Plainfield Events

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Join Artist Berkley Heath for an afternoon of indigo dyeing! She will be demonstrating dyeing in her indigo vat and participants will be able to dye small samples of cotton fabric, and have the opportunity to bring an item from home to dye (note that this material needs to be clean and natural fiber--cotton, linen, wool, etc). Bring an old cotton T-shirt and dye it blue with natural indigo!

Indigo is a dye found in many different species of plants that grow all over the world. Indigo is the only traditional true blue dye, and humans have been using it to dye fiber and cloth various shades of blue for thousands of years (the oldest indigo-dyed fragment is over 6,000 years old and found in Peru). Japanese indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) is the species best-suited to growing in our climate in New England, and Berkley grows hundreds of indigo plants each year right here in Claremont. Come learn more about this fascinating natural color!

10/13 at 6 PM presenting "Six Pillars of Brain Health" at the Philip Read Memorial Library. 

Event Title: The Six Pillars of Brain Health

Description:
Ready to give your brain a boost? Join AARP for a lively, interactive session designed to sharpen your mind and elevate your well-being. Discover the six key lifestyle habits that science shows can support cognitive health:

• Nourishing your brain with a healthy diet
• Managing stress effectively
• Getting restorative, quality sleep
• Staying physically active
• Engaging your brain through learning and curiosity
• Fostering strong social connections

Whether you're looking to improve memory, spark creativity, or simply maintain a healthy mind, this session offers practical tips, inspiring insights, and real-world strategies you can start using right away. 

Why Attend:

• Free registration — no AARP membership required
• Learn actionable steps for a sharper, more resilient brain
• Connect with a community passionate about lifelong learning and wellness

October 15, 2025

Billy Sharff is an author who writes picture books and poems for kids of all ages. He is the author of When Santa Came to Stay, illustrated by Eda Kaban (Penguin Dial, 2022), Joan in the Cone, illustrated by Hala Tahboub (Penguin Dial, 2025), and Robot’s First Snow, illustrated by Hannah Abbo (Sourcebooks, 2025), as well as a yet-to-be-announced picture book with Penguin Dial. He received a commendation for the Caterpillar Poetry Prize in 2019.​

Billy lives in the woods of New Hampshire with his wife and two children. He works in close collaboration with his brother, Aaron Sharff. When he’s not writing, he makes movies, writes songs, and visits every bookstore he can find. 

October 23, 2025: 6:00 at Philip Read Memorial Library: 

Jeff Friedman & Brinda Charry

Jeff Friedman is a poet, micro story writer, and translator based in New Hampshire. He is the author of eleven collections of poetry and prose, including Ashes in Paradise and The Marksman. His work has appeared in leading journals such as American Poetry Review, Poetry, and The New Republic, and has been widely anthologized. Known for his wit, emotional depth, and surreal imagery, Friedman’s writing often blurs the line between dream and reality. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, and his translations from Hebrew and Polish have expanded his reach as an international literary voice.

Brinda Charry is a novelist, short story writer, and scholar of Elizabethan literature. Her acclaimed debut novel, The East Indian, is inspired by the true story of the first documented Indian in colonial Virginia. Richly imagined and historically grounded, the novel explores identity, displacement, and belonging in early America. Charry brings deep literary insight and lyrical storytelling to her fiction, shaped by her background in both creative writing and early modern studies.

WINNER OF THE 2025 SOCIETY OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS PRIZE (JAMES FENIMORE COOPER PRIZE) FOR HISTORICAL FICTION

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BARNES AND NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE, THE CROSSWORD FICTION PRIZE.

LONGLISTED FOR THE MARK TWAIN VOICE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE PRIZE, THE JCB PRIZE.

6:30 pm

11/17 6 pm

Plainfield Democratic Committee Meeting

1/20/26 - 6 pm