COLRAIN — The community cleanup event “Spruce It Up Colrain” will take place over the weekend of April 22 through April 24 with a variety of events and cleaning initiatives.
The event kicks off with invasive plant removal at Colrain Central School from 9 a.m. to noon on April 23 and 24. RSVP for the cleanup by emailing eje227@gmail.com. There is also a pizza party at the Catamount Country Store on April 23 from 5 to 6 p.m.
Over the course of the weekend, litter picked up from Colrain’s roadsides will be accepted at no charge at the Transfer Station. Free pickup of scrap metal to benefit Hawlemont Athletics will also be held. To volunteer to clean up a road, sign up at tinyurl.com/7sshxayp. To have metal picked up, contact Duane Graves at 413-579-2576.
On Saturday, the annual Firefighters’ Pancake Breakfast will be held from 7 to 11 a.m. Tickets for adults are $8 and tickets for children under 12 are $5. All proceeds go to the Colrain Firefighters’ Association.
The Grisworld Memorial Library will hold several events from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. There will be an information booth, an outdoor concert for children and a dance performance from Colrain’s Seniority Dancers.
Email SpruceUpColrain@gmail.com for more information about having bulky waste removed.
SHELBURNE FALLS — Local author Joan Livingston will give a talk about how the hilltowns have inspired her Isabel Long mystery series and read from the fifth and latest installment, “Working the Beat.”
The event will take place Sunday, April 24, at 2 p.m. at Floodwater Brewing Co., located at 40 State St.
Livingston draws upon her own experience as a longtime journalist in Massachusetts and New Mexico to create Isabel Long, a sassy, savvy widow who uses the skills she acquired in the business to solve what appears to be impossible cases. She also relies on her knowledge of rural western Massachusetts to create realistic characters and settings — from country bars (where Isabel works part-time) to a general store’s backroom where gossipy old men meet.
A Shelburne Falls resident, Livingston worked in the newspaper business for 35 years, most recently as editor-in-chief of the Greenfield Recorder, Athol Daily News and Daily Hampshire Gazette. Her son, Zack Livingston, owns Floodwater Brewing Co., located on the Buckland side of the village.
The event is free and open to the public. Livingston will also autograph books, which will be available to buy at a discount for those who don’t have a copy.
ASHFIELD — In celebration of its 200th year, St. John’s Episcopal Church has invited husband and wife David and Permelia Sears to give an organ recital on Saturday, April 30, at 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“We are so thrilled to celebrate the beginning of St. John’s third century by highlighting our historic organ,” the Rev. Vicki Ix said in a press release. “Permelia and David specialize in 19th-century tracker organs like ours, and their program will show off its bells and whistles.”
David and Permelia Sears are co-ministers of music at the First Congregational Church of Milford, New Hampshire. According to the release, David holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and a doctorate in musical arts from Boston University. He is also a composer and professor emeritus of fine arts at Merrimack College.
Permelia Sears, a graduate of Smith College and the Yale School of Music, is a past dean of the Merrimack Valley chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the release states. She has performed recitals throughout New England, both solo and with her husband.
For the April 30 recital, the couple will play solos and four-hand pieces that are intended to complement the organ at St. John’s Episcopal Church, which was built by William A. Johnson in Westfield and has been recognized by the Organ Historical Society as an instrument of historical value.
“Our recital’s program will show off the many aspects of the organ,” Permelia Sears said in the release. “Johnson organs are known for their excellent balance, beautiful voicing and, of course, their natural beauty. We have chosen pieces from the Baroque to the present day that will demonstrate the versatility of this Ashfield gem.”
The church is located on the corner of Main and South streets. Depending on COVID-19 health safety protocols at the time of the performance, masks may be required.
For more information, visit stjohnsashfield.org or call 413-628-4402.
SHELBURNE FALLS — Having passed its one-year anniversary in the village, Shelburne Falls’ first community free food fridge has proven to be an essential resource to combat food insecurity, volunteers say.
Anna Meyer, who owns and operates Hart Farm in Conway, partnered with the nonprofit Common Good to make the community fridge idea a reality in February 2021. Anyone can donate food to the fridge and anyone can take food, 24 hours a day. Food and safety rules posted on the fridge indicate what foods and ways of packaging are welcomed, and those that are prohibited. Volunteers clean the fridge and engage the community in keeping it well stocked.
According to a Common Good press release, the Shelburne Falls fridge experienced some hurdles, like needing to be relocated from its initial location outside of Keystone Market because of snow removal issues. Ice and severe temperatures were also a challenge, and the fridge itself broke down.
Donations to Common Good’s Food Fund have made it possible for the community to buy a new, more resilient fridge and build a weatherproof shed with the added safety feature of motion lighting, the release continues. The new fridge will be in place within a few weeks in its new location, outside of Buckland Town Hall and next door to McCusker’s Market.
“The community fridge has truly been a lifeline for many of our neighbors,” Shelburne Falls resident and community fridge volunteer Gayle Davidson said in the release. She noted a lot of people who’ve been regularly using the fridge have “expressed their heartfelt gratitude and shared personal stories (about how) they rely on this 24/7, free-access food source to feed themselves and their families in these challenging times.”
Volunteers are needed to assist with a wide range of tasks, including helping to build the new shed. You can sign up to volunteer or donate to the fridge project at commongood.earth/members/community-fridge. Or, email fridge@commongood.earth if you are interested in helping to set up a community fridge where you live.