Newton Children’s Book Festival

The New Art Center and Read Your World have teamed up to create the inaugural Newton Children’s Book Festival. This free event will be held on December 14th, Saturday, from 10 am to 2 pm, at the New Art Center in Newtonville, MA. A snow date is set for Sunday, December 15th, from 10 am to 2 pm.  The Newton Children’s Book Festival will showcase 60+ children’s book authors and illustrators signing books. Newtonville Books will be selling the books, with a 20% discount for teachers! There is a free bookmark craft for children.  “We are pleased to offer the New Art Center space to the inaugural Newton Children’s Book Festival,” says Emily O’Neil, Executive Director of New Art Center. “Kids benefit from meeting children’s book authors and illustrators, and signed books make great gifts for the holiday season! ” “Boston has one of the largest concentrations of children’s book creators in the United States, and we are thrilled to have more than 60 in the area at our event, including Caldecott Honor author and illustrator Brian Lies, and Newbery Honor author Rajani LaRocca,” says Mia Wenjen, President of the Newton-based non-profit, Read Your World.  In support of the Newton Children’s Book Festival, West Newton Cinema Foundation is hosting a children’s book event with the New York Times best-selling author of the Wings of Fire series, Tui T. Sutherland. It will be held on Monday, December 9th, at 5 pm at the West Newton Cinema. Newtonville Books will supply signed copies for this ticketed event. To order tickets, go to newtonvillebooks.com.

New Art Center

Find Your Light

Join the New Art Center in Newtonville for Find Your Light, celebrations of Kwanzaa and Chanukah. The event will take place on Saturday, December 7 from 12:00pm - 4:00pm at 61 Washington Park and is part of New Art’s Cultural Access Program, a robust Community Outreach program providing free and inclusive art experiences.  Find Your Light will feature a series of art-making and performance activities centered on the principles of Chanukah and Kwaznaa. Presenters aim to highlight the similarities between the two celebrations, showcasing the diversity in our community, while connecting us to themes of unity.  This is a family-friendly event, free and open to the public. Rasheeda Brown will lead art-making centered on the seven principles of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, collective work &amp; responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Participants will create seven unique handcrafted gifts, one for each day of the festival, to share with seven special people in their lives.  Shira Weiss poses the question, “What brought you light this year?” They will lead a family-friendly, immersive art experience celebrating Chanukah through artmaking, storytelling, and theater. Guests join in a collaborative performance and in the process share how light connects us all.  The Kwanzaa workshop starts at 12pm, and runs until 3pm., while the Chanukah sessions begin at 1pm and runs until 4pm.

The New Art Small Works Exhibition

The New Art Small Works Exhibition, with an opening reception on Thursday, December 5th, from 6 – 8 pm, this is your chance to mingle with some of this year's artists, listening to the music of the ProArte Chamber Orchestra of Boston Musicians, and finding the perfect holiday gift with personalized Art Gift Wrapping while enjoying wine and appetizers. The New Art Corridor hosts over 90 works of art under 12” x 12”, from 47 Local Artists including Abaigeal Wright, Abby Fenn, Alison H. Kaiser, Amanda Pickler, Avital Skolnick, Barbara S. Furstenberg, Carol Sacks, Caryn Liu, Cate Stabile, Cathy Wysocki, Claudia J. Doherty, Corinne Rhode, Debi Dulberg, Don Warner, Ellen Foust, Erin Palazzolo Loparo, Gabriel Polonsky, Hilary Hanson Bruel, Jennifer Martinelli Rybicki, Jennifer Rand, Jessica Cowher, Julia Purdy, Kathleen P. Dunn, Kathryn Gearon, Kelsey Hughes, Ken Reker, Kylie Weinzierl, Leah Kolidas, Lisa Benson, Lourdes De Leon, Lydia M. Kinney, Magdalena G. Riendeau, Markus J. Nechay, Meghan Littlefield- Whitston, Nora Farell, Nova M. Hill, Rowan Raskin, Sarah Moriarty, Sharon Schindler, Shea Stoner- Day, Sherwin J. Long, Sofia Plater, Susan Bienin Johnson, Suzanne Archibald, Tanya N. Nixon-Silberg, Victoria Riccardi, and Yu Cheng. The 2024 Small Works exhibition is open from Monday, December 2nd , 2024, through Saturday, January 4th, 2025. The New Art Corridor, 245 Walnut St., Newtonville, MA, 02460, is open 24/7 and is monitored by security cameras and a security team. The New Art Corridor is sponsored by the Mass Cultural Council, Village Bank, and Mark Development. For information or questions about New Art Center exhibitions, calls for art, art lending programs, and curatorial opportunities, visit our website at newartcenter.org/exhibitions or contact Lennon Hernandez Wolcott, Exhibitions and Special Projects Manager at (617) 964-3424, by email at lennon@newartcenter.org.

New Art Corridor 

S22: conversations

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Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

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S28: calendar experiences

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S20: c+d experiences

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S16: editor picks

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S3 (A): trending experiences

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S18: interest based

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Maggi