AMHERST — Race Amity Day, an event created to celebrate the oneness of the human family, will be held Sunday afternoon.
The Amherst Race Amity Day Committee is sponsoring the event, which will run from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Cadigan Center, 38 Woodside Ave.
“The program will open with a prayer for unity and then a welcome,” said Ray Elliott, a World War II veteran and the founder of Citizens for Racial Amity Now.
Elliot said he will then do an introduction and read the town proclamation adopted by the Select Board. Race Amity Day is held on the second Sunday in June annually.
University of Massachusetts professors Ash Hartwell and Amilcar Shabazz will then speak, followed by a celebration with song and music by a DJ. Refreshments and fellowship conclude the event.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman will continue his periodic coffee events, known as “Cuppa Joe with Paul” June 16 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Bread and Butter restaurant, 68 Cowls Road, in the Mill District in North Amherst.
Bockelman will be joined by Planning Director Christine Brestrup.
Anyone is welcome to drop in to offer comments, raise concerns and bring compliments.
An Amherst pizza shop will pay tribute to late Amherst blogger and Town Meeting member Larry Kelley with a display of his photos on Flag Day.
“Honoring Larry: A Photo Showcase,” featuring eight of Kelley’s photos, begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Sunset Grill and Pizza, 150 Fearing St.
Kelley used an aerial drone to capture images of Amherst, including one of the tower dormitories on the UMass campus near the restaurant that Sunset owner Rebecca Casagrande has used on its Facebook page.
The event is timed to the day in which the flag is celebrated. Kelley long championed the display of the American flag in Amherst, including commemorative flags for the anniversary of Sept. 11.
An Amherst nonprofit that provides goods and services to children in foster care has earned a statewide award.
HelpOurKids recently got the Commissioner’s Community Leadership Award from the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
The award recognizes the organization’s “extraordinary efforts and dedication in helping us in our mission to ensure children in the commonwealth are able to grow and thrive in a safe and nurturing environment.”
“We strive to make the kids in care feel more like their peers than unlike, and we encourage the surrounding community to get involved in any way that they can,” said Noryn Resnick, founder and Executive Director of HelpOurKids, in a statement.
HelpOurKids began in 2012. Its signature event is Fitting for the Future, when children can shop for special event clothing and accessories at no cost to them or their foster parents.
Five Amherst committees are in need of new members.
Anyone interested in serving on the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust, Agricultural Commission, Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee, Recycling and Refuse Management Committee and the Amherst Public Shade Tree should fill out citizen activity forms, available on the town website and at Town Hall.
Appointments will be made after forms are filled out.
State Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose will hold office hours in Amherst, Pelham and Granby four times in June.
On Monday from 11 a.m. to noon, Goldstein-Rose will be at the Granby Senior Center, and then from 6 to 7 p.m. that day he will be at the Pelham Library.
Office hours will be held in Amherst June 19 from 8 to 9 a.m. at AmherstWorks and June 26 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Bangs Community Center.
MONDAY: Recycling and Refuse Management Committee, 3 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Dog Park Task Force, 7 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
TUESDAY: Public Shade Tree Committee, 4 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall, with public hearing on removal of red maple tree on University Drive at 6 p.m.; Charter Commission feedback session, 6 p.m., Woodbury Room, Jones Library.
WEDNESDAY: Amherst School Committee, 6 p.m., high school library.