WBA sponsors chicken barbecue
WEST BRATTLEBORO - The West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will hold a chicken barbecue on Saturday, May 28 in front of First Congregational Church on Western Avenue.
The barbecue will feature half chickens, baked beans, and cole slaw, available starting at 11 a.m. until it is sold out.
The barbecue sauce is made from a recipe used by the Guilford Fair for years, and the beans cooked from a Thurber Farm recipe. Helen Robb cooks her beans for two days, and Joe Jewett and his crew will once again get the coals going early in the day for the chicken. The cole slaw is being made by Mary Durland.
The full meal is available for $10, or $6 for the half-chicken. Proceeds of the barbecue will help fund the WBA's community activities and initiatives.
Pie sale set for May 28
GUILFORD - The Guilford Community Church will hold its annual Memorial Day weekend Pie Sale on Saturday, May 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the parking lot of Richmond's Auto Repair on the corner of Route 5 and Guilford Center Road, across the street from the Guilford Country Store.
Apple, rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry, cherry, pumpkin, and pecan pies - still warm from the ovens - will be for sale, in addition to potato salad and baked beans.
All proceeds benefit the church's outreach in the greater Brattleboro community.
Timson Hill Preschool hosts spring festival
WILLIAMSVILLE - Timson Hill Preschool will host its annual Spring Festival on Saturday, May 28, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine.
The event includes fun activities for everyone, including a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, a fire engine, a variety of arts and crafts and indoor activities, and an outdoor playground, as well as hamburgers, hot dogs, and baked goods.
The Vermont Natural History Museum will give a special presentation of live raptors.
Admission is $5 per person or $10 per family, and all proceeds go to celebrating and fostering the small, private, non-profit, fully licensed, NAEYC-accredited preschool. It is located in a historic one-room schoolhouse overlooking the small village of Williamsville.
Timson Hill accepts children ages 3-5 years old for 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-day morning programs and also for the afternoon program.
For more information, contact Director Kathie Gatto-Gurney (802-348-6319 or timsonhill@myfairpoint.net), or timsonhillpreschool.org.
Fish Ladder Visitor Center opens for summer
BELLOWS FALLS - The Nature Museum, in partnership with TransCanada, will open the TransCanada Bellows Falls Fish Ladder Visitor Center on Saturday, May 28.
The center will be open through Labor Day weekend on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The visitor center is downtown next to the post office building on Bridge Street. Admission and programs are free.
Naturalist Educator Rachel Brown will lead hands-on environmental programs on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 a.m.
For a schedule, visit www.nature-museum.org.
Hospice hosts Hearts and Stones at Farmers' Market
BRATTLEBORO - On Saturday, May 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Brattleboro Area Hospice will host Hearts and Stones at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market on Route 9 west of the Creamery Bridge.
Hearts and Stones will offer an opportunity for people to paint/create a remembrance stone in memory of a loved one, a valuable activity to help individuals with grief. Children are welcome, but organizers ask that younger children be accompanied by a responsible adult.
No special talent is needed for the free activity, and all materials will be provided.
Stones can be taken home or brought to the Brattleboro Area Hospice Memorial Planting Service on Sunday, June 5, at 4 p.m., at the Hospice Memorial Garden at Living Memorial Park on Guilford Street.
Hearts and Stones will be set up at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market. Organizers encourage stopping by the table to make a stone or just to visit.
Plant, baked goods, crafts, and white elephant sale May 28
WESTMINSTER - On Saturday, May 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Women's Fellowship of the First Congregational Church of Westminster, 3470 U.S. Route 5, will host a plant, baked goods, crafts, and white elephant sale.
Pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs and sauerkraut, chips, and drinks will also be on sale, with meals available to go.
Vernon observes Memorial Day
VERNON - The annual Vernon Community Memorial Day Service will be held at the Pond Road Chapel, at 634 Pond Rd., on Monday, May 30, at 3:30 p.m.
The story of Second Lt. Michael E. Butinsky, an Army Air Corps pilot whose plane was shot down over Poland in December 1944 during World War II, will be presented.
Descendants of Lt. Butinsky's family will take part in the program. The Amidon family will play brass instruments.
This event is planned and presented by the Vernon Historians. Those wishing to ride the Vernon bus should call Reita Lashway at 802-254-2694.
Putney Cares plans lunch program
PUTNEY - Putney Cares and the students at Putney Central School will join Tuesday, May 31 from 11:30 a.m. to noon for a lunch prepared by the Putney Central kitchen staff.
Barbecue pulled pork sandwiches with Carolina slaw will be served, with fruit for dessert.
The community is invited, and those wishing to join in should reserve a spot by writing putneycares@svcable.net or calling 802-387-5593.
Plants needed for Vernon sale/swap
VERNON - The Vernon Free Library seeks donations of plants for its annual plant sale and swap, which will take place Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Town Office building at 567 Governor Hunt Rd.
Donations may be dropped off there beginning on Thursday, June 2. For more information, visit Vernon Free Library, call 802-257-0150, or email vernonfreelibrary@comcast.net.
Nominations sought for Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award
BRATTLEBORO - Do you have a child with an excellent early childhood teacher? Windham Child Care Association seeks nominations for the 2016 Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award from parents, grandparents, employers, friends, and colleagues. Nominees must be early childhood educators working in family- or center-based child-care programs regulated by the state of Vermont.
Successful candidates:
• know about early childhood development,
• create a safe, loving, creative, stimulating environment for young children,
• nurture each child's growth,
• work with parents as partners in supporting the healthy development of their children,
• demonstrate commitment and leadership to the field.
Deadline for nominations is Tuesday, May 31. Forms can be printed or completed at www.windhamchildcare.org. The winner will be recognized at the River Valley Kids Fair in September.
RSVP seeks volunteers
BRATTLEBORO - The Retired and Senior Volunteers of Windham County (RSVP), part of a 270,000-member nationwide program under the Corporation for National and Community Service's Senior Corps, seeks volunteers.
The organization describes itself as “a growing community of seniors helping our fellow seniors and the physically-challenged to stay healthy, independent, and enjoy living at home longer.”
Most volunteers give only two hours of service each week to area nonprofits, schools, senior centers, hospitals, and food shelves.
Volunteers are needed to visit or call home-bound seniors, deliver meals, help with errands and provide rides, reading and mentoring in our schools, food pantry support and blood drives.
RSVP is an active community of seniors 55 and older helping fellow seniors and disabled neighbors.
For information, call the RSVP volunteer coordinator at 802-254-7515.
Teams still needed for Relay for Life
BRATTLEBORO - The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of Windham County takes place on Saturday, June 11 from noon to 11 p.m. at Brattleboro Union High School. With the 2016 theme of “the Olympics,” participants from all over the county will assemble.
Relay For Life celebrates cancer survivors, remembers lives lost to cancer, and gives everyone the chance to fight back. The relay is a community event where teams of friends, families, schools, businesses, and organizations take turns walking at a local track.
Special activities, ceremonies, and entertainment make it a fun and moving experience. All teams raise money to help the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer.
All participants and teams can register online for free at www.relayforlife.org/windhamvt.
For more information about this event, contact Community Manager Svea Miller Howard at svea.miller@cancer.org or at 802-287-9680.
Tables available for Newfane community tag sale
NEWFANE - The Friends of the Moore Free Library are reserving spaces now for a Community Tag Sale to take place on the Common on Saturday, June 25, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Spaces cost $20 each. Sellers must provide their own tables. The sale will be held rain or shine, with no refunds given.
To reserve a space, contact Julie Lavorgna at 802-365-7278 or julielav@sover.net, or pick up a reservation form at the library, 23 West St.
The library is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m., Thursday from 2 to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. When the library is closed, forms are available from an envelope tacked to the bulletin board on the front porch.
Friends of the Moore Free Library raises funds to support the functions and activities of the library, a private institution that serves as a public library but without benefit of federal, state, or town money.
Fresh Air families still needed
BRATTLEBORO - Many families in southern Vermont open their hearts to New York City children through The Fresh Air Fund's Friendly Towns Program.
Each summer, nearly 4,000 children visit volunteer host families in rural, suburban, and small-town communities along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine and Southern Canada.
Host families simply want to share their homes with city children and the pure joys of summertime outside of the city.
First-time Fresh Air visitors are 7 to 12 years old, and hosts range from young families to grandparents.
To learn more about hosting a child, contact Tom Kosiba at 802-282-9933, or The Fresh Air Fund at www.freshair.org.