The Weekend Classifieds

50 Family Tag Sale Saturday!

The ARHS Girls Ultimate team is holding a massive 50+ Family Tag Sale this Saturday May 16th from 8am-1pm at 86 High Street in Amherst.
Toys, books, tools, linens, clothes, furniture, lamps, antiques, jewelry, shoes, kids stuff, and lots more! The sale will benefit the ARHS Girls Ultimate Program which is currently the #3 ranked high school team in the United States.


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Join Us for a Family Fun Night (Pasta Dinner, Tag Sale, Children's Concert, & More!)

Amherst Family Center Fundraiser
Friday, May 15th (5:30pm-7:30pm)

Location: Immanuel Lutheran Church

Suggested Donation: $10 for families of 3 or more
$6 for familes of 2 or fewer

*All proceeds to benefit the Amherst Family Center, a free drop-in community center for parents and caregivers of children, from birth to age 5.

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The Town of Amherst Department of Public Health - Film and Discussion

As part of its work on Social Justice and Health Equity, The Town of Amherst and the
The Town of Amherst Department of Public Health is extending a special invitation to: Town Meeting members, Select Board, Amherst Residents and all interested people to a free screening and discussion of:

UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
Date: 19 May 2009
Time: 5:00—7:00
Place: Amherst Cinema

The screening will include a forum—Implications of inequality and health for the Amherst community: A dialogue among participants—facilitated by Dr. Barbara J. Love and introductions by Amherst Public Health Director, Epi Bodhi.

Light refreshments, provided by the Amherst Public Health Department will be served on site prior to the screening. The Screening will be followed by a reception at Amherst Coffee

For more information, please visit our blog amhersthealth.blogspot.com/ .

Our thanks to Amherst Cinema and Amherst Coffee for your community support
This program is offered in cooperation with the Northampton Health Department which will be hosting a similar event in June.

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Multi-Arts Workshop
Saturday May 23 11:00 a.m. Jones Public Library, Amherst

This program is sponsored in part by a grant from AMHERST CULTURAL COUNCIL

Disaster awaits! Your mother-in-law calls and says she's moving in for a month...

"Broken Hips" Written by Amherst local Savannah Stutie

Come and watch this hilarious one-act play performed by young Amherst actors. Afterwards, Multi-Arts drama teacher Ilana Meredith will lead children through a short storymaking workshop.

For children ages 6-12.

contact: Catalina Arrubla
413-584-7951
carrubla@gmail.com

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First Annual Fort River Festival on May 30th

The Rushing Rivers Institute, along with several sponsors, is proud to present the First Annual Fort River Festival on May 30th, 2009. Bring your family and friends to a celebration of the longest free-flowing tributary of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts, the Fort River.

A canoe trip down the River (first 50 guests ONLY), starting at Kiwanis Park (Stanley St.) and ending at Groff Park in Amherst, will kick off the event at 10 am. The canoe ride will be followed, at noon, by live music, educational displays and hands-on fun with common river species such as Lamprey, river Eels, Mussels, and Bugs in Groff Park. All are encouraged to bring their own picnic lunch and dessert will be provided. The event will finish off with a Rubber Ducky Derby and the presentation of the Fort River Hero Award. All events are free to the public. Though some canoes will be provided, bringing your own canoe or kayak is certainly encouraged. A "buck a duck" donation is requested for Rubber Duck Derby participants, with all proceeds going towards instrumentation for further river science studies.

As this is an environmental event, we hope that all attendees will be mindful of their picnic waste, and will leave only footprints in the park. Thank you, and we hope to see you there!

For more details including directions and maps, please visit www.fortriverfestival.com or contact Katerina Korolov at Katerina@Korolov.com

Event co-sponsors include Amherst 250, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, BK Riverfish, The Common School, Hadley 350, Hitchcock Center, Kestrel Trust, Ocean River Institute, Rushing Rivers Institute, Town of Amherst, Valley Advocate and WMECO. The Fort River Festival is currently the only environmentally themed event scheduled in the town of Amherst. Families and conscientious or simply curious individuals of all ages are welcome to join Rushing Rivers on their quest to take a closer look and to enjoy the invaluable resource that is the Fort River.

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Amherst Travel Soccer Sign-Ups

Does your child want to play travel soccer for Amherst in the next school year? If so, you need to preregister your child by May 30th for the tryouts which are held in June.

There are boys teams and girls teams for rising 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.
Tryouts for the Amherst Travel Soccer teams will be held between May 31 and June 17. Mandatory pre-registration forms are due May 30th.

The pre-registration forms, the tryout schedule, and more detailed information about Amherst Travel Soccer can be found on the Amherst Youth Soccer Association website http://www.amherstsoccer.org/

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Wildwood Dad Photographer Steven Vote Has First Book Published: Autism & Me

As I’m sure you know, it’s hard to find a community most anywhere in the world untouched by autism. Here in the US, latest estimates state 1 in 150 kids has autism. My partner, Ouisie Shapiro, wrote the words and conducted interviews that form the basis of the book’s essays; kids share their experiences of living with an autistic brother or sister and reveal the ways in which having a developmentally challenged sibling affects their lives. And I took the photographs of course.

With so much of the focus on prevention, diagnosis and treatment, we thought it would be worthwhile to explore autism through the perspective of typically developing siblings. Ouisie and I have left the experts out of this discussion in order to hear only from the siblings. As a result, their comments are unfiltered and refreshingly candid. Through the images in the book, we've tried to capture the essence of the sibling relationships in pictures as well as words. The book is getting some wonderful reviews but I am hoping to build a grass-roots interest in it from anyone who is affected by this condition or works with children (typical or autistic). Please check it out on amazon.com.

thanks,
Steven Vote