Community events: Feb. 8 through Feb. 15, 2018

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@chestertelegraph.org. Photos welcome. No PDFs, please. Notices must be received by noon on Fridays to be eligible for publication the following week.

Feb. 8: Six-week movement program kicks off

The Springfield Town Library hosts a six-week Move to Improve program from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8 through March 14 designed to get participants moving safely within their own limitations.

Instructors from the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center will go through exercises that can easily be done at home to elevate the heart rate, increase range of motion throughout the body, and practice balance. The library is located at 43 Main St. in Springfield.

The class is accessible to all body types and levels of fitness. For information, contact the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center at 802-885-2568 or email kirish@myreccenter.org or the Springfield Town Library at 802-885-3108 or stlas@vermontel.net.

Feb. 8: Marten revival topic of discussion

Chris Bernier wildlife biologist discusses the Martens Come Back to Vermont at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the NewsBank Conference Center at 352 Main St. in Chester. The Nature Museum sponsors this family program.

The American pine marten is a carnivorous, slender-bodied weasel that is rarely spotted in the wild. By the early 1900s, the species was deemed extinct in Vermont, but there have been recent sightings across the state. Tickets: $7 in advance and $10 at the door. For more information, visit www.nature-museum.org, or call 802-843-2111.

Feb. 9: Weston Farmers Market held at Walker Farm

On Friday, Feb. 9, from 3 to 6:30 p.m., Walker Farm Playhouse hosts the Weston’s Farmers’ Market. Local farmers and artisans offer their goods for sale at 705 Main St. in Weston. Shoppers will find local dairy, meats, and vegetables along with handcrafted items. The market continues every Friday through Feb. 23.

For more information, click here.

Feb. 9: ‘Look and See’ Wendell Berry film in Cavendish

Cavendish Baptist Church is screening Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9 at 2258 Main St. in Cavendish.

This tribute film is about poet/novelist/farmer/activist Wendell Berry and the residents of Henry County, Ky. and their struggles and relationship to their land and community.

No admission fee due to a grant from the Cavendish Community Fund, but donations for refreshments will be accepted for the Cavendish Fire Department Emergency Shelter Initiative.

For more information, click here.

Feb. 10: Snowshoeing Catamount Trail

On Saturday, Feb. 10, the Green Mountain Club Manchester section invite those interested to meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Catamount Trail parking lot on South Road in Peru.

Participants can leave some cars there and drive around to park at the end of Upper French Hollow Road. The group will then snowshoe north on the trail 3.7 miles with several hundred feet of elevation change.

Bring extra clothing, snacks, lunch, and fluids. Reservation is required. Contact Marge Fish at 802-384-3654 or marge.fish@gmail.com to register.

Feb. 10: Costume jewelry mosaic class

Cabin Fever classes return to 103 Artisans Marketplace at 7 Pineview

Road and Route 103 South in Chester. Join instructor, Laurie Marechaux at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 to create a framed mosaic.

Attendees will use imagination and a collection of junk or costume jewelry, trinkets, and buttons to create a retro, jewelry mosaic. The class is limited to eight students.

To sign up, email 103marketplace@gmail.com. Call 802-875-7400 or visit the shop. For more information, contact lauriem@tds.net.

Feb. 11: Diversified land workshop in Topsham

Join the Vermont Woodlands Association for a walk from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Feb. 11 on a Diversified Land Management and Timbersale Tour at Galusha Hill Farm. This workshop is for landowners looking to diversify their operations and revenue stream, but also for those seeking to learn more about working woodlands. Galusha Hill Farm is located at 10 Clark Road in East Topsham.

The group begins the tour at a cabin on site, meeting with John Harkins to discuss their operations. From there, they will go on a tour of the recent timbersale with Ryan Kilborn of MTL. A representative of the UVLT will be available to answer any questions about the conservation of the land, and the ways that agriculture and forestry can be used on conservation land. Dress for the weather and wear sturdy footwear.

Registration is required. This walk is eligible for CFE credits from SAF and has been assigned 3.0 category 1 CFE credits. Register at vermontwoodlands.org/walk.asp, or by emailing info@vermontwoodlands.org or by calling 802-747-7900. Carpooling advised. Signs will be posted. The driveway to the cabin is across from the main cabin at the farm. In case of inclement weather, the backup date is Saturday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. to noon.

This event is free and is sponsored by the Vermont Woodlands Association and the Upper Valley Land Trust.

Feb. 13: Celebrate Shrove Tuesday at St. Luke’s

The St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is Tuesday, Feb. 13, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Willard Hall at 313 Main St. in Chester. In New Orleans, the term mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting as Lent begins.

At St. Luke’s, the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is a family tradition. Besides pancakes, sausage patties and fruit salad are served. The event is free but there will be baskets on each table for a free will offering to benefit Episcopal Relief and Development.

This year, Ash Wednesday is also Valentine’s Day. St. Luke’s Church will hold two worship services on Feb. 14 with the Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist at noon and again at 6 p.m.

For more information email stlukes@vermontel.net or call 802-875-6000.

Feb. 14: Women’s Freedom Center screens ‘Invoking Justice’

On Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m., the Women’s Freedom Center screens the documentary film  Invoking Justice at the Rockingham Library at 65 Westminster St. in Bellows Falls.

In Southern India, family disputes are settled by Jamaats — all male bodies that apply Islamic Sharia law to cases without allowing women to be present, even to defend themselves.

In 2004, a group of women established a women’s Jamaat, which soon became a network of 12,000 members spread over 12 districts. Award-winning filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj follows several cases, shining a light on how the women’s Jamaat has acquired power through both communal education and the leaders’ persistent, tenacious and compassionate investigation of the crimes.

The film is free and open to the public. For more information email programs@rockinghamlibrary.org.

The Women’s Freedom Center is the local non-profit organization working to end domestic and sexual violence in Windham and Southern Windsor counties. The center’s 24/7 Hotline number is 802-885-2050.

Feb. 15: Snowshoe the Catamount Trail

Meet up with members of the Green Mountain Club Manchester section at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 at the parking area just before the gate about 200 yards after you turn onto Forest Road 10 from Little Michigan Road in Landgrove, where the club hosts another snowshoe walk.

Leave cars there and carpool to start snowshoeing from Hapgood Pond Road north to Forest Road 10 on the Catamount Trail.

The group will snowshoe 3.1 miles with about 500 feet of elevation variation. Bring extra layers, snacks, and fluids. Reservations required. Contact Marge Fish at 802-384-3654 or email marge.fish@gmail.com to register.