Hello neighbor.
Well folks, Daylight Saving Time started this past weekend and spring is right behind — it begins on Sunday.
Spring, as we all know, is a time of rebirth and renewal. Blooming bulbs and sweet, cool breezes are all signs that temperatures are warming and wildlife is returning to our backyards.
Let the light in. Get out there and wash those windows. There’s nothing like early morning sunlight hitting your shoulders as you drink that first cup of coffee or tea to wake you up and get you going.
Plant something, or buy a bouquet of flowers and place them in a spot you pass regularly. How can you not feel good about life when the reds, greens and yellows greet you as you step into a room or off of your porch.
Clean our your fridge and closets and start anew. It just seems to me that it is a lot easier to feel good about your home, office, car, and even yourself, if things are in order and there’s not a lot of clutter in your life.
And, how about opening up those windows on some of the warmer days? I just love the smell of springtime freshness. It pulls you out of the winter doldrums — though we didn’t have much of a winter this year — and into another new phase.
Enjoy and have a very happy spring!
PI(E) DAY IN NORTHFIELD, involving both the mathematical concept and the pastry, was celebrated Saturday with the help of students at Pioneer Valley Regional School.
Dickinson Memorial Library celebrated both pie and pi with a program featuring edible pies and speakers on the history of the pastry and on the endless decimal number.
The library asked Pioneer high school nutrition and foods classes to bake some of the appropriate refreshment made available for the event. About 35 students made approximately 20 pies in school as part of the class. Nine were donated and the remainder were consumed at school and home.
There was everything from lemon to pumpkin to apple and Boston cream, chocolate and banana cream, according to their teacher, Kathy Malsch.
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING POETRY to the Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest has passed. Information in The Recorder’s calendar and casting calls listings last week was incorrect.
FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY MEALS PROGRAM will hold its annual Breakfast Auction in Parker Dining Hall at Deerfield Academy this morning from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door, by cash or check.
LEVERETT CRAFTS AND ARTS in Leverett will hold a Student Artists Exhibit of paintings and graphic art from Saturday through Sunday. Students of Louise Minks, Will Sieruta and other teachers will be featured in Barnes Gallery at 13 Montague Road. The gallery is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. An opening reception will be held Saturday from noon to 2 p.m.
ST. PATRICK’S PARISH at 88 Main St. in Northfield will hold a corned beef and cabbage dinner on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Menu includes corned beef and cabbage, rolls, dessert, coffee or tea. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. For additional information, call the Rectory at 413-498-2728.
BERNARDSTON COUNCIL ON AGING will host a presentation on The Healthy Heart Diet on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at the senior center at 20 Church St. A dinner will follow at 5:30 p.m. Poet’s Seat Health Care Center is sponsoring the event and will prepare the heart-healthy dinner. The event is free and open to the public. For information, call 413-648-5413.
AS PART OF “TAKING STEPS TO A RENEWABLE FUTURE,” a four-day, 53-mile walk, First Congregational Church at 429 Main St. in Ashfield will host Oscar-nominated Director Josh Fox, who will screen the local premiere of his latest film, “How to Let Go of the World and Love All The Things Climate Can’t Change,” which recently premiered at Sundance. The event will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. It’s hosted by the Sugar Shack Alliance. For more information, visit: www.sugarshackalliance.org
A FREE WRITING GROUP for cancer survivors and their loved ones, Spirit of the Written Word, will begin Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Artspace on Mill Street in Greenfield. It will run for 10 weeks. The workshop is a program of the Oncology Department of Baystate Franklin Medical Center, with funding support from Wheeling for Healing. The facilitator is longtime writing workshop leader Pam Roberts, who is a published writer, artist, certified yoga teacher and ordained energy healer. She is also a breast cancer survivor. For information, call 413-625-2402 or email: pamro@aol.com
TURNERS FALLS HIGH SCHOOL and Great Falls Middle School will present “Little Shop of Horrors” Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and senior citizens and $7 for adults.
BOSWELL’S BOOKS WILL HOST Ashfield author Jim Vieira Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Arms Library. Jim will share stories from his book, “Giants on Record.” You may have seen Jim and his brother William talk about this on their six-part History Channel series “Search for the Lost Giants: Unraveling the Mystery.” Over a 200-year period, thousands of newspaper reports, town and county histories, letters, photos, diaries and scientific journals have documented the existence of an ancient race of giants in North America. The event is free and open to the public. His book will be on sale and he will sign copies.
SHELBURNE GRANGE WILL HOST a presentation by Barry Deitz called “When the Road Came Through: How Construction of I-91 Changed Western Massachusetts” Friday at Fellowship Hall, 17 Little Mohawk Road in Shelburne Center. A potluck supper will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the program will start at 7. The event is free and open to the public.
THE SUGAR SHACK ALLIANCE will present Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir on Friday at 7 p.m. in Cowell Gym in Shelburne Falls. For more information, visit: www.revbilly.com
FRANKLIN COUNTY TECHNICAL SCHOOL PLAYERS will perform “A Night of Romantic Comedy” Friday and Saturday at Shea Theater on Avenue A in Turners Falls. Shows begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Players will perform two comedies during the show: “The 9 Worst Breakups of All Time” and “That’s Not How I Remember It.” Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Call 413-863-9561, ext. 233 for more information or to reserve tickets.
OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWAS CHURCH on K Street in Turners Falls will hold its Easter Bazaar Saturday, where there will be crafts, items from Poland, a bake sale and lots of Polish food. There will also be lunch and raffles. I will let you know what time it starts in a future post.
THERE WILL BE A RALLY AND CELEBRATION at St. James Episcopal Church on Church Street in Greenfield Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. Bill McKibben of 350.org will read a personalized message and people will be speaking out against the proposed pipeline. If you would like more information, visit: www.sugarshackalliance.org
FRIENDS OF GILL WILL HOLD a pancake breakfast, which will include blueberry and regular pancakes served with real maple syrup Saturday from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at Gill Congregational Church on Main Road. Adults are $7 and children under 10 years old are $3. Children under 3 are free. The breakfast will benefit the church’s college scholarship program.
THE UP UP FAIR, which will feature useful and practical upcycled products, will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in South Deerfield Congregational Church on North Main Street. There will be everything from baked goods and raffle items to gift baskets and pet products. Lunch will be available for purchase, and there will be live music and a lemonade stand. For more information, contact Julie at: fcpecoffeehouse@gmail.com
RELAY FOR LIFE TEAM ACT will hold a Scrabble Tournament to benefit the American Cancer Society Saturday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in First Congregational Church in Ashfield. Registration is suggested by calling 413-387-9085 and leaving a message. There is a suggested donation of $10.
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION’S Spring Gardening Symposium will be Saturday from 8:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at Frontier Regional High School in South Deerfield. Karen Bussolini will speak and there will be two sessions of different topics, including soil, hydrangeas, grape gardening, vertical vegetable gardening and so much more. For more information, including cost, call 413-665-7174 or email: gardensymposium123@gmail.com. You can also visit: www.wmmga.org
THE “WALL NUT” RELAY FOR LIFE TEAM will hold a Palm Sunday Breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Eagles on State Street in Shelburne Falls. It’s an all-you-can-eat breakfast with pancakes, eggs, homefries, sausage, bacon and more. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children up to age 10. Children under 3 are free.
“A FESTIVAL OF DANCE, A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY” will be held as part of Ballet Renverse’s 10th anniversary in Shelburne Falls this year and its 20th as a dance company. Ballet Renverse will begin with a performance in Piti Theatre’s SYRUP Festival on March 20 at 2 p.m. in Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls. Piti will put on “Olde Colraine” and Ballet Renverse dancers will appear in the play.
There will be dance workshops offered on April 5, 12, 26 and May 3 at Buckland Shelburne Elementary School — four adult workshops in Isador Duncan technique and choreography with Cynthia James will be offered.
The fun keeps going into June. I will tell you more about it in a future Neighbors column. In the meantime, if you’d like more information, call 413-625-6442 or visit: www.balletrenverse.com
SPEAKING OF SYRUP FESTIVAL, it will be held Sunday in Memorial Hall. If you would like information about the festival, read Recorder reporter Aviva Luttrell’s feature on Thursday in the Arts & Entertainment section of The Recorder. For more information about times and performances, you can also visit: www.ptco.org/syrup
AWARD-WINNING AFRICAN STORYTELLER Onawumi Jean Moss will tell stories from the Civil Rights Movement as part of the Greenfield Community College Senior Symposia. “In Story and Songs: Remembering the Civil Rights Movement,” will be held March 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the school’s downtown center at 270 Main St. in Greenfield. The cost is $10. During the symposium, attendees will revisit the Children’s March in 1963, as well as the Selma-to-Montgomery March. For more information or to register, call 413-775-1611.
“INHABIT,” A DOCUMENTARY about the ways humans could save the planet from the effects of climate change, will be shown at First Congregational Church on Silver Street in Greenfield March 23 at 6:30 p.m. by Greening Greenfield and Traprock Center for Peace and Justice. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Donations will be accepted.
THE BENEFICIARY OF HOPE AND OLIVE restaurant’s Soup and Games Night on April 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. will be Mohawk Trail Concerts. In its 47th year, the group will once again present fine chamber music at the Federated Church in Charlemont. There will be a silent auction at the event and, of course, soup, bread, drinks and games.
THE YMCA RELAY FOR LIFE team is sponsoring a fundraiser to Foxwoods Casino and Tanger Outlets on March 26. Pickup will be in Greenfield at Home Depot at 8 a.m. and in S. Deerfield at Red Roof Inn at 8:15 a.m. There will be a number of raffles and refreshments served on the bus. Tickets are $40 per person with a casino offer and discount coupons. They are available by calling Pam at 773-3646, ext. 427.
To contact Anita Fritz, features editor at The Recorder, send an email to neighbors@recorder.com. Information you want included in Neighbors should be submitted by noon two days before you want it to run. Neighbors runs on Tuesdays and Fridays.