Children invited to ‘Wild Ink: Nature Painting’ GREENFIELD — Greenfield Public Library Children’s Librarian Ellen Lavoie invites children ages 3 to 12 to the library’s tent on Wednesday, Aug. 10, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. for “Wild Ink: Nature Painting.”
Kids are invited to make their own paintbrushes from gathered nature materials and paint using watercolor inks made from blueberries, turmeric, green tea and more. This drop-in program is free and open to the public.
Reading of
‘Manipulative’ planned for
Thursday
GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. will hold a reading of “Manipulative,” a comedy by New Zealand playwright Rex McGregor, on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 5:30 p.m. McGregor will be Zooming in live.
Actors are invited to perform in an unpaid cold reading of this play in a casual atmosphere, a LAVA Center press release states. No rehearsals or being familiar with the text is required.
Farmers market coupons available at Senior Center GREENFIELD — Farmers market coupons will be distributed at the Greenfield Senior Center, located at 35 Pleasant St., on Friday, Aug. 12, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
According to a notice from Senior Center Activities Director Kathy Dunn, all seniors ages 60 and over whose monthly income is below $2,096 for an individual or $2,823 for a couple will qualify. You do not have to be a Senior Center member or a Greenfield resident.
One booklet of coupons is allowed per person. No registration is required. For more information, including income guidelines for more than two in a household, contact LifePath at 413-773-5555.
LAVA Center presents ‘A Long Moment in the South’ GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. will host an ensemble reading of Richard Wayne Horton’s “A Long Moment in the South,” adapted from the flash-fiction novella published by Human Error Publishing in the story collection, “Artists in the Underworld.”
Four actors bring to life two dozen characters who populate the rural edges of Texarkana in the 1950s, according to a LAVA Center press release. Snippets of song and dreamscapes set the mood and stage for this coming-of-adulthood story of Bobby, a young boy negotiating the contradictions and tensions of “a railroad hub, a town of connections, borders and layers … layers underground, layers between present and past, poor and rich, country and city, dirty and clean.”
Horton’s published works include “Sticks and Bones” (Meat for Tea Press), “Artists in the Underworld” and “Ballet for Murderers” (both published by Human Error Publishing). He is a frequent reader at local open mics.
“I aim for organic writing that forms itself because of its nature, not from a program, prompt or plot,” Horton said in the press release. “I have been inspired or heartened, not influenced, by some of the expressionist writers of the early 20th century, and by the starkly imagistic writing of romantics such as Georg Buchner.”
Robert Catlin, Shannon Chabbot, Tracy Grammer and Jovonna Van Pelt perform “A Long Moment in the South.” Jan Maher directs.
Tickets for both in-person readings — set for Friday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 13, both at 7 p.m. — and the online, on-demand video of the reading — from Aug. 18 to Aug. 31 — are available at thelavacenter.eventbrite.com. The LAVA Center requires masking and proof of vaccination for those attending performances in person.
Salasin Project
offering support, discussion group
GREENFIELD — The Salasin Project offers a confidential support and discussion group that explores the impact of interpersonal violence and trauma on individuals.
Participants will examine how to create safety and identify ways to develop healthy intimacy and relationships. The group includes healing activities for the mind, body and spirit.
There is an eight-week session starting Aug. 24. The group will meet weekly, both in person in Greenfield and on Zoom, on Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
For more information, call Jill at 413-774-4307, ext. 5 or Lynn at 413-774-4307, ext. 3.
Community Preservation Committee opens pre-application period GREENFIELD — The Community Preservation Committee is seeking proposals for projects requesting Community Preservation Act funding for fiscal year 2023.
One-page pre-applications, which will determine project eligibility, are now available on the committee’s webpage (greenfield-ma.gov/g/61/Community-Preservation-Committee) and are due by Sept. 30. Applicants whose projects are deemed eligible for funding will be invited to submit a full application by Nov. 30.
According to a city press release, the Community Preservation Committee has approximately $335,000 to allocate to projects submitted by individuals, community groups, nonprofits and city government that enhance affordable housing, historic preservation and outdoor recreation/open space. CPA funds are generated through the city’s participation in a state program that allows a 1% surcharge on property taxes to be dedicated to these priorities. The program was approved by Greenfield voters in November 2020.
“The Community Preservation Act is a unique source of project funding that hasn’t existed before in Greenfield. The committee is hoping we’ll see a wide variety in proposals, from small citizen-led projects all the way up to larger city capital projects,” Community Preservation Committee Chair Travis Drury said in the press release. “There’s no fee to apply, and you can submit a simple pre-application to have the committee determine if your project would be eligible for funding.”
After a review of applications with public input, the committee will vote to recommend funding for projects in spring 2023. A City Council vote is required to appropriate CPA funds for the selected projects.
The Community Preservation Committee is holding listening sessions to get public input on funding priorities and to assist with the application process. Committee members will be at the Greenfield Farmers’ Market on Court Square on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 9 to 11 a.m. and at the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area at 1 Nash’s Mill Road on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Those interested in learning more about the process or submitting an application are encouraged to attend one of the committee’s listening sessions or contact Grant Program Assistant Christian LaPlante at 413-772-1548, ext. 4 or cpc@greenfield-ma.gov.