BFFDA gets downtown Bellows Falls ready for holidays
BELLOWS FALLS - All are invited to join the Bellows Falls Downtown Development Alliance (BFDDA) for Light Up BF on Shop Small Saturday, Nov. 28, at 4 p.m.
Thanks to local businesses, volunteers, and past board members, and using grant funding from the state, BFDDA is finalizing a 10-year design project.
The work has included year-round lighting in the trees on The Square, festival lights across the streets, lights and garland on all lampposts, and new holiday banners in the downtown area.
With the lighting of the Christmas tree by Rockingham Roasters in The Square and various business window displays on Nov. 28, downtown Bellows Falls will be a spectacle for visitors and residents alike.
With COVID-19 protocols in effect, BFDDA asks visitors to watch from their vehicles and tune in to WOOL-FM 91.5 for old-time favorites and local news from 3 to 5 p.m.
BFDDA also sponsors the Shop Local card program. Shoppers can receive stamps for purchases at Bellows Falls, Rockingham, Westminster, Saxtons River, and Grafton businesses, filling one card with stamps for every $100 spent in the area.
Filled cards must be submitted by Saturday, Jan. 2 to enter prize drawings. (Event organizers from the BFDDA remind participants to include their phone number for prizes.) Drawing takes place during the first week of January.
Other Bellows Falls area business activities include Ladies Weekend on Dec. 11, 12, and 13 and Not Just For Men's Weekend on Dec. 18, 19, and 20.
Virtual and live events for the whole family are scheduled at Halladay's Flowers & Gifts (59 The Square) and the Threaded Trunk Boutique (29 Westminster St.).
The Bellows Falls Opera House, once again closed for films until further notice because of the recent surge in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 cases statewide, will be selling the Triple Up (popcorn, drinks, and candy).
For more details on all the holiday doings, visit bellowsfallsvt.org.
Chamber presents Holly Days, Holly Nights 2020
BRATTLEBORO - Those who shop and dine in town for the holidays can find themselves eligible to win a $250 gift certificate.
From Friday, Dec. 4 through Sunday, Dec. 6, shoppers can present a Holly Days, Holly Nights savings card at participating businesses to receive a special deal: The B's Nest, Brattleboro Food Co-op, Brown & Roberts Ace Hardware, Burrows Specialized Sports, Cara Wolff Jewelry & Boutique, Fire Arts Vermont, Kitchen Sync, Lawton Floor Design, Malisun, Martin's Fireside True Value, Penelope Wurr, Sam's Outdoor Outfitters, The Shoe Tree, Vermont Artisan Designs, Vermont Country Deli, Vermont Hempicurean, Windham Flowers, and Zephyr Designs.
The savings card can be found in the Nov. 25 edition of the Reformer, at the participating businesses, or at the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, 180 Main St. (next to Brown & Roberts).
Make a purchase of $20 or more at any five retail shops or restaurants and be eligible to win one of three $250 gift certificates to the Brattleboro business of your choice, compliments of the Chamber.
The entry form on the official Holly Days, Holly Nights card can be mailed or dropped off at the Chamber of Commerce, along with copies of sales receipts. You may also email your entry form and receipts to [email protected].
Entry forms must be received or postmarked by Monday, Dec. 14.
For more information, call the Chamber at 802-254-4565.
Bayada Hospice to host a virtual remembrance tree gathering
BRATTLEBORO - A virtual gathering at the Remembrance Tree at the Creamery Covered Bridge will be led by Susie Webster-Toleno on Friday, Nov. 27, at 4 p.m.
Due to the state restrictions on public gatherings, this event will be livestreamed for the public on the Bayada Hospice, Brattleboro VT Facebook page at facebook.com/BAYADAVZH. Everyone is invited to attend the gathering online.
This virtual gathering will provide an opportunity for the community to join safely to share remembrance of lost loved ones as we enter the season of peace and light.
It will include a reading and the tying ribbons of remembrance for those lost onto the Remembrance Tree.
Everyone is encouraged to request a memorial ribbon bearing the names or initials of a lost loved one be placed on the tree by the Bayada Hospice team by calling Tina McGrevy at 802-490-2099.
The tree will remain lit and on display throughout the holiday season, starting Nov. 28.
All are encouraged to visit the tree to remember loved ones. Ribbon will be provided at the bridge through the holiday season, and everyone is welcome to tie a ribbon of remembrance onto the tree in person.
When visiting the tree, social distancing from those not of your household is required. Parking is available in Living Memorial Park south of the bridge. Please do not park on Route 9.
Next Stage hosts mini-comics workshop
PUTNEY - On Saturday, Nov. 28, from 10 to 11 a.m. via Zoom, Next Stage, in partnership with the Putney Public Library, invites you to come create your own characters and make new mini-comics with Marek Bennett.
Participants will get a review of key cartooning techniques and perform dramatic readings of one another's work. For more about Bennett's work, visit MarekBennett.com.
A link to the virtual meeting will be sent out to participants before the event.
To sign up, visit bit.ly/589_marek.