Things to Do in Medford

Luke Adams's childhood talent for drawing spurred him toward an education in glasswork at the Massachusetts College of Art, where he honed his technique under artists from all over the country. Today, Luke molds his molten medium into colorful, one-of-a-kind starfish suncatchers, jewelry, and paperweights. Through jewelry-making and glassblowing classes, his studio spreads a passion for glass-oriented artistry, teaching students to shear and assemble artful shards, molding them into versatile, translucent building blocks similar to the kind used to by Gustave Eiffel to construct an ice-cube model of his infamous tower.

For Annissa Essaibi George, sewing has not just been a lifelong passion, but also a means of getting what she wants. At age 6, her mother taught her to sew so that she could make her Barbie a new outfit. In college, she and her roommate stitched together scrunchies, selling them to fund take-out and nights out. She even designed her own wedding dress. Today, sewing is the fuel behind her business, through which she furnishes sewers and knitters with the supplies to craft their projects and the skills they need to clothe every statue in the park. Annissa's pink-walled shop houses patterns, fabrics, knitting kits, and cubbies overflowing with polychromatic spools of yarn. Classes run on a five-day schedule and cover such stitching styles as knitting, crocheting, and pattern sewing for crafters of all levels.

Golfers prepare swings for their next pin-hunting expedition year-round at Fore Seasons Learning Center’s indoor and outdoor golf facilities. Whirring orbs race across the New England sky above the center’s 76-stall outdoor driving range, which features both natural grass and turf hitting mats as well as 18 covered and heated stalls, where golf devotees are safe from the elements of chill winters or perilous golf cart-size hail.

Inside the studio, aboutGolf simulators whisk clients away to digitally replicated versions of legendary courses, allowing them to hunt birdies amid the blustery seascape of St. Andrews or evade pixilated porpoises at Pebble Beach. PGA professional Joe Pustizzi roams the center’s grounds, divulging wisdom drawn from more than 30 years of experience and harnessing the simulators and other technological teaching aids to help clubbers on their path to lower scores and higher fives.

After a fast-paced 20-year career working in public television, Fay Sutherland shifted her focus to her other passion: yoga. Drawing from 15 years of practice and multiple yoga certifications, she opened Dancing Crow Yoga with her husband, aspiring to help others to increase their fitness level while striving toward inner freedom. Fay and her fellow certified instructors focus on the Iyengar tradition, teaching both Vinyasa and Anusara yoga styles that can be just as challenging for the body as they are nurturing to the soul. Vinyasa’s high-intensity series of continuous postures is linked by deep, mindful breaths, helping practitioners of all shapes, sizes, and Baldwin-brother preference to build strength and flexibility while achieving a state of serene relaxation. Anusara's heart-centered philosophy supports mental clarity and emotional growth, inspiring patrons to lead a well-rounded life of total wellness.

Salsa y Control's instructors—who have performed and taught across the nation—welcome students for a variety of salsa classes. Beginner salsa courses help dancers develop basic steps, techniques, and etiquette, and more advanced courses delve into refining footwork and working with partners. Salsa y Control also offers intermediate classes, along with classes on bachata, burlesque, and cha cha.

Light streams in through the studio windows, bouncing off the painted brick walls and illuminating the yogis—each like a cat arching its back in a sunbeam—stretching on the hardwood floor. At Shiva Shakti Yoga Center, instructors tailor each 60- to 90-minute yoga class to accommodate students of all experience levels. Drawing on such methods as hatha, Vinyasa, and Anusara, the dynamic, fluid sessions help strengthen muscles and center minds. The studio also hosts occasional workshops with guest teachers to keep bodies limber through varied regimens.