Kiwanis Club hosting chicken pot pie dinner fundraiser for Pioneer seniors

BERNARDSTON — Instead of cooking the night before Easter, folks are invited to take part in the Bernardston Kiwanis Club’s next meal in its fundraiser series, which will raise money for the Pioneer Valley Regional School senior class’ trip to Boston.

The fundraiser will be held Saturday, March 30, at the United Church of Bernardston, 58 Church St., from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Money raised, as well as any collected donations, will go toward the senior class trip, and any leftover money will go to caps and gowns for the soon-to-be graduates.

“Guaranteed no ham on site,” joked Kiwanis Club member Dan Devine.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children. Meals include chicken pot pie — with dough from Sweet Lucy’s Bakeshop — butternut squash, cranberry sauce, a roll, drinks and a slice of homemade carrot cake. Takeout options are available and a meal can be reserved by calling Kiwanis Club member Joel Cole at 413-834-5484. Frozen pies will also be available for sale, as long as supplies last.

Previous fundraisers sold more than 170 meals and raised more than $2,000 for Cub Scouts Pack 3 and $2,500 for Pioneer’s athletics booster club, and Devine said they would like to “match that or go above.” The club holds the fundraising dinners on the last Saturday of the first four months of the year.

Devine thanked the United Church of Bernardston, the Cub Scouts and the athletics booster club for their support in putting on the previous meals.

Next puzzle swap set for April 6

NORTHFIELD — Free used puzzles will be available at Dickinson Memorial Library on Saturday, April 6, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Attendees are advised to park in the back and enter through the side door of the library. Turn left to find the Community Room.

Participants are invited to take as many puzzles as they want, and can keep them as long as they need. The puzzle swap is offered monthly.

For more information, visit northfieldpubliclibrary.org/friends-of-the-library or email friendsofdml01360@gmail.com.

$3K grant to Rec Commission supports subsidies for youth program

NORTHFIELD — More families will have access to subsidies for Northfield’s Summer Youth Day Program in 2024 thanks to a $3,000 grant given to the Northfield Recreation Commission from the Northfield Kiwanis Club.

According to Steve Stoia of the Northfield Kiwanis Club, the club’s signature outdoor athletic event, the Great River Challenge, raised more money for the Recreation Commission during the Oct. 7, 2023 event than in any time in the race’s eight-year history. The 2024 event is already scheduled for Oct. 5.

“I am glad the funds are supporting our local families,” Great River Challenge founder and Director David Thomas said in a statement. He credited the $1,000 increase over prior years’ grants from the race to “the generosity of our sponsors and an increase in race registrations.”

Kiwanis Club Secretary Samantha Tavares presented the funding at the Recreation Commission’s March 6 meeting.

Photography exhibit on display through April 14

NORTHFIELD — The Deerfield Valley Art Association’s fourth annual photography exhibit at Fiddleheads Gallery, 105 Main St., continues through April 14.

The gallery is open on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. as well as on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

The photography exhibit winners were chosen on March 7 by Robert Floyd, an award-winning nature photographer, photojournalist and owner/director of the Robert Floyd Photo Gallery and Learning Center in Southampton. They are as follows:

Best in Show: “Memory” by C. David La Bianca of Erving.

Second Place: “Spring, Breezewood, PA” by Susan Parish of Quaker Hill, Connecticut.

Third Place: “Trolling” by Carol Dunn of Hanover, Connecticut.

Fourth Place: “Tulip” by Vimala Steadman of Winchester, New Hampshire.

Honorable Mentions: “Recess” by C. David La Bianca of Erving; “Spring Emerges” by Carol Dunn of Hanover, Connecticut; “Pattern Designed By Mother Nature” by Kathleen Johnson of Hinsdale, New Hampshire; and “Gravity” and “Cloud Cover,” both by Christine Daugherty of Greenfield.

Fiddleheads Gallery hosts exhibits featuring emerging and highly accomplished New England artists, although the majority are from Franklin County. The gallery also has a gift shop with handcrafted items such as pottery, jewelry, home goods, small paintings and prints, books by local authors and a large collection of art greeting cards.

The gallery is also restarting its in-person workshop and speaker programs. Visit deerfieldvalleyart.org for more information.