Neighborhood Market opens for third season
BRATTLEBORO - The Neighborhood Market on Elliot Street is a market of Post Oil Solutions and started its third season on June 26.
The market is similar to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where people agree to pay farmers for a 15-week share of fresh, local and affordable produce. Payments can be made weekly, monthly, or by the season. The market takes place in the Elliot Street Cafe parking lot from 4-6 p.m. each Tuesday from through Oct. 2.
There are three, five, and nine vegetable shares available. There are reduced rate prices for people who are eligible for state sponsored health insurance and/or food stamps. There are also full price shares available for people who don't qualify for state assistance. People can pay by cash, check, or EBT cards. In addition to fresh produce, there will be educational activities, cooking demonstrations, taste tests, and cooking classes.
If you would like more information, call Hanna Jenkins at 802-258-8902 or theneighborhoodmarket@gmail.com.
BF Farmers' Market hosts Dairy Day on June 29
BELLOWS FALLS - On Friday, June 29, Bellows Falls Farmers' Market presents its first-ever Dairy Day.
The Milkhouse Heaters will provide the entertainment, and patrons can sample some cheese and enjoy dairy inspired crafts.
Dairy Day is just one of many special events to take place at the market over the season. Check out the calendar of events at www.bffarmersmarket.com for full details. The farmers' market accepts both EBT/debit cards as well as Farm to Family coupons, a program for low-income families that allows for purchases directly from farmers.
The farmers' market runs Fridays from 4-7 p.m. at the Waypoint Center on Depot Street, next to the Amtrak station.
Strawberry shortcake supper served in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - The Dummerston Congregational Church presents its annual strawberry shortcake supper on Saturday, June 30, from 5-7 p.m., at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center.
Tickets for the all-you-can-eat supper cost $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. This meal is served family-style with continuous servings and no reservations needed.
The same stellar chefs who cook for the Dummerston Apple Pie Festival in October reunite in early summer to whip up a classic New England church supper of rolled ham, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw along with banana, cranberry, and date nut breads. They cook the potato salad the day before, but prepare everything else fresh on supper day.
Dessert is the centerpiece of the meal. Dummerston shortcakes are the size of dinner plates, baked in pie tins, cut in half, then double-layered with Dummerston-grown strawberries. Each layered shortcake is cut into six wedges and topped with real whipped cream.
For more information contact Rev. Susanna Griefen at 802-257-0544 or susanna@griefen.com.
Harvest Health Coupons now available at Farmers' Market
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Farmers' Market will have Harvest Health Coupons available starting on Saturday, June 30.
EBT customers who use their benefits at the Saturday and Wednesday farmers' markets are eligible to receive matching funds in the form of coupons to spend at the market. The per-market limit is $10, and the program will continue as long as supplies last.
The Harvest Health Coupon Program is coordinated by NOFA-VT and funded by the Wholesome Wave Foundation. EBT and Harvest Health Coupons can purchase fruits and vegetables, breads, meats, cheeses, juices, maple, preserves, other prepared foods to take home and plants to grow food. For more information, call 802-254-8885.
EBT and debit cards are welcome at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market. The market is open from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays on Route 9 in West Brattleboro, and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays, downtown by the Gibson-Aiken Center.
Summer day camps offered at Living Memorial Park
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department is offering a day camp program for children ages 5-11 at Living Memorial Park this summer from July 2 through Aug. 10. Space is still available in most weeks. Call 802-254-5808 to check on what is available, or stop by the Recreation & Parks office at 207 Main St.
The day camp program runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and consists of arts & crafts, sports, games, archery, tennis, music, drama, hiking, special events, and swimming. The cost of camp per week is $80 for Brattleboro residents and $95 for non-residents. There is a $15 discount for the first week. After-camp care is also available from 4-5 p.m. for an additional charge of $5 per day per child.
'Independence from Entergy' rally set for July 1
BRATTLEBORO - The Safe and Green Energy (SAGE) Alliance will hold a rally and civil disobedience event on Sunday, July 1, that will begin at the town Common and end at the gates of Vermont Yankee in Vernon.
At 10 a.m., there will be a 45-minute rally on the Common, then school buses will be leaving for Vernon. A small donation will be requested before boarding the bus. Alternatively, people are encouraged to join a bicycle procession from the Common to Vermont Yankee for a relatively flat eight-mile ride. All riders should be able to keep pace with a large group of adult riders.
Once assembled near Vermont Yankee at about noon, there will be a procession to the reactor gates involving non-violent civil disobedience. People engaging in this activity will need to have had nonviolence training, and be in affinity groups. Buses will return to the Transportation Center in Brattleboro at 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.sagealliance.net.
Village strolls return to downtown Wilmington
WILMINGTON - Summer is here, and so are Wilmington's famous Village Strolls.
The first stroll, themed “Make It in the Village,” is scheduled for Saturday, June 30, from 5-8 p.m. This new theme showcases the way that artisans, artists, chefs and shopkeepers are creating art, food, products and more in the village every day.
Shops will be open late, with some offering specials. Music, food, and art will be in abundance all over the village.
Two more strolls are scheduled for this season: Saturday, July 28 (with Blueberry Block Party) and Friday, Sep.t 21 for the Wine and Harvest Stroll.
Come on out on a Village Stroll night to show your support for Wilmington's recovery. For more information, visit www.visitvermont.com, or call the Mount Snow Valley Chamber at 802-464-8092.
Summer services begin at Halifax Union Society
HALIFAX - The Rev. Dr. Marcia Dorey and organist Alan Dann will lead worship and song at the Halifax Union Society on Sunday, July 1, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The service will be held at the white church at 44 Stowe Mountain Road near the crossroads at the top of the hill in Halifax Center.
Non-denominational services continue throughout the summer at the Halifax Union Society. All are welcome to attend.
Learn more about owls at RFPL
BELLOWS FALLS - The Rockingham Free Public Library invites you to kick off the summer reading program with a presentation by the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum on the Owls of Vermont on Monday, July 2 at 5 p.m. With live owls, touchable artifacts, and interactive demonstrations, all ages are welcome to learn about the various species that call the Northeast their home and their role in nature as one of the most supreme night hunters.
As part of the kick-off event, this is also the night of the fourth annual Stuffed Animal Sleepover. What would your stuffed animal do if it spent the night at the Library? Kids can find out by bringing one of their dolls, figures, or stuffed animals (not the child's favorite, though) to the Youth Department anytime on Monday, July 2. They'll take photos of how your animal spent the night in the Library and show them the next morning during a special stuffed animal story time on July 3 at 10:30 a.m.
These programs are presented as part of the Rockingham Free Public Library's summer reading program: “Dream Big, Read!” and are free and open to the public. The program begins on July 2 and continues through Aug. 10. One can download the complete schedule online at http://www.rockinghamlibrary.org/Docs/summer2012.pdf. For more information, call the library at 802-463-4270, email bfyouth@sover.net, or go online to www.rockingham.lib.vt.us.
Our Place offers summer meals for children
BELLOWS FALLS - Our Place Drop-In Center is participating in the Summer Food Service Program for Children.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program is designed to ensure that children who rely on free or reduced price meals during the school year continue to have adequate nutrition throughout the summer. Our Place serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday; breakfast is served 9 to 10:30 a.m., and lunch is served starting at 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Our Place will prepare a nourishing lunch that includes a green salad, vegetable, entrée and desert. During breakfast, they offer cereal, milk, fruit, a choice of breads and usually an egg dish. Children and parents alike are welcome to meals in their dining room at 4 Island St. For additional information, contact Our Place director Lisa Pitcher at 802-463-2217.
West Brattleboro Association receives Neighborhood Grant
WEST BRATTLEBORO - Tropical Storm Irene demonstrated how much we may need our neighbors when we least expect it. The West Brattleboro Association has been working to strengthen community in West Brattleboro for several years and now has an added tool to do just that, from the ground up.
The Thomas Thompson Trust has awarded $4,500 to the Association to support local events and projects to enhance and strengthen neighborhoods in West Brattleboro. Partnering with Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing, the funds will be matched and made available as mini-grants for things such as community gardens, block parties, neighborhood directories, or anything else neighborhoods dream up that will bring neighbors together.
The Neighborhoods Project will not only provide money, but also peer support, share experiences between neighborhoods, and suggestions on helpful resources. Neighborhood leaders are being sought to coordinate these local efforts. To find out more about the Project, or to apply for funds, visit www.WestBrattleboro.org or contact Doug Cox at 257-1024 or dcox@sover.net.