Upcoming events: Alcohol & children addressed at GMUHS presentation; preserving Vermont village centers topic of Rotary night; Springfield holds Winter Carnival; Fryes at Grounded4Life; mixed media class; Bonnie’s book-signing event; Comic (book) Jam at Art Garden; library friends group welcomes public; Vermont film at Rock Library; ‘Blithe Spirit’ plays Northern Stage

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.

Feb. 4: Underage-drinking issues addressed at GMUHS

The Chester Community Series continues in February with a free public presentation by Steven Waldo at 6 p.m., Wednesday Feb. 4 in the Conference Room at Green Mountain Union High School, 716 Route 103 South in Chester. Coffee and refreshments will be served.

The presentation Together We Can: Current Underage Drinking Issues, Trends, and Products, Research and Solutions  is a community update for 2015. Waldo will cover some of the current worldwide trends and statistics around drinking and driving and teens. He will share information on new products from the tobacco, alcohol and marijuana industries, and how their marketing targets teens. He’ll then speak to current research as to the best approach to reduce the impact caused by these products.

Waldo is an investigator for the Vermont Department of Liquor Control and a certified law enforcement officer. He is a participant in more than six community coalitions in Vermont and a member of two START teams, which are coalitions of law enforcement, court and community leaders tasked with enforcing the laws regarding teen parties.

For more information, contact Cortney Slobodnjak SAP at GMUHS by calling 802-875-2146 ext. 276 or 802-875-4155. Or e-mail cortney.slobodnjak@trsu.org.

Steven Cecil

Feb. 5: Future of New England village centers topic of Chester Rotary event

The First Thursday Chester Rotary Club Program for February is Challenges and Opportunities: the Future of New England Village Centers, presented by Steven Cecil at 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5 at the Fullerton Inn, 40 The Common, Chester. The public is invited to this free event.

The focus of the program is the particular challenges and opportunities for a traditional New England town centers as commercial, civic and residential districts. Cecil will consider Chester in the context of regional trends, its location and assets.

He will provide examples and case studies from other communities that have similar characteristics. After the presentation, an open discussion will focus on methods and strategies to help retain the quality of life and quality of place that is a hallmark of great New England towns.

Steven Cecil AIA ASLA is the president and founder of The Cecil Group, a multi-disciplinary planning and design firm in Boston known for its ability to help communities “put the pieces together” to create successful districts, neighborhoods and projects.

Feb. 6: Winter Carnival returns to Springfield

Crown Point Country Club announced the return of the Winter Carnival to Springfield, from Friday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, Feb. 8. Proceeds from the weekend event will be donated to local charities. A series of events will take place at the club at 920 Brook Road in Springfield throughout the weekend. The carnival will begin with a bonfire, skating, sledding, music and free hot chocolate on Friday evening.

Saturday’s festivities include a pancake breakfast ($8 per person, children under 5 free), bingo, skating and sledding, broom hockey with high school and adult teams of six ($5 per team member), and a Snow Ball dinner and dance hosted at the club at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for the ball are $60 per couple and may be purchased by mailing a check to the Crown Point Country Club, PO Box 413, Springfield, VT 05156. Tickets will also be available for purchase at Springfield Parks and Recreation Center.

On Sunday, activities include open skating and sledding from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., snowshoe races from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and cardboard sled races from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants are asked to bring their own sleds and snowshoes. Open spaces for cross-country skiing will be available all weekend, and the restaurant will be open with the pub menu available throughout the event.

For more information on broom hockey and cardboard sled races, contact Andy Bladyka at 802-885-2727 or email springfieldrec@hotmail.com. For details or to enter the snowshoe races, contact Christian Craig at 802-885-2568, or email ccraig@myreccenter.org. For general information or to volunteer, contact John Middleton at 802-885-5893 or email jgmiddleton@hotmail.com.

The Fryes entertain at G4L coffeehouse

Feb. 6: The Fryes perform at Grounded4Life

Scott and Mona Frye return to Grounded4Life Friday, Feb. 6 offering their own brand of music ranging from originals to Christian contemporary. From the local area, Mona performs vocals and plays the keyboard and Scott accompanies her on guitar. It’s another night of free folk music that Grounded4Life is becoming well known for. Admission is free. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with food, coffee, fellowship and conversation. The program begins at 7 p.m.

Grounded4Life is a coffee house located in the lower level of the Chester Baptist Church, 162 Main St., Chester. For more information visit Grounded4Life’s Facebook page or contact John Nunnikhoven at john4ns@fastmail.fm.

Feb. 7: Mixed media class at Craft Source

Learn how to paint using mixed media techniques from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 7 at The Craft Source, located at 62 Clinton St. in Springfield. No experience is necessary. The class fee is $20, which includes all materials. Students will receive a 5″x7″ canvas panel, share in a selection paints and mediums, and have a $5 store credit to purchase their embellishments. Space is limited. Registration required by Feb. 4th. For more info contact Miriam at thecraftsourcevt@gmail.com or by calling 802-952-8778.

Bonnie’s Buddles cat Silvio hosts a book signing in the Stone Village.

Feb. 7: Book-signing event at Bonnie’s Bundles

Silvio, cat mascot of Bonnie’s Bundles Dolls is hosting a signing party for the doll maker’s new book, A Dozen Cats Plus One Sew, from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Watters’ home and gallery, 250 North St., Stone Village in Chester. Silvio will be there to give paw print autographs. Light refreshments will be served.

The book is a humorous tale about the cats that have sewed with Bonnie Watters over five decades. Each page features one of the 13 cats with a keyword connecting the reader to a historic background photograph. The book sells for $13 with postage and shipping additional. For details about the book visit www.bonniesbundlesdolls.com and click on New Book icon.

Feb. 7: Comic (book) Jam
at Chester’s Art Garden

The Chester Community Art Garden is hosting a Comic (book) Jam from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 at 295 Main St. in Chester behind the Moon Dog Café.

The Comic Jam is a collaborative comic strip workshop. Local comic artist Mindy Fisher will lead the group. Participants will have the opportunity to create collaborative comic strips during this two-hour workshop. At the end of the workshop, those who wish to may read their comic to the group. Participants will leave with one finished collaborative comic strip and new ideas about this craft. This family friendly event is suited for artists of all ages and all abilities who enjoy drawing. Cost for the workshop is a sliding scale $5 to $10. Registration is recommended, although drop-ins will be welcome.

The CCAG is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. and Saturday noon to 2 p.m. for Open Studio. If you have questions, contact Emily Burkland at theartgardenvt@gmail.com or 802-289-3071. For more information on Mindy Fisher’s work, visit www.mindyfisher.com.

Find out about Rockingham Library’s Friends at a Saturday Open House

Feb. 7: Library friends group welcomes public to annual meeting

The Friends of the Rockingham Library invite the public to its annual meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 in the library’s third floor meeting room at 65 Westminster St., Bellows Falls. Share in some light brunch fare, entertainment and a slide show highlighting the Friends’ contributions and library activities including treasures found at the April book sale, beautification of gardens throughout the area, a holiday party, and an educational bus trip that took participants back in time. Door prizes will be drawn every half hour. The event is free and open to the public, offering opportunities to meet the Friends and share your ideas for the library’s future programs. For further information, call 802-463-4273 or email anne@rockinghamlibrary.org, stop by the library or visit their website at rockinghamibrary.org.

Feb. 11: Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie at Rock Library

The Rockingham Free Public Library will present the film,  The Vermont Movie: Part One-A Very New Idea  at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, followed by a discussion.

The documentary explores the native and colonial roots from which Vermont grew from the Abenaki people through Vermont’s role in the Civil War. The program is free and open to the public. It is handicap accessible. The film lasts approximately 80 minutes, and the discussion, led by Elayne Clift, will last up to an hour. For more information call the library at 802-463-4270, email anne@rockinghamlibrary.org, or go online to rockinghamlibrary.org.

Alexis Hyatt will co-star in Blithe Spirit, playing Ruth Condomine, whose husband’s seance accidentally  calls up the ghost of his first wife.  Hilarity ensues.

Feb. 11: Northern Stage to produce classic British comedy ‘Blithe Spirit’

Noel Coward’s classic comedy Blithe Spirit will be performed at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction, Feb. 11 through March 1. This ghostly comedy celebrates a bygone age of romance in the middle class, and operates on the presumption that life is too serious to be taken seriously.

The show’s schedule is as follows:

Preview Performances

(all seats discounted at $30)
Wednesday Feb. 11 through Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Opening Night

Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
A complimentary post-show reception with the cast and crew will follow this performance.

$20 Tuesday

Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
all seats $20

Celebrity Saturday

Feb. 21, following the 7:30 p.m. performance will be a post show conversation with the company.

An Athena Lecture, a companion event highlighting contextual themes in the production, will be held at the opera house on Sunday, Feb. 15, from 3:30-4:30 p.m., led by Brett Gamboa, assistant professor of English at Dartmouth College, and specialist in Shakespeare, dramatic literature, and theater directing. This event is free and open to the public.

Discounted tickets are available for preview performances Feb. 11–13. New this season is a $20 Tuesday on Feb. 17 (all tickets $20), a $15 Anytime Student ticket, available for any performance and lower top ticket prices. For tickets and information, call 802-296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org.

— Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson