The Merry Maple celebration is Friday, Dec. 5 from 3-6 p.m. on the Town Common. Besides the lighting, the event includes an open house at the Fire Station, crafts with the Jones Library and Recreation Department, horse drawn carriage rides, music by Regional Middle School Chorus, Amherst Community Theater and the UMass Marching Band. It is free.
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Card Days, plural, will be held Dec. 5-7 with businesses offering discounts. Please support our local shops. They are the ones that donate gifts for nonprofit raffles, sponsor sport teams and advertise in arts programs.
Parking is free on Saturdays in December.
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The annual St. Nicholas Bazaar will be held Saturday, Dec. 6 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Grace Church on the Common. The event includes antiques, jewelry, wreaths, white elephant, sports equipment, baked goods, lunch. Admission is free.
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The Sunderland Congregational Church will hold its Gingerbread Fair, Saturday, Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., according to an email from Elaine Fuqua. The event includes crafts, vendors, cookie/bake sale and raffle. Lunch includes a Polish plate, corn chowder and more. Admission is free.
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Arwen King sent an email about an all-ages all-skills level caroling event on Nov. 28 from 3-5 p.m. on the Town Common. Lyrics for the carols will be supplied.
“This event is meant to bring the community together, and I hope that a little bit of Christmas cheer can be brought into people’s lives,” he wrote.
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The Northampton Center for the Arts will hold its annual building-wide Artisan Fair on Saturday, Nov. 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 33 Hawley St., according to an email from Kelly Silliman, NCFA co-director. She wrote that over 60 talented local artists and artisans will participate.
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The Sunderland Congregational Church will hold a Cocoa and Carols Sunday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m., according to an email from Elaine Fuqua. She wrote that the crèche is lit outside on the church grounds.
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Taelore Marsh and Rebecca Fricke will present a talk, “Giving Agency to the Silent” about Black Feminist Activist Irma McClaurin and memory work Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at 108 N. Pleasant St. The meeting is free and open to the public.
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The Amherst Historical Society will open its historic post office window for Letters to Santa. Visit the Amherst History Center on Boltwood Walk Saturday, Nov. 29 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. or the week of Dec. 1 from 1-4 p.m., according to an email from Liz Larson, Society Director. The post box is believed to have served as the post office within the Amherst House Hotel in the late 1800s, she wrote. Letters will be hand delivered to Santa at the lighting of the Merry Maple.
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