For more upcoming events, click here for The Chester Telegraph calendar. To be included in our Upcoming events briefs, email Susan Lampe-Wilson at calendar@www.chestertelegraph.org. Photos welcome. No PDFs, please.

Theater

Clockwise from back left are: Wilson Church of Springfield as King Philip of France II, the three sons of Henry and Eleanor are Scott Stearns as Prince Geoffrey, Greg Villone as Prince Richard and Tuck Wunderle as Prince John Irene Ramen is Eleanor of Aquitaine, Tom Field is King Henry II, and Anna Kendall plays the king’s mistress.

June 5: Springfield Players kicks off 2015 season

The Springfield Community Players will present The Lion in Winter, a witty tale of palace intrigue and dungeons, sibling rivalry and adultery at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday June 5, 6 and 12, 13.

Performances will take place at the Springfield Community Players’ Studio, 165 South St. in Springfield. Tickets are $15; $12 for students and seniors. For reservations call 802-885-4098.

Fundraisers

Fundraiser for the Fryes, also know as the Achenbachs, at Grounded4Life coffee house Friday

June 5: Benefit for Fryes at Grounded4Life

Scott and Mona Frye, otherwise known as the Achenbachs and frequent performers at Grounded4Life, were involved in a motorcycle accident on Monday, May 25 in upstate New York. Scott suffered four fractured ribs and a ruptured spleen and is being treated at Albany Medical. Mona had a mild concussion and bruises but was not hospitalized.

Grounded4Life will be devoting its considerable musical talents at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 5 for a fundraiser to help the Fryes with the uncovered expenses at the coffeehouse downstairs in Chester’s First Baptist Church at 162 Main St. All donations will be given to the Fryes.

Visit the cafe for an evening of fellowship, music, food and faith and throw a few dollars in the coffee pot to help someone who has entertained us in the past. Donation can also be sent to Chester Baptist Church, 162 Main St., Chester VT 05143 with G4L Achenbachs in the memo line.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and music will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free. The coffee bar and refreshments will be ready when you arrive. Check out Grounded4Life on Facebook or contact John Nunnikhoven at john4ns@fastmail.fm.

Museums

June 6: Opening Day at Black River Academy Museum

Starting Saturday, June 6, Black River Academy Museum, 14 High St. in Ludlow, will resume its normal hours for the season, noon to 4 p.m., and by appointment.

Permanent exhibits include a replica of Main Street during the late Victorian era and a home from the same period; a Finnish display, which explores the Finnish settlement in the Black River area; a replica one-room classroom with desks in graduated sizes. A World War I display will also be displayed on the third floor at the beginning of July.

This year the museum is opening with a special contemporary exhibit, curated by John Stewart of the Amity Foundation, The Walking Woman. The exhibit consists of paintings and prints of women walking collected from all over the world.

On Saturday, June 27, The Walking Woman exhibit will be celebrated with a 5K walk that starts and ends at the museum at 10 a.m. The registration fee is $20; seniors and students $10.

Continuing the walking theme, the Ludlow Women’s Club will present a fashion show of clothing and accessories from Tina’s fun stuff to wear. Models will parade down a catwalk. Singer/songwriter/recording artist Elle Sera will provide music before and after the show. Refreshments by Big Eyes Bakery will be served. The fashion show will end with a drawing for a door prize for a painting by Jasminka Mazur from Croatia. Both the exhibit and the fashion show are free.

For further information please call the museum at 802-228-5050, email at glbrehm@tds.net or visit the museum’s website.

Outdoor programs

June 6: Bats program kicks off TransCanada center

Learn about the nocturnal world of bats at a free, family friendly program. The Nature Museum at Grafton, in partnership with the TransCanada Corp., announced the summer opening of the TransCanada Bellows Falls Visitor Center on Bridge Street in Bellows Falls next to the Post Office.

The public is invited to a grand opening celebration at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 6. The celebration includes a program on the bats of Vermont and New Hampshire led by two special guests: Laura Deming and Cynthia Nichols of New Hampshire Audubon. Deming and Nichols will discuss bats in the area, and how the public can help scientists understand and protect these creatures.

Children and adults gather at last year’s environmental education programs

The visitors center will be open through Labor Day weekend on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and programs are free.

Rachel Brown, an experienced naturalist educator, will lead hands-on environmental programs most weekends. Programs begin at 11 a.m. A full schedule can be found at www.nature-museum.org. The Nature Museum at Grafton seeks to inspire stewardship of the Connecticut River and all local waterways.

The Nature Museum operates the Visitor Center on behalf of TransCanada Corp., owner of the fish ladder as well as the hydroelectric facility. TransCanada has partnered with The Nature Museum since 2003 to provide free environmental education programs to the public each summer.

For more information, call the Nature Museum at 802-843-2111 or email director of education Kimberly Galandak-O’Connor at Kimberly@nature-museum.org. Located at 186 Townshend Road in Grafton, The Nature Museum at Grafton offers museum admission by free-will donation, vacation camps for youth and nature programs for adults, children and schools. Event information can be found on the Nature Museum at Grafton’s website: www.nature-museum.org.

Library events

Pick up your Vermont library passport and explore the state’s libraries to win awards and prizes.

Explore Vermont libraries with VLA Passport

This summer though Sept. 1, 99 Vermont public and academic libraries will hand out passports and encourage patrons to get them stamped by visiting some of Vermont’s unique, beautiful and creative libraries including:

• The Alice M. Ward Memorial Library in Canaan, the northern-most stagecoach stop on a route from Franklin, N.H. to Montreal, Canada
• The Brookfield Free Public Library, the oldest continually operating library in Vermont
• The Windsor Public Library with its active seed lending library

“One of my favorite things about Vermont is the huge number of different libraries all over the state. Nearly very town has a cool library somewhere in it,” says Virgil Fuller,   VLA president and director of Chelsea Public Library.

Local libraries will offer passport stamps and small prizes. Three patrons (adult, young adult, child) will receive Vermont Library Ambassador awards for visiting the most libraries and a copy of the classic book on Vermont’s libraries Where the Books Are, about the history and architecture of Vermont’s public libraries by Pat Belding.

Patrons are encouraged to post pictures and stories on the VLAs facebook page http://facebook.com/vermontpassport.

More details about the program are available at http://vermontlibraries.org/passport. For more information, call the Rockingham Free Public Library at 802-463-4270.

Whiting offers reading, art, movie events

Whiting Library, located at 117 Main St. in Chester, is hosting interesting, informative, fun and free events this summer.

On-going book discussions are planned for the second Wednesday of each month and a movie on at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 17 is set for adults and older children.

Summer Reading Program sign-ups begin Wednesday, June 10 for  Every Hero has a Story, a national program for children of all ages. The program runs through the month of July with events, prizes and incentives to read through the summer.

On Wednesday, June 24, the Grafton Nature Museum will offer  Invertebrates Everywhere! exploring the world of insects and others small animals with exoskeletons all around us. Examine live aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates with six legs or more. Suggested audience is over the age of 4 who are interested in the natural world. And on Wednesday, Aug. 5  Scales, Shells and Skeletons will discuss reptiles through the seasons.

For July and August see the artistic creations of Charlea Baker with an artist’s reception from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 3.

This summer visit ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, Burlington. It’s one of the free or discounted passes available to loan for patrons of Whiting Library.

Whiting Library offers free or discounted passes to Vermont historical sites, Vermont day parks and regional museums. Enjoy family fun and fresh air at day use sites in 35 Vermont State Parks. At Fort at Number 4 in Charlestown experience life in the 1740s. In historic Windsor see machine tools and inventions that celebrate craftsmanship at the American Precision Museum. Experience Vermont’s history from 1600 to the present at the Vermont Historical Museum located in Montpelier, and Vermont’s natural history at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington.

Contact Whiting Library for more information about benefits of membership. Call 802-875-2277 or email whitinglibrary@yahoo.com. Library hours are Monday and Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fairs and Festivals

June 19: Saratoga Balloon and Craft Festival

On Father’s Day Weekend, June 19-21, the Saratoga Balloon and Craft Festival, at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds at 162 Prospect St., Ballston Spa, N.Y., will kick off the summer festival season in the Capital Region. The festival will begin with launching of balloons in the early mornings and at 6 p.m.

On Friday the gates open at noon and Saturday at 10 a.m., and will close after the Glow each evening, about 10 p.m. Sunday’s hours are 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

A Balloon Glow lights up the early evening

There will be a balloon Glow on both Friday and Saturday evenings at dusk. The event also includes a juried craft show to create an activity filled day. The public can meet and talk with the artisans at their booths. Handcrafted items for sale include: blown glass, pottery, stained glass, furniture, graphics, painting, leather, metal, wood, jewelry and among other items. There will be demonstrations in glass blowing, pottery, blacksmithing and 
a pavilion for specialty food products including wineries and distillers.

There will be plenty of kids events and adults events.

Adult admission is $10 and kids are $5. Purchasing advance tickets is recommended as the Glow usually sells out. Tickets and more information are available on the website www.balloonandcraft.com or by calling 518-798-0858.