Open studios, visiting artists at The Mill at Shelburne Falls this weekend

SHELBURNE FALLS — The Mill at Shelburne Falls will be open on Friday, Nov. 24, and Saturday, Nov. 25, to support activities during Friday’s Moonlight Magic event and Small Business Saturday.

Located at 49 Conway St., the Friday and Saturday events are anchored by the open studios of 20 tenant makers and artists. Joining The Mill at Shelburne Falls’ studio artists are an additional 30 juried regional makers who live or have a studio within a 50-mile radius of the village. Exhibitors from Ashfield, West Springfield, Easthampton, Northampton, Erving, Northfield and more will take over the hallways of the grinding, polishing and office buildings with a variety of handmade items available for purchase.

New this year, the Shelburne Falls Yoga studio turns into a gallery featuring the imagery of artists working in oil, watercolor, pastel and photography. Shelburne Falls resident poet Abbot Cutler and member-run Slate Roof Press will have books that feature local artwork, letterpress covers and hand-sewn bindings by poets from across New England. Raven Used Books opens for extended hours on Friday and Saturday with a discount on cooking, crafts and children’s titles. Handle Factory Community Clay hosts an ornament painting activity and live music.

On Friday from 4 to 9 p.m., a free shuttle supported by Adventure East will circle through the mill complex with additional stops in the village. The Mill at Shelburne Falls has on-site parking and is located on the Buckland side of the Iron Bridge. Admittance to all weekend events is free.

For updates and a full list of participating makers, visit themillatshelburnefalls.com/millworks. More information is available by emailing millworksmarket@gmail.com or calling 413-522-4944.

Food and fund drive

Additionally, the sixth annual food and fund drive to benefit the West County Emergency Food Pantry and coordinated by Shelburne Falls Yoga is on site at The Mill at Shelburne Falls. Everyone who brings a donation for the food pantry will be entered into a raffle to win prizes donated by the artists.

This year, the pantry has specifically requested the following items to help round out its current offerings: cereal, soap and “Complete the Meal” items such as spices, salt, cooking oils, baking supplies etc. More information about needed items is available at shelburnefallsyoga.com.

2024 Franklin County Railroad Calendar available

The 2024 Franklin County Railroad Calendar is now available in stores and online.

The calendar features 13 old photos of railroad scenes in the Greenfield area, coupled with historical narratives written by Alden Dreyer. Dreyer is the region’s preeminent railroad historian whose writing has been featured in the calendars since 2008.

The cover features the Lake Pleasant Station in Montague in around 1890, made from a glass-plate negative from the archives of Turners Falls resident Terri Capucci.

Other featured photos include a steam locomotive traversing a bridge over the Connecticut River in Northfield and an overview of the Shelburne Falls depot with a steam engine and the Potter Grain Co. building beside it (now the Salmon Falls Gallery).

The calendar sells for $15 and can be purchased at World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield, Hager’s Farm Market in Shelburne, Roundabout Books in Greenfield, Nancy L. Dole Used Books & Ephemera in Shelburne Falls and Historic Deerfield’s Museum Store.

For more information about the 2024 calendar or to buy it online, visit vhist.com/calendars/railfranklin. The Facebook page is facebook.com/railroadcalendar.

Quabbin History Calendar’s 39th edition now available

The 39th edition of the Quabbin History Calendar is now available at stores through Franklin and Hampshire counties and the North Quabbin region.

The calendar, crafted annually by Athol resident J.R. Greene, includes historic photographs of the towns and villages that were flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir in the late 1930s. While the same photo of Enfield Town Hall — site of the 1938 Farewell Ball — has always been featured on the front cover, the inside has 12 new scenes from Greene’s collection.

In particular, Greene highlighted the photos for June and October, featuring local people at Dana Center — one with Town Hall in the background and the other in front of the Eagle Hotel and old Shattuck store. Keeping with the traditional format, there are winter scenes on the January and December pages, a school on the September page and a summer hotel on the July one.

The Quabbin History Calendar, published by Highland Press in Athol, retails for $16.95. It can be purchased at Atkins Farms Country Market in Amherst, Haley’s Antiques in Athol, the Quabbin Visitor Center in Belchertown, Flis Market in Erving, Federal Street Books and World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield, the New Salem General Store, Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, Bates Crafters Gallery in Orange, Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, Quabbin Woods Restaurant in Petersham and The Kitchen Garden in Templeton.