SHELBURNE FALLS — The First Fridays Free Playgroup takes place Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cowell Gymnasium, 51 Maple St. The event is held for young infants and children, from birth to age 5, and their caregivers.
Also, Youth Basketball continues through March, weekdays at 5:30 p.m., and new players may join this free program anytime. The schedule is: Mondays, girls in Grades 4 through 6; Tuesdays co-ed, Grades kindergarten through 1; Wednesdays co-ed Grades 2 through 3; and Thursdays boys in Grades 4 through 6.
ASHFIELD — The state Department of Fire Services recently awarded the Ashfield Fire Department two grants for fire safety education, according to state Sen. Adam Hinds’s office.
The department received a $3,063 grant for the SAFE Program, a state initiative to conduct fire and life safety education programs for children from kindergarten through Grade 12. The goal is to teach students to recognize the dangers of fire and the fire hazards posed by tobacco products. In its 20 years, the SAFE Program has been credited for reducing the average number of annual child fire-related deaths by 70 percent in Massachusetts.
The department also got a $2,295 grant for a newer program, Senior SAFE, because seniors “are the most vulnerable population at risk of fire-related deaths” in the state, according to the Department of Fire Services. Fire and burn risks include: cooking, smoking, home oxygen use, electrical and heating dangers. The program also aims to improve home safety through the installation of smoke- and carbon monoxide alarms, heat-limiting devices on stoves, in-hood stove fire extinguishers and other interventions where needed.
ASHFIELD — At least 13 well-known local musicians will lead an annual Pete Seeger Sing-along on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Ashfield Congregational Church, at 429 Main St.
This free concert is organized by Shelburne Falls singer/songwriter Sarah Pirtle and is in its fourth year. The duo, Peter Blood and Annie Patterson, who helped create the “Rise Up Singing” songbook and its sequel, “Rise Again Songbook,” will be featured performers. Other song leaders include Michael Nix, Lui Collins, Ben Grosscup, Gloria Matlock and Annie Hassett, Jay Mankita, Paul Kaplan, Sue Kranz, Joseph Kurland, Norma Jean Haynes, Sara Pirtle, Elias Stegeman, Kate Stevens and Tom Yeomans.
Families are encouraged to bring their children.
SHELBURNE — The Shelburne Cultural Council awarded grant money totaling $5,175 for 30 projects — concerts, lectures, educational programs and special events that will take place in West County. The grants ranged from $50 to $700.
“We were very pleased with the overall quality of the 2017 applications,” said Chairwoman Constance Clarke. “This list of grants reflects a rich variety of programs and projects in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences.”
Altogether, the Council received 40 applications, requesting a total of $11,934.
Those receiving grants are: Bridge of Flowers Crosswalk Project; The Art Garden community exhibits and annual Draw-Around; Mary Lyon Foundation’s Big Read Author Talk; Mohawk Trail Concerts – Music at the Arms; story teller John Porcino; Buckland Historical Society’s Colonial Buckland; Rona Leventhal’s History Alive; Piti Theatre Co.’s SYRUP (arts festival); Charlemont Forum; Racial Justice Rising programs; Meadowedge Art; Ashfield Community Theater; Collected Poets Series; Pothole Pictures; Learn Ukulele with Julie Stepanek; Musica Franklin after-school program transportation; Emma Musante’s Youth Curated Community Art Show; Franklin Land Trust’s Winter Tracking Workshop; Heath Fair music; Arms Library reading program; Double Edge Theater’s Hilltown Spectacle; Hilltown Families’ Learn Local, Plan Local.
Also awarded grants are: Ann Hutt Browning Poetry Series; Shelburne Grange Fair; Beginner drawing class at Shelburne Center; Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival; and Irish music concert at Shelburne Senior Center.
Those who want to apply for a grant in the 2018 funding cycle should go online to the Massachuetts Cultural Council website, or write to: Shelburne Cultural Council, 51 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls, Mass., 01370.