Brookline Arts Center – Salem Happenings

The Snowflake Festival: Embrace the Winter!

Winter may have gotten off to a late start, but it appears that the colder weather has finally arrived. In fact, this past Christmas was certainly one of the warmest Christmases that I can remember, but the warmth of the holiday season now appears to be past (both figuratively and literally.) Now, I will admit that it’s certainly not as cold as it could be (as it’s been somewhere in the 30s or 40s), but it’s certainly not the 60 to 70 degrees that it had been for months in the Northeast. As a result, if you’re not quite ready for the winter to arrive in force, you may be looking for something to ease your way into the spirit of the season. Fortunately, if that is indeed the case, the Brookline Arts Center may have exactly what you’re looking for.

This is because the Brookline Arts Center is hosting their annual Snowflake Festival from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, January 9, 2016.) This festival will allow you and your family to watch a number of artistic demonstrations, participate in two free workshops, and help the center create a community art project that will be donated to a local charity. The two free workshops at the festival include a bangle-making workshop that will teach you to make your own copper and brass bracelets and a Monoprint Workshop that will show you how to use printmaking and oil painting to create a truly original piece of art. For more information on the Snowflake Festival, please visit the Brookline Arts Center’s Events page.

Photo credit: yellowcloud via Foter.com / CC BY

Fire and Ice

2014 has finally come to an end, and a new year and the winter weather that often comes with it is certainly upon us. In fact, as I sit here typing this post, I can see that my thermometer has thawed just enough to actually inform me that the temperature has moved from a delightful “freeze your extremities off” reading of 19 degrees to a “seemingly warm by New England in January standards” reading of 24 degrees. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. Five degrees is not really much of a difference, but trust me, when the temperature starts to drop that low, every degree starts to feel like an ice age approaching or a sweltering heat wave (probably because you have thirteen layers of clothing on.) However, just because it’s cold enough that you could use your porch as your own personal freezer doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t have some fun this weekend. And, if fun is what you’re looking for this weekend, there are a number of places that will allow you to embrace the ice of the season or fan the flames to melt it away.

First, if you’re just looking for a way for you and your kids to embrace the icy magic of the season, you may want to check out the Snowflake Festival. The Snowflake Festival, which is scheduled to take place at the Brookline Arts Center from 12:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, January 3, 2015), is a winter arts and crafts festival. This festival will allow you and your family to decorate cookies, learn about Monoprinting as part of a special free workshop, make brass and copper bracelets as part of a special workshop, make paper snowflakes and other wintery creations, eat cake in honor of the Center’s 50th anniversary, and more. For more information on the Snowflake Festival and Open House at the Brookline Arts Center, please visit the Brookline Arts Center website.

If, on the other hand, you’ve decided that you’re not really ready for this whole winter thing (and, really who above the age of 21 is ever truly ready), the Fire and Ice Festival in Boston may help you embrace the season or, at the very least, stave off the cold a little longer. The Fire and Ice Festival, which will occur at the Lawn on D at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC), runs from 4:00 to 8:00 P.M. tonight (January 2, 2015) and 11:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. Saturday and Sunday (January 3 – 4, 2015.) This festival will feature all things fire and ice, including an entire labyrinth made of nearly 300 giant ice blocks, fire pits, fire dancers, fire eaters, jugglers (with flaming objects of course), and a whole lot more. For more information on the Fire and Ice Festival in Boston, please visit the Official Lawn on D website.

Finally, if you’re just looking for somewhere good to eat that will certainly have the warm food you need to beat back the cold, you can always try my personal favorite, Fire and Ice. Fire and Ice, which has locations in Boston, Cambridge, Providence, Anaheim, and Lake Tahoe, is a create-your-own dish restaurant that will allow you to choose from dozens and dozens of different vegetables, meats, noodles, and sauces. Professional cooks will then take all of the ingredients that you have chosen, throw them on a grill, and cook you a meal that you certainly won’t forget. And best of all, if you chose a sauce or some other ingredients that you’re not really thrilled with, you can always go back up and try again because Fire and Ice is setup somewhat like a buffet. For more information on Fire and Ice, please visit the Fire and Ice website.

Photo credit: Furryscaly / IWoman / CC BY-SA

Not Every Potter is Named Harry

If you’ve read my recent posts, you’ve probably realized that there’s sort of a theme for this month and that theme is creativity. In fact, I’ve already discussed a variety of workshops that were specifically designed to help you explore acting, cartooning, filmmaking, photography, and writing. However, even though I’ve covered all of those creative outlets, there’s still a number of other artistic outlets that I haven’t covered yet. As a result, I decided that this week I would talk about some of the ways that you can explore one of the creative outlets that I haven’t discussed, the fine art of pottery.

First, if you have a young child who is an aspiring potter or you would love to channel your child’s inherent messiness into the creation of art, there is no better place to do so than the Brookline Arts Center’s Parent and Child Pottery Workshop. This workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 22, 2014), will teach you and your child the basic skills you need to hand-make a teacup, tile, tumbler, or vase. For more information on the Parent and Child Pottery Workshop and/or to register for the class, which is intended for children four years and older, please visit the Brookline Arts Center website.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a way to work on some pottery without your child or you would rather paint pottery than make it, you may want to check out the Pottery Night at Paint N’ Pour in Waltham, MA. This laid-back workshop will allow you to spend the evening with other adults while you paint a plate with one of the designs provided or create your own. The fine people at Paint N’ Pour will then take your plate, fire it in the kiln, and glaze it, so in 7 – 10 days you will have your very own hand-painted plate. For more information on the Pottery Night at Paint N’ Pour, please visit the Paint N’ Pour website. Also, please note that this is an alcohol-free event even though the name of the location might suggest otherwise.

Photo credit: owlpacino / Foter / CC BY-ND