Seasonal fun in the neighborhood

Much fun to be had! After the turkey and stuffing, time to make the rounds! After Thanksgiving our focus this year is to stay local, especially on Small Business Saturday - maybe we can fulfill the entire gift list by shopping only at spots we can walk to? More walk-to fun at the tree lighting in Peabody Square the evening of Nov. 24th, always a good crowd with kids, caroling and such. No need to drive to local music performances and parties going on for the next few weeks! Highlights: Holiday Craft Fair on Dec. 1st, on Dec. 9th the Historical Society's Open House and Ashmont Hill Chamber Music's free concert, and on Dec. 16th, the lovely Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at historic All Saints Church. 
“It turns out that, at social gatherings, as a source of entertainment, conviviality, and good fun, I rank somewhere between a sprig of parsley and a single ice-skate.”
― Dorothy Parker

Tonight we are headed down to the landmark All Saint's Church in Ashmont Peabody Square to add some historical glee to life! The Harvard Glee Club and All Saints Choir of Men & Boys concert at 7 PM tonight will re-establish a historic connection: what do Harvard Square and Dorchester’s Ashmont neighborhood have in common—besides being stops at either end of the Red Line? Click here to find out... We predict a full house, so get there early!

Dorchester history preserved in the new Museum of Fine Arts wing

Roswell Gleason's (1799-1879) House: click on this link to see two lovely rooms originally from Dorchester that the Museum of Fine Arts has preserved and installed as part of its new wing. Roswell Gleason was a successful silversmith in the 19th century and his 1837 house, called "Lilacs", and adjacent factory complex were originally situated on Washington Street near Park Street. In the 1890s the 25-acre Gleason estate was subdivided for development and the house moved to face east on Claybourne Street. Preserved by the MFA in the 1970s at the request of a descendant of Gleason, the dining room and parlor have been reconstructed to give a sense of living in an architectural showplace.  The image above is a painting on brick of "Lilacs" in the Edward A. Huebener Brick Collection at the Dorchester Historical Society. The house was destroyed in 1982. For more information on Roswell Gleason, photographs of the house and his work, please see the Dorchester Atheneum website, and definitely visit the MFA to see this new exhibit!