Friday, October 17, 2008

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. ABC Fall Foliage Walk, October 18th. This year the 40th Annual ABC Walk will feature a free concert with Charles Neville, a barbecue, a community art project, and other activities on the Town Common. It is ABC's 40th Anniversary, and for nearly all of those years we have been presenting the Walk. At the ABC House on North Prospect Street we board eight young men of color who come from inner city neighborhoods in the northeast, while they attend ARHS. Over a hundred young men have graduated through the program. ABC has come to stand for educational equity, academic excellence, and community service. In recent years the walk has attracted 300-400 participants who walked along 12 miles of wonderful trails in Amherst, Leverett and Shutesbury. Peter Lambdin and former Ft. River teacher Sandy McNiven (now retired) have been champions of the ABC Walk for decades, leading their classes on the walk year after year. This year, to celebrate our 40th, the walk will be much shorter (5k) along a paved route that families can enjoy. It will begin at 10:00 am on the Common. The concert with the Charles Neville Quartet will begin around 12:30. Charles, one of the Neville Brothers, is a renowned jazz saxophonist, and his local band plays jazz standards, and New Orleans-flavored blues and funk. The event will be catered by The Pub. This is a chance to celebrate the diversity of our community while enjoying a walk under the canopy of diverse colors, and to enjoy good music and food with our neighbors. Register for the walk online at www.amherstabetterchance.org. HITCHCOCK CENTER ENCHANTED FOREST: CREATURES OF OUR FOREST -- A NON-SCARY, FAMILY HALLOWEEN EVENT. Friday, October 24, 5 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 25, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Rain date: Sunday, October 26, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Every October the trails at the Hitchcock Center come alive with a fun and intriguing assortment of nature creatures. This year you will meet creatures that live right here in our eastern hardwood forests. Adults and children of all ages will enjoy meeting our magical characters as you are guided along the pumpkin-lit trails. Walks leave the center every 15 minutes and last approximately 45 minutes. Simple crafts and games and a visit to a fortune teller in the Center are included in the fee. Seasonal baked goods will be on sale. This is one of the most popular and fun events we hold all year and is always sold out. Reservations for a specific date and time are required. Call early to register by phone. Indoor activities close promptly at 8:30 p.m., so if you are registered for a later walk please arrive with enough time to participate in the indoor activities before your walk. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006. Member: $8, Non-member: $12 . No charge for children age 2 and under. Group rates are not available. AMHERST TRIVIA BEE, Thursday, October 30, 2008, 7:00-9:00pm, Middle School Auditorium. FOR TEAMS: To sponsor a team or play on a team contact Linda Rotti at Jones, Town and Country, 549-3700. Proceeds to benefit the Amherst Education Foundation, Inc. Currently there are 20 plus teams registered, we need 10 more teams to fill the stage. Teams, which are comprised of area business or 4 individuals form a group. For instance 4 elementary school principals who are out to prove they are "Smarter Than a 5th Grader". The entry fee is 125.00 per team. The committee will also pair up a 4-player teams with a sponsor if the team does not have one. We get our sponsors from area businesses, who support the Amherst Education Foundation's mission and see it as an opportunity to participate in a community wide event! THE QUESTIONS: We have a team of trivia bee question makers who are hidden away in a sealed room grinding out secret questions in all different categories (Ha, ha). This year we are adding a special flash round of Amherst area trivia in preparation to Amherst's 250-year celebration next year! THE AUDIENCE: What a great family evening out. Only $3 admission per audience member. Baked goods and lots of fun for all ages. Come join us, the bigger the crowd the more fun! All proceeds benefit Amherst Education Foundation. 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.