WaylandeNews weekly newsletter

Focus Group Help Needed! Library History. Weds, Aug 3, 7:00 pm – Help Us Prepare for the Library’s 175th Anniversary! The Wayland Free Public Library was founded in 1848, and represents one of the oldest public libraries in the United States. To commemorate WFPL’s 175th anniversary in March, 2023 our librarians are working together with three History PhD students from Brandeis to investigate the history of our library. We will present our findings through an interactive website, a printed pamphlet, and an in-person celebration at the library. In our research, we are asking questions about the intersections between our community library and major themes of American history: race, class, gender, family, education, and war. We would like to know what present-day library patrons think of WFPL as a community space so we can bring our history into the 21st century. We are looking for patrons of the library to participate in a focus group for the WFPL anniversary event! The focus group will be held on Wednesday, August 3 from 7:00-8:30pm, and is open to anyone who is interested in joining! Register to attend in person or via Zoom: tinyurl.com/wfpl-focus

29 Wayland Residents Cycle Toward $66 Million Goal for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the 2022 Pan-Mass Challenge, Locals will ride to raise critical funds for live-saving cancer research and patient care. On August 6 and 7, more than 6,000 riders, including 29 riders from Wayland, will pedal in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a bike-a-thon with one and two-day routes from 25 to 210 miles, with the goal of topping last year’s record-breaking gift and raising $66 million for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber). The following riders are from Wayland: Donny Askin, Carl Barnes, Josh Bekenstein, Andy Bekenstein, Patricia Berenson. Matthew Casey, Don Chase, Stuart Chasen, Miriam Conaway-Morrison, Matthew Davids, Michael Donovan, Erika Frey, Martin Greene, Adam Gutbezahl, Rawson Hubbell, Anna Hubbell, Matthew Levy, Doug Lyons, Sean McConarty, Carrie Melvin, Paul Paresky, Julian Phan, David Poorvu, Dennis Reilly, Jessica Reilly, Ian Reilly, Michael Roberge, Tom Sommerfield, Suzanne Spencer. For more details click here

24th Dudley Pond 5k Run, Walk and Kids Fun Run, September 18. 5K Run, 2 mile Walk, Kids Fun Run by scenic Dudley Pond. Benefits preservation of beautiful public watershed. USATF sanctioned. Day of race registration is available: $20 for runners and walkers, $6 for kids’ run entrants. Registration is online here

Library seeking volunteer coding teachers for Girls Who Code. The Wayland Library Girls Who Code Club is looking for volunteer facilitators for the 2022-2023 academic year. Affiliated with the national Girls Who Code organization (girlswhocode.com) and its mission of closing the gender gap in technology, the Wayland club brings together girls for hands-on learning about code and technology. The Wayland library plans to have two clubs: one for girls in grades 3-5 and one for girls in grades 6 and up. Enthusiasm for working with the girls is required; technical skill is helpful but not necessary, especially if you are willing to learn along with them. If you are interested, or would like to know more, please contact Head of Youth Services, Pam McCuen, at pmccuen@minlib.net

The Wayland Community Fund (WCF) provides short-term emergency financial assistance to Wayland residents who have lived in Wayland for at least one year. WCF provides funding for basic needs such as utilities, rent, food, medical bills, and other living expenses. Please call us if you need help with your bills, 508-358-3624 or go to the town website for an application.

The latest from the Wayland Library (full newsletter online here).

Note: Most events require registration. Please visit the Wayland Library calendar for registration links.

SUMMER READING. Our 2022 Summer Reading Program Camp iRead: Read Beyond the Beaten Path has begun! Programming highlights include making a Rube Goldberg machine, live caterpillars from the Caterpillar Lab, and the Toe Jam Puppet Band. Kids in grades preK through grade 5 will keep track of their reading online or on paper logs and will earn badges for time reading and for attending programs. Every child who registers can pick up a goody bag at the library. Participants will also earn raffle tickets for prizes! Our Teen Reading Program has also started. Teens can participate in camp-themed programs at the library and read to earn gift packs and gift card prizes. Register for the kids Summer Reading Program and the Teen Summer Reading Program online at WaylandLibrary.Beanstack.org   The Massachusetts Statewide Summer Library Program is funded by the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

For Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers (registration required, zoom access available):

For Families: Toe Jam Puppet Band at Hannah Williams Park. Vinnie and Tom from the Toe Jam Puppet Band will perform live for kids. They will bring their big bubbles! For ages 3 and up. This event will be at Hannah Williams Park, 71 Main Street, Wayland. Please register here or from our online eventkeeper calendar. Wednesday, August 10, at 2:00 p.m. This show is supported by Wayland Park and Rec and the Arthur Ashley Williams Foundation.

Seeking Volunteer Coding Teachers. The Wayland Library Girls Who Code Club is looking for volunteer facilitators for the 2022-2023 academic year. Affiliated with the national Girls Who Code organization (girlswhocode.com) and its mission of closing the gender gap in technology, the Wayland club brings together girls for hands-on learning about code and technology. The Wayland library plans to have two clubs: one for girls in grades 3-5 and one for girls in grades 6 and up. Enthusiasm for working with the girls is required; technical skill is helpful but not necessary, especially if you are willing to learn along with them. If you are interested, or would like to know more, please contact Head of Youth Services, Pam McCuen at pmccuen@minlib.net

The Wayland Cultural Council (WCC) is seeking new members. A town committee, members are appointed by the Select Board. Working as part of the MA Cultural Council, the WCC distributes state allocated funds into the community through a grant process which kicks off in September. The Council would love to onboard new members ahead of this exciting time. Meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. and are currently occurring by Zoom. If you could be interested to join or have general questions about what’s involved, email wccmembers@wayland.ma.us or visit their webpage.  Also follow the Council on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Come row with Wayland-Weston Rowing Association this August! Rowing is a lifelong sport that promotes both individual athletic performance and the ultimate level of team cooperation, and summer is a great time to experience it for the first time, or to hone your skills. It’s not too late for middle school students through adults to sign up for an opportunity to row with Wayland-Weston Rowing Association this August! WWRA is running a week-by-week, half- and full-morning camp for middle schoolers (rising 6th-8th graders) as well as rising high school students who have not rowed previously. High school students with prior rowing experience can choose a developmental rowing program (Aug. 1-19; one-week or 3-week options). Adults interested in rowing for the first time can take advantage of the learn-to-row program August 5-7, and those with prior rowing experience can join other masters rowers in a coached program at morning or evening times that fit your schedule. Sign up for all programs at https://www.familyid.com/organizations/82/programs and for details, visit the WWRA website at https://www.wwcrew.org/home. Questions? Contact webmaster@wwcrew.org. We hope to see you on the water!!

First Parish in Wayland: On being late Please join us at First Parish in Wayland on August 7 at 10am for a service that explores: “On Being Late.” Lateness carries with it the pejorative of procrastination, of being slow to understand, to arrive, act, to “get with the program.” For the timely, there’s the familiar impatience of waiting. With all the cultural admonitions to be early and quick, what can we learn when we are late? This service will explore the spiritual discernment possible in lateness, in coming late to the table, in accepting the things and people and feelings that do not show up “on time.” The service will be led by E. A. Miller Mlcak. Lynne Morrison will serve as Lay Minister. Our summer services, typically led by parishioners, offer a chance to come together for lively discussion and reflection on different topics. They include a presentation, readings, and meditations. A Lay Minister will be present each Sunday. Please contact our office (508-358-6133) for Zoom information. Please see uuwayland.org for general information. For information on our Covid-related protocols, please visit https://www.uuwayland.org/covid-information/. To sign up for our newsletter, visit: https://www.uuwayland.org/NewsSignup.

Weston COA: Local and Global Discussion Group to Focus on Weston and State Issues At September 8 Meeting. On September 8, 1:15-2:30 pm, the Local Global Discussion Group of the Weston Council on Aging will turn its collective attention from international topics to local ones. Weston resident and volunteer Joel Angiolillo will lead the discussion. The meeting will be held in person, as well as over Zoom, so people may attend either in person or remotely. Hot topics for our community this fall include 1) Recreation, in particular the Town Pool renovations and designing and building Pickle Ball courts; and 2) Education, notably special needs funding. Both topics will come up for votes at the September 13th Town Meeting. There is also the “Fair Share Amendment,” an initiative that will be on the state ballot this fall, which would change the Massachusetts Constitution to create a new surtax on income in excess of $1 million. If passed, the amendment, which is also referred to as the millionaires’ tax, would impose an additional tax of 4% on income over the million-dollar mark. The ensuing revenue would be used to fund investments in transportation and education. The event is open to all who are interested in learning about and discussing current issues in civil discourse around the table. For further information on this meeting in particular or the group in general (or to receive a link to attend remotely), contact Susan Wagner (508-733-8810; susanwgnr@gmail.com). Participants are invited to stay until 4 pm for informal socializing and discussions.

Vokes Players announces its production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Tony and Pulitzer winner August Wilson, one of the top dramatists of the 20th century, wrote The Piano Lesson as part of his 10-play “Century Cycle” (which also includes Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) that tells of the African-American experience through the decades. This Pulitzer-winning play, although modest in its storytelling, displays Wilson’s uncanny ability to capture a snapshot of humanity, in a supernatural-laced story set in 1936 Pittsburgh. Boy Willie, wanting to be his own boss and to own his own land, wants to sell a piano that resides in his sister’s home. This piano has huge family and cultural significance, and his sister Berniece refuses to part with it. Their fight culminates in a stand-off in which the family and the community gather to give witness, as the siblings bear the weight of history and eventually come to honor it. Performances are Thursday-Saturday, 8pm with 2pm matinees on Saturday. More details and ticket information online here

Wayland Summer Farmers’ Market The Wayland Summer Farmers’ Market takes place weekly on Wednesdays from 12-4pm, June 29 through October 12 at Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland.

A total of 36 vendors will join us during the season, with up to 22 vendors attending weekly. Invite a friend and join us for local foods shopping and lunch in the shade. Three vegetable farms will attend. Vendors will also bring meat, seafood, eggs, maple syrup, honey, jam, cheese, spices, frozen prepared foods (dumplings, tamales, empanadas, lasagna, pot pies), granola, bread, baked goods, bagels, coffee and nut butter. Look for the bright pink Uncle Joey’s Cannoli truck weekly.

New this season: The Village Bank has generously offered funding to support a $15 weekly SNAP Match benefit for those enrolled in the program. Stay in touch with the latest news on the Farmers’ Market website. To find out who will attend each week, sign up for the market email through the website link.

Coming this Fall: Wayland Junior Broadway. Wayland Junior Broadway is an opportunity for 5th graders at the three elementary schools to participate in an afterschool Musical. The Production Team (Directors, Choreographers, Music Directors, Technicians, etc.) would be older high school students already involved in the Wayland High School Theater Ensemble (WHSTE). The Advisor for Wayland Junior Broadway will be Aidan O’Hara, the Drama Teacher and Director at Wayland High School.

Reserve your spot and register online here. Contact Wayland High School Drama Teacher & Director Aidan O’Hara with any questions Complete details online here

Discovery Museum celebrates its 40th Anniversary, Special programs and events including free outdoor movie nights, accessible arts performances, a free-admission day, a 21+ party, and more will be held June through October. Most events require advance registration, unless noted otherwise. Click here for a an event list, and more information.