Friday, Feb. 2: Friday Night Movies Bixby 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3 and 17: Ferrisburgh Grange King Pede card party 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 5: Ferrisburgh Central School PTO at FCS 6:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 6 and 20: Ferrisburgh Town Selectboard meeting 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 3: Town Meeting at FCS: 10 a.m.
Tuesday, March 6: Voting at Town Hall 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
 
FERRISBURGH — The Ferrisburgh Grange “King Pede” card parties are scheduled for the Saturdays of Feb. 3 and 17. These get-togethers are held at the Ferrisburgh Town Hall and Community Center and begin at 6:30 p.m. with a sandwich supper and then on to an evening of fun and card games. King Pede is an unusual game that involves  “trick-taking” techniques such as in Hearts and Spades or Pitch. This is a game of fun and skill so come prepared to use your strategic thinking.
Tai Chi is now available to Ferrisburgh residents. Beginner and Advanced classes will be offered for residents of the greater Vergennes community at the Parish Hall of the St. Peter’s Church on Maple Street in Vergennes. Classes began in January and will run on Mondays and Wednesday for twelve weeks; advanced sessions meet from 9-10 a.m. and beginner sessions meet from 10:15-11:15 a.m.
Tai Chi is a like a moving meditation that has been shown to improve strength, balance, agility and flexibility. Also, these sessions are a great way to meet your neighbors and have some fun. This program is sponsored by Vermont’s Age Well and is open to all 50 years of age and older. There is no charge but donations are accepted and can be mailed to Age Well, 76 Pearl Street, Suite 201, Essex Junction, VT 05452.
Consider helping out with the Ferrisburgh Central School’s PTO’s activities. The next meeting is Monday, February 5 at 6:15 p.m. at the school. Come with your ideas for  planning the spring events and fundraisers and enjoy the camaraderie with other parents. Childcare is available and new members or visitors always welcome time throughout the year. For more information visit the PTO Facebook page or call FCS at 802-877-3463.
It is wintertime and that means the Ferrisburgh Skating Rink has ice and is ready for skating. All residents are welcome to enjoy this local opportunity to get out, visit with friends, and enjoy the beautiful Vermont winter. There is always work to do to maintain the ice surface, so there are several shovels in the warming hut to clear any snow. Also provided are a few stacked crates for beginning skaters. There is a schedule posted to provide times for Open Skate (i.e. no Stick ‘n Puck.) The skating rink is located next to the Ferrisburgh Central School. For more information contact Martha Davis, [email protected] or visit the Ferrisburgh Skating Rink Facebook page for updates on availability and ice conditions: Facebook/ferrisburghskatingrink.
The Bixby Library has many events for February and throughout the winter months. There are weekly offerings such as writing workshops, the Zig Zag Lit Mag “table reads,” working sessions for painters with an instructor and also the availability of a live model, story hours for preschool children, and the famous Friday Night movies on the first Friday of every month. Please visit the Bixby website for more information and also to sign up for the Bixby Buzz Newsletter at bixbylibrary.org.
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is very excited to offer a winter lake adventure camp for the first time this year. Students will participate in fun activities that will teach about the protection of the environment and preservation of Lake Champlain’s cultural resources. Campers will learn about life in the winter months for the wildlife inhabiting local woods and wetlands. Students will also keep track of the weather and play a variety of winter activities and sports.
LCMM Living Historians will describe how people in the past lived during the long, cold winter months by demonstrating how to build fires and shelter in the wilderness. There will also be indoor crafts and art activities, expanding on what is learned in the outdoors. The camp will be held at the museum, Feb. 19 through Feb. 23, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The registration fee is $250 and a daily shuttle will be available from Vergennes.
Keep in touch with the goings-on at the Ferrisburgh Central School and Vergennes Union Middle/High School. Visit the schools’ websites for lots of great resources and contact information for families and students: vuhs.org and sites.google.com/a/anwsd.org/fcs/. Parents and community members are also encouraged to sign up for the Vergennes Union Middle/High School blog. Subscribing to the blog can be done with an email account to get regular updates and/or follow @VergennesUHS on Twitter (blog posts feed the Twitter account automatically.)
NOTE: We are always interested in including a variety of Ferrisburgh-related news in this column, so if you have news that would be of interest, contact Sally Kerschner at [email protected]. You are able to access these columns and other information about Ferrisburgh news and events by viewing the Ferrisburgh Town Website at ferrisburghvt.org.