The Bernardston Council on Aging will sponsor a presentation “Planning for Medicare — Countdown to 65” on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Bernardston Senior Center, 20 Church St., parking off Library Street. The presentation will last approximately one hour, with time for questions and answers. The seminar is presented by a representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, which will help people who are approaching the Medicare eligibility age, to understand their health insurance options, other than the employer-sponsored coverage, even if continuing working. It will include an explanation of Medicare Parts A and B, enrollment timeline, Medigap plans, Advantage plans, Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, plans for early retirees. Free. Register by calling 648-5413 or Nancy Wood, outreach coordinator at 413-522-8245. Light refreshments will be served.
Kiwanis Club of Bernardston: Tuesdays, Vets Club, Hartwell Street. Social time, 6 p.m.; dinner meeting 6:30. Open to public.
Angela Cabral of Deerfield was honored for academic achievement by being named to the Dean’s List at Delaware Valley University for the spring 2016 semester.
Free weekly playgroup: Come and enjoy time with your child(ren) and other families and caregivers from your community at the Erving Elementary School gym. For the 2016-2017 school year, playgroup will continue on Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 14 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. This Playgroup is facilitated by Emily Joseph and is intended for children 0-5 years of age and is sponsored by the Erving Elementary School and Union #28 Community Network for Children. Program not held during school closures. See CNC Website for program and event schedules, https://sites.google.com/site/communitynetworkforchildren/home. For more information please contact Gillian Budine, 978-544-5157 or email budine@erving.com.
Have you always wanted to read “Ulysses” by James Joyce? Join a group of curious and interested individuals to read and discuss this classic modernist novel.
The Archibald MacLeish Literary Group will meet every Wednesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the MacLeish Room at Greenfield Community College. Members of the group will read 50 pages a weeks and complete the novel over the course of 12 weeks. The first meeting will be at 4:30 on Sept. 21. This group is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Michael Doherty at michaeldoherty37@gmail.com or call 310-529-8908
GriefShare grief recovery support group: Meets at Living Waters Assembly of God 450 Davis St, Greenfield every Tuesday at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. GriefShare features nationally recognized experts on grief recovery topics. Anyone experiencing grief from now or from the past is welcome to attend these sessions. For more information, call Living Waters Church at 413-773-9506.
The Salasin Center: 474 Main St., the home of the Greenfield Women’s Resource Center and Family United Networks FUN Center. Mondays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Women’s Center Open ours. Tuesdays, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Nurturing Program for Families in Recovery, ongoing. Free childcare, call Lynn Norwood to join the group at 774-4307 Ext. 3; 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., women’s Center Open Hours; 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Journey Dance in the RPX, 1 Osgood St., or enter through the Recover Project, 68 Federal St., ongoing. Wednesdays, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Women’s Peer Writing Group, ongoing; 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Drumming Group with Strong Oak. (Call Strong Oak to join at 961-9167). Thursdays, 1 to 3 p.m., ongoing peer to peer Art Group; 4 to 6:30 p.m., Family F.U.N. Center: open FUN time for the whole family. All ages welcome. For a detailed list of what is happening at the center from month to month, view the monthly calendars at www.salasincenter.org. Also “like” us on Facebook for updates and information. Resources include: women/children’s clothing exchange; access to computers, free Internet and WiFi, printer/copier access; resource library and community support information; arts and crafts supplies for use while at the center and free coffee and snacks when available. For more information, contact Stacey at 774-4307, ext. 4 or slangknecht@wmtcinfo.org.
The RECOVER Project: The RECOVER Project hosts a daily “All Recovery Meeting” each morning Monday to Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m at 68 Federal St. Open to all to discuss recovery, no matter what path that recovery has taken. All walks of recovery welcome. Meetings are held in the front community room. “Eddie’s Group” is held every Tuesday from 3 to 4 p.m. in the RPX. Please come join us. For more information call: 774-5489.
Al-anon Meeting: Wednesday, 7:30 to 9 p.m., Beacon Light, Second Congregational Church, Court Square. Ring bell at side door. Anyone who feels her/his life has been affected by close contact with a problem drinker is eligible for membership in Al-anon or Alateen. www.al-anon.org.
Free weekly Tales & Tunes: Come and enjoy stories, song and craft activities with your child(ren) and other families and caregivers from your community at the Leverett Public Library. For the 2016-2017 school year, Tales & Tunes will continue on Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 7 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Tales & Tunes is facilitated by Heleen Cardinaux and is intended for children 0-5 years of age and is sponsored by the Leverett Public Library and Union #28 Community Network for Children. For more information please contact Gillian Budine, 978-544-5157 or email budine@erving.com.
On Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the Leyden Town Hall auditorium, Dwight and Sonia Strawn will introduce life in South Korea, where they lived and worked as missionaries for more than 50 years, while raising children and grandchildren in that unique culture. Recently retired and living in Greenfield, they have an interesting story to share which will compare life in South Korea with the USA.
The Leyden Council on Aging monthly lunch begins its third year Wednesday at noon with a lunch reminiscent of your first day of school (only better!) Go back in time with this menu: PB & J hors d’oeuvres; Sloppy Joes; fresh vegetables and handmade ice-cream sandwiches. For reservations, call Sue Howarth at 774 3118 by Tuesday.
Alzheimers Caregiver Support Groups: Michael and Marjorie Paton hold an Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group on the third Tuesday of the month, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Congregational Church at the common, church basement. The Patons are affiliated with the Alzheimer’s Association of Mass/N.H. chapter. The group is open to all persons caring for an individual suffering from Alzheimer’s type dementia. For more information: mmpaton@yahoo.com, 498-5995.
Dementia Caregivers’ Support Group: Wednesday, 5 to 7 p.m. at LifePath, 330 Montague City Road, large conference room. Free group meets the first and third Wednesday of the month. For more information, call Molly Chambers group facilitator at 773-5555, ext. 2229 or 978-544-2259, ext. 2229.
Free weekly playgroup: Come and enjoy stories, song and craft activities with your child(ren) and other families and caregivers from your community at the Swift River School in New Salem. For the 2016-2017 school year, playgroup will continue on Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 13 from 8:45 to 10:15 a.m. This Playgroup is facilitated by Emily Joseph and is intended for children 0-5 years of age and is sponsored by the Swift River School and Union #28 Community Network for Children. Program not held during school closures. See CNC Website for program and event schedules, https://sites.google.com/site/communitynetworkforchildren/home. For more information please contact Gillian Budine, 978-544-5157 or email budine@erving.com.
Conversation Café Topic: “Medicare Fraud Prevention.” On Wednesday, the Conversation Café, sponsored by the Ashfield, Buckland, Shelburne Councils on Aging, will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Senior Center in Shelburne. The program will be given by the Mass. Senior Medicare Patrol and will explain how to prevent medicare fraud, errors and abuse. Learn how to interpret your Medicare Summary Notices, explanation of benefits and how to resolve questionable Medicare charges. Program is free and open to all. Homemade soup, bread and dessert will be served
Senior Center displays for viewing during Shelburne Falls Art Walk on Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. View the newly completed mosaic “egg,” art work by resident artists, paintings by Helen Hodges, wooden spoons by Alan Young, art work by Eileen Lively and glass work by Joanne Soroka. Refreshments served. Look for our “Kinky” mosaic boot!
TOPS: Take Off Pounds Sensibly, Chapter 179, meets Tuesdays, Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, 53 Main St. Weigh-in from 6:30 to 7 p.m., program from 7 to 7:45. Free first visit. Contact Mary Cromack at 625-0127.
Community Clothes Closet: Community outreach of Trinity Church. Free clothing for all ages. Open to the public on the second, third and fourth Wednesday of the month, noon to 6 p.m. Donations of clean clothing and bedding accepted any time. Located at the lower level of Cowell Gym, 51 Maple St. for more information, call the church at 625-2341.
Free weekly playgroup: Come and enjoy time with your child(ren) and other families and caregivers from your community at the Shutesbury Elementary School gym. For the 2016-2017 school year, playgroup will continue on Fridays, beginning Sept. 16 from, 9 to 10:30 a.m. This Playgroup is facilitated by Joie Ciepiela and is intended for children 0-5 years of age and is sponsored by the Shutesbury Elementary School and Union #28 Community Network for Children. Program not held during school closures. See CNC Website for program and event schedules, https://sites.google.com/site/communitynetworkforchildren/home. For more information please contact Gillian Budine, 978-544-5157 or email budine@erving.com.
Free weekly Tales & Tunes: Come and enjoy stories, song and craft activities with your child(ren) and other families and caregivers from your community at the M.N. Spear Memorial Library. For the 2016-2017 school year, Tales & Tunes will continue on Mondays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Tales & Tunes is facilitated by Katie Tolles. This program is intended for children 0-5 years of age and is sponsored by the M.N. Spear Memorial Library and Union #28 Community Network for Children. For more information please contact Gillian Budine, (978) 544-5157 or email budine@erving.com.
Preschool Story Time: Wednesday, 11 a.m., Tilton Library, 75 North Main St.
MCSM’s Women’s Center: Formerly known as the Turners Falls Women’s Resource Center, 41 Third St., has open hours Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this safe, welcoming place for women offers opportunities for connection and growth, and builds leadership through programs/activities. Come for mutual support, free clothing, books and food items, to use the computer lab, and enjoy or learn a variety of arts and crafts. All materials are free. Call Christine for information on additional workshops at 863-4804, ext. 1003, email christine.mcsmcommunity.org or visit www.mcsmcommunity.org
Parent-Child Development Center: In Turners Falls, early Head Start infant/toddler full-day, full-year classrooms. The center continues to offer: Free Head Start half-day preschool programs; free Early Head Start and head Start home visiting programs and state subsidized, sliding scale options for full day child care. In Franklin County, call 475-1405.
Basic Needs Program: the program, at Montague Catholic Social Ministries, is open Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon, for resources and referrals. To leave a message or to make an appointment, call 863-4804, ext. 1002. to access Basic needs, buzz 103 at the Moltenbrey entrance on Third Street.
Free weekly playgroup: Come and enjoy time with your child(ren) and other families and caregivers from your community at the Wendell Free Library. For the 2016-2017 school year, playgroup will continue on Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 14 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. This Playgroup is facilitated by Sylvia Wetherby and is intended for children 0-5 years of age and is sponsored by the Friends of the Wendell Free Library and Union #28 Community Network for Children. Program does not take place during school closures. See CNC Website for program and event schedules, https://sites.google.com/site/communitynetworkforchildren/home. For more information please contact Gillian Budine, 978-544-5157 or email budine@erving.com.
Reiki share: Tuesdays, noon to 2 p.m., Stone Mountain Reiki, 9 Masterson Road. Free. Reiki share is a chance to give and receive Reiki in an atmosphere of friendship and love. For more information, call 665-8382 or email cecelia@stonemountainreiki.com.