Newfane Garden Club to meet
NEWFANE - The Newfane Garden Club will hold its next meeting and holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 4 at noon at the Newfane Congregational Church.
Club members will have a pot luck luncheon and decorate holiday wreaths for the public buildings in Newfane. Bring a food item for the luncheon, decorations for the wreaths, and a small wrapped gift for a man or woman. Gifts will be distributed to patients at Grace Cottage Hospital and recipients of Meals on Wheels. The public is welcome to attend.
Children's craft fair presented at River Garden
BRATTLEBORO - Strolling of the Heifers, Oak Meadow School, and the Putney Area Homeschool Group will present the annual Children's Holiday Craft Fair on Friday, Dec. 5 at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main St., from 5 to 8 p.m. during Gallery Walk.
This is a merry event where local children have the opportunity to share their creativity with the local community through the selling of crafts and the playing of music. Come and browse the offerings, listen to music, enjoy some baked goods and begin your holiday shopping while supporting local children. For more information, contact KidsCraftFair@gmail.com.
BFMS holds ski swap, craft fair
BELLOWS FALLS - The annual Ski Swap and Craft Fair to benefit the Bellows Falls Middle School Community Supported Activities (CSA) will be held on Saturday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the BFMS Gymnasium on School Street.
Raffles, door prizes,and food and baked goods will be available to purchase. Crafters will feature greens, felted items, plants, glassware, water paintings, knitted items, jams, pickles, wooden toys, and more. Spaces are still available, contact Misty Haskell at 802-463-9389.
Grafton Church to hold Christmas Market
GRAFTON - Join members of The Grafton Church on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., for their Winter Christmas Market at The Grafton School.
Local handcrafters will offer gifts, home decor and food. Wreaths, centerpieces, antiques, chocolate, jewelry, knitted and felted apparel, and lots of Christmas treats will be available. Children will have their own cookie decorating table.
The Sew & Sews, a charity sewing group will have one of their quilts as a raffle. A soup lunch will also be available. The Grafton School is located on School Street in Grafton, just off Townshend Road.
West Brattleboro crafters host holiday sale
WEST BRATTLEBORO - A holiday sale and craft fair will be presented at the studio of Jason E Breen Fine & Custom Woodwork, 1195 Bonnyvale Rd., on Saturday Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Snow date: Dec. 7)
Choose from a variety of hand-crafted, locally made gifts of woodenware, hand-wrought iron, and carvings. Items for sale include garden tools, candle sticks, bowls, plates, spoons,and more.
There will be live demonstrations of woodworking, blacksmithing, and European chip carving. Learn about hand-hewing timbers and traditional timber framing techniques, and visit with people who use their hands to create beauty. Exhibitors include Breen, timber framer Chad Mathrani, blacksmith Erik Newquist, and European chip carver and stone mason Mike Weitzner.
All are welcome. For more information, call Breen at 802-257-9993.
Brattleboro Permaculture Guild to meet on Dec. 7
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Permaculture Guild will hold one of its sporadic meetings this Sunday, Dec. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Community Room of the Brattleboro Food Co-op.
Permaculture is a philosophy of design that seeks to build resilient systems and landscapes that provide for human needs while regenerating the natural world. It can be applied on scales ranging from a back yard to a city, desert, or watershed.
All are invited who have at least a rudimentary understanding of the principles and techniques of permaculture design. Participants will have a chance to describe their ongoing projects, critique and support each other's work, and discuss possible projects for the Guild in the future.
State's vision for early childhood care is subject of forum
BRATTLEBORO - On Monday, Dec. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St., join Southeast Vermont Building Bright Futures for a community event entitled: “Building Bright Futures: Vermont's Vision for Early Childhood.”
The forum will be a conversation about what needs to be done to ensure the best possible start to life for all children. Windham County state legislators are invited to participate in a Q & A focused on early childhood issues.
Dinner and childcare will be provided, and there will also be a special performance by the Academy School drama club. For more information, contact Chad Simmons at csimmons@buildingbrightfutures.org or 802-451-8627.
BF Woman's Club to meet
BELLOWS FALLS - Members of the Bellows Falls Woman's Club will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at the United Church on School Street, beginning at 1:30 p.m.. Children from the Saxtons River Elementary School, under the direction of music teacher, Alisa Daigneault, will present a concert. Refreshments and a short business meeting will follow.
Upcoming events which will involve club members include providing cookies for the community Christmas party on Dec. 6, helping with Central Elementary School's shopping day on Dec. 11, and attending Kurn Hattin's holiday luncheon and concert on Dec. 11. Cookies for the Christmas party can be left at Village Square Booksellers or taken to the Lower Theater in Town Hall by Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.
Stargazing workshop offered at RFPL
BELLOWS FALLS - On Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., join Bob Dudley at the Rockingham Free Public Library for a tour of the late autumn/early winter constellations.
He will present a slide show in the Library's third floor meeting room, followed by star gazing on the front lawn (weather permitting.) Most of the constellations discussed are visible with the naked eye. Dudley encourages participants to bring their binoculars for viewing. A telescope will also be available.
A retired scientist, Dudley is a member of numerous scientific organizations and current president of the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVerA.) The SoVerA was created to stimulate inquiry about the universe through gained and shared knowledge, research, and appreciation by helping the public at large learn about the nature of the cosmos and how to help gain more information from it.
Both adults and children are welcome to attend this free program. For more information, call 802-463-4270, or stop by the RFPL at 65 Westminster St.
Gingerbread Craft Time presented at Brooks library
BRATTLEBORO - This year's Holly Jolly Gingerbread Craft Time will be presented on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Brooks Memorial Library on Main Street.
Stop in any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to make an edible house out of graham crackers, icing and candy. Younger kids can make edible Christmas trees from ice cream cones, frosting and candy.
This event is free, but donations of nonperishable food items for Project Feed the Thousands are appreciated.
Children under 7 must have a responsible person with them. Holly Jolly Gingerbread Craft Time is sponsored the by Friends of Brooks Library and the Children's Room.
In order to ensure enough goodies for everyone, registration is strongly recommended. Contact the Brooks Children's Room at 802-254-5290, ext. 110.
Bright Lights craft fair benefits Memorial Hall
WILMINGTON - Area artists and crafters are busy preparing for the third annual Bright Lights craft fair at Memorial Hall on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The craft fair will feature a wide variety of unique, handcrafted products and gifts made by area artists and crafters. Some of the items you can expect to find include: hand blown glass ornaments, holiday greens, wreaths, photography, hand woven items, cheese, pottery trivets, wine trays, hand-knitted hats and mittens, collectible teddy bears, woodwork, jewelry, pressed flower art, and more.
Proceeds from the vendors' booth fees will benefit historic Memorial Hall. For more information contact Ellie Roden at 464-5265 or email rodenora@gmail.com.
Community forum on racism presented Dec. 14
BRATTLEBORO - In partnership with Mikaela Simms of the Spark Teacher Education Institute and Mark Loevy-Reyes, The Root Social Justice Center, 28 Williams St., is hosting a community forum, “RESIST: End Criminalization of the Poor and Communities of Color.”
Join them on Sunday, Dec. 14, from 2 to 5 p.m., for an afternoon of discussion, learning, sharing, and action regarding the connection between the local, national, and global realities of institutional oppression, and the kind of action that is needed to move forward.
From Ferguson, to Beavertown, to Staten Island, the death of people of color at the hands of law enforcement and vigilantes are making headlines and sparking conversations across the nation about racism and what it looks like in 2014. A national conversation is beginning about what the poor and communities of color have known for a long time - class oppression and racism are alive and well.
Participants include Brattleboro Solidarity with Palestine, which will present a street theater piece connecting issues of racism, immigration, militarization, and Palestine.
A panel that includes local leaders and activists such as Dottie Morris, Mark Loevy-Reyes, Curtiss Reed Jr., and Alex Fischer, as well as a law enforcement representative and a local youth, will talk about their own personal experiences, educating youth on their rights, legal actions against police brutality, community organizing to hold police accountable and more.
The forum will provide the opportunity to think about how to personally and collectively get involved to make change. It is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated. Light refreshments and childcare are provided. For ASL interpretation, RSVP to therootsjc@gmail.com by Dec. 10. The event is accessible and fragrance free.
For more information on The Root Social Justice Center, or on the forum, visit www.therootsjc.org or call 802-254-3400.