GCC event offers quick look at ballot questions
GREENFIELD — Voters can get a rapid-fire rundown of all nine statewide ballot questions at a “speed dating” event Thursday at Greenfield Community College.
“Speed Dating With the MA Ballot Questions,” co-hosted by GCC and the League of Women Voters Franklin County, runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the GCC Library Solarium. Participants will spend about five minutes learning about each question.
The fast-paced format is designed to provide accessible, nonpartisan information about the questions and give participants an opportunity to become more familiar with the issues appearing on the ballot.
The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. RSVPs are requested at gcc.mass.edu/events/speed-date-the-ballot-questions.
Northampton Rec signing up adults for fall programs
NORTHAMPTON — The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is taking registrations for several fall programs for adults 18 and older, including a beginner drawing class that starts Saturday.
Drawing for Beginners meets Saturday afternoons from Oct. 17 to Dec. 19. Evening yoga runs Mondays from Nov. 2 to Dec. 14, and evening knitting runs Wednesdays from Oct. 28 to Dec. 16. Water aerobics is offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and Tuesday and Wednesday late afternoons.
The department also runs weekly walk-in programs:
- Men’s basketball, Thursdays from 6 to 8:45 p.m.
- Women’s basketball, Fridays from 6 to 8:45 p.m.
- Coed volleyball, 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays (advanced and beginner courts) and Wednesdays (advanced)
Registration and details are available at northamptonma.gov/recreation, by calling 413-587-1040, or at the Parks and Recreation office, 100A Bridge Road, Florence.
David Ruggles Center open house to launch exhibit campaign
FLORENCE — The David Ruggles Center for History and Education will preview plans for redesigned museum exhibits at an open house Thursday, Oct. 22, that kicks off a fundraising campaign for the project.
The center received an $87,500 Cultural Facilities Fund capital grant from the Mass Cultural Council to design, build and install new exhibits. The grant must be matched dollar for dollar before work can begin in early 2027.
With help from a city American Rescue Plan Act grant, the center has been working with Michael Hanke of Design Division Inc. on a conceptual design for the museum.
The open house runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the center, 225 Nonotuck St. The Ujima Singers will perform two freedom songs, followed by refreshments and remarks, at 5:30 p.m.
Founded in 2008 and named for the Black abolitionist who lived in Florence in his later years, the center shares the stories of Black and white men and women who worked to abolish slavery and build a more just society. More information is at davidrugglescenter.org.
Big Y drive backs local cancer programs
Several Pioneer Valley organizations will be among the beneficiaries of Big Y’s annual Partners of Hope breast cancer awareness campaign, which runs through Oct. 21.
Customers can buy a $1 Partners of Hope ribbon at checkout at any Big Y location. All proceeds go to 32 breast cancer care and support organizations in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Local recipients this year include Amherst’s Protect Our Breasts Program; Cancer Connection and Cooley Dickinson Hospital Women’s Health Care in Northampton; Holyoke Medical Center Women’s Center and Baystate Health Foundation’s Rays of Hope and Mercy Medical Center’s Mercy Breast Care Center in Springfield
The Springfield-based supermarket chain has raised more than $3 million through the campaign since 2007.