Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. Book Launch Party for Walking Boston: 36 Tours Through Beantown's Cobblestone Streets, Historic Districts, Ivory Towers & New Waterfront by Fort River parent Robert Todd Felton. September 16, 7pm at Amherst Books. Todd is also the author of A Journey into the Transcendentalists' New England & A Journey into Ireland's Literary Revival. More info at: http://www.amherstbooks.com/Events/%20eventsSeptember2008.shtml and http://www.rtoddfelton.com/. Mass. Harvest for Students: 5% Day at Whole Foods. If you are a Whole Foods customer, please consider shopping on TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17 and help to support Mass. Harvest for Students Week with your purchasing power. It could be a great day to stock up on those items you use all the time anyway! There will be an informational table at Whole Foods in advance of the event, or visit the web page to learn more about Mass. Harvest for Students Week (Sept. 22 -26 this year). www.mass.gov/agr/markets/Farm_to_school/ Music Together® for Valley Families is now registering for Fall classes, offering weekly sessions of this internationally recognized parent/child music enrichment program for children 0-5 years old. Locations are in Amherst at Immanuel Lutheran Church, The Congregational Church Parish House in Belchertown, The Children’s Museum at Holyoke, and All Saint’s Episcopal Church in So. Hadley. Classes are held on various days and times starting September 17. Call (413) 259-9400 or view their web site: http://www.valleymusicgroup.com/ to register and receive more information. Spice up your fall with an art class at Amherst Community Arts Center! Registration Going On NOW! Classes for children, teens & adults begin September 22nd. Classes include: drawing, painting, pottery & handbuilding, jewelry fabrication, mixed media, mask & puppet making, and much more. Great for any age or ability! Look for our class listings in the Amherst Leisure Times or visit http://www.lsse.org/. For further questions please call LSSE at (413) 259-3065 or ACAC at (413) 253-9265. Multi-Arts Drama Program. This after school program is a fun and exciting opportunity for students to hone their dramatic skills through movement, scene work, improvisation, play writing, and theater games. For children grades K-3 and 3-6. Wednesdays 3:00-4:30pm. September 17 - December 10 (12 weeks). 867 N. Pleasant St. (next to Marks Meadow School), Amherst. Cost: $240 (Financial aid available). Limited Space. For more information, contact us at (413) 584-7951 or visit http://www.multi-arts.org/. FLAMENCO Dance Classes. The fall flamenco dance courses start on Wednesday, September 10. Beginner Children (ages 9-11): Wed., 4-5pm, Hadley. Beginner Teens &Young Adults (12+): Wed., 5-6pm, Hadley. Beginner Adults & Teens: Tuesday 7:30-8:30PM. Studio:HADLEY: North Star - Intersection of Rt. 47 and Rt. 9. Fees: Session of ten classes: $150. To register, contact Ines Arrubla at ines@arrublaflamenco.com / http://www.arrublaflamenco.com/. Girl Scout Registration. A registration night for the Girls Scouts will take place on Tuesday, September 23rd, at the Bangs Center in Amherst, room 101 at 5:45 PM. We would like to invite all girls who attend Fort River School. Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, http://www.gscwm.org/. Contact: Anne Duffy, cattlexstudios@verizon.net. Join in the Adventure and join Cub Scouts. For boys in Grades 1 through 5. Boy Scouting includes boys in grades 6 through 12. Sign up with either: Pack 515, which meets at the Masonic Hall in Amherst (contact: Russell Kosuda; work: 587-6587 or home: 253-1663; email; Russell.Kosuda@McKesson.com) OR Pack 502, which meets at the South Congregational Church in South Amherst. (Contact: Julia Mawson 253-2817 email: JSMQUILTSCOUT@yahoo.com.) Sign up is Tuesday, September 9, 2008 from 5 PM till 8 PM at the Masonic Hall (next to the police station in Amherst on Main Street) for both Pack 502 and 515. Representatives from Troop 500 and Troop 504 will be present if any older brothers are interested. Come and see what Scouting is all about. North Amherst 3rd Annual Harvest Festival, Sunday September 28th. 1 to 6 PM being held at Simple Gifts Farm, Located on North Pleasant Street, North Amherst. Get It On the Map. GIS Viewer Training Sessions. The Amherst GIS Viewer is a powerful system at gis.amherstma.gov that can be used make custom maps, perform geographic analysis and to gather all kinds of information about any place in Amherst. Please join us for this hour-long public training seminar designed to teach you how to get the most out of the Amherst GIS Viewer. Sessions are currently scheduled for the following dates and times: Monday, September 15th, 10:00-11:00am, Town Room, Amherst Town Hall Thursday, September 25th, 7:00-8:00pm, 1st Floor Meeting Room, Amherst Town Hall Thursday, October 2nd, 7:00-8:00pm, 1st Floor Meeting Room, Amherst Town Hall. Reservations are not required. Feel free to RSVP or just come by. For more information, please contact: Mike Olkin, GIS Administrator, Town of Amherst PH 413-259-3247 FX 413-256-4006 http://gis.amherstma.gov/ See Amherst in 3D: http://gis.amherstma.gov/3D. Make Sure Your Child Doesn't Get Left Inside. The Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club is starting up hikes and other events to get kids outdoors. Our first outing will be a short hike at Buffam Falls in Pelham on Saturday, Sept. 27. The goal is to have at least one kid-friendly event every month of the year. Possibilities include scavenger hunts, building fairy houses, and letter boxing. Anyone interested in attending family events or helping with the program can contact Nancy Weld, Family Programs chair at (413) 256-8728 or at familyprograms@amcberkshire.org. The Sept. 27 event will be a short hike at a slow pace, with plenty of opportunity to throw rocks and sticks into the water and explore nature. We may get a snack, lunch or ice cream afterward. We'll start at 10 a.m. Our second event, on Oct. 12, will be a hike up Rattlesnake Knob which is a smaller peak just east of Mount Norwottuck, part of the Holyoke Range in Amherst. We will meet at 10 a.m. and may gather for lunch afterward. Contact Leader Nancy Weld for more information (413) 256-8728 or at familyprograms@amcberkshire.org. A note from Parent Council. We will publish information about non-Parent Council sponsored events with the following conditions: 1. The event should be of interest to Fort River families. 2. The information should be sent to Ann McLaughlin at damclaughlin@comcast.net in the form of a short description. 3. Contact information (website or name, telephone and/or email address) must be included. We add new information to the blog every Friday during the school year. Please note that we do not accept announcements of items or services for sale (with the exceptions of children's classes/lessons). Inclusion in this section does not imply any guarantees or endorsements by Fort River Parent Council or Fort River School.