Apple pie making begins in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - Apple pie making is underway in the kitchen of the Dummerston Congregational Church.
For the next next two weeks, folks will gather to peel, quarter, core, and slice apples. Others will fill the pie shells, and top them off with each baker's own identifying crust. The pies will be baked and cold-stored for the annual Apple Pie Festival on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Pie-making sessions are 9 a.m. to noon, 4 to 6 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m. A highlight of each session is the tasting of a pie or two, along with a cup of coffee as the session comes to an end.
Veteran pie makers will guide newer bakers in dough rolling and pie filling.
Pies will be prepared Monday through Friday, from Thursday, Oct. 10 during the hours listed above. It's a great social opportunity.
For more information, call 802-257-0544.
United Way celebrates local initiatives
BRATTLEBORO - Celebrate HOPE, an event sponsored by United Way of Windham County, is set for Thursday, Oct. 3, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the American Legion in Brattleboro. The event celebrates the community initiatives in which the United Way collaborates.
Scheduled are the awarding of the first annual “Partner in HOPE” award, highlights of Adult Dental Care Day, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, Vermont 2-1-1 and their Fund for Quality Early Education, and the release of the second annual community impact report, “Celebrating HOPE 2013.”
The event is free. RSVP at www.unitedwaywindham.org or 802-257-4011.
BMH presents Letting Go of Stress class
BRATTLEBORO - Starting Thursday, Oct. 3, from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m., the six-session “Letting Go of Stress” class will be presented at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. The class is taught by Marc Cohen, a licensed clinical mental health counselor.
Written materials and a CD for home practice will be provided. There is a $150 fee for the six session class, with group and couple discounts and partial scholarships available.
To register, call 802-257-0319.
Share the Harvest table at Athens Community Supper
ATHENS - Join friends and neighbors at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, in the basement of the Athens Community Church for the monthly community supper.
This month, they will sponsor a “Share the Harvest” table at which community members can bring the excess from their home gardens to share with their neighbors who lack gardens.
No overgrown, overripe, or spoiled items, please. Leftover produce will be offered to the Townshend Food Shelf for distribution the following Monday.
The Athens Community Supper is sponsored by Grafton Cares. For more information, call Dennis and Karen at 802-869-2674.
Union Institute & University to host Experience Day
BRATTLEBORO - Union Institute & University will host an Experience Day on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon at its new location: the New England Academic Center, 28 Vernon St., Suite 210.
The event features an overview of the bachelor of arts degree weekend program. Prospective students can observe classes and learn about financial aid options and the application process.
The BA program caters to working adults and offers a flexible schedule in which students attend classes and interact with faculty and fellow students one weekend per month in Brattleboro.
Coursework can be designed around arts, literature and writing; education; global studies, history and culture; and psychology and human development.
A teacher licensure track and post-baccalaureate teacher licensure option are also available.
For more information, email [email protected], phone 802-254-0152, or visit the admissions office.
Guilford Church pie sale set for Oct. 5
GUILFORD - The Guilford Community Church pie sale takes place a week earlier than it has in years past: Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the corner of Route 5 and Guilford Center Road.
In addition to homemade apple, pecan, pumpkin, and specialty pies, the church's baked beans and potato salad will be sold.
All proceeds benefit the church, which supports more than 15 local programs serving the community, such as the Boy Scouts, Hospice, Meals on Wheels, and Brigid's Kitchen.
Osher lectures to discuss religious perfection, politics in movies
DUMMERSTON - The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), Brattleboro Chapter, rounds out its 11th year presenting lectures on Monday, Oct. 7.
The morning program in the series of six morning and afternoon lectures is titled “Becoming Human: Religious perspectives on cultivating awareness and realizing ethical perfection.”
The lecture by Amer Latif, professor of religious studies at Marlboro College, will examine how different religious traditions conceive of Man's ideal relationship to the divine.
Michael Krasner, a member of the political science faculty at Queens College, SUNY, presents the afternoon program, “American Politics through Film,” which will explore how selected movies over the past 15 years have treated different problems in American politics.
Movies under discussion are available as rental DVDs, or as downloads.
Morning and afternoon lectures are successive Mondays from Oct. 7. Morning lectures run from 10 a.m. to noon; afternoon lectures run from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Southeastern Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 Vermont Route 5, Dummerston.
Parking and handicapped access are available, and light refreshments will be served.
For more information, including fees and cancellations, call 802-257-8600 or 866-889-0042, or visit www.learningcollaborative.org.
Free workshop on creating a positive future
BRATTLEBORO - “Put on Your Party Hat and Take Life by the Lapels!” is presented on Tuesday, Oct. 8, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Marlboro College Graduate School, 28 Vernon St.
The workshop is a down-the-rabbit-hole primer for all ages to find their true selves in education and the work world. It will also be great for parents who want to help their kids create bright futures.
The session includes 13 highlights to remember about you, how to look for your sparks, and taking yourself seriously in decisions about careers and jobs.
Leading the workshop is Allyson Villars, founder of AnnaBananaCrocodile, LLC, a career counseling and coaching practice.
To register for this free workshop, visit gradschool.marlboro.edu.
Hospital hosts annual Poker Walk
TOWNSHEND - October is National Physical Therapy Month. To encourage everyone to get out and exercise, Grace Cottage Hospital's Rehabilitation Department will hold its 15th annual Poker Walk on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
This free, fun, two-mile walk/run is held each year, rain or shine. Preregistration is not required.
Playing cards are distributed along the way; a prize for the best poker hand is awarded at the end. All participants are eligible for door prize drawings. You may undertake the course as often as you wish, collecting a new poker hand each time.
Start any time between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Register at the Grace Cottage Wolff Outpatient Building, Route 35, Townshend.
The course goes north for one mile on Route 35, then back again to the Wolff Building.
For more information, call 802-365-3637.
White Cane Awareness Day is Oct. 15
BRATTLEBORO - The sixth annual White Cane Awareness Day on Tuesday, Oct. 15, celebrates both the independence and self-sufficiency of blind people in America and the white cane as a symbol of that independence and self-reliance.
The event starts at noon in front of Brooks Memorial Library on Main Street, with an introduction by author Linda Goodspeed. A walk to Elliott Street and back follows.
Everyone is invited to participate; a limited supply of T-shirts will be distributed.
Prior to the walk, at 10:30 a.m., Goodspeed will speak in the library's community meeting room during the monthly meeting of the Peer Assisted Learning Support (PALS) group for adults living with blindness or low vision. The public is welcome.
For more information, call 802-254-8761.
Vendor space still available for Pumpkin Fest
TOWNSHEND - Vendor spaces are available for the 29th annual Townshend Pumpkin Festival and Craft Fair on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Townshend Common from 9 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Craft and artist vendors interested in obtaining a booth space or who have questions may call Bob DeSiervo at 802-365-7179 or Ian Harrison at 802-874-4416. Applications are available at www.townshendvermont.org.
The event is sponsored by the Townshend Business Association.
Bereavement group forming
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Area Hospice announces a new bereavement group, “Loss and Transitions,” open to anyone in the community grieving the loss of a loved one at any time.
This group meets Tuesdays, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., starting Oct. 22 and ending Dec. 3 (no meeting on Nov. 26), at the hospice's 191 Canal St. headquarters.
Patty Dunn, hospice program coordinator, and Connie Baxter, bereavement care coordinator, are the co-facilitators.
The group is limited to 10 people. Call 802-257-0775, ext. 105 for information.
Sign-ups underway for holiday baskets
WARDSBORO - Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and that means the Jamaica/Wardsboro Community Food Pantry is taking a head count of those who would like to receive this special holiday distribution.
The Thanksgiving distribution is Monday, Nov. 25, at the Vestry of the Wardsboro Yoked Parish.
The food pantry needs donations of money or groceries: canned vegetables and fruits, tuna fish, soup, pasta, spaghetti sauce, cereal, peanut butter, jelly, and toilet paper.
Registration is required now to help organizers make sure that everyone will be served. The deadline is Nov. 20. Call Elaine Beckwith at 802-874-7234 to register.
TEDxSIT on Saturday
BRATTLEBORO- The TEDxSIT conference will take place at SIT Graduate Institute/World Learning on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Modeled after the TED conference, which features 18-minute talks on “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.
The event features a slate of local and regional speakers, including Ryland White, associate professor of intercultural service, leadership, and management at SIT; Jeff Potter, editor of The Commons; Donovan Arthen, executive director/affiliate Coordinator at PeaceJam New England; Leah McGrath Goodman, an investigative/financial journalist; Ben Falk, permaculture expert; Dottie Morris, diversity and multiculturalism officer at Keene State College; Kate Trzskos, youth educator and SIT alumna; and Tony Baker, Education for All Campaign Manager at RESULTS, a nonprofit citizens' advocacy organization.
Admission is $10 and includes entrance to the event and vouchers for lunch and a cocktail reception.
For more information, visit tedxsit.com or facebook.com/TEDxSIT.