Frontier Community Access Television offering new open house hours

SUNDERLAND — Frontier Community Access Television (FCAT) will host open hours for drop-in video editing help each Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Residents of the four south Franklin County towns — Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately — are encouraged to stop by FCAT’s office on the second floor of the Sunderland Town Offices, 12 School St., with ideas for video projects, regardless of where they are in the process. Trained professionals will guide people through using Adobe Premier Pro.

Projects can include short films submitted to festivals, cooking shows, how-to videos, travel vlogs, short-form video content or any sort of video project. All productions made in FCAT’s open hours must be able to be broadcast on the organization’s cable channel and must follow copyright restrictions.

Mount Toby Concerts hosting John Sheldon on April 19

LEVERETT — Mount Toby Concerts is welcoming longtime singer-songwriter John Sheldon on April 19 at 7 p.m.

Sheldon, who is in his 50th year of performing music, has accumulated a wide range of musical experience throughout his life, including serving as the lead guitarist for Van Morrison, songwriting for James Taylor, as well as touring with Linda Ronstadt and Taylor.

“My view of music has changed. It is not just entertainment anymore, but a way to connect to the energies of spirit and to invite them to our presence. I used to think I was playing music to get somewhere, but it turned out it was really a journey of healing myself,” Sheldon stated in a news release. “I now commit every note I play and every store I tell as a prayer and dedication to this beautiful, sentient planet we live on.” 

A suggested donation of $15 to $25 is requested. To reserve tickets, call Diane at 413-835-1695 or email diacrowe@yahoo.com.

Bridges of Franklin County presentation to be held on April 24

WHATELY – The Whately Historical Society is presenting “Bridges of Franklin County,” a presentation on the region’s wide variety of bridges by Whately resident Stephen Mikesell.

Mikesell will talk about 20 historically significant 19th- and 20th-century bridges in Franklin County, including covered bridges, technologically rare bridges, industrial bridges and bridges built after the disastrous flood of 1936.

The event is free and open to the public. It will begin at 7 p.m.

Leverett Earth Day clean-up event set for April 26

LEVERETT – The fifth annual Leverett Earth Day clean-up event is slated for Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as residents are invited to join their neighbors in ensuring Leverett is clean and sparkling.

The event is sponsored by the Leverett Community Builders and participants can bring trash or recyclables to the Transfer Station for no charge. A Leverett Co-op gift card will be awarded to whoever collects the most trash. The Highway Department will pick up large items left on the side of the road on the following Monday if they arrange pick up by emailing highway@leverett.ma.us.

Participants can choose an area to clean up by visiting bit.ly/LeverettCleanup.

Leverett Democratic Party hosting caucus on April 26

LEVERETT – The Leverett Democratic Party town committee will caucus on April 26 in the community room of the Leverett Public Library, 75 Montague Road, with a virtual option available at bit.ly/levdems-caucus-zoom.

Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Leverett 16 years old by Saturday, March 29, may vote and be elected as delegates or alternates during the caucus. Youth (age 16 to 35), people with disabilities, people of color, veterans and members of the LGBTQ community not elected as delegates or alternates are encouraged to apply to be add-on delegates at the caucus or by visiting massdems.org/massdems-convention. The 2025 convention will be in person at the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Sept. 13.

The Leverett town committee chairperson, Tim Shores, can be reached at timothylshores@gmail.com. The caucus begins with registration at 12:45 p.m., kicks off at 1:15 and will end at 2:30 p.m.

Schoen Books hosting annual charity book sale May 4 from 10 a.m. to noon

SOUTH DEERFIELD – Schoen Books owner Ken Schoen is hosting his annual charity book sale on Sunday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to noon at his store at 7 Sugarloaf St. in South Deerfield.

Schoen said there will be hundreds of books available for sale, with proceeds going to area shelters, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts and the International Rescue Committee. The rain date is May 11.

For more information, visit schoenbooks.com.