Hello neighbor.
Well, our neighbor and precipitation prognosticator Farrah Pomeroy has made her prediction for the year: 20 snowfalls. Remember, you need only be able to track a cat to have it be counted.

Farrah also checked in with Art Kaczenski of giant pumpkin fame in this area. Farrah and Art went to Erving Elementary School together. Art also tracks and predicts winter storms based on a formula handed down through his family.

Farrah said that though they’ve never divulged their secret family formulas to each other, they suspect they’re very similar. Art’s prediction is 22 for the season, and he has initiated a friendly competition with Farrah to see who is closest.

The two report three dustings (enough to track a cat) and four plowable snowfalls for a total of seven so far. That means we’ve only got between 13 and 15 to go. Let’s hope most of them are dustings.

Thanks Farrah and Art!

THE READING ALOUD FOR GROWNUPS program at New Salem Public Library begins again tonight at 7 with two more to follow on Feb. 8 and March 8. Readers are already lined up. Contact Mary Ann Palmieri at 978-544-2611.

THE GREENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC DEPARTMENT will present its Winter Concert on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. It will feature the chorus, jazz band, concert band and wind ensemble. There will also be spoken word with poetry and music. There will be a bake sale and 50-50 raffle. There is no admission fee, but donations will be accepted.

GREENFIELD SAVINGS BANK on Avenue A in Turners Falls is hosting a puzzle swap on Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. No reservation required.

GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE is inviting the community to participate in an essay contest to celebrate the legacy and birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 16 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the main campus. Activities will be available for children ages 2 to 12. There will be a live performance by the GCC Chorus and a reading by the essay winner, so get those essays on: “Why is it important to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.?” in by Friday. There will be a community meal after the celebration. Submit essays to: mcenteem@gcc.mass.edu

For more information, call Judy Raper at 413-775-1819. Register online at: www.gcc/mass.edu

SHELBURNE GRANGE WILL HOLD ITS ANNUAL POTLUCK on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 6:30 p.m. Members should bring a main dish or salad, as well as a place setting. Bread, beverages and desserts will be provided. Annual dues are $32 per member or $64 for family of three or more. There will be a presentation by Drew Sencabaugh, who spent a semester traveling to Nepal, Jordan, Chile and Peru. If you want to attend just the program, it will start at about 7:20 p.m.

SILVERTHORNE THEATER CO. will join other area theater companies and organizations in the Upper Valley and southern Vermont to participate in The Ghostlight Project on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 5:30 p.m. outside the Arts Block in Greenfield. This is a nationwide effort with theaters and arts organizations all over the country. The idea is to create light for the “dark times ahead.”

The theater says it will “gather outside of our new performance space, The Arts Block, on Main Street at Court Square in Greenfield to create a light for dark times ahead, and to renew our pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone regardless of race, class, age, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Please come to add your voice to this highly significant event.”

For a full description, visit:
www.silverthornetheater.org.

STORMTIDINGS PRESENTS A FREE COMMUNITY SING, “Singing for Our Lives.” Bring a song, an instrument, a snack to share. It will be held on Sunday, Jan. 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, First Congregational Church, 43 Silver St. in Greenfield. Sponsored by The Interfaith Council of Franklin County. Call STORM at 413-773-7105.

THE CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTER OF FRANKLIN AND NORTH QUABBIN will hold a fundraiser Jan. 28 at the center at 56 Wisdom Way in Greenfield. The Kangaroo Dyer, local resident Gail Callahan, will teach a workshop on how to dye silk scarves. Helpers will be available. The workshop is limited to 25 participants and the cost is a $75 donation. For more information, call 508-843-7306 or email: info@cacfranlinnq.org

THE YMCA IN GREENFIELD is offering free exercise classes for people who have osteoporosis, osteopenia or who just want to strengthen their bones. The fun, beneficial exercise will build bones, muscles, strength and flexibility. Classes are offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m.

FRIENDS OF THE GREENFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY are seeking poems for the 26th annual Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest, open to all Franklin County residents and students. Submit up to three poems. The deadline is March 6. This contest has been sponsored by the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library annually since 1991. The competition is held in honor of Frederick Goddard Tuckerman who lived in Greenfield from 1847 until his death in 1873 and was considered by his contemporaries — Emerson, Thoreau, and Tennyson — to be a gifted poet. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he shunned law in favor of botany and writing poetry. Although he never achieved wide public acclaim, his poems are often included in anthologies of noted American poets. Awards will be given in three categories: first, second and third place in the adult division and the four top poems in the youth division, ages 12 to 18 (divided into 12 to 14 and 15 to 18 for judging). In honor of National Poetry Month, the Poet’s Seat awards ceremony and poetry reading will take place Thursday, April 27, at 7 p.m. in the Capen Room at Stoneleigh-Burnham School. Entries must be received by March 6 (postmarked). Mail to: Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest, Greenfield Public Library, 402 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301. For more information, contact Hope Schneider at 772-0257 or email: hopeschneider395@comcast.net

COLRAIN’S COUNTRY CLOTHES CLOSET will be closed January and February because of the cold weather. You can still drop clothes off or make an appointment. Call Chris at 413-339-8577 for details or to make an appointment.

To contact Anita Fritz, features editor at The Recorder, send an email to: neighbors@recorder.com or afritz@recorder.com. Information you want included in Neighbors should be submitted by noon two days before you want it to run. Neighbors runs on Wednesday.