Montague Selectboard candidates to participate in forum

MONTAGUE — Selectboard candidates Christopher Boutwell and Edward Voudren will participant in a public forum held by the Montague Public Libraries, in partnership with the Montague Reporter and Montague Community Television, on Sunday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m.

Both candidates will answer pre-submitted questions and will introduce themselves to voters ahead of the May 20 election. Boutwell, an incumbent, has served on the Selectboard since 2010, and Voudren previously served on the Selectboard from 1997 to 2004.

The forum will be broadcast live on Channel 9, and available to watch later on MCTV’s Vimeo page. A limited number of live audience seats are available, and anyone who is interested in attending in-person at the upstairs meeting room at Montague Town Hall may call any of the Montague Public Libraries to register. Those who are interested in suggesting questions may submit them to editor@montaguereporter.org.

Owner’s project manager selected for Carnegie Public Library project

MONTAGUE — Downes Construction Co. LLC of Connecticut has been awarded a $73,006 contract to serve as owner’s project manager for the Carnegie Public Library building project, which will handle either a library renovation or creation of a new library at 38 Avenue A.

Montague Public Libraries Director Caitlin Kelley told the Selectboard on Tuesday that the project had four applicants for owner’s project manager, and Downes Construction was selected based on the “completely unabashedly positive reviews” from other library directors who’ve worked with the company before.

The Selectboard voted unanimously to award the contract to Downes Construction.

The company will be part of the feasibility and design phase of the building project, which seeks to either expand upon the existing library at 201 Avenue A or build a new library at 38 Avenue A.

Book club and mending class coming to Erving library

ERVING — The Erving Public Library will offer two programs on Sunday, April 27, including the April Book Club to discuss the novel “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett, and a sewing and mending class from Swanson’s Fabrics.

Starting at 1:30 p.m. and going until 3:30 p.m., Swanson’s “Building a Culture of Clothing Repair” traveling workshop will stop by the library’s Makerspace for a mending and sewing class.

Visitors are encouraged to bring one to three items of clothing that need repairs, and staff from Swanson’s will provide instruction on how to repair the items. Mending materials are included and the workshop is open to all skill levels.

Then at 2 p.m., the book club will meet to discuss “Tom Lake.”

The club meets on the fourth Sunday of each month.

Singer-songwriter concert and writing showcase set for Discovery Center

TURNERS FALLS — Singer-songwriter Erica Wheeler will perform a concert of place-based songs, and participants from her recent National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read workshops are invited to share their writings with an audience on Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m. at the Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A.

Wheeler is an award-winning singer and songwriter. She has worked with the National Park Service and other natural, cultural and historic sites to help them create visitor programs. Refreshments will be provided.