Brattleboro
• Yard sale benefits Yellow Ribbon Operation S.O.S: Yellow Ribbon Operation Support Our Soldiers (S.O.S) is a community organization of family, friends and supporters of military personnel serving our country. On a regular basis, the group sends “care packages” to personnel deployed overseas.
To help pay for the cost of doing this, Yellow Ribbon members will hold a yard sale on Saturday, June 26, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 179 Chestnut St. For more information, contact Vicki Nadeau at 802-257-1004.
• Library Trustee needed: Brooks Memorial Library has an opening for one trustee on the Library Board to serve an unexpired term to March 2011. The candidate will be appointed by the Selectboard and then run for election at representative Town Meeting in March 2011 for a three-year term until 2014. Candidates for this position should have an interest in maintaining a strong and visionary library in Town. Candidates with technology skills are encouraged to apply.
Trustees must be residents of Brattleboro and will be elected at annual the Town Meeting in March. The successful candidate would begin duties in September 2010.
The board, which numbers nine trustees, meets at the Library from 4:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, September through June. Members are asked to serve on one or more committees that convene as needed.
Applicants should send a letter or e-mail describing their interest in serving on the Library Board no later than Friday, July 9, to Trustee Position, Board of Trustees, Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. Brattleboro, VT 05301 or to [email protected].
• Bowlerama kicks off Empty Bowls Effort: The Brattleboro Clayworks is gearing up for the seventh annual Empty Bowls Dinner, a benefit for the Brattleboro Drop In Center, with its annual Bowlerama on Saturday, June 26.
Bowlerama offers an opportunity for those who have little or no experience in clay to create a bowl to donate to the dinner. Annie Lauterbach, Bonnie Stearns and Alan Steinberg will be available to help bowl-makers get started, provide basic instruction and troubleshoot if assistance is needed.
Space is limited, so Clayworks asks interested parties to sign up in advance for the morning or afternoon session: 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Call the Clayworks at 802-254-9174 to reserve a place for you and your party. Children ages 10 and over are welcome, accompanied by an adult. Clayworks is donating instruction, clay, glaze, and firing costs. There is no charge to participate, however, financial donations are welcome.
• Town Arts Committee seeks candidates: The Brattleboro Town Arts Committee will have two vacant seats in July. The committee consists of seven volunteer members and works with the Selectboard, Town Manager and all town offices to formulate a public arts policy. It meets twice a month, on Tuesdays from 3:45-5:15 p.m., in the Municipal Building.
The appointments for the two vacancies will be made by the Selectboard based on applications and interviews. Applications are available at the Town Manager's office, and should be returned there. Questions may be referred to chairman Hugh Keelan at [email protected].
Grafton
• Grafton Village placed National Historic list: The Grafton Village Historic District has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.
“The Grafton Village Historic District is one of the most well-preserved rural villages in Vermont,” said Giovanna Peebles, State Historic Preservation officer and head of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. “This is a really great example of how historic preservation can be a benefit to our tourism industry.”
Grafton represents the architecture and landscape of an intact nineteenth-century Vermont village, Peebles said, with the loss of few historic buildings and the intrusion of even fewer modern structures.
Eighty-eight of the ninety-four primary resources in the village contribute to its significance, and 82 of these 88 historic resources date to the 1870s or earlier.
The National Register nomination noted that, “The current vitality and intact state of the village are a result of tourism, preservation-minded residents - many of whose families have resided in Grafton for several generations - and the activities and dedication of the Grafton Historical Society and the Windham Foundation.”
The National Register, created by Congress in 1966, is the nation's official list of historic cultural properties worthy of preservation. Eligibility is based on criteria that emphasize quality of design and workmanship and historic association. The program is run in Vermont by the Division for Historic Preservation. More than 12,000 buildings in Vermont are currently listed in the National Register.
The nomination and other information about the National Register is available on the Division's website at www.historicvermont.org, under “Historic Registers.”
Guilford
• Tours Feature Guilford Gardens and Much More: Friends of Music at Guilford's 10th Biennial Garden Tours, Plant Sale & Garden Party, a co-fundraiser for Friends of Music and the Guilford Historical Society, are coming up on Sunday, June 27, rain or shine.
Between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., visitors can take a self-guided tour of eight Guilford gardens on a wide variety of properties. There are a number of extra attractions along the way, including a variety of animals and exotic birds, several ponds by which to relax or picnic, a solar greenhouse, some edibles, farm products, and garden-inspired artwork for sale. Tour patrons can learn about garden design, installing rain gardens and labyrinths, building with stone, bottling vinegars, cooking with ornamental edibles, and other garden-related skills.
A sale of overstocked annuals, perennials and vegetables from private gardeners and area nurseries is open to the general public at noon at Broad Brook Grange, 3940 Guilford Center Rd. Windham Flowers will also be be on hand from noon to 4 p.m. with a selection of exotic orchids as well as pottery, supplies and information on cultivating them. A selection of garden-inspired painted tiles by artist Carol Keiser will also be offered for sale.
The Garden Party gets underway in the Grange at 2 p.m. with complimentary tea sandwiches, desserts, and lemonade offered by the Guilford Historical Society (donations welcome). At 3 p.m., there is a brief and entertaining Friends of Music Membership Meeting upstairs in the community hall (one can join on the spot), followed at 3:45 by a short concert featuring the Blue Moon a cappella quintet and cabaret singer extraordinaire Stephanie Petkanas. The concert is open to the public and offered free of charge.
Tickets and a printed copy of the Garden Tours Guide will be available in advance at Maple Leaf Music in Brattleboro and from the Guilford Country Store along Route 5 starting Thursday, June 24. Note that the country store, which is changing hands at the end of the month, has limited hours at present.
Tickets will be available on Sunday, June 27, at both the Guilford Country Store and Broad Brook Grange from 9:30 a.m., as well as at Deer Ridge Farm at 4057 Hinesburg Rd., the flower farm on the tour. Folks who approach the Garden Tours from Route 9 in West Brattleboro that day can buy their tickets on the village green at the junction of South Street, across from the West Brattleboro fire station. For additional information, call Friends of Music at 802-254-3600.
Putney
• The Grammar School opens summer programs: The Grammar School has begun its summer camp for 4-12 year olds. They serve children from three states and nine towns with summer classes in the arts and other activities.
The first session began on June 21 and continues through July 2. The second will be held on July 5-16. Teachers are professional artists and educators.
The camp offers a variety of options including making musical instruments, archery, batik, cartooning, skateboarding, sewing, garden arts, painting, drawing and collage. Classes are offered on a prorated basis, where children have the option of taking one to three classes a day. Students who participate in the full day program finish each afternoon with a trip to the Putney Pool.
For more information, go to www.thegrammarschool.org/program/summer2010.htm or contact William Chambers at 802-387-5364, ext. 209, or [email protected].
There also will be two mountain biking camps at The Grammar School in July. The half-day session will run from July 5-9 and the full day camp from July 9-16. For more information, go to www.thegrammarschool.org/sports/sports.html or contact Deb Gray at 802-387-5364, ext. 107 or [email protected].
Townshend
• Crafts at the Library: Children of all ages are invited to Friday crafts at the Townshend Library on June 25 at 10 a.m.
For more information, call 802-365-4039.
Westiminster
• Strawberry supper: On Saturday, June 26, there will be a strawberry supper from 5-7 p.m. at the Westminster Congregational Church.
The menu will include baked Vermont ham, potato salad, coleslaw, cucumber salad and iced tea and lemonade, with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Tickets are $9 for adults and $4 for children under 12.