On this page:
- Upcoming gatherings & Details/House-rules
- Gatherings in Planning Stages
- Prior gatherings
UPCOMING GATHERINGS
(and swimming til October 12! see pool rules below…)
AUGUST 22, We’re thinking of having a community meal this coming Saturday. Stay tuned!
ALSO UPCOMING!
AUGUST: last Saturday, Open Mic? thinking about an open mic…anyone interested?
SEPTEMBER: Labor Day cookout. We’ll decide which day when we get the weather reports close to the weekend
SEPTEMBER 12: Social Art-Making: Life drawing [clothed model] using pencil and drawing paper, which we will provide
OCTOBER: Halloween performance art [we still need performers!]
NOVEMBER: FRIENDS-GIVING is being planned, more details below
SWIMMING (Until Oct 12)
And, of course, swimming during the day anytime…if you want come for a swim, bring your own towel. You can come and swim [if you follow the rules] before the house opens. Also, if you just want to chat and hang around, you’re welcome to do so, as well!
rain or shine! there’s plenty of room indoors for celebrating, sharing, learning, playing!
After-mosquito time, we’ll be in the kitchen playing games, listening to music, chatting, and maybe someone will tell a story or two!.
POT LUCK any time we have an event! Bring something to throw on the grill or something else to
eat or drink, or share, if you wish. (We have a covered grill area so
we can grill rain or shine.) Please bring your own food tubs to take stuff home…There seems to always be extra!
Bring instruments, stories, poems, songs, art, ideas! Interesting conversation is included at every event so far!
HOUSE/GATHERING DETAILS/RULES
- See website (under “contact”) for physical location
- No parking on Windsor. Plenty of public parking a block away on Pearl Street.
- Eating/drinking in the kitchen area only
- Children are welcome until 9 pm, swimvest required
- No pets/animals
- Limit on alcohol: 2 drinks per person per day, and we need you to come sober before you enjoy your 2 drinks [sorry, we’ve had too many problems with overdrinking]
- House phone during the gathering: Nine7 8 26 three 5 0ne O 8
- We do not have access to email on the day of the event. So if you have any questions on the day-of, please CALL THE HOUSE PHONE (above)
IN PLANNING STAGES:
VOTE FOR WHAT YOU WANT US TO FOCUS ON to get us moving on YOUR favorite idea for an event by responding and weighing in.
Better yet, if YOU want to be the coordinator for an event, it’ll happen sooner, let us know if YOU want to help coordinate an event.
- Friends-Giving potluck! back by popular demand. We’re talking the Saturday AFTER the traditional Thanksgiving! Someone’s giving a free 25 lb turkey and we’ll be cooking it! comes and share! Bring a side-dish, if you can, to share
- Open Mike: a regular open mike monthly! proposal on the table: Second Saturdays. Anyone in favor?
- Board Games: Last time we played charades and almost peed ourselves laughing…because we certainly do not mean “bored” games! But exciting times at the table! We’ve had requests for Boggle, for Bananagrams, and Pictionary! AND last time someone brought chess, which some people yawned at. BUT this time we’ll have a chess table set up in the living room, for the quiet set who wants to step away for a longer more contemplative game… away from the hubbub of the raucous crowd… Anyone interested to do another Board Game night? for those who want to play and those who want to be a spectator? [we’ve got a pile of board games]
- Calling all Natural Healers! bring your herbs and secrets to share! to spread the word on how to help encourage healing [seeking organizer for this gathering for February/March, pls email us if you’re interested in attending and/or coordinating food, etc]
- Fundraiser for Housing & Climate Justice for Acton
- Kids Day [let us know which Saturday in late June/July you’d like Kids Day to be. Fun and games in the yard and pool, and art making and snacks in the kitchen
- Film: Compassion as a solution for lawlessness
- Film shorts by local filmmakers [probably March]
- Black in Tech Berlin [Kave from Germany via the Congo] will update us on her Black in Tech work and her work helping refugees navigate the system. Info from her prior discussion, see below.
- Indonesian Shadow Puppet Rescue/History/Demonstration. Ron Beck will be joining us to update us on his work to save ancient, handmade shadow puppets from Indonesia. Info on his prior workshop, see below.
- Social Crafting: anyone up for doing this again? We have a wonderful workspace and materials to share for collage, drawing, cursive writing/calligraphy work Or Bring your own! art supplies, knitting orwhatever! Or just come along for some fun with others. There are usually community members at these events who have taught these skills in schools! or are professional artists! AND last time a professional collage artist showed up to show us how a REAL artist collages! Hopefully she’ll come again!
PRIOR GATHERINGS
A sample of our previous gatherings:
2026
AUGUST 15, 6-8 pm Social Art-Making: collage. We used art-materials on-hand, and donated materials, including a choice of wooden cigar boxes. Here’s one of the collages that an artistcreated that evening!
AUGUST 15, 4-6 pm KIDS music with Ben Osborne
Saturday, August 15, 4-6 pm, Ben Osborne entertained us with his delightful songs and sense of humor. An experienced children’s music instructor and entertainer for all ages, he will sing selections from his large repertoire of songs. See below for more info about Ben
AUGUST 8: Kids day! lawn games, chalk drawing, swimming!
August 1: Ben Osborne, guitar concert
Ben shared his passion for music by playing his guitar and singing songs we know and love. Ben started his musical career as a boy soprano at St Thomas choirs school in New York City, singing in a renowned church choir 5 times a week for 5 years. He trained his voice and learned to play piano and then attended Concord Academy in Concorod MA where he quickly exhausted the entire musical curriculum, leaning into becoming a solo act. He picked up the guitar in his last year there and quickly fell in love with offering his voice, and guitar in various in-school and out-of school experiences. He now studies music education at Western Connecticut State University and works as the music specialist at the Concord Academy summer camp. He enjoys all kinds of music from folk to grunge to classical, and is always looking for new music to listen to (usually as an entire album package).
July 25: Social Art-making based on Egyptian Iconography
We had art supplies, and used Egyptian-themed icons, hieroglyphics, and designs to create small works of art.
July 11th, Board Games, Potluck and swimming. Played a raucous game of Clue next to the pool. We also played a new game about trading beans, like chili beans, black beans, etc. A 10 year old kid beat us all! We also had a chess “tournament” with a number of serious and semi-serious players, playing all day/night. And then a bunch of us played a few rounds of Boggle just to clear our minds. Then we played rummy well into the night, no scoring and cheating encouraged! The fun is in catching the person cheating! Yay! We had three games going at once! Game night is really catching on! AND we had a new person who found her way to us from the internet! Extra-Yay!
July 5th, Pool Party, and Cookout [we also played Board games: chess and Boggle, and Dave played his guitar and sang songs we all know and love… Thanks, Dave!]
Memorial Day Pool Opening!
May 9, 6-8 pm Arts & Games (and potluck!) We made art while eating and socializing and playing board games. Charades were later in the evening! A repeat of April, but we decided to change the program so that art-making and potluck and, well anything else (someone played music and someone else read a story to the art-makers). And later on we played board games and charades!
art by Jeannette Staley
April 17, 9-11 pm SPARTICUS Open Mike, Poetry, Rap, Stories and Song! with a special appearance from one of the organizers of the CanTab poetry slam!
April 4, 2-8+ pm Crafting, Potluck, Board Games.
March 7 Social Art-Making and Crafting
11 people joined us for the doings. 7 showed up early to make art, including a professional collage artist! We had so much fun! We made collages, we did cursive writing, and someone was knitting. We had one person show up for the potluck and was sad that the art-making supplies had been cleaned up and he didn’t get there in time to make art with us. So we modified the next art-making day [April 4th! see above for details!] so that we’re not having a set schedule and people can make art well into the evening.
We had a fun time playing a game called “Bells” which requires participants to pick up metal bells with a m agnet. Sounds easy, right? ha! you can ONLY pick up bells of “your color”! Then we had a raucous evening of charades, oh it was so much fun! Hope you join us next time!
Feb 7 Saturday, 6-8 pm Book Release Launch & Author Reading/Signing.
Local release of a collection of writings by community activists about resiliency when faced with extreme systemic and institutionalized social ills including incarceration, physical and mental abuse, and stigmatization. more info…
2025
12/31 New Years Eve!
Because of someone being sick at 24W [they are all well now!] we had a “hybrid” remote social gathering on NYE. Hybrid means that people joined together partly onsite somewhere, and partly through online means. [See CommunityBridge.com for details on a free Zoom alternative, that’s run by a Cooperative! Yay Agaric!] Three of us were at one person’s house in front of a lovely fire. We all brought various wonderful food [caviar! champagne! vegan brie! broasted local root veggies! etc etc] and laughed for what seems hours!!! Three others joined via Community Bridge. Micky gave us a tutorial on how to use the features! and the white board!
12-6 Cooperative GingerBread House makings! Wait! who is nibbling my shingles! Every kind of “house” from a tiny house to church to a ginger bread cat! Mickey spearheaded the event from idea to yum! She made pounds of vegan gingerbread dough and we helped her make the frosting. Did you know that there are two types of frosting used to build gingerbread houses? one for gluing the walls together and one for the decoration/snow! but voila! the icing used to glue also seconds as icicles because we put so much on that it dripped down the walls! YUM! We had plenty of candy left over, so we expect to do it again next year!
11-29 Friends-Giving Pot Luck! We had a lot of fun cooking and sharing! Stories from Joanie who traveled around learning about tribal rituals shared teachings from elders she interacted with on the way. Leah gave us a piano concert on the antique piano. And we conversed to help solve the problems of the world!
11-3 Community Organizing with Anarchist Principles
We hear about “anarchists” in the news. But what are anarchists really like? Tonight we met David, who is an organizer from Alabama, and is a sociocratic facilitator and a non-violent communications mediator. David led a discussion about what anarchists are, and what they do. Also joining the discussion were an organizer from New Hampshire, a teacher from Boston, two software developers, and activists from various locations in the MetroWest area. We learned a lot from each other about organizing using non-violent principles where consensus rules rather than the majority. If you don’t know how good democracy can be, check out “sociocracy”…
11-1 Nepal: Jeanette Staley’s visit to Nepal during a revolution
Jeanette Staley, a Vermont-based artist and activist, had just arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal when a revolution broke out!
Make Rugs Not War!
MAKE RUGS NOT WAR painted on the side of this Nepalese building. Photographed while the revolution was burning government buildings in the background
She shared with us her experience with art-making in Kathmandu, a brief hike in Nargokot, meeting an elephant in Chitwan, her visit to a rural school of the lowest caste on the south eastern plains of Nepal and what happened when a revolution not only broke out near where she was in lock down, but was successful! She showed us photos [STAY TUNED, we will post some more photos here when we get them] and other media and artifacts she collected, and of course, shared stories of her wonderful adventures… Sponsored by the Windsor Institute’s “(R)Evolutionaries Among Us” program dedicated to educating about how small as well as large acts can help us evolve as a society…
More info on Jeanette’s work: https://jeanettestaley-artist.com/
More info on the Nepali revolution:
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/the-stream/2025/9/19/why-gen-z-brought-down-the-government-in-nepal
11-1 Cursive Writing Workshop
Is it important to understand and be able to write in cursive? Find out more at our workshop. Understanding cursive writing is important to be able to read old treaties and other documents. And it makes for beautiful notes for your loved ones!
[The workshop has been postponed to January]
10-31 Halloween Tricks and Treats Performance Art!
Stay tuned for some lovely pictures of the performance art. In the meantime, this is what “the stage” looked like in the daytime…not so scary! We hear that the Trick AND Treat performance drew people from all over, that 24W is now considered a Halloween “destination”!
Aug 30: Semi-Impromptu Labor Day Gathering and Potluck
10 people showed, including 3 musicians and 4 artists. Wonderful food and company. A spontaneous art “show” popped up by one artist who brought two wooden (what he calls!) “Cir-Quairs” he’d made. What is a Cir-Quair you ask? It’s a wooden cube with circles cut in the sides. That entertained us for almost an hour! We’ll publish a pic when we get one.
One person brought a water instrument played with a cello bow. We got a performance with her expert playing of the odd, eerie, compelling, and beautiful instrument. Then she let us all play it!
To top off the evening, which lasted well past dark, we got a concerto by a neighbor friend who played the antique piano, entertaining us with original classical pieces she’s composed. Another person joined in at one point with his guitar stylings. And of course, interesting, wonderful conversations…
August 9: Black in Tech! Inclusion in the Tech Industry
Our friend, Kave Bulambo,is an expert on inclusion in the tech industry. She and her family spent the weekend at the house and helped us learn more about inclusion and we shared our experiences/resources.
She is a Congolese/German organizer. We had a conversation about her journey from helping women refugees in South Africa, to her almost a decade of large tech corporate experience, to her current work establishing and running a social impact organization called Black in Tech Berlin.
The pool was open for swimming and socializing in the afternoon, pot luck dinner followed, and the group conversation started at 6 pm and lasted until past 10 pm, because of the wide ranging and deep conversation with a diverse group of people. For more information please visit her website: www.kavebulambo.com
August 2: Old House Fix-It Carpentry/Gardening Day
It’s become a tradition! Many Sundays, we invite the community to help with small carpentry and garden projects, anything from helping fix the fence, the windows, door handles and locks, to weeding, trimming the hedges, and small gardening tasks. We usually start at 2 or 3 and finish when we’re hungry and tired. And we usually spark up the grill after. And if it’s hot, then well, jump in the pool! It’s all led by a local carpenter artist who is helping us all learn how to be good stewards of the house which is really a work of art in itself!
August 1: Film Screening of “A Face in the Crowd”
Screening of the classic film about how talented people can be swept up into corporate ruthlessness, and the people who resist. AGX Local Film Collective (Waltham) loaned us the equipment and set it up for us and screened the film to a grateful audience! Thanks Mike!
August 1: Reiki lecture and demonstration
Monica Forrest, a local Reiki Master, based in West Acton Village, visited us and gave a wonderful talk about the history of Reiki, told us what it is, and why it’s useful, and what to expect during a session.
Then she gave each person who wanted a sample, a 10 minute free session. One person asked for a 30 minute paid session onsite, and here’s what this resident of West Acton had to say about her first time receiving Reiki, “it was fabulous! I felt all of my stresses melt away and felt wonderful energy flooding through my body! I was talking on air for days after! Sign me up again!”
More information on Monica: *https://blackirisreiki.com/about-black-iris-reiki
July 12: Gathering about the Future of 24W
Over 25 people attending a meeting to discuss the future of the space. Light refreshments were served. We split up into various groups including PROGRAMMING and GOVERNANCE to discuss specifics.
Enjoy the Community at 24? Have new ideas on things to do at 24W?
Have input on how things are done at 24W? Want a say in the future of 24W?
Then sign up for the email list so you can join the fun!
June 14: Kid’s Day at 24W Sunday June 14, 2-5 pm RAIN or SHINE
Outdoor games such as the spoon and egg race, sack race, badminton,sidewalk chalk, and an obstacle course. Swimming. Healthy snacks
April 27: LIVE MUSIC by “Framed Ophelia”
Four unique and local improvisers weaving spontaneous compositions in unstructured time.
*Walter Horn: keys , Michael Badolato: zendrumTsuyoshi Honjo: saxes Peter J. Evans: mandolin-clarinet-cassettes*
With Framed Ophelia it’s never the same sonic-experience twice!*
*—Experimental Funky-Noise Jams…*
*—Psycho/Punk-Bluegrass…*
*—Varèse-style Percussive Cacophony… *
*—Bordering on Jazz…*
March 8: Art by Jeanette Staley and Performance, Art Collaboration, Open Mic, and Dinner
24W was inspired to present an evening with *Jeanette Staley *who showed us her new online art collection of oil and mixed media paintings and spoke about what inspired her art.
Jeanette is an artist, teacher and activist. Her collage paintings are informed by her concerns for societal and environmental justice. See her amazing works at: https://www.jeanettestaley-artist.com/
Indonesian Shadow Puppets
Ron Beck, a local traveler and collector brought handmade Indonesian shadow puppets home from Indonesia for safe keeping, in collaboration with puppet artists. He came to 24w and gave us a lecture of the history of these sacred puppets, and then gave us a demonstration of how the puppets were used by puppeteers who would travel the country to act out puppet shows to share news. More photos of puppets.
Check back often, as we publish more of 24W’s history…