Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

NorthEast-Millerton Library to hold craft fair

NorthEast-Millerton Library to hold craft fair
Retired shop teacher John Roccanova at work in his shop, where he creates a wide variety of wood items of all sizes including bowls and toys, which will be available at the Saturday, Oct. 7 craft fair at the NorthEast-Millerton Library. The majority of his projects will be sold at the Irondale Schoolhouse in November to raise funds to support education programs in Kenya. 
Photo by Jean Roccanova

MILLERTON — Shoppers will have an opportunity to find some special treasures at the 12th annual craft fair on the lawn of the NorthEast- Millerton Library 75 Main St., on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

All items have been handcrafted and donated by local artisans with proceeds going to support the library’s general fund. Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said: “We are fortunate to be supported through tax revenue, but we do have a deficit at the end of each year. The craft fair is one way we are able to fill the gap and provide services.”

While sending appreciation to all contributors, Leo-Jameson gave a special nod to perennial contributor Carol Loper, who has donated hundreds of knit and crochet items over the years.

This year, her contributions have again led the way, with yarn crafters offering everything from hand-worked warm head gear, mittens and sweaters to blankets, toys and gifts for pets.

Decorations for the upcoming holiday season add variety, with many having been created by members of the senior citizen friendship group, which meets Monday though Thursday at the Annex.

Finely crafted wooden toys and kitchen items from the skilled hands of  retired shop teacher John Roccanova will give a small sneak preview of the wide variety of  items he will be selling at the Irondale Schoolhouse in November. Items sold there will help him and his wife, Jean, continue to also support the needs of school children and other residents through Grow Against Poverty’s Kenya program, which they began aiding years ago.

Homemade jelly will be on sale, and residents are invited to drop off homemade baked goods any time Friday or Saturday morning.

The day will also include the annual all free homemade Cookie Cook-Off competition. Entries should be dropped off  Friday or Saturday starting at 11 a.m. Shoppers  will taste and vote for their favorites between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate from the local merchant of their choice.

A highlight of the sale will be the raffle of items generously donated by Amenia Yoga, Demitasse, Designer Finds, The Farm Store at Willowbrook, Gilded Moon Framing, North Elm Home, Kiki Nail Salon, Oblong Books, Mane Street Salon, Millerton Service Center, Relief Chiropractic Wellness Center, Paley’s Farm Market, T-Shirt Farm, Studio 343, and Tree Fort Toys.

The sale, scheduled for the Memorial Garden in front of the library, will move to the Annex at 28 Century Blvd. in case of rain.

For more information including rules for the Cookie Cook-Off go to nemillertonlibrary.org or call 518-789-3340.

Latest News

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

Left to right: Hannah Wheeler, Matin Malikzada and Yonah Sadeh.

D.H. Callahan

On Monday, Oct. 26, a group of students, teachers and local residents gathered at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville for a screening of the new short documentary “Matin.” The film tells the story of Matin Malikzada, a seventh-generation Afghani potter making a new life in New Milford, Connecticut. The film was made by local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, creator of the Video Wall at the David M. Hunt Library, and Berkshires-based potter Hannah Wheeler, who were both present for the screening, along with Malikzada himself.

As a member of the seventh generation of his family to master the art of pottery, Malikzada had done things the way his family had for over a century. Istalif, the village where his family has lived for generations, was known throughout Afghanistan for its pottery, with wares sent across the country for use as everyday cups, bowls, plates and other vessels. The pottery-making families of Istalif gathered clay from the same mountain, about 30 to 45 minutes away by donkey. Every July, they would head north toward the Uzbekistan border to gather ishkar, a plant they processed by hand to make their signature glazes.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.

L. Tomaino

When Meg Sher came to Falls Village in 2006 from Old Lyme, Connecticut, where she grew up, she never imagined she’d someday be the executive director of the David M. Hunt Library.

Although, in hindsight, perhaps it makes sense.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, conducts the audience at a performance.

Steve Potter

For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.

“Early Music has been my lifelong passion and the focus of my specialization in Europe and South America,” Gevert said. “Bringing this repertoire to our audiences in a nuanced way that does justice to its incredible depth, intensity, and beauty is deeply important to me.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music’s 35th season opens with “Saluting the Clarinet” featuring clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein.

Provided

For 35 years, cellist Yehuda Hanani has been inviting audiences to experience classical music in unexpected ways. As founder and artistic director of Close Encounters with Music, Hanani has built a concert series that goes beyond the music itself, exploring connections to literature, history, politics and the human experience.

This year, Close Encounters celebrates its 35th season with “Celebration & Discovery,” a seven-concert series that opens Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.