VIDEO: Friends of Minute Man Get Themselves Back to the Garden

The Friends of Minute Man National Park hosted a May 30 garden party to raise funds for the continued restoration of the historic Buttrick Gardens.

Minute Man National Historical Park’s historic appeal doesn’t stop with the events of April 19, 1775. In fact, there’s an ongoing battle to bring back the lush and beautiful gardens overlooking the old North Bridge in Concord. On Wednesday, May 30, the Friends of Minute Man National Park, with a little help from their friends, hosted a garden party to raise funds for the continued restoration of the historic Buttrick Gardens outside MMNHP’s North Bridge Visitor Center. “Our mission is not just the Revolution, but every aspect of the park,” said Betsy Lanjuin, an event organizer and membership director for the Friends of Minute Man. “These Buttrick Gardens have been here for 100 years and I think they’re very historic in their own right, …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: May 30

Senior awards night, a colonial community sing, a garden party and more today in and around Lexington.

1. Senior Awards Night: Lexington High's annual senior awards night will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. tonight at LHS. The reception opens at 6:30, with ceremonies set to begin in the auditorium at 7 p.m. 2. Colonial Community Sing: The merry, merry month of Revolutionary Revlery is winding down, so tonight's your last chance to participate in a Colonial Community Sing in Depot Square. Sing songs from the colonial era as well as familiar American classics. Songbooks are provided. 3. LYST Auditions for 'Wizard of Oz:' Lexington Youth Summer Theatre is looking for children currently in grades 3-11 to audition for its summer production of The Wizard of Oz. Auditions will be be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. today, May 30, at 3 Militia Drive for …

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Best of Patch Readers' Choice: Looking for Staycation Destinations

This week's Best of Patch Readers' Choice poll is looking for the best place to staycation around Lexington.

Staycation. Hmmm.That’s a word we haven’t heard in a little while, but we’re bringing it back for this week’s Best of Patch Readers’ Choice poll.  Here are a few favorite places, in no particular order, but if we're leaving anyone off of the list, please let us know in the comments and we'll be sure to add it to the list and poll below: Voting's open until 9 a.m. Friday. Ties will be broken by whichever business has the most positive comments posted below. We will announce the winner at noon Friday. Because this poll is not scientific, it is not the sole consideration in choosing a winner. The winner will be determined by the Patch editor, based on poll results and reviews on Patch Places. Please vote only once per survey, per Patch. …

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William Diamond Jr. Fife and Drum Corp to Muster at MMNHP

The 10th Annual Colonial Concert and Muster will be held May 5 at the Minute Man Visitor Center on the Lexington-Lincoln line.

The following announcement was provided by Minute Man National Historical Park. The William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corp will present their 10th annual Fife and Drum Muster at the Minute Man Visitor Center in Lexington. Enjoy a colorful festival of Lexington’s colonial heritage with performances by more than 25 uniformed fife and drum corps, as well as artisans and period re-enactors.  In the past 10 years, the William Diamond Juniors have been invited to perform in celebrated venues such as the USS Constitution, Colonial Williamsburg, Switzerland, the Democratic National Convention, Sturbridge Village, and the New York City 250th Anniversary St. Patrick Day’s Parade. In 2002, when the corps began, these young musicians first …

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PHOTOS: Some Scenes from Saturday's Patriots' Day Weekend Activities

Battles broke out along the Battle Road, re-enactors with muskets and cannons dealt make-believe death blows at Tower Park and thousands came to Lexington, Lincoln and Concord to enjoy Patriots' Day Weekend.

The events of April 19, 1775 are well known in these parts. And Patriots' Day, a recognition of the bravey, the resolve and the actions taken by colonial men and women on that day, has evolved into a weekend-long celebration. Patriots' Day weekend got started in a big way on Saturday, April 14, with well attended activities along the Battle Road in Minute Man National Historical Park, the popular re-enactment at Tower Park in Lexington and a slew of other events, including the Patriot's Ball in Concord.   Flip through the photo gallery above to see re-enactors and revelers enjoying the start of Patriots' Day weekend.

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VIDEO: Blasts From Past Abound Saturday Along the Battle Road

Colonial militia and British Regulars clashed along the Battle Road during a series of re-enactments Saturday, April 14, along a stretch Route 2A between Lexington and Concord.

Patriots' Day weekend events were in full swing on Saturday, April 14 as the colonial militia and minutemen clashed with the British Regulars at strategic spots along the Battle Road, a path that more or less runs parallel to Route 2A between Concord and Lexington.  According to Minute Man National Historical Park's Lou Sideris, the running battle began at Meriam's Corner and progressed eastward as local minute man companies engaged the British Regulars as the Redcoats retreated back to Boston after the Concord Fight at the Old North Bridge.  While the Meriam's Corner Exercises went down last weekend, MMNHP's big day is the Saturday of Patriots' Day weekend, Sideris said, referring to historical houses, cannon fire, the running battle at …

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PHOTOS: Meriam's Corner Events Held This Weekend

Images from the warm up to next week's Patriots' Day events throughout the area.

  When I moved to Concord in 1997 I was delighted to see beyond my backyard a reenactment of the battle at Meriam's Corner. The town of Concord holds the Meriam's Corner events on the Saturday before the Patriots' Day weekend. They held the battle reenactment every year, when the weather was good, culminating in 2000 when they held 225th anniversary of the actual battle. That day, more than 200 reenactors from all over the United States and Britain fought for the glory of their ancestors. The battle ground was set up as the British Regulars took there time in retreating back to Boston after they were driven off the Concord's North Bridge by the assembled Patriots. By the time the British got to Meriam's Corner, Patriot minutemen and …

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Minute Man Visitor Center to Open Saturday

The center features a multimedia theater program, among other features.

  On Saturday, March 24, Minute Man National Historical Park will open its main visitor center, located on Route 2A at the Lincoln/Lexington line. The center features the award-winning multi-media theater program, “The Road To Revolution,” which tells the dramatic story of the events at Lexington and Concord on the first days of the American Revolution in 1775. This very popular presentation is considered one of the best in the national park system. The visitor center will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The last showing of the theater program is at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. Also at the center are a large mural of the fighting on April 19, 1775, exhibits and a bookstore. Visitors can pick up a free park map which …

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From Minuteman High to Minute Man NHP: One Grad's Incredible Journey

A 1979 graduate of Minuteman High School, Rick Lawson was hired last summer as a ranger at Minuteman National Historical Park, coming full circle after working in the hospitality and audio visual fields.

The following feature was provided by Judy Bass, a communications specialist for Minuteman High School in Lexington. The peripatetic career of Minuteman High School graduate Rick Lawson illustrates some very useful principles that job-seekers might do well to note, especially in the current unsettled, highly competitive economy.  This outgoing and versatile man creatively utilized the skills he cultivated for one discipline and successfully applied them to other unrelated fields with excellent results. He pinpointed what he loved to do and parlayed that knowledge and enjoyment into a rewarding position, and has been an avid lifelong learner always eager to absorb new information. “The more I learn, the more I find I have more to learn," …

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VIDEO: Liberty Ride Rolling On

The Liberty Ride is celebrating its 10th anniversary year by offering Lexington residents a discounted rate.

Lexington's oldest-souled 10-year-old, the Liberty Ride, is celebrating its first decade with an anniversary present for local residents. Through the end of the season, the Liberty Ride is rolling back rates by more than half for Lexington residents who hop on afternoon tours at the National Heritage Museum. According to a Liberty Ride press release, for the daily 1 or 2:30 p.m. trolley tours, Lexington residents will receive more than a 50 percent discount on current rates as their prices are rolled back a decade to the Ride’s inaugural season (2002). For the remainder of the 2011 season -- which ends Oct. 30 -- adults can board the Liberty Ride for $10 per person; children ages 5-17 only $5. “With Lexington’s 300th anniversary …

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