Around the Towns

Brooks Library screens film on the 'Trillion Tree Campaign'

BRATTLEBORO - Tree Crop Solutions of Brattleboro will offer a free, public film screening and acorn distribution on Monday, Sept. 30, at 6:30 pm in the Main Reading Room of Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St.

The documentary Taking Root, by Lisa Merton and Alan Dater of Marlboro Productions, follows the work of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, the founder of the Green Belt Movement who helped transform the nation of Kenya through her planting of trees.

Maathai's work inspired the UN's Plant a Trillion Trees effort, which a recent UN Climate report lists as one of the most important things that can be done to fight climate change by removing an “astonishing” amount of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Maathai had many connections to this area, and she planted a tree at Oak Grove Elementary School.

Following the screening, Rolf Parker of Tree Crop Solutions in Brattleboro will provide select acorns and advice on how to plant and care for a tree this fall and winter, including information about land in the area where people can plant trees.

Healthy Aging educational series offered

TOWNSHEND - Every other Tuesday, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 26, Grace Cottage Hospital offers a free, five-session Healthy Aging educational series for women over 50. The informal meetings, held from 10 to 11:30 a.m., will focus on matters of the mind, body, and spirit.

The group will be led by Grace Cottage Community Health Team member Deb Brown, RN. Brown is a diabetes educator at Grace Cottage. Throughout the series, she will be joined by special guest speakers. Lectures and presentations will be followed by group discussion.

Meetings will be held in the Grace Cottage Community Wellness Center, Heins Building, 133 Grafton Road (Route 35,) Townshend. Class size is limited, and pre-registration is required. To learn more, or to register, contact Brown at [email protected] or 802-365-3640.

First Wednesdays talks begin with 'Approaching Islam, Approaching Difference'

BRATTLEBORO - “Approaching Islam, Approaching Difference” will launch the 2019-20 First Wednesdays series from the Vermont Humanities Council at Brooks Memorial Library.

The Oct. 2 program will begin at 7 p.m. in the library's Main Reading Room. The program is free, accessible to people in wheelchairs, and open to the public.

The Qur'an states that God created differences not only as a test for humanity but also as a path toward self-knowledge. In his talk, Marlboro College professor Amer Latif considers how the Qur'an frames the perennial problem of living more harmoniously in a diverse world.

“Approaching Islam, Approaching Difference” is free to the community through the generosity of Carole and Geof Gaddis and the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library. The First Wednesday series is underwritten by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Vermont Department of Libraries.

Latif has been professor of religious studies at Marlboro College since 2003. He is interested in issues surrounding cultural translation and has published translations of the poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, the 13th-century Muslim scholar and mystic. He is currently working on two books: Only God is Good: Islam in the Words of Jesus and Reading the Qur'an with Rumi. He grew up in Pakistan.

To learn more, contact Brooks Memorial Library at 802-254-5290 or visit www.brookslibraryvt.org.

Moore Library hosts book sale

NEWFANE - The Friends of the Moore Free Library will hold their Annual Book Sale on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This sale takes place in the Union Hall, just off the Common on West Street.

Categories include Animals, Art, Auto/Biography, Business/IT, Christmas, Coffee Table, Cooking, Crafts, Fiction, Foreign, Gardening, History, Humor, Large Print, Local & New England, Music, Photography, Poetry, Signed, Sports, Travel, Wellness, DVDs, music CDs, audio books, and a large offering of books for young people.

There will be a rare-book section of interest to collectors, “Blue Light Specials” will be offered throughout the day, and Library tote bags will be for sale: buy one and fill it for free.

To honor the late Targ Spicer, guiding spirit of the sale along with her husband, John, since its inception 27 years ago, the sale is now known as The Targ Spicer Memorial Book Sale. All proceeds go toward helping the Library serve the community.

The Moore Free Library is a private institution that functions as a public library but receives no State or federal funding. To learn more, call 802-365-7948.

Rummage sale in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Community Church will hold its annual fall rummage, tag, and bake sale on Friday Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 96 VT Rte. 112.

There will be four rooms of clothing, shoes, and home goods, plus a huge indoor tag sale. It will be a great time to get Halloween costumes or to stock up on Christmas decorations and stop by the bake sale for some delicious homemade goodies.

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