Putney Library holds StoryWalks in school forest
PUTNEY - The Putney Public Library, in partnership with the Putney Central School, are happy to present a new summer reading program that will get you out of the house and into the School Forest.
StoryWalks are picture books, mounted as signs along the Loop Trail in the School Forest. Families can read the story as they walk along the trail. Take a right after crossing the bridge and begin their latest StoryWalk, Eric Carle's “A House For Hermit Crab”, starting on July 15.
The story will change every two weeks, and every story your family “walks” can count towards one stamp in the logs of anyone participating in the Putney Library's Summer Reading Program! Be sure to sign the trail log at the School Forest Kiosk to tell about your StoryWalk adventure.
BFDDA hosts annual meeting
BELLOWS FALLS - All are cordially invited to attend the Bellows Falls Downtown Development Alliance's (BFDDA) annual membership meeting on Thursday, July 16, at 6 p.m., at Windham Antiques on Rockingham Street.
Topics at the meeting include a discussion of all that BFDDA has accomplished in the past year and a presentation of the Work Plan for the coming fiscal year. They will also be electing new board members and officers. Following a short business meeting, there will be a presentation on a downtown topic. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call their office at 802-460-2333.
Dummerston Historical Society hosts quarterly meeting
DUMMERSTON - The quarterly meeting of the Dummerston Historical Society will take place on Thursday, July 16, at the Historical Society Schoolhouse on Middle Road in Dummerston Center.
A short business meeting will be held at 6 p.m., which will include an update on the proposed building addition, followed at 6:30 p.m. with a BYO (Bring Your Own) picnic supper. (Sorry, no cooking facilities will be available).
At 7, GinMillBill will lead everyone in a sing-a-long of “old-time” tunes. In case of rain, the Dummerston Congregational Church will be available. Bring your own chairs and/or blankets and, of course, your friends. Questions? Call Gail at 802-254-9311.
Super animals visit the Rockingham Library
BELLOWS FALLS - The Rockingham Free Public Library invites you to discover Super Animals with the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum on Thursday, July 16, at 5 p.m.
Which animal can hold their breath for four months? Who can survive freezing solid? Who can see a cricket from 100 yards away? Find out during this exciting and engaging program from the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum! Live animals, active storytelling, touchable artifacts, and interactive demonstrations make this a perfect program for all ages.
This program is presented as part of the “Every Hero Has a Story!” summer reading program. For more information, call the library at 802-463-4270, email sam@rockinghamlibrary.org, or go online to rockinghamlibrary.org.
Rec. Dept. presents juggler at TGIF Morning Matinee
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department, as part of the TGIF Morning Matinee, presents juggler Jason Tardy at the Living Memorial Park Rotary Theater on Friday, July 17, at 10:30 a.m.
Tardy presents a complete character education performance that will grab everyone's attention, while showing them the importance of setting goals and making positive choices.
After performing at the White House on three separate occasions, and touring the world as a professional artist for over 20 years, he is living proof that a strong education, hard work, and dedication is a direct path to a successful future.
Tardy combines his high energy juggling and physical comedy as hecandidly addresses important topics such as bullying, making healthy choices, personal responsibility, and not being afraid to fail.
This show is free and day care groups are welcome to attend. If there are special needs required, call the Recreation & Parks Office at 802-254-5808. In case of rain, the show will be moved inside to the Nelson Withington Skating Facility.
Windham hosts chicken barbecue on July 18
WINDHAM - The Windham Community Organization's annual Chicken Barbecue and Raffle happens Saturday, July 18, at 5 p.m., at the historic Windham Meeting House, 26 Harrington Rd., on the corner of Windham Hill Road.
Described by some as “the perfect old-fashioned community barbecue with really good food, great friends, and nice country music,” the Windham barbecue will be serving up Walter Woodruff's own “Special Recipe” chicken cooked over a wood fire.
Baked beans, potato salad, green salad, homemade sweet breads, and homemade strawberry shortcake topped with fresh whipped cream are all included for the price of $10 for adults, $5 for children or $25 for families. Be sure to get there early and try your luck on the raffle of crafts by talented Windham artisans, and enjoy music by Windham musicians.
Look for the big tent outside the Windham Congregational Church/Meeting House. All proceeds benefit Windham area residents through WCO.
Free solar observation program at BF fish ladder
BELLOWS FALLS - Have you ever been warned to never look directly at the sun? Were you tempted to anyway? Come to the TransCanada Bellows Falls Fish Ladder Visitor Center on Saturday, July 18, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to safely soak up some sun at a solar observation workshop presented by The Nature Museum at Grafton.
Bob Dudley, from the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVERA), will bring a telescope with a special solar filter that will allow guests to safely look at the sun. Learn about sunspots and find out what makes the sun the most important star which sustains all life on Earth. Astronomers will be available to answer your questions about the sun. This is a free family program and is recommended for ages 8 and up.
Astronomers use special telescopes to study the sun's face and areas called sunspots, which are large magnetic storms in the sun's atmosphere. Scientists are interested in studying this magnetic activity because it can affect the earth in multiple ways. Remember to never look directly at the sun as you could lose your eyesight!
Dudley, is a retired research chemist who spent much of his professional career with the federal Agricultural Research Service.
The Fish Ladder Visitor Center in Bellows Falls will be open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and programs are always free.
Col. Ebenezer Hinsdale House hosts Colonial encampment
HINSDALE, N.H. - The Hinsdale Garrison Company will portray family life during the 1750s at a Colonial encampment at the Col. Ebenezer Hinsdale House on Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The encampment dramatizes the period of time when Col. Hinsdale built his garrison house and grist mill, and about the time the town of Hinsdale was chartered.
Demonstrations of fire making, hearth and bake oven cooking, enjoying music, sharing news, and preparing for the protection of the family including casting lead balls, musket maintenance, and firing. Members also mend baskets, create cording with lucets, work with needle hitching and knit. There will be time for children to play at hoops and stilts as well as nine men's morris and draughts.
Admission is $5 for adults and free for students and children under 18. There will be a bake sale and lunch available.
Guilford Historical Society presents life and times of Walter Needham
GUILFORD - On Sunday, July 19 at 2 p.m., in the 1837 Guilford Center Meeting House, the Guilford Historical Society will present a program on Walter Needham, author of A Book Of Country Things, and a former resident of Guilford. A special lecturer, his daughter, Anna, will be present to share some of her recollections of her father. Scenes from Needham's early appearance on NBC television will be shown.
The Needhams lived a hard scrabble life in a tiny former “slate diggers shanty” on Route 5 south of Guilford's Village of Algiers. A combat veteran of World War I in France, Needham worked for some time at the Estey Organ Works in Brattleboro. He showed an amazing talent for mastering old tools and later, with support from a local author, J. Barrows Mussey, he authored A Book Of Country Things.
Admission is free and refreshments will be served.
Following the program, the Guilford Historical Museum, across the road from the Meeting House, will be open. Items relating to the Needhams will be on special exhibit. A brief business meeting of the Society will be held at 1:30 p.m., preceding the lecture. Information: 802-254-8024 or 802-257-7306.
YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program to be offered at BMH
BRATTLEBORO - The YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program helps adults at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes reduce their risk for developing the disease by taking steps that will improve their overall health and well-being.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led evidence-based program is delivered over a 12 month period in a supportive small group classroom setting. Sixteen weekly one-hour sessions are followed by eight monthly sessions. Facilitated by trained lifestyle coaches Teri Kneipp and Nancy Schaefer, the class is scheduled to begin July 21, and will be held at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital from 3 to 4 p.m..
Through a partnership with the Greater Burlington YMCA and Vermont Blueprint for Health (Department of Vermont Health Access), this program is being offered to Vermonters free of charge.
The YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program is based on the landmark Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with CDC, which showed that lifestyle changes and modest weight reduction can prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent among those with prediabetes.
In order to qualify for the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program, participants must be at least 18 years old, overweight, and at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes or have been diagnosed with prediabetes. For more information or to speak with the intake specialist, contact the BMH Community Health Team by calling 802-257-8867.
Gerta's Animal Aid hosts Navajo Horse Blessing
TOWNSHEND - Gerda's Animal Aid, a nonprofit horse rescue organization dedicated to saving slaughter-bound horses, will host its second annual Navajo Horse Blessing on Sunday July 26, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome to attend. It is a moving, spiritual and healing experience for horses and people alike. They are located at 5825 Route 30, and may be reached at 802-874-7213.
Registration begins for BAJC Hebrew School
WEST BRATTLEBORO - It's not too late to register children in the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community Hebrew School.
Congregation Shir Heharim (Song of the Mountains), the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community, offers a once-a-week religious school for youngsters from age 6 up to 13 or older.
The school offers a vibrant child-centered program that teaches Hebrew language studies as well as songs, stories, prayers, holiday observances, customs and traditions, history, current events, and all things Jewish. Anyone who is planning to become a bar- or bat-mitzvah must be enrolled for a minimum of two years.
Classes meet at the synagogue at 151 Greenleaf Street in West Brattleboro for 31 Mondays during the regular school year, from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m., and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for the b'nai mitzvah class. The first day of classes this fall will be Sept. 21. Tuition is $350 for children of BAJC members and $700 for children whose parents are not yet members. Scholarships are available in cases of financial need.
For more information about the school, and for a link to a registration form, visit www.bajcvermont.org, leave a message at 802-257-1959, or e-mail faith@bajcvermont.org.