An Update from Bacon Free Library

FairTrade Caravans Fundraiser

November 7 to December 5

Shop now to raise money for Bacon Free Library with our holiday fundraiser! FairTrade Caravans offers unique fair trade products made or grown with no child labor, fair pay, safe working conditions, and sustainable practices. Check out handcrafted goods from farmers and artisans from around the world, including holiday décor, gifts, jewelry, accessories, and home goods as well as chocolate, tea, and coffee. For this fundraiser, Bacon Free Library will receive 25% of product sales to support our rich and varied programming for children and adults. Visit the FairTrade Caravans website to learn more and start shopping!

Inhabitants documentary

November 20 to December 3

Bacon Free Library is partnering with the Natick Historical Society, the Town of Natick’s Department of Sustainability and the Town of Natick’s Department of Community and Economic Development to bring you this award-winning documentary which follows five Native American communities as they restore their traditional land management practices in the face of a changing climate. Please visit our website to register to view the film and receive the link on November 20, which will be good through December 3.

Register to join us for a Zoom Q&A with the film's producer Ben-Alex Dupris on Wednesday, November 30 at 7:00 pm.

Monday Morning Stories and Songs

Mondays at 10:00 am 

Join us for a high-energy story time! We’ll mix things up with a combination of stories for listening and songs for dancing. If it is 50 degrees or warmer, this program will be held outside on the library lawn, so bring a blanket or chair. Look for us around back! If it is rainy or less than 50 degrees, the story time will be moved indoors.

Cinéphile Mondays

Monday, November 28 @ 4:00 pm on Zoom

Cinephiles, join us for our film series! Watch a movie at home and then join Film History & Media studies Professor MV for a virtual discussion on the last Monday of the month. Join us this month for a discussion of Roberto Rossellini's Journey to Italy, available on Kanopy. Visit our website to learn more and email [email protected] to register for the Zoom meeting.

ABC Storytime

Tuesdays at 10:00 am 

Here’s a chance for the little ones to learn their A-B-C’s. We’ll start with stories and songs that feature our letter of the week. Then we’ll do some simple crafts with the special letter – tracing, stamping, cutting, gluing, and coloring. Each child can bring something with them that starts with the letter of the week – we’ll do a mini show & tell along with stories.If it is 50 degrees or warmer, we’ll do the stories & songs outside on the library lawn, so bring a blanket or chair. Look for us around back! If it is rainy or less than 50 degrees, the story time will be moved indoors. This week's letter is L.

Jammin With You

Wednesday, November 30 at 10:00 am

Be prepared to laugh, dance, sing, and jam your way through 30 minutes of non-stop family fun! This performance is geared for 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 your way all the way home! If it is 50 degrees or warmer, this program will be held outside on the library lawn so bring a blanket or chair. If it is rainy, snowy, or less than 50 degrees, this program will be moved indoors and space will be limited, so please register on our website.

Mystery Book Club

Thursday, December 1 at 1:00 pm on Zoom

Join us for a virtual Zoom discussion of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. Copies available at the library, or borrow digitally. Please email [email protected] to register and receive the Zoom link.

Baby Time

Fridays at 10:00 am

Join us for a cozy storytime filled with lap bounces, rhymes, songs, and simple stories. Geared toward infants and young toddlers with their grownups. This program will be held indoors during the winter, then move outdoors when the weather gets warmer.

Jewelry Making Workshop: Stretch Beaded Bracelets

Tuesday, December 13 at 6:00 pm

Learn to design and create your own stretch beaded bracelet! Jewelry maker Monica Foley will teach you how to design and measure your bracelets, as well as how to hide the knot inside the bracelet. All materials will be supplied and you will leave the program with two lovely bracelets made by your own hands! Monica Foley has been making jewelry for several years. She is also a life-long floral designer and gardener (ask her about all the seeds she has saved from her garden). Please visit our website to register so that we can provide enough materials.

Morse Institute Library events

Please click to learn more about upcoming virtual programs at the Morse:

Monday, December 5: Winter A Cappella Concert with the Copley Cats

Sunday, December 11: Winter Holiday Concert with Melodious Zach

Elm Bank's Festival of Trees

November 25 to December 31

Bacon Free Library is proud to have a tree featured once again in Elm Bank's Festival of Trees. This year's tree was created by our own extraordinary Miss Fran, inspired by the picture book Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. Learn more about the festival here.

Oldtown Calendars For Sale

2023 Oldtown Calendars are here! Started by The Eliot Church, proceeds from Oldtown Calendars benefit many local organizations, including Bacon Free Library. Calendars are $20 each, available for purchase at the library with cash or check.

Art Exhibit: Samantha Eio

Currently on display at the library

Visit the library to view the work of local landscape artist Samantha Eio, whose painting series In Nature will be featured at the BFL until January 4th. Samantha Eio is a self-taught landscape artist who works in acrylic and watercolor paint. Her paintings feature meaningful locations from throughout New England, many from right here in Natick, where Samantha resides with her family. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Syracuse University, and is a member of the Natick Art Association, the Dedham Art Association, and the Wellesley Society of Artists.

Museum Passes

The BFL is happy to offer our patrons free or reduced-price passes for a selection of great local organizations! Visit our website to learn more.

Join One Of Our Book Clubs!

Visit our website or click below to learn more about our book clubs. Copies of book club titles are set aside at Bacon Free Library, and often also available to borrow digitally. Pick up a copy today so you're ready for the next meeting. New members always welcome!

History Book Club
Thursday, December 8 at 11:00 am
Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown

Environmental Book Club
Tuesday, December 20 at 7:00 pm
Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez.

Around the web...

Here are some online materials we've seen recently:

• Best of 2022 book recommendations from NPR and the New York Times
• Answering a cranberry sauce question
• Meet some of the New York City Ballet's youngest Nutcracker dancers

Stay Connected With Us!

• Our website
• Join one of our clubs
• Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
• Library blog
• Librarian On Call
• Call us at 508-653-6730 
• Email us at [email protected]

Digital Resources

Check out some of these great online resources:

• Overdrive/Libby: ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, videos, and more
• Kanopy: stream thousands of movies for free
• Hoopla: ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, videos, and more, all available with no wait list
• Morse Institute Library databases (Bacon Free Library cardholders may access these)
• Minuteman Library Network databases
• Project Gutenberg: thousands of free e-books in the public domain -- now's the time to catch up on some classics!
• Don't have a library card? Sign up online to begin accessing digital resources
• Having trouble with your library card password? Reset it here