Upcoming events Oct. 3-8: Wellness classes, fine art shows, Abenaki talk, comic book workshop for kids, film noir screening, live classical music performance, former poet laureate presents, and end of live symposium

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.

Oct. 3: Springfield med offers free wellness classes

Springfield Medical Care Systems offers free health and wellness classes.

Healthier Living with Chronic Conditions will be held from 9:30 a.m.–noon, Thursdays, Oct. 1 through Nov. 5. The course presents a chronic disease self-management program, which helps individuals with chronic conditions learn how to manage and improve their health. It focuses on issues such as pain management, nutrition, exercise, medication use, emotions, and communicating with doctors. Class will be held at The Fireplace Room at Rockingham Medical Group, 1 Hospital Court, Bellows Falls. Lunch will be provided.

Learning to Live Well with Diabetes will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Mondays starting Oct. 5 and running through Oct. 26. A second session will be from 10–11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, Nov. 4–25. This four-week program is an opportunity for those newly diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes to learn the best management strategies, and also is a great refresher for those previously diagnosed with diabetes who may benefit from a review. The class covers all comprehensive areas of diabetes education Both sessions meet at Springfield Health Center, 100 River St. in Springfield.

There is no charge for any program but registration is requested. Contact the Community Health Team for more information or to register by calling 802-886-8946 or emailing cht@springfieldmed.org.

Oct. 3: Portraits of Field, Forest & Farm at Great Hall

Feather & Fur: Portraits of Field, Forest & Farm is scheduled to open at noon on Saturday, Oct. 3 and run through the end of April 2016 at the Great Hall, 100 River St., Springfield.

Chester resident Rick Hearn’s Egret to be part of Feather & Fur: Portraits Of Field, Forest & Farm exhibit

Participating in the statewide Open Studio Weekend, Oct. 3–4, they will be open both Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Regular viewing hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Artists featured in the exhibit include Richard CoFrancesco of Springfield; Donna Ellery of McIndoe Falls; Rick Hearn of Chester; Lesley Heathcote of Brattleboro; Jennifer Maharry 0f Culver City, Calif.; Christine Mix of Manchester Center; Robin Truelove Stronk of Westmoreland, N.H.; Jamie Townsend of Springfield; and Adelaide Tyrol 0f Plainfield.

There will be a Saturday opening to meet the artists where VINS and artist Christine Mix will present live demonstrations. Beginning at 12:30 p.m. Mix will demonstrate how to draw animals. This will be followed by a presentation by Vermont Institute of Natural Science with an up close and personal encounter with live hawks and an owl. Cider and cider doughnuts along with seasonal fair will be served.

Visitors should use Pearl Street entrance only for Oct. 3 and 4. The exhibits at the Great Hall are sponsored by Springfield Regional Development Corp. For more information go to: www.facebook.com/GreatHallSpringfield or call 802-885-3061.

Oct. 3: Learn about modern Abenaki

On Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m., Jeanne Brink will share her knowledge of the Western Abenaki of the 21st century at the Rockingham Library at 65 Westminster St. in Bellows Falls. She will discuss programs and projects present-day Abenakis are working on to maintain and preserve their traditions and language and discuss how modern technology affects Abenaki culture.

A descendant of the Obomsawin family of Thompson’s Point, Vermont and Odanak Reserve in Quebec, Brink draws on her Abenaki famly history and experiences. She serves as Native American consultant to schools and organizations.

Sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council the presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, call 802-463-4270, email anne@rockinghamlibrary.org or stop by the library.

Oct. 3: FOLA screens ‘Touch of Evil’

The next Friends of the Ludlow Auditorium film, Touch of Evil, will be shown at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium, 37 Depot St. in Ludlow.

‘Touch of Evil’ brings film noir to FOLA’s movie night

Touch of Evil is a 1958 American film noir crime thriller written, directed by, and co-starring Orson Welles. The screenplay was loosely based on Whit Masterson’s novel Badge of Evil.

The story is about a Mexican narcotics investigator confronting a lying, crooked police captain and the subsequent action that takes place as a consequence.

Admission is free but donations are appreciated. Popcorn will be provided by Berkshire Bank and FOLA will offer water. For information, call 802-228-7239 or visit the website at www.fola.us.

Oct. 3: Cellist Sophie Shao in concert

Sophie Shao performs with friends in Brrattleboro

On Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., cellist Sophie Shao will be joined by Carmit Zori on violin, Jeff Neubauer on viola and Gilles Vonsattel on piano for a night of chamber music at Centre Congregational Church 193 Main St., in Brattleboro. Music for the concert includes Beethoven String Trio; Brahms Piano quartet in C minor; and Dvorak Piano Trio in F minor.

Shao has presented friends in concerts in Brattleboro for four  seasons. Most recently, she has been invited to join the National Symphony cello section for a year. Admission is $40 for preferred seating; $20 for general seating. For tickets and information, call the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523 or visit bmc.org.

Oct. 5: Comic book workshop at Rock Library

The Rockingham Free Public Library offers an after-school comic book workshop every Monday afternoon, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Oct. 5 through Nov. 23 at 65 Westminster St. in Bellows Falls.

The workshop is a weekly group children 10 and up and focusing on telling stories through art. The group will work on comic strip and manga illustration techniques and produce new creative works. Other weekly workshops will be offered, where participants can share their work and offer helpful suggestions and ways to improve. Students are welcome to bring their own pencils and sketchbooks; however the library will provide some supplies each week.

Local young adult author Megan Applegate will lead the workshop. Applegate is a constant doodler and scribbler. She’s taken more than a dozen illustration and comic workshops and posts her own daily comic strip on her blog, An Unruly Life.

Participation in the workshop is free, but registration is required. Register by calling the library at 802-463-4270, email sam@rockinghamlibrary.org, or stop by the library.

Oct. 6: ‘Managing Life’s Final Decisions’ continues

The Managing Life’s Final Decisions symposium continues at 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Newsbank Conference Center, 352 Main St., Chester, with a presentation on medical considerations by Linda Wilcox from Springfield Hospital, Dr. Daniel Coloras from VNA Hospice program and a VNA nurse.
The symposium is designed to help seniors, families and support networks begin the difficult discussion of these topics.

The schedule is:
Oct. 6: Medical Considerations by Springfield Hospital and VNA staff
Oct. 20: Alzheimer’s by Maggie Lewis, regional director, Alheizmer’s Association, Vermont Chapter.
Nov. 3:  Funeral/Memorial Decisions by Scott Page, director, Davis Memorial Chapel
Nov. 17:  Financial and Legal by Attorney William Dakin, Dakin and Benelli, and Ron Theissen, Skygate Financial Group LLC

All events will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at Newsbank. Admission is free. Call 802- 875-6341 for more information or to make transportation arrangements.

Oct. 7: Wednesday Story Time at Wilder

Thanks to dedicated volunteers, Wilder Memorial Library 24 Lawrence Hill Road, Weston, offers Story Time programs every Wednesday morning at 11 a.m., from October through the second week in August. While Story Time events are open to all ages, even adults, the target age group is preschool age children. Story Time programs are held in the Jeremy R. Orton Children’s Room in the downstairs of the Wilder Memorial Library. An adult must accompany all children. If you’re interested in learning more about Story Time, email director@wildermemoriallibrary.com or call 802-824-4307.

Oct. 8: Former Maine poet laureate at Misty Valley

Former Maine poet laureate Baron Wormser will be at Misty Valley Books on the Green in Chester as part of the Sun Dog Poetry Center’s Poets and Their Craft lecture series, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8.

Baron Wormser.

His topic will be The Irony and the Ecstasy — On the Nature of Poetry. Wormser will also read from his most recent book of poems, Unidentified Sighing Objects.

Wormser has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Bread Loaf and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. From 2000 to 2006 he served as poet laureate of the state of Maine.

He teaches in the Fairfield University MFA Program and is director of educational outreach for the Frost Place in Franconia, N.H. He lives in Montpelier with his wife, Janet.

A reception and book signing will follow the talk, free of charge at the bookstore. For more information, call Misty Valley Books at 802-875-3400 or visit www.mvbooks.com.

Oct. 8: Tips for maintaining winter health

At 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, Dr. Lynn Lind, doctor of naturopathic and integrative medicine, will speak at the Meeting Place at Neighborhood Connections about flu prevention, Seasonal Affective Disorder, the common cold and other seasonal afflictions. The Meeting Place is located 5700 Mountain Marketplace in Londonderry.

Lind will offer natural and home remedies to help not only ward off common seasonal conditions but also help you recover quickly if you are feeling ill.  Space is limited, call 802-824-4343 or e-mail schwartzmary02@gmail.com to register.

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

–Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson