Brattleboro Farmers' Market to double 'Harvest Health' coupons
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Farmers' Market is matching EBT dollars spent at market (up to $10 per person per visit) with Harvest Health Coupons during July.
The Brattleboro Farmers' Market operates the Wednesday Market, downtown by the Co-op on the Whetstone Pathway, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Saturday Market on Route 9 in West Brattleboro (past the covered bridge).
Come to the market, swipe your EBT card at the manager's booth, and receive wooden tokens that can buy any EBT-eligible foods - fresh produce, fresh breads, eggs and meats, maple syrup, etc. - while supplies last. Double your EBT money and receive matching Harvest Health coupons.
Strawberries are in season, as are fresh garlic, lettuce, salad mix, sugar snap peas, rhubarb, greenhouse cucumbers and peppers, cabbage, kale, and fresh herbs. For more information, call 802-254-8885 or visit www.brattleborofarmersmarket.com.
'Rockin' Ron the Friendly Pirate' digs into treasure and reading at RFPL
BELLOWS FALLS - The Rockingham Free Public Library will present Rockin' Ron the Friendly Pirate in a family performance on Tuesday, July 9, at 5:30 p.m., in the Bellows Falls Middle School Auditorium as part of the library's summer reading program, “Dig Into Reading.”
Rockin' Ron will perform pirate music for kids and kids at heart. Part of Pirate mythology is “digging for treasure.” He will discuss Captain William Kidd, the most famous and perhaps the only historically documented pirate to bury treasure. He will also talk about how an interest in pirate lore can make one “dig into” other subjects like history and geography.
While the library building is still under renovation, the Library is now open at 41 The Square on Main Street in Bellows Falls (the former Merchants Bank office) and programs are being arranged throughout the community. For more information, go online to rockinghamlibrary.org or call 802-463-4270.
Transition Putney screens 'Occupy Love'
PUTNEY - Transition Putney will screen the film “Occupy Love,” directed by Velcrow Ripper, on Wednesday, July 10, at 7 p.m. at the Putney Public Library.
The film explores the Egyptian Revolution, the Indignado uprising in Spain, Occupy Wall Street in New York, indigenous activists at the Alberta Tar Sands, and the climate justice movement, and features Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Jeremy Rifkin, Bell Hooks, and Charles Eisenstein. For information, contact paull@sover.net, 802-387-4102.
'Field of Dreams' screening to benefit Haitian children
SAXTONS RIVER - The Saxtons River Friends of Haiti is screening the 1989 Kevin Costner film “Field of Dreams” on Thursday, July 11, at 7 p.m., at the Bellows Falls Opera House. The event is a fund-raiser to help rebuild a Haitian school destroyed when the earthquake hit in 2010.
The group is working with the What If? Foundation, which partners with Haitians to feed and educate impoverished children in the Port-au-Prince area.
The movie event will have a strong Red Sox theme, with many items donated by the team's management, including a jersey signed by Dustin Pedroia, a Red Sox cap, kids' Red Sox flip-flops, baseball cards, and tickets to a game of the Manchester (N.H.) Fisher Cats. Raffle tickets will be on sale at the Village Square Booksellers beginning July 5, and at the Saxtons River Fourth of July parade.
For more information on the event, contact the Friends at 802-869-1323. For more information about the What If? Foundation, visit www.whatiffoundation.org.
Learn how make butter, ricotta, and mozzarella from raw milk
BRATTLEBORO - After a long hiatus, Rural Vermont brings back its popular raw milk dairy processing classes on Friday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Wild Carrot Farm on Upper Dummerston Road.
Rural Vermont Board members and farmers Ben Crockett and Ashlyn Bristle will host and teach this introductory class about using raw milk to make some basic and delicious dairy products: butter, ricotta, and mozzarella. Halfway through the class, participants will be treated to a complementary and hearty farm lunch of grilled chicken (vegetarian option available), potato salad, green salad, and bread with freshly churned butter and freshly made cheese.
Class fee is $50. Registration and prepayment are required. All proceeds benefit Rural Vermont. This is the only scheduled dairy class for this summer and it will be a small class, so space will fill quickly.
To register, call 802-223-7222 or write shelby@ruralvermont.org.
Volunteers needed to wrap up Tropical Storm Irene recovery work
BRATTLEBORO - In the weeks and months following Tropical Storm Irene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identified 1,500 Windham County homes as damaged.
Nearly two years later, some residents continue to live with daily reminders of the devastation. Their homes and properties are not fully restored, and storm debris still hangs from tree limbs and litters yards, fields, and stream banks. The Southeastern Vermont Irene Long Term Recovery Committee (SEVT LTRC) has been helping those residents with unmet needs and is seeking volunteers to help with its final projects. Skilled and unskilled helpers are needed to help pick up debris, paint, plant shrubs, and provide carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and well drilling services.
Donations of materials such as interior paint, lumber, and home furnishings are also sought. Some 40 cases are still open, and SEVT LTRC coordinators and case managers anticipate at least 15 volunteer projects are needed in Athens, Saxtons River, East Dover, South Newfane, West Brattleboro, Rockingham, Putney, and Guilford.
To help, visit unitedwaywindham.org and click on “Volunteer.”
Jamaica Memorial Library offers park, museum passes
JAMAICA - Looking for something to do this summer? Take advantage of the park and museum passes offered at Jamaica Memorial Library. Check out the Vermont State Park pass for several days, which allows free entrance to all state parks throughout Vermont. We also have passes to Vermont state historic sites, with more than 10 sites to visit throughout the state, including the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. Spend a day at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center or travel up to Burlington for Echo Lake Aquarium and Science Center to learn about the aquatic life in Lake Champlain.
Passes are free. Library hours are Tuesday 2 to 6 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jamaica Memorial Library is located at 17 Depot St. off Route 30.
For more information, call Jamaica Memorial Library at 802-874-4901 or write jamaicapl@vals.state.vt.us.
Gun Sense Vermont sponsors free screenings of 'Living for 32'
WEST BRATTLEBORO - Gun Sense Vermont is sponsoring two free screenings of “Living for 32” at All Souls Church on Sunday, July 14, at 4 p.m., and Monday, July 15, at 6 p.m.
“Living for 32,” an official Sundance Film Festival selection, is the inspirational story of Colin Goddard, a survivor of the tragic 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. It is the powerful portrait of Goddard, his account of the terror he and his classmates endured, and the courageous journey of renewal and hope he chose to pursue. His passion, charisma and optimism have commanded the attention of the American public and media ever since that horrific day, which left 32 dead and 17 injured.
Following each screening, Ann Braden, local resident and founder of Gun Sense Vermont, will lead a discussion on Vermont's gun laws and how they might be strengthened to increase safety for the public and for law enforcement. For more information on the film visit www.livingfor32.com. For more information on Gun Sense Vermont visit www.gunsensevt.org.