Information in this report was provided on behalf of the CCHS girls lacrosse program.

The Concord Carlisle girls lacrosse team fell just short 12-11 on Saturday in a close contest to last years Division I State Finalist, Algonquin.

Senior Captain Kate Wyeth led the Patriots with three goals and one assist while juniors Becca Olsen and Emma Mahoney each collected three goals.

With continued injuries to three veteran starters, Coach Morrison needed to rely heavily on his five freshmen players including Cassidy Hale, Brianna Stout, Madeline Leahy, Johanna O’Neil, and center Hannah Dudley all of whom battled mightily and showed great composure in a very close match.

Patriot sophomore Goalie Conley Ernst had a standout game in net. Ernst continually made save after save helping to keep CC in the game while her infectious enthusiasm helped rally her teammates. Ernst collected a season high 11 saves while earning a 50% goals against average.

Turnovers were the main culprit for CC as Algonquin applied high pressure much of the game forcing the Patriots to drop balls and rush passes in their midfield transition game. Algonquin took advantage of two Patriot yellow cards by scoring two goals in the second half.

The Patriots battled back from a one goal 8-7 halftime deficit to take a 9-8 lead as Sophomore Attack Jenna Carlton tied the game followed by a Kate Wyeth go ahead goal on a nice feed from Becca Olsen.

Algonquin’s fast midfield transition game proved to be too much however as the Tomahawks took back the momentum and lead with a three goal run. The Patriots rallied for two more goals coming off draw controls, one tally each by Hannah Dudley and Emma Mahoney before Algonquin notched it on a fast break goal with just a minute remaining in the game.The Tomahawks went on to win the final draw control, stalling the ball to seal the win.

"It was a great high school lacrosse game," commented Coach Paul Morrison. "With the injuries we've been dealing with every player dug down deeper to put us in a position to be in the game at the end. Our veteran players led the way. Kate Wyeth had a monster game for us along with big efforts from Becca Olsen and Emma Mahoney."

By Betsy Levinson, Globe Correspondent

Heads up Concord consumers. You still cannot buy water in single-serving water bottles as the result of the defeat of Article 30 at Town Meeting on Wednesday night.

By a slim margin of 67 votes, a record-high crowd of over 1,000 voters beat back a concerted effort to repeal the ban that took effect on January 1.

In other Town Meeting news, on Monday night the voters denied Walden Woods its opportunity to place a conservation restriction on the former landfill, and a petition article to build a school bus depot on the grounds of the new high school won overwhelming approval.

For a complete rundown of the warrant, go here, read up and participate.

Do you want to help service dogs? And have a fun night of shopping too? Then join Lyn Evans at Lyn Evans Potpourri Designs, 29 Main St., and Barrett & Company for the second annual night of food, fashion and fundraising! April 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. Raffles and auction items to help raise funds for this wonderful cause. Ten percent of sales from the evening donated directly to NEADS, the National Association for Service Dog Services.

The Sound of Music playing April 26 – May 11 by the Concord Players.
Maria, an exuberant novice in an Austrian abbey, isn't fitting into somber convent life. To give her an opportunity to get away from the abbey to think her future through, the Mother Abbess sends her to the lavish household of widower, Captain Von Trapp, to be governess to his seven children. As Maria reconciles her growing love for the children's father with her desire to become a nun, the looming Nazi menace in nearby Germany threatens to overwhelm them all. The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world's most beloved musical.

News from the Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute: The BIAI provides opportunities for musicians and composers to collaborate with artists from other domains, including contemporary dance, theater, video installation and experimental performance. The next collaboration takes place at Concord Academy on April 25 to 27 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. featuring Swerve, a collaboration of CA students and BIAI under the direction of Richard Colton and Jared Green, Neil Leonard, and guest artist Joshue Ott. Admission is $15 per person. See here for more information.

If you’ve ever thought about giving blood, why not make the 12th annual Nick Ressler Blood Drive your chance? Donate on Saturday, April 27 at the Hunt Recreation Center, 90 Stow St. from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. A bloodmobile from Massachusetts General Hospital will be there, and you will be among the 300 others who have made this an annual tradition. Nick was a popular middle schooler in Concord when he died of cancer at age 14 in 2001. According to his mother, Concord business woman Pam Ressler, over 1,600 individuals benefit from this blood drive. So roll up your sleeves and share the gift of life. Email Pam at pkr2@aol.com or Cindy Tenner at cyt208@aol.com to make an appointment.

Earth Day is Saturday, April 27 this year. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. you can celebrate the planet at the Emerson Umbrella. Join the staff for a day of music, dance, wildlife puppetry and sculpture, local food, and kids activities! 10 a.m. River Ceremony at the Lowell Road Boat Launch; 11 a.m. Parade from Lowell Road Bridge to Emerson Umbrella; Noon– 2 p.m. Arts and Environment Festival at Emerson Umbrella Grounds with music, dance and children’s activities.

May is Celebrate Concord month, and to kick things off, the Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual “Tasts of Concord” on Thursday, May 2 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 300 Baker Avenue. See here for more information. More than a dozen restaurants and food purveyors offer tastings while you can taste wine from around the world and enjoy live music from the Yankee Stompers. Sponsored by Joe Saia’s West Concord Wine and Liquors and Normandy Real Estate. $25 per person.

The Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden St., is holding a special arts weekend, May 2 through 4, involving visual artists, sculptors, musicians, writers, poets, textile artists, photographers, dancers and more. See here for more information.

On Saturday, May 4 at 4 p.m., take in the Concord Women’s Chorus concert at Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm St. See here for more information. “For a Dream’s Sake: Giving Women Voice” is a concert of works by women composers including Boulanger, Daley, Henderson and Larsen with guests, the Concord-Carlisle High School Women’s Chorus. $25 adults, $20 students and seniors, $10 age 12 and under.


On Saturday, May 4 you can participate in the Minute Man ARC’s march in support of individuals with developmental disabilities. See here for more information. Join MMARC for the 9th march from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Gather a team and walk a 1.5-3 mile route around West Concord. Celebrate with us at the finish line with entertainment, raffles, moon bounce, pony rides, games and food. Participants receive a signature tie dye t-shirt.

News from the MBTA: Track improvements on the Fitchburg Commuter Line, which runs through Concord, will require the suspension of weekend service from Fitchburg to South Acton through mid-November. In August, the weekend suspension will extend to Concord, Lincoln and Weston.

Work has begun on adding a “flyover” on Route 2 from Crosby’s Corner in Lincoln to Route 2 westbound in Concord. That means single-lane traffic along the heavily traveled highway, although MASS DOT is trying to limit the crunch to off-peak hours. Plan ahead for any trips that require you to traverse Route 2 to Route 128.

Astronaut: Paintings by Scott Listfield. From April 3 - May 26 at the Albright Art Gallery, 32 Main St. Listfield juxtaposes serene daily settings with humanity’s technology and offenses. His vignettes of modern society and post-apocalypse serve as entry points into thoughtful sociological observation. These vignettes reveal our quotidian from the perspective of an ideal outsider/insider: the anonymous astronaut. This exhibit reminds us that even when treading familiar ground, we never experience the same moment twice. And the viewer is left wondering “What would Astronaut do?” Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday 12:00 - 5:00 pm, and also by appointment.

Poetry reading at Concord Library, 129 Main St., on Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m.
Physician/Poet Rafael Campo will read from his award-winning poetry collection. The multi-talented Campo teaches and practices internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is on the faculty of Lesley University’s Creative Writing MFA Program. The recipient of numerous honors and awards, including a Guggenheim fellowship, a National Poetry Series award, and a Lambda Literary Award, his third poetry collection, Diva, (Duke Univ.Press, 2000) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and his most recent, The Enemy, ( Duke, 2007), won the Sheila Motton Book Award from the New England Poetry Club. A book signing reception follows the reading. Free.

Mandrioli supermarket; Serafina Ristorante close

The West Concord Supermarket, and Thoreau Street’s Serafina restaurant have both closed. Concord Currents has heard that a new “farm to table” restaurant is slated for the West Concord site. No word on what will replace Serafina. But another restaurant owned by Sam Cannarozzi, Sierra’s, on Route 117, is also closing its doors.

CSA Shares at Verrill Farm

Verrill Farm’s new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program offers ‘shares’ of the farm’s fresh produce for $25 per week for 20 weeks, June 20 – Nov. 21, with an up-front payment of $500. As a welcome for joining, every new CSA member will receive a coupon for a free 8” fruit pie.

“We are introducing a Verrill Farm CSA this year and have designed it so members will benefit from the variety of our crops,” says farm owner Steve Verrill, “and, because of all that we do at the farm, we are able to add extras unique to our CSA.”

CSAs have become popular because they provide an opportunity for consumers to partner with a local farmer by committing to purchase a ‘share’ of the farm’s crops ahead of the season. Some weeks, Verrill Farm’s CSA will offer choices including baked goods and other items made in the stand kitchen. CSA members will also receive weekly recipes and tips on handling produce as well as exclusive farm tours and pick-your-own opportunities. To join, pay by phone, mail or in person using a credit card or check. Information here.

Another CSA opportunity

Have you wanted to try a community-sponsored agricultural (CSA) program? First Root Farm in Concord has CSA shares available for the 2013 season.
We farm on 2.5 acres of historic farmland in Minute Man National
Historical Park using organic and sustainable growing practices. We grow
over thirty different kinds of vegetables including pick-your-own peas,
cherry tomatoes, and flowers. We are looking forward to an exciting
season full of delicious produce and we hope that you will join us!
Regular CSA share: 21 weeks June- October $650Extended CSA share: 25
weeks June- November $750 With additional flower bouquet share and
winter share options
Pick ups Tuesdays 3-7 pm OR Saturdays 2-5 pm on the farm955 Lexington
RoadConcord, MA 01742
For more information and to sign up, please visit us or email firstrootfarm@gmail.com.

Dispatch from China!

Here’s a chance to donate to a program that provides eye glasses to young students in China. This effort is spearheaded by Caitlin Moss, CCHS Class of 2007 who is currently a 2011 - 2013 Teaching Fellow at Manghuai Middle School as part of Teach for China.

“This is my last semester teaching in China, and I am also participating in a
project that is happening at 12 Teach For China schools, which will bring
free eye exams and glasses for those who need them to our elementary and
middle school students,” Moss writes. “We are partnering with an organization called Education in Sight, and are fundraising so that we can provide exams and
glasses for free. Eye care is unavailable in many areas of rural China, and
what's more, most of our students can't afford glasses anyway. Unfortunately, this becomes a major challenge for them in the classroom if they can't see the board!”

Moss writes that the program has reached 60 percent of its $1,000 goal, “and a
number of wonderful folks from Concord have donated, including friends and
teachers from high school. Here is the link to the fundraising website.

“We've got a few more weeks to go until we will start eye exams at our school,” said Moss.

Interested in playing rugby? The Lincoln Sudbury HS Girls Rugby club is welcoming new members, including high school girls from Concord and Carlisle!

LSRHS Rugby founded a girls team in the spring of 2007. They are actively recruiting young, athletic, high school aged girls to
join the team. For more information:
- Check out the team website or Contact Head Coach Sarah Greeley at sarah_greeley@lsrhs.net
. There will also be Rookie Rugby (flag rugby) this spring, offered through Sudbury Parks and Rec for any kids in grades 5-8. You have to register through Sudbury Parks and Recreation.

In preparation for this year’s 23rd annual Musketaquid Earth Day,
Musketaquid Arts & Environment is hosting weekend workshops in March and April. These hands-on workshops provide instruction and materials
for making large and small puppets, costumes, instruments and more as
Musketaquid prepares for its Earth Day Celebration on Saturday
April 27. The Parade Making Workshops, led by artist and environmentalist Morningstar
Medaye along with the Musketaquid Parade Team, will be held from 1- 5 p.m. at
Emerson Umbrella on the following Sunday March 24. Suggested donation for each workshop is $5-$25.

Seed sharing. With the arrival of spring, Concordians with a green thumb can take advantage of the, dare we say, groundbreaking new Seed Lending Library, and learn about this first-in-the-state initiative. The mission of the Concord Seed Lending Library is to collect and share bio-diverse, locally-adapted plant seeds, cultivated by and for area residents. There is an active advisory board and a strong commitment to ‘grow’ the Seed Library starting this season with easy-to-grow varieties that thrive locally. See here for more information.

The gallery Artisans Way, 18 Walden St., has a new exhibit featuring the work of artist Nan Hass Feldman. Since 1981 Ms. Feldman has had more than 40 one-person shows, numerous museum exhibits, and scores of group exhibits. She has received many awards on the national, state, and local levels. She has also continued to teach at the Worcester Art Museum, the DeCordova Museum, and the Danforth Museum of Art (which she helped found) as well as at Framingham State College. Since 1999 she has been teaching painting in France and Italy, a source of inspiration for many of her recent landscapes.

Concord Gallery 111, inside Frame-ables at 111 Thoreau St. in Concord, is featuring celebrated watercolorist Jing-hua Gao Dalia, now through April 6. Having trained from age nine under her father, Chinese watercolor master Gao Yi-hung, Dalia's work combines meticulous traditional Chinese techniques with a western use of saturated colors and shading. For more information on Dalia and her exuberant depictions of nature visit here, or call 978-369-5053. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday 9:30 - 5:30, Saturday 9:30 – 5 p.m.

Betsy Levinson can be reached at betsy.levinson@gmail.com.