Compiled by Debra Scherban. Please send items to dscherban@gazettenet.com.
The Second Annual Meghan’s Light 5K Road Race and Family Fun Walk will be held at Look Park in Florence Saturday.
Its purpose is to raise money for cystic fibrosis research and a scholarship for Elm College students.
The event is being held in honor of Hadley native Meghan Hukowicz Zoll, an Elms College graduate, who died of cystic fibrosis two years ago at age 39.
Participants may register ahead of time at www.meghanslight.com.
The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Dow Pavilion with check in for both those who have pre-registered and those registering that day. The race and walk will start at 11 a.m.
Children ages 2 through 10 can participate in kids’ fun runs, and all children ages 12 and under can participate in the walk for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Hukowicz Zoll, who was married to Frank Zoll, was the daughter of Elizabeth Teahan Hukowicz and Ed Hukowicz. She had a son, Brady.
Known for her infectious laugh, and a playful sense of humor, she inspired family and friends by her courage, strength and determination in the face of her debilitating disease. She lived an active lifestyle that included travel and outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and sailing.
As a continuing tribute to Hukowicz Zoll, the race/walk will benefit Boston Children’s Hospital’s Cystic Fibrosis Discovery Fund. The event also will raise funds for an endowed scholarship for need-based students at Elms College.
The inaugural Meghan’s Light 5K/Family Fun Walk, held last year, raised over $37,000.
For more information, contact Diane Kieras-Ciolkos at 582-0665 or via email at meghanslight@gmail.com.
The practitioners of Essential Energy Therapy Associates, other holistic businesses at Easthampton Professional Building and their friends will hold a healing arts festival Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, at 384 Main St., Easthampton.
Over 20 healers and artists will be represented. Homemade bath and body products, jewelry, essential oils, sound healing, Integrated Energy Therapy, crystal bowl meditations, chair massage, reiki, aromatouch, channeled energy readings, Shamanic Energy Healing, a children’s art tent, a stilt dancer, New Moon Meditations, and a drum circle are among the offerings. A variety of healers will be providing mini-introductory sessions.
Admission is free.
Holyoke Community College will offer a free screening of the Frontline documentary “Chasing Heroin: Investigating an American Crisis” Oct. 5, at 11 a.m. in the Leslie Phillips Theater in HCC’s Fine and Performing Arts Building.
The screening is open to the public.
America’s heroin crisis has been called the worst drug epidemic in U.S history, with more than 27,000 prescription and heroin overdose deaths each year.
“Chasing Heroin” tells the story of individual addicts and examines the social context and the role that big pharmacology contributed to the epidemic’s growth. The documentary also offers a fresh perspective as it explores what happens when addiction is treated as a public health issue and not a crime.
Following the film, Liz Whynott from Tapestry Health’s Harm Reduction Program will speak briefly and answer questions. Whynott oversees the syringe access programs in Holyoke and Northampton as well as Tapestry Health’s harm reduction efforts in Franklin and Berkshire County.
See the trailer on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClluAkOAZ1Q
For more information, please contact Mimsy O’Connor, HCC Wellness Promotion coordinator at moconnor@hcc.edu or 552-2422.