Senior meals return to Williamsville
WILLIAMSVILLE - On Thursday, May 22 at noon, at the Williamsville Town Hall in the downstairs dining room, there will be a dinner for seniors in Williamsville and surrounding communities.
On the menu: salad, rolls, and braised pot roast with potatoes and vegetables, with chocolate lava dump cake for dessert.
The meal is prepared by Jon Julian, hosted by Nancy Rysz and Nissa Petrak, and sponsored by Senior Solutions. The suggested donation is $3.50 for those 60 and above and $4 for those younger. For information and reservations, call Rysz at 802-348-7729 or Petrak at 802-348-6301.
Healing walk at Manitou on Friday
WILLIAMSVILLE - The Manitou Project will hold a healing walk on Friday, May 23, from 4 to 6 p.m. This meditative walk on Manitou's Sanctuary Trail is guided by Fred Taylor and includes poems or other readings with the chance to share reflections of the experience.
Healing walks will be held every second and fourth Friday until mid October.
The Manitou Project seeks to foster communion with nature on its 245-acre preserve at 300 Sunset Lake Rd. For more information, contact Taylor at 802-387-2681.
Guilford Free Library presents spring book sale
GUILFORD - The Guilford Free Library Spring Book Sale is Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Featured are hundreds of mysteries, novels, picture books, and cookbooks, and lots of everything else for your browsing pleasure. More than 1,000 books are priced to sell at $1 each.
The Book Sale is an annual fund-raiser for the library as it adds to its collection for children and adults. Donations to the book sale are still being collected. Donations should be in good and salable condition. No textbooks, encyclopedias, or magazines will be accepted
The Guilford Free Library is at 4024 Guilford Center Rd., about 4 miles from Route 5 and just beyond Broad Brook Grange. For more information, call Cathi Wilken at 802-254-6545.
Chicken BBQ served in West Brattleboro
WEST BRATTLEBORO - A chicken barbecue, sponsored by the West Brattleboro Association (WBA), is set for the front of the First Congregational Church on Western Avenue on Saturday, May 24, from 11 a.m. until it's all gone.
For $6 you can get half a barbecued chicken; for $10 enjoy that chicken with sides of baked beans and coleslaw. Top off your meal with a homemade dessert from the First Congregational Church bake sale, which takes place during the barbecue.
The recipes used to make these goodies have a local history: The chicken barbecue sauce recipe is one used for the Guilford Fair Fireman's Barbecue for many years by Joe Jewett when he was a member of the fire department. Jewett is griller extraordinaire for this semi-annual WBA chicken barbecue and he still makes the firehouse BBQ sauce!
The baked beans offered with the chicken are an original Thurber (yes, the farm) recipe. Marjorie Thurber's home baked beans have been a staple on the farm for many years, and her daughter Helen is carrying on the tradition. She says this recipe appeared in Great New England Recipes, a cookbook published by Yankee magazine in 1983 when she and her mother-in-law (Bertha Robb) were featured with other New England cooks.
Proceeds help defray the expense of the projects undertaken by the West Brattleboro Association.
Nature-based mentoring workshop for youth and adults offered
BRATTLEBORO - On Saturday, May 24, Vermont Wilderness School offers a workshop for youth and adults (considered 16 and up) on Coyote Mentoring. Parallel programming for those aged 5-15 are interwoven with the adult program throughout the day, which runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The workshop is at Neighbor's Hall at Solar Hill, 229 Western Ave.
Amy Hyatt, a 14-year veteran of facilitating Coyote Mentoring, will coach participants in wilderness awareness, nature connection, and mentoring, and why these are important to one's health and happiness.
Adult participants will go outside for two hours of experiential activities. Children will play and learn outside with a qualified nature mentor, and will join the adults some of the time.
The fee is $75/adults, $25/kids. For more information and to register, contact Hyatt at Vermont Wilderness School, 802-257-8570 or [email protected].
Timson Hill Preschool presents spring festival
WILLIAMSVILLE - Timson Hill Preschool, a private, nonprofit, fully licensed, and NAEYC-accredited preschool, hosts its annual spring festival on Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine.
This event includes fun activities for all ages, including a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, a fire engine, a variety of arts and crafts and indoor activities, a caricature artist, and an outdoor playground. You'll also find hamburgers, hot dogs, and baked goods, and a tag sale with children's clothing and books. The Vermont Natural History Museum will give a special presentation of live raptors.
Admission is $5 per person or $10 per family. All proceeds help support this preschool program. For more information, call Kathie at 802-348-6319 or visit www.timsonhillpreschool.org.
West River Farmers Market opens this weekend
LONDONDERRY - The West River Farmers Market runs every Saturday, from 9 a.m. to p.m., from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend.
Nestled along the bank of the West River at the junction of routes 11 and 100 in Londonderry, the West River Farmers Market provides loads of fresh local produce, local foods and baked goods, world-famous cheeses, meats, eggs, milk, and crafts, and more.
This Saturday, the Bondville Boys will provide the music. The community table will feature the Friends of Pingee Park. For updates, visit their website and Facebook page.
Geologist leads nature hike in Putney
PUTNEY - Dummerston geologist John Warren leads a hike on Sunday, May 25 from 10 a.m., highlighting geologic points of interest - including a volcano - at the Beatrice Aiken Conservation Site, a preserve for wildflowers and birds that was given to the town by Sen. George Aiken in memory of his first wife, “Bea.”
After extensive research, Warren has created an accompanying booklet, hot off the press, “A Tale of an Ancient Volcano: A Geological Trail Guide to the Beatrice Aiken Conservation Site.”
As of May 25, the Putney Conservation Commission will keep trail guides in the green mailbox next to the site's kiosk. With the guide, people can enjoy geological walks by referring to numbered posts along the Beatrice Aiken loop trail.
The trail is short and steep. Parking is just south of the trail head on Old Route 5, at the Putney-Dummerston line. For more information, call Ann Kerrey at 802-387-5685.
Marlboro Grad School offers free photo editing workshop
BRATTLEBORO - “Photo Editing and Organizing” is held at the Marlboro College Graduate and Professional Studies Center, 28 Vernon St., on Tuesday, May 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The workshop is free, but register first at gradschool.marlboro.edu.
Participants will explore tools and services that make editing and sharing digital photos a breeze. Cameraphone photographer, point and shoot artist, or DSLR pro: all are invited.
The workshop, led by Tobias Gelston, emphasizes a practical, hands-on approach to learning about technology and photography. Bring your own laptop with modern browser (Chrome is suggested) and a camera or access to photos you want to work with. Observers without computers and/or cameras are also welcome.
WCCA accepting nominations for Early Childhood Educator of the Year
BRATTLEBORO - Windham Child Care Association seeks nominations for the 2014 Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award from parents, grandparents, employers, friends, and colleagues.
Nominees must be early-childhood educators working in family- or center-based child care programs regulated by the state of Vermont.
Successful candidates will be knowledgeable of early childhood development; create a safe, loving, creative, stimulating environment for young children; nurture each child's growth; work with parents as partners in supporting the healthy development of their children; and demonstrate commitment and leadership to the field of early childhood education.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 30. For more information, visit www.windhamchildcare.org or call 800-254-5332.
Crafters needed for Bondville Fair Horse Pull
BONDVILLE - The second annual Bondville Fair Horse Pull is Saturday, May 31 (rain date, Sunday, June 1), and organizers are looking for crafters eager to show off and sell their wares.
For crafters, set-up time is 9 a.m.. Gates open to the public at 10 a.m. Entrance to the Horse Pull is free for crafters. For more information and an application, contact Estelle at 802-375-4831 or [email protected].
Grace Cottage Hospital Offers Thursday Yoga
TOWNSHEND - Grace Cottage Hospital is offering yoga at a new time. The new class is held on Thursdays from noon to 1:15 p.m. for six weeks beginning June 5 in the hospital's Community Wellness Center, 133 Grafton Rd. (Route 35).
The instructor is Ro Corbin, a registered yoga teacher. The style of yoga is called “Embodyoga,” often referred to as yoga from the inside out. Corbin focuses on a whole body/mind practice that embraces balance, core strength, and precision alignment. It's a gentle flow partnered with breath. A deep relaxation ends the practice.
Grace Cottage Hospital's Community Wellness Center offers a warm, bright, inspiring setting for these yoga classes. To register, call 802-365-3649.