Reduced hours for Living Memorial Park pool
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department informs the public that the Living Memorial Park Pool hours of operation will be reduced this week and next week, to 1 to 6 p.m.
The pool will close for the season on Sunday, Aug. 18, at 6 p.m.
Windham County History Fair coming to Newfane
NEWFANE - The Windham County History Fair returns to the village common in Newfane on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The fair is a festival of vintage exhibits, demonstrations, and historical tours featuring Windham County's rich heritage. The Vermont Historical Society, the Vermont Historical Records Program, and the Vermont Old Cemetery Association will join many of Windham County's historical societies with special exhibits for all ages. There will be insiders' tours of the Windham County Courthouse, the former County Jail, and the old Newfane Inn, as well as a tour of the old Newfane Cemetery.
A presentation and exhibit by Old Maps of Vermont will offer copies available for purchase. Interested parties can research their family's roots with professional genealogists, learn about bookbinding and restoration with presentations by the Chester Bookworm and receive free professional evaluation of old books, drive spikes at The West River Railroad Museum, and partake in a scavenger hunt.
Other exhibits will feature woodworking, fiber arts, and quilting with demonstrations throughout the day. Antique cars and trucks will be on display, as well as work by area crafters. Admission is free. For an updated schedule of events, go to historicalsocietyofwindhamcounty.org.
Scott Farm hosts orchard stroll on Aug. 11
DUMMERSTON - On Sunday, Aug. 11, at 11 a.m., join Orchardist Erin Robinson for a stroll though the Scott Farm orchards off Kipling Road.
Scott Farm's orchard staff say they are keeping alive the heritage and flavor of more than 130 varieties of ecologically grown heirloom apples, as well as many other fruits. Robinson will lead strollers through the larger heirloom orchard as part of Dig In Vermont's Open Farm Week and share the history of these historic fruits.
Orchard ecology, what it takes to manage the farm, and why preserving these heritage varieties is so important are among the topics to be covered. For more information on this free event, visit scottfarmvermont.com/upcoming-events-1/orchard-stroll.
'Play Every Town' concert tour comes to Athens
ATHENS - The 63rd concert in pianist David Feurzeig's "Play Every Town" series comes to the Athens Brick Meeting House, 2 Meetinghouse Rd., on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 3 p.m.
Feurzeig is offering free community concerts in every town in Vermont, joined by local musicians Will Danforth and Matt Shea. Donations will be accepted to benefit The Nature Museum in Grafton (nature-museum.org).
Feurzeig, a professor of music at the University of Vermont, specializes in recitals that "bring together music of an astonishing variety of musical styles, from ancient and classical to jazz, avant-garde, and popular traditions," say organizers. "These striking juxtapositions, peppered with informative and humorous commentary, create eye- and ear-opening programs that will change how you hear all kinds of music."
In Athens, Feurzeig, Shea, and Danforth will play some environmentally-themed songs. Feurzeig will also play a sonata by Muzio Clementi written in 1780, the year Athens was chartered, and Mozart's beloved variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle" written in 1781, the year the town was organized.
Two polonaises by the 7-year-old Chopin will mark the year of the Meeting House's construction, and Mary Gibbons' 1871 "Athenian March" will honor the town's storied name. As with every concert in the project, this one will include its own unique sonata by Domenico Scarlatti, Sonata No. 63, for this 63rd concert. And, in honor of the other Athens's reputation as a birthplace of democracy, Feurzeig will play Robert Buechel's 1913 "Democratic Fun: A Campaign Cake-Walk." Other solo pieces will round out the program.
Senior lunch in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - Senior Solutions and Evening Star Grange present senior lunch on Wednesday, August 14, with take-outs available from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and in-house seating at noon. Reservations are strongly suggested but not mandatory, although it helps the Grange to know how many are coming so they can make enough food for all. Call 802-254-1138 and leave name, telephone number, number of meals desired, and whether they are for eating in or taking out.
The menu this time includes meatloaf, with a plant-based vegetarian meatloaf option, mashed potatoes and gravy, and summer squash casserole, with blueberry cake for dessert. A gluten-free option is also available. A donation of $3 for those 60 and older and $4 for the younger set to help offset the cost of this meal is suggested.
RFPL hosts weekly creative writing workshops
BELLOWS FALLS - Since October 2022, Frances LeMoine-Barsky has been facilitating creative writing workshops at the Rockingham Free Public Library. These workshops continue every Wednesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Poetry, flash/short fiction, and narrative fiction will be emphasized but not to the exclusion of other genres, including memoir. Participants should bring a laptop or a pad of paper and a favorite pen.
Formerly, Barsky taught Adult Ed Creative Writing at Merrimack (N.H.) High School. Her work has appeared in numerous publications. Asterius Press published her poetry collection, The Moon Makes No Difference to Me. All of her writing has been published under her birth name, Frances Le Moine.
This program is free. For more information, contact 802-463-4270, [email protected], or stop by the library at 65 Westminster St.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.