Calendar

Join us for a repeat of last year’s event! Paint a pumpkin, create a graham cracker haunted house, and more! Ages 3+

Join us for this special event — A Meat for Tea author reading with Andrew Varnon! Andrew will read his essay “The Other Side of the Net”. This event is drop-in. 

In “The Other Side of the Net,” writer Andrew Varnon imagines playing tennis with the ghost of David Foster Wallace, the author of the monumental novel Infinite Jest. Wallace committed suicide in 2008, but has a devoted following of readers and fans. In his essay, Varnon describes how he came to read Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest through his interest in tennis. The novel is partially set at the fictional Enfield Tennis Academy in Massachusetts. In the tennis community, Wallace is also known for his essay on tennis icon Roger Federer, “Both Flesh and Not,” and is widely credited with the appellation for tennis as “chess on the run.” In his essay, Varnon engages Wallace’s writing style – complete with end notes – and explores the idea of how the activity of reading and writing is, in fact, like playing tennis.

Writer and teacher Andrew Varnon lives in Greenfield with his wife and family. He is the boys tennis coach at Greenfield High School and an active recreational tennis player. He is also a journalist and an award-winning poet. “The Other Side of the Net” was originally published online at The Smart Set (www.thesmartset.com/the-other-side-of-the-net/) and was republished locally in Meat for Tea. Varnon presented a portion of his essay to the David Foster Wallace Conference in Normal, Illinois, this June.

Author and artist Grace Desmarais is back! Grace will give background on her medical experience and then discuss her comic Spoons: a dairy on chronic illness, Tubes: diaries from the hospital and her up-coming book Healing Year. She will then hold a Q&A. At the end, attendees will have an opportunity to buy her mini comics and have them signed.

Artist Bio: 
Grace Desmarais is a French-Canadian illustrator and cartoonist. She currently lives in Eastern Massachusetts and spends most of her time drawing.

Grace Desmarais primarily self-publishes auto-bio comic while also being involved in a variety of anthologies. Most of Grace’s work is rooted in subjects like art history, dis/ability and personal experience. Her long-term goal is to be a published author/illustrator with a committed comics publisher.

Celebrate the New Year with your own Noise Maker! Drop in and create one to get started! We will have materials ready for you! Ages 3+

Please note: Registration is full. We are working on setting up future dates, so stay tuned!

Come join us for an introduction to sewing and the sewing machine! We will go over the basics of threading and using a sewing machine. We will have two machines available, so please feel free to bring your own machine if you have one. We will learn how to cut, pin, and sew a basic upcycled tote bag. The instructor will provide material to be upcycled for totes, but please feel free to bring your own material as well.

Drop-in between 10am and 12pm! Open to kids AND adults. Vegan option available.

Please note: Registration is full. We are working on setting up future dates, so stay tuned!

Come join us for an introduction to sewing and the sewing machine! We will go over the basics of threading and using a sewing machine. We will have two machines available, so please feel free to bring your own machine if you have one. We will learn how to cut, pin, and sew a basic upcycled tote bag. The instructor will provide material to be upcycled for totes, but please feel free to bring your own material as well.

Please note: Registration is full. We are working on setting up future dates, so stay tuned!

Come join us for an introduction to sewing and the sewing machine! We will go over the basics of threading and using a sewing machine. We will have two machines available, so please feel free to bring your own machine if you have one. We will learn how to cut, pin, and sew a basic upcycled tote bag. The instructor will provide material to be upcycled for totes, but please feel free to bring your own material as well.

In the presentation of her book Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs, Chaya will discuss her work consulting with people coming off psychiatric drugs, what helps them the most, and her other experience working with people in withdrawal from psych meds. She will share wisdom gained from 15 years of professional experience working non-medically with people seeking a variety of alternatives to the mainstream psychiatric paradigm. She will also share from her personal experience of having withdrawn from psychiatric meds herself. There will be time for Q and A so bring your questions.

Author Bio: Chaya Grossberg has been sharing her psychiatric survivor and trauma story publicly for over 15 years and is an advocate and consultant to those coming off psychiatric drugs and/or seeking alternative approaches to distress. She has written a book about her work called “Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs” and has worked professionally with people seeking alternatives to the mainstream psychiatric narrative as a teacher, facilitator, program coordinator, and consultant to individuals and families. She has coordinated open mic speak out style events for psychiatric survivors to share their stories in poetry, speech and performance. She has led many writing groups and support groups as well as taught yoga and meditation for psychiatric and trauma survivors