All Souls hosts annual Tag Sale
WEST BRATTLEBORO - All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church will hold its annual Tag Sale on Friday, May 8, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday May 9, from 8 to 11 a.m. Sponsored by the Women's Federation.
This popular sale will feature clothing for women, men and children, and household items such as vacuums, toaster ovens, lamps, books, toys, jewelry, and more. The proceeds will support projects beyond the church budget.
All Souls Church is located at 29 South St. up the driveway from the West Brattleboro Fire Station.
One-day safe driving course offered for older drivers
BRATTLEBORO - You're not the same driver you were when you were 16…or 35…or 65. As we age, our driving abilities change and our physical state can influence our behind-the-wheel state, too.
If you want to refresh your driving skills, and get a discount on car insurance, you will want to register for the upcoming AARP Driver Safety Program at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
The program will be held on Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the Brew Barry Conference Center.
Every year, there are new driving regulations and rules, as well as advances in car technology and safety. The course is for people 50 years old and older, and is designed to provide awareness of aging as it affects driving.
Students will learn about current road rules; common age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time; how to minimize blind spots, change lanes, make turns, and maintain good following distance behind a car; identifying the most common crash situations and reducing your risk; medications and their effect on driving; and driving distractions and evaluation of skills and abilities.
AARP membership is not required to take the course and there are no tests to pass. Class size is limited. The fee for the course is $20, which covers the cost of materials. (The rate for AARP members with membership card is $15.) To register for the class, or for further information call 802-257-8777.
Immediately following the AARP Driver Safety Program a free CarFit event is being offered. A team of trained technicians and/or health professionals work with each participant to ensure they “fit” their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety; it takes about 20 minutes of your time. You can register for CarFit by calling 802-257-8777.
Broad Brook Grange presents Mother's Day brunch
GUILFORD - Broad Brook Grange will present its 19th annual Mother's Day Brunch on Sunday, May 10, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Grange hall in Guilford Center.
The proceeds from the event will allow for continued renovations of the historic building.
The all-you-can-eat brunch features eggs and omelets, any style, made to order. Also on the menu are pancakes, French toast, sausage, bacon and home fries, with Guilford maple syrup.
Other treats include home-baked coffee cakes and other baked goods, fresh fruit salad, and bread for toasting. A selection of juices will be available, along with coffee, teas, and milk.
No reservations are necessary for the meal, which is priced at $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, and $5 for ages 2-12. Kids under two are free.
This event is the first of two brunches for 2015, and will be followed by a similar event on Father's Day. Broad Brook Grange is at 3940 Guilford Center Road, 4 miles west of the Guilford Country Store. For more information, call 802-257-1961.
Birding walk with Richard Foye on May 10
WESTMINSTER WEST - For several years now, Richard Foye, birder extraordinaire, has led a spring celebratory birding walk for the Pinnacle Association.
On Sunday May 10, at 7 a.m., Foye will lead a loop walk from Holden Trail to the Pinnacle cabin and back. Along the way he will help participants fine-tune their birding-by-ear skills. This could be a very interesting and special way to celebrate Mother's Day.
Interested birders should meet at the Holden Trail kiosk and bring binoculars and a bird book, if available. They should register with Sarah Waldo at 802-387-6036 or [email protected] so Waldo can let them know if there are any changes.
For information about other free Pinnacle programs and directions to the meeting site, participants should visit www.windmillhillpinnacle.org.
Brattleboro Garden Club hosts May events
BRATTLEBORO - Mary Filgate, owner of Floral Gates Nursery in Guilford, will speak about dividing perennials on Monday, May 11. She will demonstrate techniques for dividing perennials successfully, as well as pruning effectively to correct the natural pruning done by nature during the winter.
This meeting of the Brattleboro Floral Arts and Garden Club will take place at the Green Mountain Chapel on Western Avenue in Brattleboro. The event is open to the public. For more information, contact Ann Newsmith at 802-257-4710 or [email protected].
The Garden Club will also host its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 23, at 9 a.m., at the same location. Members will be offering high-quality, locally grown, and reasonably priced perennials, annuals, herbs, shrubs, and more. Preview plants 8:30 until 9 a.m. The sale will happen rain or shine.
Osher lectures on insects, the movies conclude
DUMMERSTON - The Brattleboro Chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will hold the last in its current series of spring morning and afternoon lectures on May 11.
In the morning, Bob Engel will discuss insects as disease carriers and insects in agriculture. In the afternoon, Rick Winston will consider music in the movies.
The morning lectures run from 10 a.m. to noon; while the afternoon lecture is from 1 to 3 p.m. They will be held at the Southeastern Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 Vermont Route 5, Dummerston. Parking and handicapped access are available, and light refreshments will be served at the lectures.
For further information, including concerning cancellations, call 802-257-8600 or toll-free 866-889-0042.
Hospice to offer educational presentation on grieving
BRATTLEBORO - On Monday, May 11, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Connie Baxter, bereavement care coordinator for Brattleboro Area Hospice, will present a workshop, “Someone You Know is Grieving - How Can You Help?”
This free educational presentation will offer skills and strategies that help people to have increased confidence and comfort in being a friend and companion to people around them who have experienced a loss. The event will take place in the Brew Barry Conference Center at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and is offered as a part of the Wellness in Windham Health Education Series.
Many people feel uncomfortable with the prospect of supporting or helping someone who has experienced a death loss. We're afraid of saying the wrong thing, of making the person feel even sadder, or we simply feel there's nothing we can do to help. The truth is there are things we can say and do to help a grieving friend.
This event offers the opportunity to develop skills, gain confidence and perhaps even find enthusiasm for being a companion to a bereaved friend or relative. To register for this free event, contact Baxter at 802-257-0775, ext. 104, or [email protected].
Boy Scouts seek new members in Deerfield Valley
Boy Scout Troop 461 is looking for new members. Scouting is a leadership development program for boys who have completed fifth-grade to 17 years of age. Advancement awards lead to the Eagle Scout rank, a nationally recognized college entrance selection criterion.
Adult leaders in the troop are trained and have more than 100 years of combined Scouting experience, including Eagle Scout awards.
Scouting activities are scheduled so they do not conflict with either school or sports. Sign up nights will be held at schools in Dover, Whitingham, Wilmington and Marlboro at 7 p.m. Sessions will be held at Dover Elementary School on May 11, Twin Valley Middle-High School in Whitingham on May 12, Marlboro Elementary School on May 13, and Wilmington Elementary on May 14.
For more information, contact the Troop 461 Committee: Chuck Gentilin at 802-348-7752 or Dick Ward at 802-464-8480.
BF Woman's Club to meet
BELLOWS FALLS - A pot luck luncheon will be held as the final meeting of the Bellows Falls Woman's Club for this club year, planned for May 12 at the United Church, School St. beginning at noon.
Club members will be called by the telephone committee and advised on what to furnish for the meal; the Executive Board will provide beverages. During the meeting, the 125th anniversary of the founding of the General Federation of Women's Clubs will be celebrated.
Rec & Parks Dept. to host summer registration extravaganza
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department will hold its annual summer program registration extravaganza on Wednesday and Thursday, May 13 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., in the Conference Room at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St.
Families will now be able to register children for all of their summer programs - Summer Day Camp, Little Peoples Camp, “Hoop It Up” Basketball Camp, Baseball Camp, Gymnastics Camp, Track & Field, Tennis Lessons, Golf Lessons, Art Classes, Challenger Soccer Camp, US Sports Camp, Discounted Pool Passes, Lacrosse Camp, Mad Science Camp, and more - all at one convenient location.
The Recreation & Parks 2015 summer brochure will be distributed at all the Brattleboro elementary schools, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Gibson-Aiken Center. You may also check out their website at www.brattleboro.org and Facebook. For more information, call the Recreation & Parks Department at 802-254-5808.
American Legion Concert Band presents spring concert
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro American Legion Concert Band's 25th annual Spring Concert will be held on Wednesday, May 13, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street. This is a free concert open to the general public and features a wide variety of musical styles.
In addition to some traditional patriotic selections, the band will perform excerpts from Broadway musicals and Hollywood movies, a fun piece featuring the trombone section, and on the more serious side, Frank Ticheli's masterpiece An American Elegy.
Ticheli composed An American Elegy in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School in 1999 and in honor of the survivors. Calling the work “an expression of hope,” Ticheli has said it is “offered as a tribute to their great strength and courage.”
The band will also announce its plans to compete in the national American Legion Concert Band competition to be held in Baltimore in August.
Grow your own mushrooms: An intro to the fun in fungi
BRATTLEBORO - On Wednesday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m., Collin Parliman will demonstrate how to get started growing mushrooms.
Parliman has been a student of mycology ever since his days in beautiful Oregon. A passion that started with hunting for chanterelles for his dinner has grown into a true fascination of mysterious mycelium and its fruit of all shapes and sizes.
He has worked with some of the top mycology scientists in the world, as well as with mushroom farmers, wild crafters, and overall mushroom fanatics. He currently runs a small organic shiitake farm in Jamaica called Turkey Mountain Mushroom Farm.
The mushroom demonstration will be held, rain or shine, at the Wild Carrot CSA on Fairwinds Farm located at 511 Upper Dummerston Road, and is free and open to the public to observe and take notes. Space is limited, so please reserve a space by sending an email to [email protected] by May 12.
For those interested, you may bring your own freshly cut oak or maple log, about 2 to 3 feet long, and purchase shiitake spawn to inoculate for $5. This event is presented by the Windham County Chapter of UVM Extension Master Gardeners.
Workshop outlines managing your woods with birds in mind
DUMMERSTON - On Friday, May 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be a workshop on managing your wood lot to improve bird habitat. Workshop leaders are Steve Hagenbuch and Jim Shallow, conservation biologists with Audubon Vermont, and George Weir, a consulting forester.
In addition to presentations by these experts, there will be bird and forest walks. These forays will highlight how to inventory and assess bird habitat and the use of forest management practices to benefit birds and other native wildlife.
This workshop, which is sponsored by Dummerston Conservation Commission, Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, Southeastern Vermont Audubon, and Windham Regional Woodlands Association, will be held at Deer Run Farm in Dummerston. The location is 1026 Camp Arden Road. From Brattleboro, go west on Route 30 (West River Road) about 6.5 miles. Turn right and go over the covered bridge. Then turn left onto Camp Arden Road and travel about 2 miles to Deer Run Farm.
The workshop sponsors will provide morning coffee and lunch beverages. Participants should bring a brown bag lunch, binoculars, and footwear that is suitable for easy walks in the woods.
The registration donation of $15 will include a copy of Audubon Vermont's book, Managing Your Woods With Birds in Mind. To aid in planning, the sponsors would appreciate early registration. Contact Jane Michaud of the Dummerston Conservation Commission at [email protected] or 802-254-1343.
Stock your pond with trout from Windham Conservation District
BRATTLEBORO - Rainbow and Brook trout are once again available for stocking private ponds through the Spring Fish Stocking Program, sponsored by the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District.
The trout will be available for pick up at the Agway parking lot on Putney Road on May 22. The supplier will be Hy-On-A Hill Trout Farm. Available sizes will be 6- to 8-inch rainbow and brook trout, which will be available for pick up, while 10- to 12-inch rainbows and brookies will be delivered to your ponds.
The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District, with offices in Brattleboro, has offered the fish-stocking program for pond owners since 1979. Last date to order is May 15. Order forms can be obtained from the district office by calling 802-254-5323, Ext. 104, emailing [email protected], or at www.windhamcountynrcd.org.