Westford's Cold-Weather Season Runs Through a Few Old Buildings on the Common

From November through December, the Westford calendar worth planning around fits on one short stretch of town. A volunteer-run concert hall from 1829, the historical society's museum, a church that lends its rooms to the library, and the community center at 65 Main Street together host most of what is going on between Halloween and Christmas. Each building keeps its own calendar. Read side by side, they make one schedule, with several weekends where you can walk from one event to the next.

Here is where the season happens:

• Parish Center for the Arts, 10 Lincoln Street, on the Common near the Boston Road corner
• Westford Museum, 2 Boston Road
• First Parish Church United, 48 Main Street, which hosts J.V. Fletcher Library programs this fall
• Town Hall, 55 Main Street, where early voting for the November 3 election runs through Friday, October 30
• Roudenbush Community Center, 65 Main Street, also home to the Westford Recreation program room

A Concert Hall Where You Bring Dinner

The anchor of this cluster is the Parish Center for the Arts. It is a nonprofit in a building constructed in 1829, and it seats up to 125 people. Volunteers run it, and it takes no government money for operations. Memberships, sponsorships, donations, ticket sales and private rentals pay the bills. The season runs September to June.

What makes the PCA unusual is the seating. For evening concerts the room is set café-style with tables, and guests bring their own food and drinks. Sunday classical matinees switch to rows of chairs facing the stage. A Friday night show here can stand in for dinner out. Pack takeout, claim a table, and you're done when the encore ends.

The PCA's posted 2026 lineup after this week:

• Friday, October 30, 7:30 p.m.: Louise Coombe, Coffeehouse
• Friday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.: Comedy Showcase
• Sunday, November 15, 4 p.m.: Classical Mosaic String Quartet, in matinee seating
• Friday, December 11, 7:30 p.m.: Ellis Paul, Coffeehouse, with opener Claire Dacey
• Saturday, December 19, 7:30 p.m.: Dashing Rock
• Wednesday, December 23, 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: Charlie Brown Christmas Jazz

With 125 seats, the two December 23 performances are the date to book early, because that is the night when people home for the holidays want an outing.

The Museum Keeps Sunday Afternoons

Across Boston Road, the Westford Historical Society and Museum books its public programs for weekend afternoons. Two are on the calendar for November:

• Sunday, November 15, 1:30 to 3 p.m.: David S. Brody launches Caput 58, the newest book in his Templar in America series, as a book signing and open house.
• Sunday, November 22, 1:30 to 3 p.m.: "Do You Remember that Old Barn?", a presentation on the barns that once supported farming in Westford and still mark its scenery.

Put that next to the PCA list and November 15 becomes a double bill on the Common. The Brody signing ends at 3 p.m. and the string quartet matinee starts at 4 p.m. a short walk away. You can see a local author and hear a classical program in one afternoon without moving the car.

The Library Borrows Rooms in the Center

This season, J.V. Fletcher Library is holding several programs outside its own building. Two of them are in First Parish Church United at 48 Main Street, so they land inside the same cluster:

• Saturday, November 14, 2 to 4 p.m.: The Friends of the Library annual meeting, with author Meg Mitchell Moore.
• Monday, November 30, 1 to 1:45 p.m.: A family music concert with Sulinha's Trio.

A third goes to a school gym. "Who's Watching You? Owls of the World," presented by Eyes on Owls, is Tuesday, November 10, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Abbot Elementary School gym at 25 Depot Street. The library's November calendar has times and any sign-up details.

That means November 14 also stacks up on Main Street. Book lovers can finish the Friends meeting at First Parish at 4 p.m. and still be in the Center for whatever comes next.

December 9 Connects Two of the Buildings

One December event ties the Museum and the PCA together on purpose. The Cameron senior center's newsletter announces the Festival of Trees & Afternoon Affair for Wednesday, December 9, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., hosted by the Cameron and the Friends of the Cameron. It starts at the Westford Museum with decorated trees and a surprise activity. Then everyone moves to the PCA for gingerbread cake, hot cider, and holiday music by guitarist Chris Carter. Homemade gifts will be for sale, and the Friends of the Cameron are sponsoring the music.

The same newsletter lists two more December outings. Caroling, Cocoa and Cookies is at Good Pickin' Farm, 5 Gould Road, on Thursday, December 10 at 10:30 a.m. A Holiday Luncheon is at St. Catherine's Parish Hall, 2 West Street, on Friday, December 11, with music at 10:45 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m. These are Cameron programs, so the senior center's front desk is the place to ask about sign-up.

For the tree lighting, last year's date gives a sense of timing. The town calendar listed the Girl Scouts' Tree Lighting on Sunday, November 30, 2025, from 3 to 6 p.m. For 2026, keep an eye on the town's calendar as late November gets closer.

The Season, in Order

Combined, the calendars give the Center a steady run of dates from the end of October to Christmas week:

1. Fri, Oct 30: Last day of early voting at Town Hall. Louise Coombe at the PCA, 7:30 p.m.
2. Tue, Nov 3: General Election.
3. Fri, Nov 6: Comedy Showcase at the PCA, 7:30 p.m.
4. Tue, Nov 10: Eyes on Owls, Abbot School gym, 4 p.m.
5. Sat, Nov 14: Friends of the Library meeting with Meg Mitchell Moore, First Parish, 2 p.m.
6. Sun, Nov 15: David S. Brody at the Museum, 1:30 p.m., then Classical Mosaic String Quartet at the PCA, 4 p.m.
7. Sun, Nov 22: "Do You Remember that Old Barn?" at the Museum, 1:30 p.m.
8. Mon, Nov 30: Sulinha's Trio at First Parish, 1 p.m.
9. Wed, Dec 9: Festival of Trees & Afternoon Affair, Museum to PCA, 1 p.m.
10. Fri, Dec 11: Ellis Paul at the PCA, 7:30 p.m.
11. Sat, Dec 19: Dashing Rock at the PCA, 7:30 p.m.
12. Wed, Dec 23: Charlie Brown Christmas Jazz at the PCA, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Two weekends stand out. On November 14 and 15, three institutions program events within a short walk of each other. December 9 through 11 brings the Festival of Trees, the caroling morning, and the Ellis Paul coffeehouse close together.

Before the Farm Season Closes

The outdoor season around the Center isn't quite over. Drew Farm, at 31 Tadmuck Road, lists Family Yoga from 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, Truffle from 1 to 4 p.m. that afternoon, and Lukie's Fortune from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 1. Drew Farm's website lists fall hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with apples, pumpkins and local products. Call ahead as the month turns, since farm hours tend to change once the season moves on.

If your route to the Center comes in from the northwest, Groton Road is part of the plan for a few more weeks. MIT is paying for and managing a waterline extension that runs about 2,900 feet west from roughly 105 Groton Road, which is Route 40, to Millstone Hill Road, then about 2,600 feet north along Millstone Hill Road to MIT's property. Work is scheduled to wrap up around November 15. The town has warned of lane restrictions and delays, and both roads are to be repaved where crews dug them up. The town posts traffic updates on the Westford Public Works Facebook page, which is worth checking before heading to a 4 p.m. matinee.

If you've been wondering which streets put the PCA and the Museum within easy walking distance, or how life near the Common differs from Westford's other villages, I'm always glad to talk it through. Reach out to Laura Rakauskas. Let's Connect.