GREENFIELD — Families with children ages 5 and up are invited to a program of Japanese folktales and origami at the Greenfield Public Library on Saturday, May 18, at 11 a.m.
This program, funded in part by a grant from the Greenfield Cultural Council along with support from the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library, is free, but registration is required. Register through the online events calendar at greenfieldpl.libcal.com/event/11483512.
For more information, contact Children’s Librarian Ellen Lavoie at ellen.lavoie@greenfield-ma.gov or call 413-772-1544, ext. 5104.
GREENFIELD — The Third Tuesday Word, a long-running literary series organized by Paul Richmond and Human Error Publishing, will be held at The LAVA Center, 324 Main St., on May 21.
Doors open at 7 p.m., open mic starts at 7:20 and featured authors start at 8:30. There is a $1 to $5 suggested donation. Books will be for sale.
GREENFIELD — The Historical Society of Greenfield will host Gary Sanderson for a program titled “New Discoveries about Old Tavern Farm and its Greenfield Meadows Neighborhood” on Wednesday, May 22, at 6 p.m. in the Whiteman Room at the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew, 8 Church St.
Sanderson will share new information he has unearthed since submitting this property to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Old Tavern Farm is located at 817 Colrain Road and dates back to 1740. It’s a farm complex begun during the Colonial period and continuing into the 19th century. The farmstead itself is Federal-style architecture, with a center chimney.
Parking is free in the church lot or on the street. Guests are advised to use the entrance on the east side of the building.
GREENFIELD — The Community and Economic Development Department welcomes residents and community stakeholders to a Housing Study Community Meeting on Wednesday, May 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in person at the John Zon Community Center and on Zoom.
The meeting kicks off the public engagement process of the city’s housing study. Greenfield received a Community Planning Grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to hire a planning consultant to conduct a housing study. The city contracted CommunityScale LLC to spearhead this work.
The study involves a housing assessment and developing a vision for meeting Greenfield’s housing needs. This first meeting will be focused on the needs assessment, including analysis of housing data and an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the city’s housing inventory. After CommunityScale LLC presents preliminary findings from the housing needs assessment, the meeting will transition to an interactive conversation with attendees that will help inform the plan’s goals and priorities.
There will be a second meeting later this summer to share the results and to talk about plans/strategies.
Visit the city’s calendar at greenfield-ma.gov/calendar for information on joining the meeting via Zoom.
GREENFIELD — Sophie Jamison, chief TikTok officer at Made By Gather, will be the featured speaker for the Stoneleigh-Burnham School Alumnae Lecture Series on Thursday, May 23, at 6:45 p.m. in the Geissler Gallery. A student’s request to feature an entrepreneur led to Jamison’s invitation to speak at the school.
Jamison’s entrepreneurial journey began as a high school student in central Massachusetts, where an internship at Hasbro, ignited by her love of all things Nerf, sparked her interest in creating a YouTube channel and digital marketing. It was on YouTube she developed the name she is most known by, Sophie Lightning. Leveraging this experience and the time afforded her to develop Instagram content during the pandemic, she launched her TikTok channel, posting two videos a day. By the end of 2020, she had amassed a following of 2 million, leading Nerf to hire her as the company’s first chief TikTok officer.
In 16 months, Jamison built Nerf’s TikTok presence from the ground up. Named an Adweek Top 35 Women Trailblazer and Forbes 30 Under 30 for advertising, she is now the chief TikTok officer at Made By Gather, where she leads influencer marketing, content creation and paid social initiatives.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sophie Jamison to Stoneleigh-Burnham School to share her knowledge and story with our community,” Kathleen Tuck Fontaine, director of alumnae relations and family engagement at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, said in a statement.
Jamison’s lecture will delve into her experiences in the evolving world of social media, the importance of authenticity and engagement, and the challenges and rewards of creating your own path through entrepreneurship.
GREENFIELD — The Friends of the Greenfield Public Library’s used book sale will be held Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 412 Main St. Purchases are by cash or check only.
Book donations will be accepted from May 28 to June 4. To make an appointment to donate gently used books, go to calendly.com/fgplbooksale/book-donations. The following items will not be accepted: encyclopedias and dictionaries; textbooks; CDs and DVDs; computer manuals; self-help, health or travel books that are more than 5 years old; and science books that are more than 20 years old.
Donations will be limited to no more than two boxes per donor and no more than one box per subject. For more information, call or text 413-824-0468 or email fgplbooksalecommittee@gmail.com.
All proceeds from the book sale will benefit Greenfield Public Library programming.