Programs

All workshops and lectures will be at Newbury Library and start at 10:30 am.
Field trips location are noted. Schedule subject to change.

2026 Events at-a-Glance (to come)

March 12
Workshop ~ Spring Flowers for Seniors
Jill and Nancy will lead us in a service project to benefit the seniors of Newbury. We will be potting colorful pansies that will bring springtime cheer to our senior community.

April 9
Lecture ~ Tim Lamprey
Tim Lamprey, our local tree commissioner will lead a lecture discussing our local trees and the insects that are endangering them and what we can do about it.

May 14
Lecture ~ Bethany Groff Dorau/Laura Coombs Hill
Bethany Groff Dorau, Executive Director of the Museum of Old Newbury, will lead us in this lecture about Newburyport’s own artist, Laura Coombs Hill. A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, Laura Coombs Hills began her career as an acclaimed painter of miniature portraits on ivory. After 1920, she shifted to floral still lifes, primarily produced with handmade pastel sticks she purchased in France. Her paintings hang at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of New York and of course, at our very own Museum of Old Newbury.

June 11
Movable Feast & Garden Tour
This unique meeting format will be a traveling garden tour to visit three members’ private gardens and enjoy delicious food and drinks in each garden. Carpooling is advised.

July 9
Workshop ~ A Petal Unfolds
Jill Sczepanski will guide us in the art of crepe paper flower making. This will be something new and different and requires no additional maintenance. Please bring an open mind and your creative spirit along with a pair of scissors with a comfortable grip.

August 13
Field Trip ~ Castle Hill/Crane Estate, 290 Argilla Road, Ipswich
Calling all gardeners! Are you interested in how the formal gardens at Castle Hill have grown and changed over the years? Are you looking for inspiration for your own garden? This tour will take you on a detailed journey into the way the Italian and Rose Gardens were designed and planted in the Crane’s day, and how the gardens were re-imagined in 2016 and 2020. Tour includes information on the current plantings with emphasis on those that are in bloom at the time of our tour.

September 10
Field Trip ~ Farm to Table Luncheon with Arianna Lappini & Mary Jo Anderson
For good reason the farm-to-table gardening movement has gained so much popularity in the last few years. We will meet Arianna, the talented owner of Birch Harbor Gardens. Arianna designs and refreshes beautiful edible gardens for the aspiring home gardener. We will meet at the site of one of Arianna’s designs at the home of Mary Jo Anderson. Arianna will share her inspiration and process with us and then we will be treated to a delicious lunch featuring her gardening bounty.

October 8
Field Trip ~ Cider Hill Farm Tour, 45 Fern Avenue, Amesbury
Join us at picturesque family-owned Cider Hill Farm for a guided walking tour of their apple orchards, where we will learn about the farm’s history, and their ecological /sustainable/non-GMO growing practices. Feel free to pick your own apples along the way. Cider Hill was recently voted the #1 apple picking spot in the U.S. and the #4 most beautiful farms in the world. After the tour visit the resident goats and chickens, in-house bakery, farm store and estate grown hard cider shop.

November 12
Workshop ~ Santa’s Workshop for Holiday Evergreen Bouquets & Annual Meeting
Please join us for a festive holiday workshop making evergreen bouquets for Newbury Seniors. Bring evergreens from your garden, cut to manageable size for a small bouquet along with clippers and gloves. Also, If you have any small non-breakable, nonperishable, holiday decorations to add to the bouquet. (Example: a paper star or wooden candy cane to highlight the bouquet.) Containers will be provided.

December 10
Christmas Party