Athens
• Flag Day community market and yard sale: On Saturday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Athens Brick Meeting House Common will serve as the site of the second annual Flag Day community market and yard sale, organized by the Athens Brick Meeting House Committee in an effort to raise the both the funds and the awareness needed to help preserve the meeting house.
In addition to yard sale items, visitors will find a variety of vendor booths on the Meeting House Common. There will be growers and producers from Athens offering farm products, baked goods, and crafts along with a White Elephant sale. Area artists will have samples of their work on display in the Meeting House with some items available for purchase. Lunch offerings will also be available as a fundraiser for the Meeting House.
The Brick Meeting House was built in 1817 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. It was the site for community worship and Town Meetings as well as many militia training sessions, Old Home Day Celebrations and Fairs. During this event, the building will be open for tours enabling visitors to learn much more about the fascinating history of this structure. This event will be held rain or shine. There are still a limited number of spaces available for interested vendors. Spaces are 10 x 10 and the booth fee is $5. Anyone interested in setting up a booth should contact Liza Martin at 802-869-1125.
Bellows Falls
• Lyme disease: New options and solutions: On Monday June 14, at 5 p.m., the Rockingham Free Public Library will host a program on Lyme disease. This presentation is part of RFPL's series “Feel Great! Nutrition and Your Health” with educator Cindy Hebbard, and sponsored by Post Oil Solutions.
This year, the ticks seem to be hopping around everywhere, and it's hard to know the best way to protect, prevent and treat a tick bite. Lyme disease and its associated co-infections are difficult to diagnose, and can be even more troubling to treat effectively with medications. Intensive antibiotic therapy, often used to treat Lyme, may cause a lifetime of weakened immune system function, auto-immune disorders, or both.
This talk will present new options and healthy solutions for dealing with the wide variety of symptoms and co-infections associated with Lyme disease. This program will discuss the the complexity of Lyme's and how it can affect the skin, joints, muscles, heart, immune and nervous systems. Participants will learn how to use foods, herbs and supplements to improve your health at any stage of this menacing infection.
This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited, so sign-ups are necessary. Call the library at 802-463-4270.
• Start your own business: Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) is offering a three-hour workshop on how to start your own business. The course will be offered on June 17, at 9 a.m., in the conference room of the TD Bank, 2 Church St.
The seminar is designed for individuals who are thinking about going into business but need assistance with the procedures involved and government regulations regarding starting up a business in Vermont. Space is limited. To register for the workshop sign up online at www.vtsbdc.org or e-mail Heather Gonyaw at hgonyaw@vtsbdc.org. The registration fee is $40/ $45 for two.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a nonprofit partnership of government, education and business, organized to help Vermont small businesses succeed. Free advice is provided to existing business owners and new entrepreneurs through a network of counselors around the state. Debra Boudrieau, the local VtSBDC Area Business Advisor serving Windham County, has offices at Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation at Cotton Mill Hill. For more information call her at 802-257-7731.
• Secrets of the Seacoast: On Wednesday, June 16, at 7 p.m., come to the Rockingham Free Public Library and discover the exciting stories of sea life on the Northeast coast. From periwinkles to porpoises, this seacoast program is a wonderful introductory look into the diversity of the coastline environments and the creatures that call the coast home.
The presenter is Betsy Bennett Stacy from The Nature Museum. Refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public. Call 802-463-4270 for more information.
Brattleboro
• Green leadership lecture: Marlboro College Graduate School, 28 Vernon St., will host a free, public lecture by Dr. Chuck Bennett, vice president of Earth and community care for the Aveda Corporation at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 11, as part of its MBA in Managing for Sustainability Featured Speaker Series.
The talk, entitled “Aveda Earth and Community Care: A 30-Year Journey in Green Leadership” will examine how Aveda has translated its values into business reality to meet the challenges and realize the opportunities of being a mission-focused brand.
Since 2007, Chuck Bennett has led Aveda's environmental and community outreach. He guides the company and its affiliated network of salons and retail outlets in taking the Aveda mission to new levels of success globally. He also works closely with parent-company Estée-Lauder's broader development of sustainability and corporate responsibility commitments.
Prior to joining Aveda, Dr. Bennett served as Senior Research Associate at The Conference Board, the foremost independent not-for-profit business research organization in the United States. Beginning in 2001, he contributed significantly to the Board's development of sustainability and corporate citizenship, authoring and co-authoring numerous publications on these topics as well as energy and climate change issues. Bennett is a graduate of Middlebury College and a former Peace Corps volunteer.
• BMH offers free Healthier Living Workshop: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is making available a number of six-week free (for Vermont residents) Healthier Living Workshops designed to help people with long-term health challenges maintain active and fulfilling lives.
Occurring on consecutive Friday evenings for the upcoming session, the next six-week Healthier Living Workshop at BMH convenes on Friday, June 11, and continues through to Friday, July 16. The sessions are held in the Tyler Conference Room at BMH, 2:30 to 5 p.m. To register, e-mail them at HYPERLINK “mailto:jlunt@bmhvt.org” wcornwell@bmhvt.org or call 802-251-8459 in advance of the starting date of the six-week workshop. A course textbook and CD will be provided.
Based on the Stanford University School of Medicine model, this national program has helped thousands of people living with long-term conditions to live healthier lives. Workshop leaders facilitate this highly interactive class for people with chronic conditions.
Participants need to attend all six sessions and stay the full time of each class. Family members and friends who help participants at home are also invited. Enrollment is limited, and future workshops will be offered. Call Wendy Cornwell, Education Coordinator at 802-251-8459 for future program dates, waiting list information, and/or for fee information for those outside of Vermont.
• Diplomacy in action: On Friday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m., the Windham World Affairs Council of Vermont invites you to the Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room for a presentation by Fredrik Stanton, who will talk about his newest book, Great Negotiations: Agreements that Changed the Modern World.
The talk will be preceded by a short annual meeting at 7 p.m.
Stanton's book, which has garnered critical acclaim, chronicles eight of the most epic parleys ever to have transpired.
“The traditional way of looking at history is through the lens of either biography or war,” Stanton said in an interview. “One of the things this book does is fill in a missing piece of that equation.” From the harrowing tale of how Benjamin Franklin managed to cajole France into publicly supporting the American Revolution to a white-knuckle account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Stanton deftly illustrates that the power of haggling can easily rival that of any army or warhead.
The annual meeting and the talk are open to the public. Visit www.windhamworldaffairs.org for more information.
• Kids' Day at the Farmers Market: On Saturday, June 12, the Brattleboro Area Farmers Market hosts another Kids' Day. Kid crafters, bakers, growers and cooks are welcome to sell their goods at the Market. Kid vendors should check in at the Manager's Booth on Saturday morning. Please bring your own table/blanket/chair, etc.
This Kids' Day will feature Kids' Jam, an all-kid music festival! Kid musicians interested in performing for 20 minutes slots should contact market manager Megan Luce. All music styles welcome! Interested kids (or parents!) can call 802-254-8885 or e-mail farmersmarket05301@yahoo.com for more info or to sign-up for Kids' Jam.
The Brattleboro Area Farmers Market is located on Western Avenue past the Creamery Bridge and is open on Saturdays from May- October from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.
• AAUW collects books for annual sale: Members of the Brattleboro chapter of the American Association of University Women are soliciting and collecting donations of books for their annual Book Sale, which will be held this year at Centre Congregational Church on Main Street on Aug. 5-7.
Books may be left at any time on the front porch at 192 Western Ave. (in liftable boxes, please). Hardcover and paperback books in good condition, VHS films, DVDs, CDs, and tapes are desired. Textbooks, Reader's Digest condensed books, encyclopedias and torn and underlined books should be recycled elsewhere.
Boxes may also be taken on Wednesday, Aug. 4, to Centre Church back side door under the fire escape. Profits from the sale support annual college scholarship awards to area girls and women. Contact people are Vivian Prunier, 802-387-5875; Mary Hawkes, 254-6594; Jenifer Ambler, 254-9181; and Marty Fenn 254-9604.
Dover
• Monday Movie Night: On June 14 at 6:30 p.m., the Dover Free Library features Dirt: The Movie, a documentary that looks at man's relationship with dirt.
Four billion years of evolution created dirt as the living source of all life on Earth, including humans. Dirt has given us food, shelter, fuel, medicine, ceramics, flowers, cosmetics and color - everything needed for our survival. For most of the last 10,000 years, we humans understood our intimate bond with dirt and the rest of nature. We took care of the soils that took care of us. But, over time, we lost that connection and this film will looks at consequences and what we can do to rebuild it.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 802-348-7488.
Dummerston
• Wildflower talk: On Thursday, June 17, at 7 p.m., four Dummerston wildflower enthusiasts will share their expertise with the public. This event will be held at the Community Center in West Dummerston Village.
Pat Jaquith, Eliza Bergh, Ramona Lawrence and John Anderson will each speak about a few of their favorite wildflowers and there will be pictures of some recent botanical finds. The public is urged to bring their own pictures of any wildflowers that they would like to have identified. They are also urged to share their expertise, and their enthusiasm for some of their favorite wild plants. If it is wild and it has flowers, it is of interest. Clear pictures of the flowers, leaves and stalk of any plant to be identified, along with a description of the general area where it was found will give the panel the greatest chance of accurately naming any botanical finds.
This event has been organized by the Dummerston Conservation Commission as a way to share what they are learning about local wildflowers, and as a way to meet and learn from other enthusiasts whatever their age or their level of expertise. People from surrounding towns are also welcome to come and share their botanical knowledge.
Jamaica
• Live music at the Farmers' Market: The Jamaica Farmers' Market, now in its second season runs through Columbus Day every Sunday from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Live music, community gathering and lots of vendors create the ideal draw for food and fun on Main Street. On Sunday, June 13, come to hear the Fabulous Two O's; Ken and Julie Olson who will bring us a wonderful time with standards on keyboard and vocals. On June 20, come to hear Beyond Further, the area's premier acoustic jam-band with Jake Geppert and his boys. On June 27, hear the Kelly Stand Band and Gene Morrison's bluegrass favorites. Questions? Call Karen or Kristi 802-874-4151.
Townshend
• Youth Market Day in Townshend: On Thursday, June 17, the Townshend Common Farmers' Market will host its first-ever Youth Market Day, an opportunity for the budding farmers and entrepreneurs of the region to set up and sell their wares.
Area children or youth bakers, growers, crafters and cooks are invited to join the Townshend Common Farmers' Market on June 17 to display and sell items that they have grown or made with minimum adult help. Youth vendors should register at the Manager's table on Thursday between 2:45 and 3:15 p.m. Bring your own table/blanket/chair, etc.
The market is located at the intersection of Routes 30 and 35 on the Townshend Common. The market will be open weekly on Thursdays through Oct. 14, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., rain or shine. For more information about the market or for Youth Farmers' Market Day registration forms, e-mail farmersmarket@postoilsolutions.org or call Sherry at 802 869-2141.