Upcoming events: Local history, underwater; Springfield Steampunk Festival this weekend; VAST meeting and snowmobile expo; Sunday services resume at First Universalist; Phineas Gage walk; fund-raiser for Manchester Food Cupboard; nutrition classes in Londonderry; and interactive story-telling at Rock Library

For more upcoming events, click here for The Chester Telegraph calendar. To be included in our Upcoming events briefs, email Susan Lampe-Wilson at calendar@www.chestertelegraph.org. Photos welcome. No PDFs, please. Notices must be received by noon on Fridays to be eligible for publication the following week.

Sept 9: Local history hidden underwater

On Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. the Putney Library, 55 Main St., Putney will host Annette Spaulding, master diver and local history enthusiast, for a talk and slide show about her recent rediscovery of a petroglyph submerged in the West River.

Annette Spaulding, master diver in the West River. Photo by Kristopher Radder/ Brattleboro Reformer

Annette Spaulding, master diver in the West River. Photo by Kristopher Radder/ Brattleboro Reformer

Spaulding will also share images of the underwater remnants of Putney’s own “Elephant Bridge,” which she encountered while diving in the Connecticut River last year.

Spaulding has been diving in the area for over 25 years and loves to share the local history treasures she finds.

This program is free and open to the public. Call 802-387-4407 or email putpub@svcable.net with any questions.

Clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg perform in the first Artist in Residence concert

Clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg perform in the first Artist in Residence concert

Sept. 11: Yellow Barn’s Fall Season opens in Brattleboro

Following a successful 46th summer season, Yellow Barn presents its first Artist Residency concert of 2015-2016 at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11 at Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill in Brattleboro.

The artists include clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg. This event marks Krakauer’s first visit to the area since a wildly popular Yellow Barn concert in 2010.

The Krakauer-Tagg Duo, together with sound engineer Jay Eigenmann, will spend their time in Vermont cultivating a project that expands the concept of the clarinet and piano recital by taking simple songs from folk and improvisation-based tradition and re-imagining them for clarinet, piano and electronics.

For more details and to purchase tickets, visit www.yellowbarn.org or call the box office at 802-387-6637.

Sept. 11: Music at Chester coffee house

House band Grounded is bringing its musical talents for an evening of praise and worship at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11 at Grounded4Life, a coffee house in the lower level of the Chester Baptist Church, 162 Main St., Chester.

The event is free. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with food, coffee, fellowship and conversation.
Check out the Grounded4Life Facebook page or contact John Nunnikhoven at john4ns@fastmail.fm.

Sept. 11–13: Get into high gear for

Springfield Steampunk Festival

Springfield is calling all Steampunk aficionados and those curious to participate in the first Springfield Steampunk Festival.

Steampunk girlPresented by the Steampunk Society of Vermont and the Hartness House Inn, the festival is slated for this weekend, Sept. 11 through 13.

Proceeds benefit the Springfield Community Center. Main events will occur at the Great Hall, 100 River St. and the Hartness House Inn, 30 Orchard St. Parking is at the Great Hall, Springfield High School and DMV. Parking at the inn is reserved for inn guests. Shuttle buses will be running regularly.

Steampunk is a sci-fi reverie of steam-powered Victoriana or Jules Verne rocketed into the 21st century. And organizers say this festival is at home in the Valley of Gears.

One of the main venues, the Hartness House offers a key link to Springfield’s Victoriana past and inventor history. It’s an elegant Victorian turn-of-the-century mansion turned Inn that will be the perfect setting for Steampunk fantasy.

Festivalgoers will have an opportunity to tour a secret tunnel, view the private Hartness workshop  and see the observatory and telescope. Stellafane club members, a group of amateur telescope makers, will provide a limited number of guided tours during the festival.

The three-day festival offers a chance to dress up, wear funny hats and goggles and play with gears. Features include a Stargazer’s Ball, music including Venus Lens Cap, Rusty Belle, Humanwine, Electric Sorcery, Ida Mae Specker & The Honest Mistakes, the Suitcase Junket and Tritium Well.

There will also be a talk by Bruce Rosenbaum dubbed the Steampunk Guru, an absinthe tasting conducted by expert S.B. MacDonald, children’s activities, a fashion show, tea dueling and a closing event picnic. All weekend, vendors from all over the country will be selling everything Steampunk.

Additional volunteers are needed and those interested can register at the website www.springfieldvtsteampunkfest.com/volunteerapp.html. Ticket information, full schedule and additional details can be found at www.springfieldvtsteampunkfest.com.

Sept. 12: VAST annual meeting and snowmobile expo

Chesk out all the new snowmobile equipment for winter at VAST snowmobile expo at Okemo's Jackson Gore

Chesk out the new snowmobile equipment for winter and Ludlow’s rescue crews at VAST snowmobile expo at Okemo’s Jackson Gore

The Windsor County Snowmobile Club will host the Annual Vermont Association of Snowmobilers Annual Meeting and Snowmobile Exposition from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Okemo’s Jackson Gore, 111 Jackson Gore Road in Ludlow.

There will be vendor displays including booths from: Vermont State Police, Fish and Game; Windsor County Sheriff; Snowmobile dealers; ATV dealers; and farmers market vendors. If interested in being a vendor, contact Carol Coyne at 802-672-1992 to reserve a space. There is a $25 commitment fee for vendors, which will be returned to the vendors that participate. Admission is free.

The event’s highlight is a rescue demonstration by the Ludlow Fire Department, Ludlow Ambulance Service, Ludlow Police Department and the DHART Helicopter. This demonstration will take place at 11 a.m. involving the simulation of a snowmobile accident and eventual transport of the victim to the hospital by the DHART helicopter.

Jackson Gore Adventure Zone will also be open to the public that day. For more information and fees for these activities, go to www.okemo.com.

Sept. 13: Sunday services resume at First Universalist Parish

After a summer recess, Sunday worship services have been scheduled at the First Universalist Parish, 211 North Street/Route 103 North in Chester’s Stone Village. Services begin at 9:30 a.m. and are followed by conversation and light refreshment.

Beginning on Sunday, Sept. 13 the sermon will be “What Lichens Can Teach Us about Theology,” presented by the Rev. Kevin Carson. The service will examine what lichens might teach us about mutual interdependence.

Sunday, Sept. 20: “The Progress of Progress,” led by the Rev. Nick Boke discusses, will the forces of good ultimately defeat the forces of evil?

Sunday, Sept. 27: “The Concentration of the Wild: A Reflection in Four Parts,” presented by the the Rev. Nancy Jay Crumbine. This series will continue across four services exploring how wilderness and the wildness within humans can help them can help them move toward better concentration.

Nursery care is provided and religious exploration for school-age children and youth is available. All are welcome. Questions may be left on the voicemail at 802-875-3257. The church website is www.chestervtuu.org.

Sept. 13: Annual Phineas Gage walk and talk

Few people in the area may not be aware of Phineas Gage, the railroad foreman, who on Sept. 13, 1848, was injured when a tamping rod ran through his head during a blasting accident. He lived for 12 more years.

Learn about Dr.  John Martyn Harlow, Phineas Gage's physician after the railroad foreman had a tamping rod rammed through his head.

Learn about Dr. John Martyn Harlow, Phineas Gage’s physician after the railroad foreman had a tamping rod rammed through his head.

People may even know less about Dr. John Martyn Harlow, the Cavendish physician who treated him and followed his recovery, thereby documenting the first case of traumatic brain injury in medical literature.

Harlow’s training in antiphlogistic therapy (preventing or relieving inflammation) was important to Gage’s survival. But what happened to him when he left Cavendish in 1857? Was he really the “obscure country doctor,” as he referred to himself?

Learn more about Harlow at the Cavendish Historical Society’s annual Phineas Gage Walk & Talk, which takes place at 2 p.m.  Sept. 13 at the CHS Museum, Route 131 in Cavendish. The walk includes the location of the accident, Harlow’s home, surgery and the boarding house where Gage was taken after his injury.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information, call 802-226-7807 or margoc@tds.net.

Sept. 13: SVAC hosts benefit for Manchester Food Cupboard

Andy Avery comes to the Southern Vermont Arts Center’s Arkell Pavilion, 930 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive in Manchester on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m., for an evening of music and frivolity. Avery, along with his trio and special guests Lee Romano and Peter Giancola, will be bringing his acoustic rhythms to SVAC as part of a benefit concert supporting the Manchester Community Food Cupboard, which provides food for those in need in the Northshire. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets can be found through www.svac.org, by emailing info@svac.org, or by calling 802-367-1302.

 

Sept. 14: Free nutrition classes in Londonderry

Join Grace Cottage health coach Elizabeth Harrison, C.C.N., for a four-week nutrition series hosted by Neighborhood Connections.

At these free Monday classes,  learn simple, basic steps to improving your life and well-being. The topics will focus on good nutrition, shopping for and cooking healthy foods, the effect of sugar and processed food on your health, and the importance of exercise, sleep, and vitamins. The class dates are Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Sept. 28 and Oct. 5.

Classes are held  from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at The Meeting Place, located in Mountain Marketplace shopping plaza on Route 100 in Londonderry. Come to one class or come to all. For more information, call 802-824-4343.

Neighborhood Connections is a community-based non-profit social services agency serving individuals and families in the area mountain towns of south-central Vermont. Visit their website at www.neighborhoodconnectionsvt.org.

Sept. 16: Senior Solutions presents free Medicare boot camp

Senior Solutions staff provides information about the Medicare system in a free Medicare Boot Camp workshop from 9–11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Call for the location in Bellows Falls.

Medicare has strict enrollment periods, and this session will help participants make timely decisions about drug plans and supplemental plans as well as many other issues. This class is appropriate for those who are currently enrolled in Medicare, as well as anyone who will be signing up in the near future. Family members who help elders may also find this class useful.

There is no fee, but donations are appreciated. Space is limited. Call ahead to register. To register or get more information, call the Senior HelpLine at 800-642-5119.

Learn about garlic from Master gardener Photo by Nino Barbieri

Learn about planting garlic from master gardener Cheryl Wilfong. Photo by Nino Barbieri

Sept. 16: Master gardeners present fall series

The Windham County Extension Master Gardeners are back at Neighborhood Connections with a line-up of gardening topics at 5700 Mountain Marketplace in Londonderry.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 1:30 p.m., Emmett Dunbar, owner of Anjali Farms on Middletown Road in Londonderry, will discuss collecting, preserving and sharing garden seeds. Learn how collecting seeds saves money, helps ensure plant diversity, creates new, custom varieties that grow best in your backyard and can empower people about food security.

Somara Zwick, an Windham County Extension master gardener, will be there on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 1:30 p.m. to talk about how to preserve your garden’s bounty. Learn various methods to extend the life of your summer garden harvest well into the winter season.

On Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m. Cheryl Wilfong, a Windham County Extension master gardener, will discuss planting garlic and other joys of fall gardening.

There is no charge to attend, but space is limited, call 802-824-4343 to register. You can attend specific sessions or all of them.

Neighborhood Connections is a community-based non-profit social services agency serving individuals and families in the area mountain towns of south-central Vermont. Visit their website at www.neighborhoodconnectionsvt.org.

Sept. 16: Interactive story-telling at Rock Library

The RPG League at the Rockingham Library will start its fall session on Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 5–9 p.m. It will run on consecutive Wednesdays through the end of October at the library at 65 Westminster St. in Bellows Falls.

RPG stands for Role Playing Game and is best described as an interactive storytelling game. The League is free and open to adult gamers of all levels—whether you haven’t played for years, are currently gaming, or just want to try something new. Guided by a Game Master, each player takes on a character and tells their part of the story through the game’s process of decision-making. One of the most famous games is Dungeons & Dragons, first published in 1974.

Current teams include a Gothic Horror Ravenloft campaign and a Pathfinder/GURPs game. Join a team or start a new campaign of your own.

For more information, call 802-463-4270, email sam@rockinghamlibrary.org, go to rockinghamlibrary.org or stop by the library. This event is free and open to the public.

— Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson

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About the Author: This item was edited from one or more press releases submitted to The Chester Telegraph.

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