The Walpolean

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Walpole will host its Holiday Fair on Saturday, November 21st 2015 from 9 AM to 2 PM in the Parish Hall on Elm Street.

This year’s fair will include St John’s famous Cookie Walk, featuring dozens of varieties of home baked cookies. The Holly and Ivy table will have wreaths, swags, and centerpiece decorations. The Harvest Home table will offer pies and tarts (perfect for Thanksgiving!), muffins, tea breads, chocolate-covered pretzels, fudge, novelty holiday treats, and delicious jams and pickles made from produce harvested from local gardens. Beautiful ornaments and Christmas decorations will be for sale at the Deck the Halls table. New this year will be a raffle of wares from our talented artisans, including a crib quilt, a handmade nativity set, a set of assorted handmade ornaments, and more. The lunch menu will include hot dogs and chips, chili with tortilla chips, and small salads.

St John’s is located at the corner of Westminster and Elm Streets, opposite Town Hall. Come out and join in the festivities on November 21st!

And while you’re out and about, be sure to visit all the other organizations that are hosting events in town on that day, including:

* The Walpole Congregational Church’s Mistletoe Mart, next to the Walpole Common

* The Orchard School’s Crafts Fair, at the Walpole Town Hall

* The Walpole Village School’s Sugar Plum Shoppe, at the bottom of Westminster Street

* The Walpole Historical Society Museum and Holiday Gift Shop, in the Academy Building on Main Street

Each participating event will hold a door prize raffle. Pick up a door prize flyer at any event, and be sure to enter each raffle!

The Monadnock Conservancy, as part of the MFCC Feast on This! Film Festival, will host a community screening of Growing Local in Walpole, NH on Saturday, November 14 at 7 pm. The screening is part of a weeklong event that educates our community about the diverse issues affecting our national, regional, and local food and agricultural systems. Films were chosen that will spark conversation and action around building stronger local, regional, and sustainable food systems.

The critically acclaimed documentary, Growing Local, directed by Bridget Besaw of Seedlight Pictures, examines the challenges of creating a sustainable local food system through the eyes of three diverse Maine food producers.  The film will be screened at the Hastings Memorial House, 14 Union Street in Walpole, at 7 pm.  Parking is available on Union and Main Streets.  NOTE: the film will be shown on the second floor which is only accessible by stairs. The screening will be immediately followed by a moderated panel discussion featuring local farmers.

“We’re excited to be working with enthusiastic and thoughtful community organizations like the Monadnock Conservancy who are raising awareness of the challenges facing local farmers,” said Roe-Ann Tasoulas, Director of the Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition, the organization that is co-producing the Feast on This! Film Festival with the Monadnock Food Co-op.

Film attendees are also encouraged to bring nonperishable food donations to be distributed to area food pantries.

For more information, please contact Stacy Gambrel at (603) 357-0600, ext. 106 or stacy@monadnockconservancy.org

For information and updates on the Feast on This! Film Festival, visit the event page, http://www.facebook.com/2015FeastonThis!

ABOUT THE FILM

The film features three vignettes of diverse Maine farms and food producers, including an organic dairy farm owned by a father-son team, an artisanal butcher using innovative methods to market local meat, and a young farm couple’s efforts to create a thriving community food hub. www.growinglocalfilms.org

ABOUT THE MONADNOCK CONSERVANCY

The Monadnock Conservancy, founded in 1989, is the only land trust dedicated exclusively to the 35 towns in the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire. Its mission is to work with communities and landowners to conserve the natural resources, wild and working lands, rural character and scenic beauty of the region. Based in Keene, NH, the Conservancy is an accredited organization that has protected 18,000 acres of forest, farmland, shoreline, wetlands, wildlife habitat and recreation trails in the region. For more information, visit http://www.MonadnockConservancy.org or call 603-357-0600.

I remember a friend telling me that she gets her supply of winter reading books at this sale and then donates them back the following year! – Lil

It’s this weekend!  October 23-25 at Walpole Middle School

Friday night from 6:00-7:30 is Preview Night which requires a $20 donation and the Sale starts at 9:00 AM on Saturday through 2:00 PM.  It will also be open from 11:00 – 2:00 on Sunday.

For more information, Call 603-756-9806

This event is sponsored by The Friends of the Walpole Town Library.

Art After School, the hugely successful art enrichment program sponsored by St. John’s Episcopal Church in Walpole, begins its 10th year with an exciting transition! The program has grown so much that it is now an independent non-profit art enrichment program for first through sixth graders in Walpole and surrounding communities.

The program will always have a home with St John’s and will continue to meet in the St John’s Parish Hall on 26 Elm Street. We have a new name: Walpole Art After School, and a new Facebook page with the same name. Our new website can be found at http://www.walpoleartafterschool.org. We are grateful to Kelli Wilson for designing our new communication methods. The staff remains the same with new titles: Susan Kershaw is the Executive Director and Racheal Scott is Creative Director.

This new transition opens up the possibility of a second weekly session, perhaps focusing on enhancing art skills for young artists who show particular talent, or for specialized groups such as sewing or quilting.

As a non-profit organization, Walpole Art After School depends on the generosity of parents and community members. Would you consider making a difference in the life of a young artist with a gift to the Walpole Art After School 2016 Fund? The cost of sponsoring one young artist’s participation is as follows:
One month = $50
One semester = $200
Two semesters = $400

Donations are tax-deductible and can be made out to Walpole Art After School, c/o St John’s Church, PO Box 179, Walpole, NH 03608. St John’s is acting as our fiscal manager. All Walpole Art After School funds are held in a a savings account separate from church accounts.

In addition, plans for an adult version are underway. Racheal and Susan will lead a fundraising evening on Thursday, December 3, 7 – 9 p.m., at St John’s Parish Hall, called “Glittery Baubles.” They will teach techniques for using alcohol inks to create gorgeous glass ornaments and fabulous pendants. The creative results will make great Christmas gifts. The proceeds from this event will go to support the 2016 budget for Walpole Art After School. The event fee is $50, and includes all materials and dessert.

Future events include painting birch scenes using masking techniques and making exquisite paper bowls using collage techniques. Dates for these winter events will be announced later.

Please contact Executive Director Susan Kershaw for more information or to register for the Dec 3 event: 756-2962 or susankershaw54@gmail.com.

I have to confess that the idea of creating a bat house is counter-intuitive to me since we periodically seem to be providing one already.  When a bat starts swooping through the house along about bedtime I think I am doing more than my share in providing a habitat. – Lil

Bat House Workshops in Oct. Distant Hill Gardens, in Walpole, New Hampshire, will be hosting two special bat habitat workshops in late October, in collaboration with the Philip H. Faulkner Jr. Forest, Wildlife and Cultural Conservation Research Grant. These workshops are free, and all ages are welcome. Pre-registration is requested. A ‘Bat House Installation Workshop’ will be held on Saturday October 24, from 1pm to 4 at the Philip H. Faulkner Jr. Forest Preserve in Walpole. Meet Amanda Melinchuk, bat specialist and Masters Degree student in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England to learn about and assist her research into bats, bat houses, and their installation. This will be a hands-on workshop in an outdoor setting – a unique opportunity to lend a hand raising bat houses, ask questions, and learn! A second companion workshop, ‘Bat House Design, Construction, and Placement’ will take place at Distant Hill Gardens on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 1 – 4 pm. This is a two-part workshop beginning with an indoor presentation, followed by an outdoor component where participants will have the chance to help raise two bat houses on the property. Bat specialist Amanda Melinchuk will lead the workshop and will focus on appropriate design, construction, and placement of bat houses. You will most likely be surprised to learn all the details that go into a successful bat residence! Amanda will also demonstrate two very cool acoustic monitors she uses to survey bat populations in the area. Sign-up for one of both of the workshops. Each will cover slightly different topics, but you will get an excellent overview of bats, bat houses, and the plight of bats in New England at both events. Both workshops are free, and all ages are welcome. To Register for one or both workshops email Michael at distanthillgardens@gmail.com or call 603-756-4179

Justine Rogers, Library Director, asked me to let you know about a new book group at the library. – Lil

“A Non-Fiction History reading group exploring Ancient, Current, and Future History”

Looking for 6-8 members.

Meetings will be held at the Library on the 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM  Our first meeting of the season will be Tuesday, November 3.

On their own, each member will select and present the monthly subject; a book, a scholarly article, a historical opinion, a theory, a map, a “What If” scenario.

The subject can be narrow or broad; the saga to the cure for Tuberculosis, “If Lincoln had not freed the Slaves”, “Nickel and Dimed – or not getting by in America”, The Peloponnesian Wars.

The member will present a summary, and pose the initial discussion questions.

Two months in advance of the meeting, The Library Director, Justine Rogers, will be notified of the book, article or study materials required.

The first subject and central source material will be “Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe” by George Friedman. Copies are available at the library.