Community News For The Farmington Valley Edition – Hartford Courant

Avon — SIMSBURY – Create your own life size scarecrow at the Simsbury Historical Society’s annual Scarecrow Day, taking place Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 800 Hopmeadow St. The rain date is Sept. 25.
This event is for all age groups. At the Hopmeadow Street campus entrance, purchase a scarecrow frame for $20. Choose from mountains of clothing and accessories to dress your scarecrow. Visit https://simsburyhistory.org/ for more information.
SIMSBURY – The 26th annual Simsbury River Run will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center on Iron Horse Blvd, featuring a 5k run and walk, 10k run, and one-mile kids’ run, plus a post-race celebration. The event is a fundraiser for the Simsbury-Granby Rotary Club.
These 5k and 10k road races highlight views of the Farmington River, historic home sites, local farms, and the Farmington Valley Greenway Trail.
Gold-level sponsors include Connecticut Wealth Management, Mitchell Auto Group, Northwest Community Bank, and Horizon Technical Finance.
This course is very flat, where PRs are possible; however, you don’t need to be a world-class athlete to participate. All abilities are welcomed. Visit SimsburyRiverRun.com for more info or to pre-register.
SIMSBURY – The Metacomet Post 1926, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Simsbury, will commemorate the national POW/MIA weekend with an information table outside Tractor Supply, 1603 Hopmeadow St., on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 16, 17 and 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any donations received will benefit the VFW Veterans Military Support (VMS) Services program.
National POW/MIA recognition weekend honors the commitments and sacrifices made by the nation’s prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is devoted to achieving the fullest possible accounting of all missing American military service members from all wars. In recent years several government and non government agencies, working together and using DNA, have been successful in identifying remains as old as from WWII to present day. The flying of the POW/MIA flag serves as a symbol of the nation’s concern to this continued cause.
Military veterans of the Simsbury Post will be distributing small POW/MIA flags, stickers and buttons as well as flyers from the POW/MIA National Memorial and Museum located in Jacksonville, Fla. To make a mail in donation, checks can be made out to Simsbury VFW Post 1926 and mailed to: P.O. Box 211, Simsbury, CT 06070. Note in the memo line: POW/MIA VMS donation.
SIMSBURY – Reduce stress and anxiety through Preksha Therapy from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 17 and 18, at the Simsbury Grange, 236 Farms Village Road. Bring a yoga mat. Cost is $10 for both days. Text Cyndi Fridlich at 860-308-4917 for more information.
SIMSBURY – The Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., presents the following events. Visit https://www.simsburylibrary.info/ or call 860-658-7663, ext. 2, for more info or to register. Registration is required for all events, unless otherwise noted.
Yoga on the Lawn will take place Friday, Sept. 16, from 9 to 10 a.m. Enjoy a relaxed morning of yoga on the library’s front lawn with Simsbury’s own Journey of Yoga. Yoga will move indoors in the event of inclement weather. BYO yoga mat. Participants must complete a waiver prior to class.
Secrets to Good Health and Great Skin with Dr. Margaret Bason will take place Sunday, Sept. 18, from 2 to 3 p.m. Learn about the latest technological advances in skin care and skin cancer prevention. Dr. Bason will also be taking questions from the audience about their concerns.
An AARP Safe Driving Course will take place Monday, Sept. 19, from 1 to 5 p.m. Drivers ages 50+ will learn the current rules of the road, defensive driving techniques and how to operate your vehicle more safely in today’s increasingly challenging driving environment. The cost is $20 for members or $25 for non-members paid to AARP on the day of the program.
A virtual event, Child of the Holocaust with Dr. William Reszelbach, will take place Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 7 to 8 p.m. Join Dr. Reszelbach, a child of Holocaust survivors, as he shares his family’s harrowing experiences at the hands of the Nazis, coupled with Holocaust history. Dr. Reszelbach will discuss his parents’ will to survive and how these traumatic events affected their new life in the USA, as well as his own life and perspective on modern-day anti-Semitism. Registration is required. Zoom links will be emailed before the event.
The Simsbury Land Trust Tree Talk and Walk will take place Thursday, Sept. 22, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Connor Hogan of McLean Game Refuge will discuss the future of old forests around Connecticut. Following a talk in the Friends’ Room, join Hogan for a walk to explain the old forest dynamics at play in Belden Forest behind the library. If you plan on joining the walk into Belden Forest, wear appropriate footwear.
COLLINSVILLE – On Sept. 15 and 16, the Farmington Valley Stage Company will honor the legacy of the late longtime Collinsville resident and Canton Poet Laureate, David K. Leff, with a special showing of the film of his play, Two Villages.
Told through the voices of real residents and factory workers from the 19th and 20th centuries, Two Villages follows the Collins Company’s 140-year journey from it’s beginning in 1826 as a local ax maker through its rise to the premiere edge-tool manufacturer in the world, ending with its decline and eventual closing in the 1960s.
The video was filmed in 2020 at the Canton Historical Museum in Collinsville and premiered in the fall of 2020.
Leff was a beloved character who explored the towns, backroads, and waterways of Connecticut, dedicated to his passion of “deep travel” and always searching for the “last undiscovered place”. His adventures – and misadventures – are chronicled in numerous books and poems. His fascination with the relationship between New England’s history and its natural environment is clearly expressed in his book, The Last Undiscovered Place, a true love letter to his hometown of Collinsville.
Honor Leff’s legacy and hear his message: Wherever you are, whatever place you inhabit, look closer. See deeper. Treasure what you find. And remember, there will always be a last undiscovered place.
The video will be presented on Thursday, Sept. 15, and Friday, Sept. 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Canton Community Center, 40 Dyer Ave. Admission is free, but reservations are required. Contact the Canton Public Library, www.cantonpubliclibrary.org or call 860-693-5800 to reserve a spot.
AVON – The Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, invites the public to the grand opening of the new Memory Care Collection. For more information, call 860-673-9712.
Drop in anytime between 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, to learn about the new community resource. Check out books, magazines, DVDs, videos, and activity kits specifically for people with memory loss, their caregivers, and anyone who is interested in memory care issues. Pick up helpful information from the resource table. Find out about upcoming memory care programs. Talk to the librarians. Have a snack. Choose a free sensory item to take home. Meet members of the Friends of Avon Library who made it all possible.
Meditation in Current Times will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. Learn a simple time-tested meditation technique. There will even be a short meditation sitting. The presenter is Bruce Faithwick.
The Avon Land Trust is holding a fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 15, at Puerto Vallarta Restaurant, 15 W. Avon Road. At lunch, dinner or takeout, mention to your server that you support the Avon Land Trust, and a donation will be made. Visit http://avonlandtrust.org/ for more information.
AVON – Understanding Dementia will take place 2 to 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Memorial United Methodist Church, 867 West Avon Road. Esther Pearl from the Connecticut Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association will share information and provide handouts to help us better understand Alzheimer’s. There will also be a question and answer session, followed by light refreshments. Visit avonunitedmethodist.com or call 800-272-3900 to register.
Copyright © 2022, Hartford Courant
Copyright © 2022, Hartford Courant

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