GCC Community Chorus seeks new members

GREENFIELD — The GCC Community Chorus is welcoming new members for the spring semester. The chorus is open to community members as well Greenfield Community College students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The group meets on Friday afternoons, Feb. 2 through May 3, from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. in Stinchfield Lecture Hall, Room N335, at GCC’s main building. Several performances are held both on and off campus during noon and weekend/evening blocks. Performances are announced early in the semester.

Music includes a variety of choral works drawn from classical and other styles. Vocal development, sight reading, languages and background material are all part of the experience. An ability to carry a tune and a commitment to the rehearsal and performance schedule are the only requirements.

Margery Heins is director and Meg Reilly is accompanist. Register online at gccfor.me/chorus. With questions, email Heins at heins@gcc.mass.edu.

Library parking to remain free

GREENFIELD — Mayor Ginny Desorgher has announced that the city will forgo plans that were made under the previous administration to establish a paid parking system for the Greenfield Public Library. The parking lot will remain free to use for all library patrons.

“Continuing free parking for the Greenfield Public Library is a great way to ensure access to this beautiful community space,” Desorgher said in a statement.

“Free parking promotes community engagement by making it easier for residents to attend library-sponsored events, workshops and gatherings,” Library Director Anna Bognolo said in a statement. “The library is not just a place for books; it’s a hub for people to connect, share ideas and build relationships.”

Residents are advised that the ChargePoint electric vehicle chargers at the Greenfield Public Library will still cost 28 cents per kilowatt-hour to use. The parking kiosks that were initially intended for the library will now be used to replace aging parking kiosks in other municipal lots.

Next Writers Read: Feb. 14

GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. hosts a monthly series, Writers Read, on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Reading on Feb. 14 will be Trish Crapo, Mindy Haskins Rogers and Lee Desrosiers.

Desrosiers’ latest book of poems is “Keeping Planes in the Air” (Salmon Poetry). They edit Naugatuck River Review, a narrative poetry journal, and Wordpeace.co. Desrosiers also teaches poetry at Lesley University and English comprehension at Westfield State University.

Crapo is a writer, photographer and collage artist living in Leyden. She has a full-length collection of poems, “adrift, a rowboat” (Open Field Press), and a chapbook, “Walk through Paradise Backwards” (Slate Roof Press). Plus, individual poems have appeared in Southern Poetry Review, Osiris, Cable Street and other journals.

Haskins Rogers is a nonfiction writer based in western Massachusetts. Her essays have appeared in The Threepenny Review, Atticus Review and elsewhere. Her work-in-progress is a memoir about the years she lived precariously, seeking education, opportunity and adventure after running away from her working-class home at 15.

There is a $5 suggested donation. For more information, visit bit.ly/3HCPry7.

Next ‘Rec the Night’ focusing on science

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Recreation Department will host the next program in its “Rec the Night” series, “Spectacular Science,” on Friday, Feb. 16, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 20 Sanderson St.

This night, geared toward youths in grades five through seven, is about exploring chemical reactions through fun hands-on experiments.

For more information, visit greenfieldrecreation.com/recthenight. The registration deadline is Feb. 9.