Upcoming events: Watters photo exhibit; Christmas celebrations; SOVERA meets; art show in Grafton; FOLA film

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.

Photo © Lew Watters: abandoned truck in Paria Canyon, AZ

Dec. 4:  Watters photo exhibit

A free exhibit of Chester resident Lew Watters photography will be at the Whiting Library, 117 Main St., Chester through January 2014. An opening reception will take place 5–7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4 in the library’s computer and reference room. The exhibit may be viewed anytime during regular library hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dec. 5: Temporary closing of Rock Library

Rockingham Free Public Library will be closed Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6 to allow for the installation of new shelves in the main section.  Items will not be due during this period.  Library materials can be returned in the dropbox in front of the library near the sidewalk.
The library will be seeking volunteers to assist with unpacking and reshelving the adult collection during the week of Dec 9 – 14.  If you would be interested in volunteering, please call 802-463-4270 or email sam@rockinghamlibrary.org

Dec. 6: Kurn Hattin choir, fiddler Natalie MacMaster perform

For a second year, the Kurn Hattin Children’s Select Choir has been invited to join Grammy-winning fiddler Natalie MacMaster on stage for her “Christmas in Cape Breton” concert, which takes place at the Latchis Theater in downtown Brattleboro at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6.

Last year, Jay Craven of Kingdom County Productions selected Kurn Hattin’s choir to perform several songs with MacMaster at the Bellows Falls Opera House. MacMaster’s staff contacted Kurn Hattin Homes directly to request an encore appearance from the children for this year’s Latchis performance.

Tickets for Natalie MacMaster’s “Christmas in Cape Breton” are available by phone at 888-757-5559; online at KingdomCounty.org. For information visit http://www.nataliemacmaster.com or the Latchis Theater at http://theater.latchis.com/events.

Established in 1894, Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster is a charitable home and school for boys and girls ages 6-15 who are affected by tragedy, social or economic hardship, or other disruption in family life. Its mission: Kurn Hattin transforms the lives of children and their families forever.

Dec. 7: St. Luke’s Christmas Tea and Sale

St. Luke’s invites the public to a relaxing and fun hour or two amid the Overture to Christmas events on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Willard Hall at 313 Main St. in Chester. Hot brewed tea and coffee and mulled cider will be served with Christmas cookies and tea sandwiches. The cost for the lunch is $6 per person. There will also be home baked goods, Grandma’s Attic bargains, homemade crafts for gift giving like ornaments, tree trimmings and decorations available for purchase. All proceeds benefit St. Luke’s Church.

For more information visit the church website at www.stlukesepiscopalvt.org. For the schedule of events for Overture to Christmas, click here.

Dec. 7: Scrooge returns to Weston

Sam Lloyd and Marcus Neville perform in a past year’s event.

Christmas in Weston, a Vermont Chamber of Commerce Top Ten Winter Event, will feature veteran actor Sam Lloyd as Scrooge in the theater company’s annual interactive reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Weston’s Old Parish Church (free admission). Enjoy this holiday classic and take one of the volunteer roles if you’ve always wanted to test your acting chops.
Other events in the free, daylong celebration include sleigh rides, visits with Santa, storytelling, magic, craft demonstrations, caroling and a 4 p.m. tree lighting on the Village Green.
Christmas in Weston is hosted by the Weston Business Council and its member organizations. Money raised through sleigh ride donations and raffle ticket sales will benefit Just Neighbors, an organization that helps those in need with heating and transportation assistance.

More information is available at www.weston-vermont.com.

Dec. 8: Paint Fiber Clay exhibit at Grafton Inn

An opening reception for the Grafton Inn’s exhibit Paint Fiber Clay, will take place 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Inn, 92 Main St., Grafton. Artwork will be displayed at both the Phelps Barn Pub and the Cricketeers building. The exhibit runs through Friday, Jan. 31.

The exhibit includes paintings, art quilts, pottery, and multimedia artworks created by female artists from area towns. Artists whose works are on display include Frances Holliday Alford, Susan Damone Balch, Sharon Lefebvre, Martha Nichols, Frieda Post, Polly Whitcomb and Stephanie Whitney-Payne of Chester.

For more information please contact Stephanie Whitney-Payne at 802-875-2835 or steph@summerhousestudio.com.

Dec. 10: Southern Vermont Astronomy Group to view Local Group

The Southern Vermont Astronomy Group will meet to observe the Local Group, a group of galaxies, including our own, gravitationally bound together. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the Whiting Library, 117 Main St. in Chester. The group will talk about finding and observing the brightest members of the Local Group with a modest telescope.

Beginning with their Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014 monthly meeting, the group will move to Magic Mountain in Londonderry.

Visit its website, www.sovera.org for more information.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium

Dec. 14: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at FOLA

Friends of Ludlow Auditorium’s final 2013 movie will be a classic spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium, 37 Depot St. in Ludlow.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an adaptation of John Le Carré’s novel about an ex-British agent who emerges from retirement to expose a mole in MI6. The movie stars John Hurt and Gary Oldman.

The movie is free and open to the public; donations are appreciated. Popcorn will be supplied by Berkshire Bank. For information, go to the FOLA website at www.fola.us or call 802-228-7239.

— Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson