Musica Franklin students to perform with Leala Cyr

TURNERS FALLS — Join Musica Franklin at Sheffield Elementary School on Thursday, Dec. 14, from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. for a student performance and family-friendly concert with jazz vocalist and trumpet player Leala Cyr.

As a member of Esperanza Spalding’s “Radio Music and Chamber Music Societies,” Cyr has performed around the world at highly regarded festivals and venues. She has also appeared on The Late Show, The Tonight Show, The View, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits and more. Her debut album, “First Instinct,” released in February 2019, features a blend of originals, standards and Brazilian grooves

This concert is supported in part by grant funding from the Gill and Montague cultural councils.

Greenfield artist exhibits work at NMH

GILL — Multimedia artist and Greenfield resident Anna Hepler is exhibiting her work in the gallery at the Rhodes Arts Center at Northfield Mount Hermon School.

The show, “Borrowed Light,” runs until Jan. 19. The gallery is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. However, the campus will be closed to the public from Dec. 15 to Jan. 7.

Hepler, who says she values “embarrassment, blunder, uncertainty and fragility” as agents in her creative process, explores in her work the “awesome fragility” of a tension between organization and chaos. Her sculptures, prints, ceramics and photographs focus on patterns and linear forms that shift unexpectedly and weave in and out of geometric orderliness. She works with a range of materials such as clay, cardboard, wire, wood and cloth.

“The Gallery at the Rhodes Art Center is excited to share the work of Anna Hepler,” Jamie Rourke, an NMH art teacher and gallery director, said in a statement. “The focus on craft, willingness to move across boundaries — real or imagined — and natural curiosity to make new connections are themes that are echoed in our learning and living community here at NMH. We are so fortunate to have this amazing work on view.”

Presentation on Montague Digital Equity Plan available

MONTAGUE — Informed by data and public feedback, the town is preparing its first-ever Digital Equity Plan in an effort to ensure all its residents have equal access to digital technologies — including the internet, computers and cellphones — as well as the skills and knowledge to use them effectively.

Those who missed the initial public meeting on Dec. 6 can view the presentation slides and meeting recording at montague-ma.gov/p/1532.

Next steps in creating the draft plan include convening focus groups and gathering survey responses.

According to Town Planner Maureen Pollock, the town will be hosting focus groups with priority populations that are found to be most at-risk and/or experiencing digital inequities, such as older adults, low-income populations and households where English is not the primary language. Additionally, Montague residents are encouraged to have their voices heard by completing a five-minute survey at bit.ly/MADE_digitalequity.

A draft Digital Equity Plan will be made available for public comment in early 2024.

With questions or comments, contact Town Planner Maureen Pollock at maureenp@montague-ma.gov or 413-863-3200, ext. 112; or Ted Harvey, senior economic development planner with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, at tharvey@frcog.org or 413-774-3167, ext. 165.

Brick House hosting community potluck

TURNERS FALLS — The Brick House Community Resource Center at 24 Third St. is extending its Spanish-English gathering on Tuesday, Dec. 19, to include a community potluck from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Families and community members are welcome to attend and are encouraged to bring their favorite holiday food. Some board games will be available for those interested in playing.

For more information, contact Stacey Langknecht at slangknecht@brickhousecommunity.org or 413-800-2496.

Third Special Wrapping Paper Edition available

TURNERS FALLS — The Montague Reporter, a weekly community newspaper covering the towns of Montague, Wendell, Leverett, Gill and Erving, has printed a Special Wrapping Paper Edition filled with pages of designs created by seven local artists.

The paper put out a call for art over the summer, collecting 37 entries that were juried in early September with seven winners selected: Joanne Bell, Sarah Adam, Piper McMahon, Silas Clish, Anne Thalheimer, Sam Guerin/Kelley Jewell, and Heather Katsoulis. Each artist designed a double-page spread for this edition of the newspaper and received a stipend. The edition was printed on Thanksgiving week and is available in stores, online and at several holiday craft fairs and pop-ups.

The designs include ghosts doing holiday activities, beaded mandalas, a tribute to the fish ladder in Turners Falls, humorous cat faces, flowers, cartoons of random household objects and birds roosting in a tree. A cover page was designed with images from the paper’s “Pet of the Week” feature.

The Special Wrapping Paper Edition is a fundraiser for the nonprofit newspaper and sells for $5 a set or five sets for $20. It is available in Greenfield at Green Fields Market, The LAVA Center and Federal Street Books; in Gill at Upinngil Farm; at the Wendell Country Store, Leverett Village Co-op and Montague Village Store; and in Turners Falls at Food City, Unnameable Books, The Stash House and the Montague Reporter newspaper office at 177 Avenue A. Order online at montaguereporter.org.

This is the third Special Wrapping Paper Edition the paper has put out since 2020.

For more information, email features@montaguereporter.org or call 413-863-8666.