262) before Friday noon to say that you would like to attend.
Concord Area Crop Walk – Support for the Bedford Pantry, on October 20
The 33rd Concord Area CROP Walk for the Hungry will be held Sunday, October 20, at First Parish in Concord, starting at 1:30 p.m. with music by Concord-Carlisle High School Pep Band. At 2:15 p.m. some 400 residents from Concord, Acton, Bedford, Boxborough, Carlisle, Groton, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Maynard, Sudbury and Townsend will join in the beautiful 7 kilometer walk across Old North Bridge, up Nashawtuc Hill and down the Milldam to help people in need in our local communities and around the world.
This year, Mike Gural of First Parish Church of Christ UCC in Bedford will step down after nearly 25 years as a recruiter for walkers. This fall, he will be honored in a special ceremony at his church with a certificate of recognition from Church World Service and CROP Walk for his decades of contribution to hunger relief efforts. In 2010, Mike Gural and his wife Ruth received the CROP Walk Bradshaw award for their dedicated leadership in the Walk.
Founded in 1980 by volunteers from several local area congregations, the Concord Area CROP Walk is affiliated with Church World Service (www.cwsglobal.com), an ecumenical humanitarian agency that provides rapid, on-the-ground emergency disaster relief, refugee aid and programs to fight the root causes of hunger worldwide. Seventy-five percent of funds raised from the Concord Walk fund CWS efforts such as aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy including long-term training programs to help communities rebuild and recover. Currently, CWS personnel are in Colorado to provide initial aid and evaluate the long-term needs of some 12,000 persons forced from their homes due to the recent floods.
Twenty-five percent of funds raised by Concord Area CROP Walk make a significant contribution to local suppers and food pantries. In 2012, walkers raised $55,000; after this year, the 33 year total will approach $1 million. Nine local hunger relief efforts receive funding from the Walk, including the Bedford Community Table/Pantry, a non-profit volunteer organization which offers a free community dinner to 70-85 people every Thursday, September through May, in the cafeteria in Town Center. A food pantry with take home groceries is offered every Thursday year-round for families or individuals in need. For more info or to volunteer, visit www.bedfordfoodpantry.org or call 781-275-7355.
To join the walk, make a donation or sponsor a walker, see www.concordcrop.org. Walk papers are available at the local libraries.
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