UPDATED Aug. 17: The summer concert series, "Music at the Mill," at the Old Schwamb Mill, 17 Mill Lane in the Arlington Heights part of town, has set its final performance of the season in Mill Pond Park for 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17. Should there be inclement weather, shows can take place indoors, in the mill building itself.
Visitors may bring picnics to enjoy along with the music, organizers say.
Admission is now a suggested $5 per adult (rather than the previosu $10 per adult), and admission is free for people under 18 years old. "The Mill has instituted a donation of $5 (with free admission for those under 18) for the final concert of the summer featuring the Heatons. We hope to see you there!" Museum Director Lynette Aznavourian said. For more information, call 781-643-0554 or send an email message to
Scheduled Thursday, Aug. 17: The Heatons, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Matt and Shannon Heaton play updated and traditional Irish music on flute, accordion, guitar, bouzouki and voices. The Boston-based couple offer "well-travelled Irish music from the heart." Steeped in sessions in County Clare and brewed in the acoustic music scenes of Chicago and Boston, their flute/guitar/bouzouki instrumentals draw deeply from the Irish tradition.
The Heatons also gently incorporate the Thai music that Shannon learned as a kid pluz the rootsy Americana sounds that surrounded them during their three years in bluegrass-haven Boulder, Colo.
BackPocket played July 20
BackPocket is a Boston area band that plays an eclectic mix of blues, soul, funk and rock and that frequently plays locally.
Mystic Brass Quintet performed July 13
The Mystic Brass Quintet is a classically focused group of musicians from the Mystic Brass Ensemble.
In addition to participating in Mystic Brass Ensemble, the quintet's members also play in other Boston-area orchestras and ensembles, including the Bay Colony Brass, the New England Philharmonic and the Brookline Symphony, among others.
The group is particularly fond of playing from the mid-20th-century American songbook, using arrangements by the late Rockport composer Charles Collier Jones.
Closing Reception: Saturday, Aug. 26, 2 p.m.
Seasons of Light: The Work of Maryann Hondo & Anne Katzeff
This beautiful exhibit presents the work of two local watercolor artists. Maryann Hondo lives and works in Arlington. Her work reflects the power of light and color—two dimensionally in Plein Air Watercolors and three dimensionally in her blown glass. Anne Katzeff said, “What I try to do with my paintings is evoke the richness of a particular moment, with all of its sensations and emotions. Art is my way of honoring a special place or experience, usually in the natural world, and of celebrating the wonders of the universe."
Save the Date! Oktoberfest, Oct. 14, noon to 4 p.m.
This annual fundraiser for the Old Schwamb Mill is set to feature music, German delicacies including bratwurst, beer, pretzels and sweets, as well as games and hands-on activities for all!
Admission is $5/person or $15/family. Sponsors include: Custom Contracting, Gibson/Sotheby's International Realty, Pamela Toulopoulos at JVC Realty, Society Beauty Bar.
'The Power of Water' exhibit 
In the History Room through Nov. 4
In 1864, The Old Schwamb Mill was built next to Mill Brook to take advantage of free water power. But, where is the water wheel that would generate that power to operate the frame-making machinery? This new exhibit, “The Power of Water,” seeks to answer that question. Displays, including a replica wooden water wheel and informational panels, provides a brief history of several mill buildings that were located on this site since the late 1600s.
Old Schwamb Mill: Framing paintings, opening reception held
The Old Schwamb Mill presented a talk by Allison Jackson titled "Reframing Albert Moore’s Study for Blossoms: Historical Design, Contemporary Production" on Saturday, June 24.
What happens when a recently conserved painting is ready for display in the galleries -- but its frame is all wrong? This is the story of how a museum curator and a frame conservator teamed up to create a historically accurate reproduction of an unusual 19th-century frame.
In 2022, following extensive conservation treatment of the painting itself, Study for Blossoms was ready for display, but there was still one problem: It did not have an exhibitable frame.
Enter Jackson, assistant frame conservator, who, in the third year of the project, constructed a new frame for Moore’s painting after the artist’s own design. A second-generation gilding conservator, Jackson is the Harvard Straus Center’s first frame conservator on staff.
This news announcement was initially published May 1, 2023, based on information from an Old Schwamb Mill newsletter. It was last updated Aug. 17, 2023, with information provided by museum director Lynette Aznavourian. It was prepared for publication by Brynn O'Connor, assistant to the editor.
