FERRISBURGH — The Bixby Library — online at bixbylibrary.org — offers summer children’s story hours at the Vergennes Farmers Market and the famous Book Sales every Saturday.
The “King Pede” card party as held by the Ferrisburgh Grange is scheduled for this Saturday, July 21. 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.
The Ferrisburgh Historical Society has had a successful season of events that promote our understanding and appreciation of our local and state history. The FHS leadership thanks the many community members who have made this season a success. Most recently, the FHS thanks the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and the Basin Harbor Club for arranging a wonderful cruise of Lake Champlain for their June event. Mark you calendar now for the first event of the fall taking place on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 3 p.m. Judy Chaves, long time North Ferrisburgh resident, historian and naturalist, will present on her newly released guidebook about the history of Mt. Philo. Chaves’ book and presentation will describe the history of such events as the mid-1800s deforestation and the rise of “sheep fever,” the rise of tourism and nature conservation, and will include maps, photographs, and even a bit of poetry. Contact Gail Blasius for more information on this event and also consider joining the FHS: [email protected].
The Rokeby Museum on Route 7 is hosting a workshop on Natural Basketry on Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Willow, ash and oak are the common eastern U.S. materials for making traditional baskets, and in each case, there is a considerable amount of work in preparing the materials for weaving. However, there are ways to use these and other wild materials in their fresh, raw state. Join Catherine Brooks, Rokeby Museum director and a recognized expert on basketry, to forage materials in the Rokeby woods and weave them into a simple melon basket that you’ll take home the same day. After this, you’ll be able to make more baskets on your own. Participants will need to bring simple household tools and wear protective clothing. For more information and to register, email [email protected]. There is a fee of $60 per person.
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is participating in the commemoration of a historic event all this summer and fall. In 1868 the Flint Glass Works made a daring business decision to relocate from Brooklyn to Corning, N.Y. The factory was dismantled and packed onto canal boats to make the journey. Since that fateful decision 150 years ago, Corning’s innovations have come to include the glass for Edison’s incandescent lamp, the first televisions, spacecraft, telescopes, fiber optics and today’s smartphone Gorilla glass. To commemorate this anniversary of this move, three museums — the Corning Museum of Glass, New York City South Street Seaport and Lake Champlain Maritime Museum — will retrace this original journey. The “GlassBarge Flotilla” is made up of Corning’s mobile glassworks GlassBarge, as pushed by South Street’s historic wooden tugboat W.O. Decker and will be accompanied by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s 1862 replica canal schooner Lois McClure and tug C.L. Churchill.
Beginning in Brooklyn in May, the site from which the original Flint Glass Works departed 150 years ago, these vessels are journeying north along the Hudson, to enter the Erie Canal near Albany and then to travel west to Buffalo before returning to the Finger Lakes region in September for a final celebration in Corning, N.Y. The Lois McClure will make a triumphant appearance back in Vermont at the end of her journey on the weekend of Oct. 6-7. Follow along the route of these vessels at the LCMM blog and website —glassbargetour.lcmm.org/visit-follow — or organize your vacation plans so you can visit the flotilla in person as it stops at the many ports of call on its journey to Corning.
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.