Category: Kaylee

Mask up and fall into the semester with this list of COVID-19 safe adventures in Massachusetts!

Are you already overworked, with a calendar booked for months? Take a break from the busy campus and city life and enjoy a day of activities and exploration around gorgeous Massachusetts. Social distancing and masks are enforced at all of these fun fall locations. 

If you are in the mood for some time in nature and some sweet treats, go apple picking or to a pumpkin patch. There are multiple orchards to visit right off of the commuter rail. Visit Berlin Orchards, located at Rt. 62 and Lower Sawyer Hill Road in Berlin, Massachusetts. Enjoy a wagon ride up to the apple trees on Monday-Friday from 1-4pm. Host a picnic and enjoy your time on the farm. Check their website to see which apples are the ripest this season! 

You can also visit Carlson Orchards, located at 115 Oak Hill Rd Harvard, MA. They have a wide variety of fruits to pick from including apples, apples, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, nectarines, and pumpkins. If you are not able to make the journey to the physical orchard, you can mail order a gift basket. 

Another place to go apple picking is Tougas Family Farm, located at 234 Ball St, Northborough, MA. This friendly farm includes a drive-thru store, fully stocked with freshly made cider donuts and fall fruits. They even have a farm-themed playground. Make a reservation today!

If nature is not for you, how about focusing on something in the arts? Mendon Twin Drive-In, located at 35 Milford St. Mendon, MA, might be the perfect evening for you to enjoy. Check their website for tickets and listings of each film. Enjoy a full snack bar and great film, rain or shine! 

If you’re looking for some art, check out the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), located at East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA. The museum has reopened to the public Thursday-Sunday from 10-5pm. Tickets are timed in order to practice social distancing. There is even a student discount!

Another museum is the Harvard Museum of Natural History, located at 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, open daily at 9-5pm. This organization has worked hard to display many of their exhibits online through interactive showings. Book tickets for the physical experience or virtual programs!

If you are interested in combining nature and art, The Franklin Park Zoo has an interactive light show called, “Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience.” The zoo is located at 1 Franklin Park Rd, Boston, MA. Grab your masks and enjoy exploring 72 acres filled with hundreds of intricate lanterns. Enjoy seeing some of your favorite sights like animals and flower gardens in beautiful  lanterns. Walk through the 66-foot-long shark tunnel and past a 197-foot-long dragon. There is even a step-and play piano that allows you to join the light show experience.

I hope some of these ideas were helpful to you — have some safe and fun fall adventures!

 

Nature Information (Apple Picking)

https://www.berlinorchards.com 

https://newenglandapples.org/orchards/carlson-orchards/ 

http://tougasfamilyfarm.com 

Art Activities

https://www.mendondrivein.com/ 

https://www.pem.org/ 

https://hmnh.harvard.edu/ 

Franklin Park Zoo Light show 

https://www.zoonewengland.org/engage/boston-lights?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5eX7BRDQARIsAMhYLP_QGYG_HJ5gJ-t-9cTE-bCbUcFoTh9L5feNdNYRNEERiLjZEkgO9pkaApI7EALw_wcB

Gloria: A Life, is a play that beautifully represents Gloria Steinem’s strong force and contributions to the women’s rights movement. You can see this phenomenal play at The A.R.T. theatre in Cambridge! The theatre was even renovated just for this performance. The setup allowed the audience to face one another as well as sit along the sides of the stage, perfectly set up to be a talking circle. The arrangements of benches and pillows by the set designers allowed the audience and performers to easily engage with one another. This environment set the tone and caused the experience of the play to come as more natural, safe and homey, almost as though you were transported into Gloria’s living room.

COSTUMING 

The costuming within the play was extremely well done. The actress playing Gloria truly looked like her, down to the blonde streaks in her hair and large aviator glasses. Each member of the ensemble played many characters, each bringing a uniqueness that brought the historical figures to life spanning far further than the screens. People like Bella Abzug and Flo Kennedy are the most memorable. 

PROPS 

The main stage consisted of many rugs and chairs that were used in different ways by the ensemble to transform the story. Chairs were stacked to create a podium or a bed. There were protesting signs, bins for the “bra burners,” and hand-held cameras. The space had many uses and creatively brought each story to life. 

LIGHTING 

The film major in me was extremely excited by the quality of the production. Well-planned lighting cues and television screens transformed the performance. This allowed for easy transitioning between significant moments in Gloria’s career, as well as different time periods. The television screens displayed photographs and archival footage that had an impact on Gloria or the movement. Sexist magazine articles and news stations were broadcasted for the audience to see. As the unjust issues were talked about and explained, more proof followed on the screen. The audience laughed, gasped, and some even cried, while facing one another. The names and images of other influential fighters in the women’s rights movement were recognized and celebrated on the big screen. On the screen was also the actors themselves, as interviews were re-created in present time using a hand-held camera by members of the ensemble. This had a transformative effect on the audience and truly put you into the skin of Gloria and women living during each time period.

The lighting, stage directing, writing, and many more factors worked in harmony to change the air and remind me why I am a feminist. 

Click here to learn more about the play!