Monthly brown bag distribution set for Feb. 2

GREENFIELD — The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ monthly brown bag program for qualifying seniors will be held Thursday, Feb. 2, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Greenfield Senior Center at 35 Pleasant St.

According to a notice from Senior Center Activities Director Kathy Dunn, seniors who receive fuel assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or other benefits will qualify. To apply, call the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts at 413-247-9738. Applications are also on hand at the Senior Center.

Nolumbeka Project offering Full Snow Moon Gathering,
social dance

GREENFIELD — The Nolumbeka Project will present a Full Snow Moon Gathering and Eastern Woodlands Social Dance on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. in Greenfield Community College’s Dining Commons. The snow date is Sunday, Feb. 5.

The event will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn and participate in traditional Eastern Woodlands Native social dances, led by Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines Jr. and his nephews, Daishuan Red Deer Garate and Miguel Wandering Turtle Garate, of the Nipmuc tribe. Guests include Liz Coldwind Santana Kiser, a Chaubunagungamaug tribal historic preservation officer, and Roger Longtoe Sheehan, chief of the Elnu Abenaki tribe.

This program is supported in part by grants from the Gill, Greenfield, Leyden and Montague cultural councils, as well as the Nolumbeka Project, Greenfield Community College and Whole Foods Market.

The event is free, though donations will be accepted. For more information, visit nolumbekaproject.org/events.

LAVA Center hosting monthly Writers Read event

GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. hosts a monthly series, Writers Read, on the second Wednesday of each month starting at 7 p.m. Reading in February will be David Ram, Bob Barba and Edite Cunhã.

Before retiring, Ram taught English at Holyoke Community College and Greenfield Community College. He lived in Franklin County for three decades and then moved to Easthampton.

Barba graduated from Ohio University with an English degree. He has published both narrative non-fiction and poetry, having first been inspired to write poetry by his oldest sister, Rose, and later being encouraged by his teachers.

Cunhã is a writer, artist, teacher and activist. Her fiction has been published both locally and nationally, and has won awards and fellowships including Smith College’s Spencer Prize for Excellence in Writing and the Tara Fellowship for Short Fiction. The Turners Falls resident has a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a master’s degree from Warren Wilson College.

There is a $5 suggested donation. Visit localaccess.org for more information about LAVA Center events.

New aerobics class set for Wednesdays

GREENFIELD — Laura Rooney will lead easy aerobics workouts at the Greenfield Senior Center, located at 35 Pleasant St., on Wednesdays from 1 to 1:45 p.m.

This new fitness workout is for seniors who want more of a workout than a chair class, but not as strenuous a workout as the Senior Center’s morning aerobics. According to a notice from Senior Center Activities Director Kathy Dunn, Rooney will lead participants through warm-up exercises, then simple choreography combinations set to upbeat music, followed by cool-down activities and stretching. This is a standing only class. Carry in clean sneakers to change into.

Senior Center membership is required. There is no fee for this drop-in class.

Memory Café set for Feb. 10

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Senior Center will host a Memory Café, a supportive gathering place for people living with memory loss and their caregivers, on Friday, Feb. 10, from noon to 1:30 p.m. There will be lunch followed by an activity.

The program is free, though Senior Center membership is required. Register in advance by calling the front desk at 413-772-1517, ext. 0.

Bank rep giving talk on cybersecurity

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Senior Center will host a cybersecurity presentation led by Seth Goldstein, an information security professional from Greenfield Savings Bank, on Monday, Feb. 27, from 11 a.m. to noon.

There will be ample time for questions and answers. Advance registration and Senior Center membership are required. Call 413-772-1517, ext. 0 or stop by the center’s front desk to register.

Greenfield mayor elected first vice chair of WEMO

GREENFIELD — Mayor Roxann Wedegartner has been elected first vice chair of the Women Elected Municipal Officials Steering Committee, a working group of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. In 2022, Wedegartner was WEMO’s second vice chair.

“After witnessing ... the inauguration of the first female pair to be elected governor and lieutenant governor in any state, I am honored to be selected for this position,” Wedegartner said in a statement. “Women leaders continue to smash glass ceilings, and it’s thanks in large part to organizations like WEMO.”

Having formed in 1970, WEMO was one of the first associations of women public officials in the United States. With support from the MMA, it promotes leadership of women officials and sponsors programming focusing on issues and concerns raised by its members.

WEMO’s full leadership team for 2023 is as follows:

■Chair: Beth Casavant, Shrewsbury Selectboard member

■First vice chair: Roxann Wedegartner, Greenfield mayor

■Second vice chair: Samantha Perlman, Marlborough city councilor

■Directors: Valerie Gilman, Gloucester City Council president; and Yolanda Greaves, Ashland Select board member.

Cultural Council announces grant recipients

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Cultural Council has announced the recipients of its 2023 grants.

The council received $70,489 in requests from a variety of artists, artisans and cultural workers. Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s funding of more than $21,761, the following programs will receive support:

Antenna Cloud Farm’s 2023 season; annual youth program, String Spectacular; Conway Fine Arts concert series, Season 2: Interdisciplinary Program; Rivers, Roads and Rails: Transportation History of Greenfield (website); Looky Here Magazine; Valley Exchange Network; Margaret Maher and the Celtification of Emily Dickinson; Mira and the Liminal Dimension; Whisper Not, youth writers community events and mini-internship program; musical storytelling series, Fairgrounds Welcome Art Phase 2; Lights! Camera! Greenfield! 2023; Taste of World Cultures; Greenfield Military Band’s 2023 summer concert series; Greenfield skate park art; Greenfield Winter Carnival ice sculptures; mural art installation by Xylor Jane; Soar with Greenfield: A Sculpture Installation by Dr. Thomas Zaccheo; Hilltown Families Suggests, Music and Movement for Infants/Toddlers; Coping with COVID; Isolation Stories (working title); On the Boards & Off the Shelf; LOCULUS Presents the second annual SIDEWAYS DOOR: A Festival of Ecstasies & Escape Routes; Looky Here’s five-year anniversary art auction gala; The Three Billy Goats Gruff: In Silhouette; Two Groves Press; I am Autistic I am Fantastic; hip-hop chair dance for seniors; community concert series; Plant Communities of Massachusetts; PaxSax concert; Dear Ella — “The Mystery of the Missing Music” education concert; sixth annual DinoFest; FAB Passion Fashion Week 2023; Stories of Resilience: Women Composers of the Baroque; Stone Soup Cafe; Pottery for the People; Intimate Apparel, Learn How to Play the Ukulele; Full Snow Moon Eastern Woodlands Gathering and Social Dance; children’s songs and singing games family concert; Transhealth & The Bloomery Present: QT Valley Meetup; and Voices From the Rookery.

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