NEW SALEM — Everyone is invited to the potluck harvest supper the New Salem Agriculture Commission plans to host near the community garden behind Town Hall on Sunday, Oct. 1, starting at 4:30 p.m.
The supper is billed as opportunity to get to know community members, learn about local food, and share the bounty from local farms. Bring a dish to share that uses some local ingredients. For questions, to RSVP, or to volunteer, email Molly at mollyalvin@gmail.com.
ORANGE — The Orange Public Libraries’ “Live Local Legends Speaker Series” begins at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 at the Moore-Leland Library in North Orange with a visit by author Cammie McGovern, who is expected to discuss writing about characters with disabilities in her latest novels “Chester and Gus” and “Just My Luck” and how children’s books teach diversity and social justice.
All her books feature young people with a variety of disabilities at the center.
McGovern, whose oldest son has autism, is a founding member of the nonprofit Whole Children and Milestones, a resource center that serves more than 600 children and young adults with disabilities. The Orange Public Libraries recently purchased “Chester and Gus” and “Just My Luck” with a $1,000 gift from the Friends of the Orange Public Libraries by the Traprock Center for Peace & Justice. McGovern’s books are display along with other fiction and nonfiction titles focusing on issues surrounding human rights, peace, and the environment.
The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited; to guarantee admission, call the Wheeler Memorial Library Children’s Room at 978-544-2495 to register. Questions about this event can be directed to Children’s Librarian Jason Sullivan-Flynn at jsulllivan-flynn@orangelib.org. For more information about Cammie McGovern visit cammiemcgovern.com.
NEW SALEM — A new “Cookbook Club” series starts at the New Salem Library on Oct. 18, with local author Rob Chirico, author of “Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes.”
Chirico will talk about his cookbook and join in on a meal that participants will cook from recipes from it. The meal is slated to begin at 6 p.m. There will be a limit of 16 people. The talk, sponsored by the Friends of the New Salem Library, is slated to begin at 7 p.m. No registration or cooking is required. Anyone interested can sign up at the library. You will be asked to prepare a recipe from Chirico’s cookbook to share. Copies of the book will be available at the library.
To register for the meal, call the library at 978-544-6334 or stop by. For questions, email NSFriendsofLibrary@gmail.com or call the library.
ORANGE — The second annual Cupcake Wars to benefit the Mahar After Prom Party are planned for Oct. 1, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Athol-Orange Elks Lodge at 92 New Athol Road.
Bakers will present their cupcakes to attendees and judges. There will be Best Overall Cupcake and the People’s Choice Cupcake cash prizes in three divisions: youth, amateur, and professional. The theme for this competition is “Seasons” and there will be a prize in each division for the best representation of one or more seasons.
There is a registration fee for professional and amateur adult bakers, and another for youth bakers 18 and younger. Call 978-544-6377 or find the Mahar After Prom Party on Facebook to request information and a registration form. Thirty bakers can register. The deadline to register as a baker was Sept. 20, for a first flavor. Bakers can now register a second flavor for the competition with the registration fee applied a second time.
All proceeds benefit the Mahar After Prom Party, an all-night, drug-and-alcohol-free event to keep Mahar seniors and their guests safe on prom night.