Volume 3|May 3, 2023

Artsy Box Project - Painting Underway!

May 3, 2023

Ready, Set, Go...on over to our fantastic artists and snap photos if you happen to catch them out painting this week! We are documenting each of their processes to share with our wonderful community and have been loving the extra pops of color they are adding around town. The Mass Cultural Council, through the Franklin Cultural District, and our Town of Franklin have generously funded 6 locations within the Cultural District that you and your families can catch on a lovely walk.

There are (2) Artsy Boxes on the Franklin Common, (1) by the Davis Thayer building, (1) by the Fire Department, (1) on Main Street by Dean College and (1) on the corner of Cottage St across from the Flower Alley. Please share your photos with us by Tagging FRANKLIN CULTURE on Facebook or #ARTSYBOX23 on IG. We can't wait to see your updates.

This week, our featured artist is Shilpa Adduri who is an instructor and owner of SereneArts and a Franklin Art Association member. Shilpa's art is titled “Floral Symphony” and is a one stroke art collection celebrating the beauty and elegance of Franklin. Its vibrant colors and intricate details are a unique expression of nature’s wonder and joy.

Please continue to follow our weekly updates as we share information about our artists and their inspiration. The FCDC is grateful for the continue support of the Artsy Box Project from Mass Cultural Council and Town of Franklin.

We are so excited to share these beautiful pieces with our community!

157th Commencement Exercises

Saturday, May 6, 11:00 am. Dean College 157th Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2023. President Kenneth Elmore explained, “The College’s Board of Trustees has authorized the awarding of honorary degrees at this Ceremony. Dean College will present honorary degrees for the first time to three recipients for their extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to society. Honorary degrees will be presented to award-winning broadcast journalist Andrea Kremer, former Mayor of Boston and former United States Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh, and award-winning actress Rutina Wesley. Select Dean for additional commencement information. Congratulations to Dean College!

Arts Happen Here!

Franklin Senior Center Happenings

The May 2023 Franklin Connection is online. Select connection to download your copy of Senior Center May happenings.

Wednesday, May 3, 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Dean College Lecture series, Literature of Baseball, Student Presentations, Jeff Skillings & students, at the Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill. Information from Instagram.

Friday, May 5, 6:30 pm. A Night Out with Psychic Medium, Cathy Ripley Greene. For the entire community. Call the Senior Center to purchase tickets, $25 per person. 508-520-4945.

Tuesday, May 9, 1:00 pm. Dean College Lecture Series: Creative Writing. Come take a creative writing course with Dr. Liz Faber from Dean College. Select Senior for Franklin Senior Center contact information. 10 Daniel McCahill.

Franklin Art Association ... Featuring Nan Rumpf

Wednesday, May 3 at 6:30 pm. Franklin Art Association Monthly Meeting. The FAA is pleased to announce that outstanding Watermedia Artist Nan Rumpf will be doing a watercolor demonstration during the meeting at the Franklin Senior Center.Select FAA for the link to their FB page and more information. Senior Center is located at 10 Daniel McCahill.

Newcomers and Friends Meeting

Wednesday, May 3, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Newcomers and Friends. Monthly Meeting with a Special Visitor. Are you new to the Franklin area? Or do you just want to learn more about the community you live in? Come in and see what this social group is all about! Meetings are 1x a month and you get to meet some amazing people AND find out what types of social events you can be apart of! Meeting at Escape into Fiction Bookstore, located 12 Main Street.

FHS Jazz Concert

Wednesday, May 3, 7:00 pm. Franklin Jazz Concert at Franklin High School, Auditorium. Select Music for information. 218 Oak Street.

Franklin Public Library ... activities for all ages

There are opportunities for all ages at the Franklin Public Library. Select Read to download the Public Library May activity newsletter.

Thursday, May 2, 6:30 pm. Friends of the Franklin Library Book Club. Join the Friends for an evening book club! Enjoy discussion and fun with some of the best advocates a Library could ask for! Reading: Night Agent by Matthew Quirk
Saturday, May 6, 10:30 am. Jamie Barrett Concert! No registration required. Families! Join us for a rocking morning at the Library! Local celebrity, Jamie Barrett, will bring the jams and you bring your best dance moves!
Saturday, May 6, 2:00 pm. Lotus Lantern Craft, Registration Required! A Member of Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project will show us, step by step, how to make a lovely lotus flower lantern using colored paper and wire frames followed by a documentary film!

Franklin Public Library located at 118 Main Street.

Books ... Newcomers ... Art Project ... Gifts ...

Wednesday, May 3, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Newcomers and Friends meeting.
Thursday, May 4, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Writers Quiet Space
Thursday, May 4, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. PT ColorMarket Mother's Day Event. Earrings Making Workshop! $45.00 Registration required. www.ptcolormarket.com.
Everyday during store hours. Franklin Art Association Gallery in the Bookstore. Select bookstore for more information about Escape into Fiction. Located 12 Main Street.

Franklin LGBTQ Alliance

Thursday, May 4 at 6:30 pm. Franklin LGBTQ Alliance Monthly Meeting at the Franklin Public Library or via Zoom. Please email [email protected] if you would like to attend via Zoom. After the business portion will decorate cupcakes with Dawn Ruggio, FLA Member and local pastry chef! Library is located at 118 Main Street.

PT Color is at

Escape into Fiction Bookstore for Mother's Day

Thursday, May 4, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. PT Color Market Mother's Day. Earrings Making Workshop!Grab a friend for a fun night out! Make wooden double hoop earrings and layered leaf earrings and stud earrings. Light refreshments will be searved. $45.00 Registration required.

La Cantina Winery ... on the Patio

Thursday, May 4, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Ken Barney, Live Music and Papalias Wood Fired Pizza
Friday, May 5 .... 5 de Mayo Fiesta SOLD OUT EVENT
Saturday, May 6, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Laura May Duo, Live Music

Select La Cantina for their IG post. Located at 357 Union Street.

67 Degrees Brewing ... in the taproom

Friday, May 5, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Criminals and Beauty Queens, Live Music
Saturday, May 6, 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Sudden Odd Behavior, Live Music
Ongoing. Artwork by Franklin artist, Amy Adams

Select 67 Degrees for more information. Located at 158 Grove Street.

Jane Jacobs Walking Tour

Saturday, May 6, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Jane Jacobs Walking Tour with Town Councilor Cobi Frongillo and Franklin Matters, as they take a 3 mile walk and talk of downtown Franklin. Meet at the Town Common. To complement this walk, Escape into Fiction Bookstore will have 2 books pertaining to the activist.

Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs (by Hughes, children's picture book)
The Death and Life of Great American Cities (by Jacobs, her most famous book)

Two Events at First Universalist Society

Walk for Peace on World Labyrinth Day, Saturday, May 6, 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Walk for Peace, First Universalist Society in Franklin. Join us in Franklin, as we participate in World Labyrinth Day. You will have the opportunity to walk an outdoor labyrinth, use a finger labyrinth, and learn about labyrinths. There will be a brief introduction to World Labyrinth Day at 12:30 p.m., after which people will be invited to walk the labyrinth. If you have walked a labyrinth many times, or if you have never walked a labyrinth, we welcome you. Free. Questions? Email [email protected] information. First Universalist Society of Franklin is located 262 Chestnut Street.

Weekend Hours at the Historical Museum

Saturday, May 6, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Museum Open.

Sunday, May 7, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Museum open. Select Museum for more information. FREE. Located at 80 West Central Street.

Interfaith Teen Climate Change Group

Sunday, May 7, 7:00 pm. Interfaith Teen Climate Change Group. Join us on the first Sunday of each month to learn and plan advocacy toward slowing Climate Change to save our planet, and for Climate Justice (mitigating the effects of Climate Change onpoor and BIPOC communities) in Franklin and beyond. All young people and adult advisors are welcome, regardless of religious affiliation. St John’s Episcopal Church, 237 Pleasant Street in Franklin.

FBRTC Meeting at 67 Degrees Brewing

Tuesday, May 9, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Franklin Bellingham Rail Trail Committee meeting at 67 Degrees Brewing. FBRTC is a volunteer advocacy group dedicated to the development, maintenance, and financial support of the Southern New England Rail Trail as a multi-use, universally accessible recreational path. 67 Degrees Brewing located at 158 Grove Street.

Yankee Quilters at Emma's Quilt Cupboard

Tuesday, May 9, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Yankee Quilters meeting at Emma's Quilt Cupboard.They meet the second Tuesday of the month. For more information, please contact the Guild at [email protected]. Emma's Quilt Cupboard, 319 East Central Street.

Looking Ahead ...

Pen to Picture ... Franklin Public Library

Saturday, May 13, 12:00 noon. Pen to Picture: A Graphic Novelist Panel featuring Scott Magoon, Matt Tavares and Maris Wicks, at Franklin Public Library. Books available for purchase at Escape into Fiction Bookstore. Select Library for more information. 118 Main Street.

5-K Road Race

Saturday, May 13. 12th Annual 5-K Road Race, Franklin Bellingham Rail Trail Committee. Select Race for the Tai-Valley Front Runners website with race details and registration information.

Celebrating Horace Mann

Sunday, May 14, 1:15 pm. Celebrating Horace Mann and his 227th Birthday at the Historical Museum. The Second Sunday Speakers Series will be The Life of Horace Mann. Coffee and cake will be served. Museum visitors are asked to bring a personal item for donation to the Food Pantry, Such items include shampoo/soap/ toothpaste Doors open at 1:00 pm. Always FREE. Select Historical for additional Museum information. Located at 80 West Central St.

Empty Bowls - 8th Annual

May 18, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Empty Bowls, FHS Empty Bowls Club and Franklin Food Pantry, 8th Annual Dinner and Auction Fundraiser."Somewhere, Someone's Bowl is Empty." Purchase tickets: bit,ly/EmptyBowls2023. Franklin High School Cafeteria. 218 Oak Street.

Voices of Faith

Sunday, May 21, 7:00 pm. Voices of Faith. A community concert with the Franklin Interfaith Council. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Select Voices for information. Located 91 Jordan Road.

Movie Night in Franklin!

Tuesday, May 30,7:00 pm. Since the 2005 closure of the beloved Zeotrope Theatre, there has been an absence of steady programming for our local cinephiles.

With a generous Mass Cultural Council grant through the Franklin Cultural District, Town Councilor Cobi Frongilllo, in collaboration with THE BLACK BOX, is piloting a 3-film monthly series to assess the local appetite for more regular independent, arthouse, foreign, and classic film screenings! The films will show at 7pm on the last Tuesday of April, May, and June; all three will be screened at THE BLACK BOX (15 W Central St, Franklin, MA 02038).

Our second film, If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), will be screened on Tuesday, May 30th. The moving drama from Barry Jenkins, Academy Award winning director of Moonlight, is based on the acclaimed novel by James Baldwin. The film, which tells the story of a young couple in 1970s Harlem, received three Oscar nominations and earned Regina King a win for Best Supporting Actress. The novel will be in stock all month at Escape Into Fiction!

Popcorn and other refreshments will be available for purchase. This is a pilot program, so please provide feedback as we build out and improve the cinematic experience. Tickets will be sold at the door for a suggested $5 donation. All are welcome!

MCC Festivals & Projects Grant

Grant applications due June 8, 2023, Festivals & Projects grant program. The FY24 Festivals & Projects program offers awards of $2,500 to support public activities incorporating the arts, humanities, or sciences, taking place between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

Full program guidelines and FAQs for potential applicants are available online now, and the online application can be accessed as well. The application deadline is June 8th. More information about this program is available on the Mass Cultural Council Power of Culture blog

Partnering with Franklin Matters @https://www.franklinmatters.org sharing information about arts and culture. Visit Franklin Matters for Franklin information.

FCD Committee

Franklin's Cultural District Committee (FCDC) engages, promotes, celebrates, and collaborates with Franklin's artists and creatives, as well as organizations, institutions, and businesses. The Committee meets May 11 at 7 PM. Zoom link on Town of Franklin website, Boards/Committees.

Franklin Cultural District Committee

Amy Adams, Katherine Botelho,

Pandora Carlucci, John LoPresti,

Roberta Trahan