Join us as we make DIY Winter Snowglobes as part of Easthampton’s 5th Annual Winterfest! We provide the supplies, you just drop-in for the craft.
It is FOOD FOR FINES time! For the month of March we are accepting non-perishable and NOT EXPIRED food items to benefit the Easthampton Community Center Food Pantry. You will receive $2 off your OVERDUE fines (not lost item charges) for every item donated. We cannot apply credit for future fines.
Sean Gaskell will give a performance and educational demonstration on the kora, an ancient 21-stringed harp from West Africa. He will feature traditional songs that are the heart and soul of the kora’s musical repertoire in addition to some of his own personal compositions. All ages are welcome!
The Kora is native to the Mande peoples who live within the countries of Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau. The music is traditionally played by oral and musical historians known as Griots (Gree-ohs). The Kora is a melodic and seemingly peaceful instrument, which is somewhat contrary to its musical repertoire. Many songs tell ancient stories of war and hardship, while others praise people of high political status and those who helped expand the Mande Empire. While the Kora is only 300 years old, some commonly played songs can be traced back 800 years to the Mande empires’ founding. Gaskell has studied extensively under the instruction of Malamini Jobarteh and Moriba Kuyateh of Brikama, The Gambia, and Kane Mathis of Brooklyn, NY. Gaskell has been featured at numerous festivals in the US, Gambia, and Senegal.
For a preview, check out this video of Sean performing.
This is a drop-in slide show, presented by local author and illustrator Blanche Cybele Derby. Blanche will talk about how some common, early spring weeds can be used as food. You’ll discover how to identify and use often overlooked plants for delicious additions to your meal.
Blanche Cybele Derby is author and illustrator of My Favorite Plants, My Wild Friends (out of print) and More My Wild Friends, and creator of the film trilogy Edible Plants: Wild and Tame (Spring, Summer, and Fall). She has led numerous walks, lectured extensively and regularly includes wild plants in her meal.
Check out her website to learn more!
What if there was universal energy all around, but you didn’t use it? What if you could optimize your health, or energize yourself for free? What if you could harness that energy to improve your life?
Alison will share her personal stories with you about stress, fear, anxiety, and worry. She will offer some fun, simple steps in her workshop to help you cope with your fears and focus on your goals. Using practical knowledge, as well as spiritual techniques, she will guide you into the mindset and the energy you need to get whatever you want, be it love, money, health, or peace.
Alison was born and raised deep in the woods of Pennsylvania, where her childhood imagination ran wild and free. As a scabby-kneed tomboy she seemed fearless, yet as she grew older, her fears and anxieties clearly got worse. She attained her Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology. As a clinical researcher and biostatistician at a university medical center for 18 years, Alison co-authored many medical articles and observed first-hand the short-comings of conventional medicine. She left clinical academia to become a Reiki Master Teacher and author. For the last two years, she wrote stories about her many Shamanic healings and Reiki experiences. Doubts to Dreams: Releasing Doubts and Learning to Love Through Energy Medicine is her first book. Her goal is to forge Reiki into conventional medicine and share more intriguing stories and workshops.