Celebrate the start of February with these local events.
1 The Charles River Freelance Troupe is performing the premier of an original, family musical “Shakespeare’s Daughters.” The show is written by Holliston resident Tom Evans, with a score by his son, Cooper Evans. An original take on the life of Shakespeare (and his daughters), the musical will be presented on Friday, Jan. 31, 6 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m., at the Charles River School in Dover. The one-hour show is great for all ages and features a cast of 21 8- to 12-year-old actors. A $5 donation at the door is suggested.
The Charles River Freelance Troupe and the Freelance Players are now enrolling students for the spring session. Freelance companies rehearse and produce an original musical each season. Freelance provides quality youth theater, building inclusive communities and teaching creative expression through musical theater.
The Charles River Troupe is for students in third-sixth grades and rehearses on Mondays at the Charles River School in Dover, 3:30-5:45 p.m. The Players is for students seventh grade and up and rehearses on Wednesdays at the Driscoll School in Brookline, 4-6:30 p.m.
For more information: https://rehearsalforlife.org/freelance-players/, or call Kippy Dewey, 617-274-6065.
2 What’s better in winter than a good read or three? Come to the Friends of the Sherborn Library’s used book sale to find your next ones.
The event is happening on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. upstairs in the Community Center.
In the meantime, consider donating your old ones at the Sherborn Library. Gently used please; no encyclopedias, textbooks over 10 years old, audio cassettes or VHS tapes.
3 Medfield Youth Hockey will hold its annual fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 7-11 p.m. at the German Club, Route 109, Walpole.
There will be a DJ, as well as appetizers.
Cost is $40; buy tickets in advance via https://www.leagueathletics.com/Store/Item.asp?id=42372&n=51731&org=medfieldyouthhockey.org
4 The Sherborn Historical Society will hold its Annual Meeting on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Room in the Sherborn Town Offices.
Following the formal agenda, Sherborn native and appraiser Kenneth Van Blarcom will once again discuss small items that attendees bring — just one item, and no furniture. Light refreshments will follow.
The meeting is for members only, but nonmembers are welcome to attend by joining the Sherborn Historical Society at the meeting.
For well over a century, the Sherborn Historical Society has endeavored to preserve the history of the town that began in 1652. The Sherborn Historical Society Museum, housing a collection of historic town artifacts, is at the Sherborn Town Offices, 19 Washington St., and is open every Monday, excluding holidays, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
5 The public is cordially invited to join the Boggestow Garden Club on Tuesday, Feb. 4, when Nancy Engels will speak on the subject “Chocolate and Vanilla.” The meeting will take place in Room 204A of Town Hall, 19 Washington St., at 10 a.m. Refreshment will be served at 9:30.
The presentation will consist of a video and lecture on the organic farming of labor-intensive crops such as vanilla beans, cinnamon, peppercorn and cacao, used to make chocolate.
At the conclusion of the presentation, there will be samples to taste.
Engel is a medical aromatherapist trained in the South of France by a French medical doctor, a German chemist and Australian naturopath. She has studied aromatic plants for more than 25 years, and has worked on the harvests in both France and Turkey. She is a teacher and lecturer and has received two SBA awards. She was nominated for an Avon award and has been featured in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Chronicle, PBS and Parade Magazine. She works and resides in the Boston area and Costa Rica.