Food pantry moves to BBCC
GUILFORD - The Guilford Cares Food Pantry has moved to the Broad Brook Community Center (BBCC) at 3940 Guilford Center Rd.
The pantry will be open, as usual, every Thursday, 3–4 p.m., at the BBCC, beginning Feb. 23. There are no restrictions or requirements for coming to the Guilford Cares Food Pantry. Anyone in need of supplemental food assistance is welcome. The pantry is well stocked with staples, meat, fresh produce, eggs, bread, and butter.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Pat Haine at [email protected] or 802-257-0626. Donation checks should be made payable to Guilford Cares (with “Food Pantry” on the memo line) and mailed to P.O. Box 2517, Brattleboro, VT 05301, or via guilfordcares.com.
Monthly free produce available
PUTNEY - The Vermont Foodbank and the Putney Foodshelf will co-sponsor the next monthly drop of free produce and nonperishable items on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 9 to 9:45 a.m. on Alice Holway Drive (in front of Putney Meadows, the white building across from the Putney Co-op and Putney Fire Station).
All are welcome. Because of COVID-19, participants are asked to remain in their car at pickup, and volunteers will bring out bags.
Putney Town Plan discussed at community meeting
PUTNEY - On Thursday, Feb. 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Next Stage, the Putney Planning Commission will hold the first of five Community Meetings on the 2023 Putney Town Plan update.
This meeting will review processing the update of the Town Plan, including community participation options, and invite input for the overall vision and strategic directions for the next 5 to 8 years. Residents are welcome to listen, learn, and share ideas. Read more at putneyvt.org.
DeWalt provides live original soundtrack to historic silent film
WILLIAMSVILLE - The Williamsville Hall presents Dan DeWalt performing an original soundtrack, live on piano, to the 1920 African American film, Within Our Gates, on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. The show runs for 90 minutes; admission is by donation as it is a fundraiser for the Hall, located at 35 Dover Rd in Williamsville. Masks are kindly suggested.
Within Our Gates was created in response to The Birth of a Nation, the 1915 film which depicted white Southerners needing the Klu Klux Klan to protect them from bloodthirsty Blacks.
The film shows the reality of Southern racism in 1920, when a Black man could be lynched for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For more information, contact DeWalt at [email protected].
Beloved Community explores Gandhi and non-violence
BRATTLEBORO - The Beloved Community and the Center for Story, Spirit, and Justice are holding a training session on (1)Saturday, Feb. 25 focusing on Mahatma Gandhi's understanding of non-violence and truth. This is free and open to the public, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., at 18 Town Crier Drive.
The program will explore satyagraha and other Gandhian insights into the nature of truth seeking, social transformation, and political action. This will be an interactive, participatory process.
In the morning, from 11 a.m. to noon, gentle exercise and sacred dance experiences will be offered. A free lunch will be served at noon. Donations are welcome but not required. For more information, contact [email protected] or call 802-249-2947.
Fundraiser concert benefits South Newfane Schoolhouse
SOUTH NEWFANE - On Saturday Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m., at the South Newfane Schoolhouse, 387 Dover Road, modern acoustic singer-songwriter Brandon Ayre will be joined by friends Natalie Blake and Shawn Magee to support the Community Center.
The concert kicks off a Building Fund campaign to preserve the Center, which is a donation-based venue welcoming all.
Ayre writes songs he describes as “both personal and tender, or gently humorous. They are the product of many hours of sitting alone with a guitar.” Ayer, Blake, and Magee are donating the concert to launch the fundraising.
Built in the mid-1850s and used as a one-room schoolhouse until the 1950s, the upgraded property serves as an example of historic Vermont architecture. The space has hosted a variety of concerts, story nights, community meetings, a space to practice music and meditate during the pandemic, weddings, rager dance parties, and is the hub for the annual Rock River Artists Tour.
No one will be turned away, but a $10 suggested donation is welcome. Concert-goers are invited to bring their own snacks and beverages. For more information, contact [email protected].
Protest focuses on U.S. involvement in Yemen war
BRATTLEBORO - On Wednesday, March 1, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Brattleboro Post Office on Main Street, there will be a protest to seek the end of U.S. support for Saudi-led war on Yemen.
The Brattleboro action is part of a nationwide protest to mark the eighth anniversary of the war on Yemen.
According to organizers, the war in Yemen “has killed hundreds of thousands of people and wreaked havoc on the country. In part as a result of organizing, for over 10 months Saudi Arabia has not dropped any bombs on Yemen. This could change anytime. We call on Congress for a permanent end to U.S. complicity (which includes arms sales and military support) in one of the world's largest humanitarian atrocities.”
For more information about the March 1 protests, and how to help the people in Sudan, visit every75seconds.org.
Marlboro hosts annual Mud Fling
MARLBORO - On Saturday, March 4, from 6 to 9 p.m., the annual Mud Fling will take place at the Marlboro Community Center with an evening of music and unlimited decadent desserts in conjunction with an online auction ending that night.
Admission to the Mud Fling is $15–$25 per person, sliding scale. Childcare will be available at Marlboro Elementary School for a small fee.
This event will also feature a 50/50 raffle and some secret auction items that may be bid on only in person. Music will be provided by local band Dante and the MoonDogs in this joint fundraiser for the Marlboro Junior High's trip to Washington, D.C., and the Marlboro Community Center.
Before the Mud Fling, people may bid in their online auction at bit.ly/703-mud from now through March 4.
Townshend Farmers' Market seeks vendors
TOWNSHEND - Applications are now available for the 2023 Townshend Farmers' Market, located at the West Townshend Country Store. The market runs on Fridays, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., beginning May 26 and continues through Oct. 6.
Items sold will include fresh and preserved fruits and vegetables; flowers, seeds, and seedlings; honey and maple syrup; natural fibers; and eggs, meats, cheese and other farm products.
Homemade baked goods and other prepared foods and drinks that contain local ingredients, plants grown by the vendor, and handcrafted items using local agricultural materials or traditional crafts-such as handspinning, blacksmithing, pottery-are also welcome.
Applications can be found on the West River Community Project website at westtownshend.org/farmers-market, or contact market manager Jennifer Yocom at [email protected].