WALTHAM LIBRARY, Spooktacular
The Waltham YMCA, 725 Lexington St., is hosting its annual Halloween Spooktacular on Friday, Oct. 30, 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free for family members and is $10 per family for everyone else. Make sure to wear your costumes! There will be games, arts and crafts, a bounce house, healthy snacks, the Haunted Hallway, and face painting.
For more information, contact Jennifer Weller at 781-894-5295, Ext. 105, or jweller@ymcaboston.org.
REACH, Annual REACH for the Stars
Sixth annual REACH for the Stars ... Transform a Life Auction, a live auction including plates designed by Boston-area artists and celebrities including Scott Foley, Kaley Cuoco, Mark Wahlberg, and many others, is Thursday, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. The auction will also feature items such as vacations an professional sports tickets. REACH will also honor the achievements of one survivor of domestic violence who, with support from REACH, has transformed her life and remains free from violence. Online bids can be placed until Oct. 29. Tickets to the gala are $150 or $250 (VIP).
To view and bid on the plates, visit www.reachma.org and click on the Reach for the Stars Gala link, or 781-891-0724, Ext. 104.
GORE PLACE, Food scholar talk
Gore Place, 52 Gore St., will offer a talk and dinner with noted foodways scholar Sandy Oliver on Thursday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. The talk, Peas on a Knife: Dining in Early America, is a fun and informative talk on dining and manners in the time of the Gores.
For reservations, call 781-894-2798.
WALTHAM LIBRARY, Edgar Allen Poe event
Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston? Halloween's No. 1 fan wants to celebrate his 200th anniversary of this holiday near his birthplace, and he has chosen the Waltham Public Library, 735 Main St., to host, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, on Friday, Oct. 30, 6 to 9 p.m. There will be performances by Hovey Players. There will be refreshments, hors d'oeuvres, homemade desserts, and raffles. Cost $15, at the door starting at 6 p.m. Costumes are welcome.
For more information, call 781-698-9583 or 617-734-9566.
BNI, Kick-off meeting
BNI (Business Network International), an organization for helping people to grow their business through a referral network of professionals, is forming in Waltham. It will have a kick-off meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7 a.m., at 201 Jones Road.
For more information, call Mike Clark at 617-276-5309 or Paul Romano at 617-512-2392.
The Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra's first concert of the 2009-10 season is Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m., at Kennedy Middle School, 655 Lexington St. The Spirit of Halloween will be conducted will feature such eerily beautiful music as ``Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette,'' ``Mussorgsy's Night on Bald Mountain,'' ``Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 2'' and excerpts from No. 1, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major. Tickets are $20, $15 for seniors and students. Free admission for students under 18 yrs. Ticket Line: 857-919-1385.
For more information, visit wphil.org.
Bentley University presents, In Celebration of Rumi, on Saturday, Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m. at Bentley University Adamian Graduate Center, 175 Forest St. It will be an evening of music, the dancing of dervishes, and inspiring readings from the work of 13th century Sufi mystic Jelaluddin Rumi, whose poetry is filled with a longing for God the Friend and the Beloved. Tickets are $15, $7 for seniors and full-time students, free for Bentley students and faculty.
For more information, visit www.ruahspirit.org, e-mail ruahspirit@gmail.com, or call 617-277-0036.
VFW, Halloween and McMurphys
Waltham VFW Post 2152 and the Ladies Auxiliary, 210 Felton St., will present some ghoulish fun with the McMurphy's on Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. to midnight. Wear your Halloween costume and you could be the winner of a prize. There will be a 50/50 raffle. Donation is $10.
For information, call 781-899-5230.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY, Computer classes
The Friends of the Waltham Public Library present free computer literacy classes, taught by members of SAHELI (Support and Friendship South Asian Women). Register for each night individually: Oct. 28, E-mail Introduction; Nov. 4, How to Reply and Forward E-mail; Nov. 18, E-mail Attachments; Dec. 2, Microsoft Word Introduction; Dec. 9, Microsoft Word, Editing Documents; Dec. 16, Microsoft Word, More Advanced Documents; Dec. 23, Microsoft Excel, Opening a Spreadsheet; Jan. 6, Microsoft Excel, Create a Spreadsheet; Jan. 13, Microsoft Excel, Create a sample household budget.
To reserve a seat, call 781-314-3425, Ext. 2, or go online at waltham.lib.ma.us.
THE SECOND STEP , An Evening of Gifts
Local artisans will be selling their work at, An Evening of Gifts, to benefit The Second Step, a program for survivors of domestic abuse, located in Newton. The sale takes place Wednesday, Oct. 28, 3 to 8 p.m., at Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut St. A range of media will be represented, including jewelry, wearable fiber arts, quilts, and pottery. Donated and handmade baked goods will also be offered.
For more information, visit www.thesecondstep.org.
WARMLINES , New Babies/New Moms
WarmLines New Babies/New Moms group runs six Wednesdays, beginning Oct. 28, 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Newton Cultural Center, 225 Nevada St. First-time mothers-with their infants up to 6 months meet with a professional facilitator to ask questions, share experiences, make new friends, and get some support. Topics include stages of development, sleep and feeding issues, expectations of oneself as a new mom, relationships with family members, child care options, and much more.
Pre-register at www.warmlines.org
FLU CLINIC, Oct. 28 at Post 440
The Newton Health and Human Services Department is sponsoring a flu clinic for Newton residents 50 and older or adults with chronic illness, Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to noon and 3 to 5 p.m., at Post 440, 295 California St. Bring a Medicare or health insurance card.
Call the flu hotline at 617-796-1426 with questions.
NEWTON FREE LIBRARY, Alan Hirshfeld
Alan Hirshfeld will be at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer St., on Thursday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., for an author talk on his latest book, ``Eureka Man: The Life and Legacy of Archimedes, Antiquity's Greatest Mathematician-Inventor.'' Hirshfeld will bring to life both the extraordinary genius of Archimedes and the drama and complexity of his ancient world, when civilization and the exploration of nature were at formative stages.
For more information call the Newton Free Library at 617-796-1360. All programs are free and open to the public, parking is free. The Newton Free Library is handicap accessible.
BOSTON COLLEGE, Berlin Wall 20th anniversary
Boston College is the only Boston-area university selected by the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., to participate in, Freedom without Walls, a national collegiate commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The public is invited to join members of the BC community at free events on campus in October and November commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. On Thursday, Oct. 29, 4:30 p.m., at Devlin Hall room 101 Winston Churchill's granddaughter Edwina Sandys will speak exclusively at Boston College about Breakthrough, a sculpture she created from eight panels of the Berlin Wall at the site of her grandfather's Iron Curtain speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.
For information and related events, contact BC Professor and German Studies Department Chair Michael Resler at resler@bc.edu or 617-552-3740, or visit www.bc.edu.
NEWTON FREE LIBRARY, Halloween for all ages
The Newton Free Library Children's Room, 330 Homer St., will present a special two-part Halloween program Saturday, Oct. 31. At 10:30, for children 3-6, a costume parade through the library. Halloween films will follow. For ages 7-14, Beth Gallaway, youth services consultant, will man the controls for Dance, Dance Revolution and other fun interactive games. The gaming session will be held from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
For more information please call the Children's Room at 617-796-1370 or the main number at 617-796-1360. All programs are free and open to the public, parking is free. The Newton Free Library is handicap accessible.
ATRIUM MALL, Trick-or-Treating
The Atrium Mall's annual mall-wide, Trick-or-Treating event is Saturday, Oct. 31, 1 to 4 p.m. Participating retailers will place balloons outside their store so children will know where to collect goodies. A festive arts and crafts session will take place on Level 4 outside of the children's PlaySpace while supplies last. Masks are not allowed on children 12 years or older.
For more information, contact Atrium Mall at 617-527-1400.
NEWTON LIBRARY, FBI agent
Retired Supervisory Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation John Gamel will speak at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer St., on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m. He will talk about the FBI from a personal point of view as a 22-year veteran.
For more information, call the Newton Free Library at 617-796-1360. All programs are free and open to the public, parking is free. The Newton Free Library is handicap accessible.
MOUNT IDA, Rania Matar exhibit
Rania Matar's Ordinary Lives will be on exhibit at the Gallery at Mount Ida College, 777 Dedham St., Oct. 27-Dec. 13. Matar is a photographer who focuses on women and children in the Middle East. There is a reception and gallery talk Thursday, Oct. 29, 5 to 7 p.m.
For more information, contact Kathleen Driscoll, director of the Gallery at Mount Ida College, at 617-928-4768.
