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. Notices must be received by noon on Fridays to be eligible for publication the following week.

Fundraisers

Sept. 10: Writing workshop at Rock Library

Sign up now for Fearless Writing’s Greatest Hits, a three-hour mini-workshop presented by local author Crescent Dragonwagon at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10 at the Rockingham Library at 65 Westminster St., in Bellows Falls.

Dragonwagon’s popular workshop has been abridged for this library fundraising event. The Friends of the Library is asking for a suggested sliding-scale donation of $20 to $125. Pre-registration is required for planning purposes. Deadline for registration is by Friday, Sept. 4.

The workshop will help attendees find their voice, face their fears and learn how to use them. The workshop uses the anxiety generated by chaotic conditions as a creative force. It turns apparent obstacles into the material for writing. Bring a laptop and/or spiral notebook, along with a couple of pens and move back and forth between interactive discussion and writing practices.

At the break, the Friends group will provide soups and muffins, drawn from Dragonwagon’s 2003 James Beard Award winning culinary memoir, Passionate Vegetarian.

For more information or to register, email anne@rockinghamlibrary.org, stop by the library or call 802-463-4270.

Sept. 20: Challenge for community health and wellness

The Edgar May Health and Recreation Center and Springfield Medical Care Systems is sponsoring Run the River Team Challenge Race and Pizza Cook Off to raise funds for support community health and wellness efforts on Sunday, Sept. 20. The event includes a team 5k race with pizza cook-off, live music and local craft beer.

The race begins 11 a.m. at the bike path in Springfield. Teams can be four to eight members, with the first four to cross the finish line counting toward the team score. Both walking and running are encouraged.

Team entry fee is $200, which includes race T-shirts for all members. A deluxe team package for $400 is available until Sept. 1, in which each team member receives a T-shirt plus a pint glass with race logo, six samples of pizza, a free beverage and access to the VIP tent, which includes amenities such as free ice cream and massage.

The Pizza Cook Off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m., with more than a dozen commercial entrants and some home cooks, already signed up.

To enter the race or the pizza cook-off, contact Nicole Tufts at Springfield Hospital by calling 802-885-7362 or ntufts@springfieldmed.org.

Oct. 31: Wilder Library raffle

Wilder Memorial Library will be kicking off a “Fall In Love With Your Library Raffle” fundraiser in September to raise money to support library services and programs.

Prizes include local restaurant and business services gift certificates, paintings, a caned rocking chair, maple syrup, honey products, award-winning preserves, a cord of wood, a custom 18×24 painted portrait—human or pet. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 and can be purchased at Wilder Memorial Library at 24 Lawrence Hill Road, Weston during our regular hours of operation and at the library’s tent at the West River Farmers Market at Vermont Route 100, Londonderry on Saturdays, Sept. 5 and 19.

For a complete list of prizes, visit www.wildermemoriallibrary.org. The raffle is basket-style, so you can choose which prizes you want your tickets to go toward. Winners will be drawn and notified on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31.

Music

Aug. 28: Fryes and a Wilderness Trekkers presentation

Scott and Mona Frye return to Grounded4LIFE, performing at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28. The Fryes will play worship and praise music. Admission is free.

During the same evening, the Wilderness Trekkers will share their recent adventures, bringing the group up-to-date with stories and pictures from their summer trips.

The event will be held at Grounded4Life, a coffee house in the lower level of the Chester Baptist Church, 162 Main St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with food, coffee, fellowship and conversation. For more information visit the Grounded4Life Facebook page or contact John Nunnikhoven at john4ns@fastmail.fm.

Loire, aka Lori Cotler will perform with Glen Velez and Eugene Friesen at Immanuel Episcopal

Aug. 28: ‘Your Rhythm, Your Life’ concert in Bellows Falls

Experience new dimensions of energy in performance with Grammy award-winning drummer Glen Velez, vocalist Loire aka Lori Cotler, and  cellist Eugene Friesen at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28 at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St. in Bellows Falls.

Velez is the founding father of the modern Frame Drum movement. During his career, Velez popularized this ancient drum for the modern world.

Tickets are $17 for adults; $13 for seniors and children under 12 in advance and $20/$15 at the door. Tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers on the Square in Bellows Falls, online at www.stonechurcharts.org or by calling 802-463-3100.

Bob Milne brings back ragtime and boogie at SVAC

Aug. 29: Boogie with Bob Milne at SVAC

The Southern Vermont Arts Center welcomes back ragtime and boogie-woogie pianist Bob Milne for an evening of music Saturday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 p.m. the Arkell Pavilion at 930 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive, Manchester.

Milne has made a name for himself with his infectious energy and wall-to-wall, toe-tapping music. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets can be found through www.svac.org, emailing info@svac.org, or by calling 802-367-1302.

Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson