Wednesday, May 1, Commodore Parent Teacher Group, VUHS Library, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 3, Bixby First Friday Movie, Community Room, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 4, Green Up Day, Ferrisburgh.
Monday, May 6, PTO Meeting, FCS, 6:15 p.m. 
Tuesdays, May 7 and 21,  Ferrisburgh Town Selectboard meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8, Blood Drive Ferrisburgh Town Offices, 1-6 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12, Papermaking workshops, Rokeby.
Saturdays, May 11 and 25,  Ferrisburgh Grange King Pede card parties, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19, Rokeby Opening and Contemporary Art Exhibit.
Sunday, May 19, Ferrisburgh Historical Society tour of John Strong Mansion, 1:30 p.m. 
Wednesday, May 22, Underclass Awards Ceremony, VUHS Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. 
Thursday, May 23, Kindergarten Parent Night, FCS, 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 23, Rising 7th Grade Parent Night, VUHS Library 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 23, Charlie Nardozzi and Summer Gardening, Bixby, 6-7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 25: Opening Day, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Saturday, May 25, Essex Junction Memorial Day Parade, area school bands will participate.
Monday, May 27, Vergennes Memorial Day Parade, area school bands will participate
Wednesday, May 29: Music of Stephen Foster, 5-6 Grade, FCS 6 p.m. 
Thursday, May 30, Grades 7-12 Instrumental Pops Concert, VUHS Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Monday, June 3, Burlington Jazz Festival, Commodore Jazz Band, Upper Church St., 3:45 p.m.
Wednesday, June 5, Grades 7-12 Vocal Pops Concert, VUHS Auditorium, 7 p.m.
 
FERRISBURGH — The Blood Drive is coming in May. The next Blood Drive for Ferrisburgh will be on Wednesday, May 8, 1-6 p.m., at the town offices. Make some time in your busy schedule to stop by and donate blood — the supplies always need replenishing and this is such a simple act that supports our community. Walk ins are welcome or for an appoint call 1-800-RED CROSS (800) 733-2767 or go online to redcrossblood.org.
The Vermont Daughters of the American Revolution have invited the Ferrisburgh community for a private tour of the 200 year old home of a Revolutionary War General. The John Strong Mansion tour will take place on Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m. Meet at the FHS Center Schoolhouse to join the car pools leaving at 1:30 p.m. Experience one of Vermont’s most important 18th century homes and a masterpiece of Federal architecture. The tour will include period room displays and stories of a Colonial family’s life in the northern wilderness. For more information, call Gail at 802-425-4505.
The Ferrisburgh Grange “King Pede” card parties are scheduled for the Saturdays of May 11 and 25. The community is invited to enjoy these get togethers, held at the Ferrisburgh Town Hall and Community Center. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with a sandwich supper and then on to the games. King Pede is a unique game that involves “trick-taking” techniques such as in Hearts and Spades or Pitch. It’s a game of fun and skill so come prepared to use your strategic thinking.
Contemporary Art at Rokeby Museum, beginning in May, is a series of events produced in collaboration with Kasini House. This is an ambitious two-year project designed to engage artists and the public with Rokeby Museum archives, objects, buildings, and land. Project activities will demonstrate how contemporary art can pick up the unfinished work of history and foster civic engagement in social, economic, and environmental justice issues.
Contemporary Art at Rokeby Museum will present two exhibitions, introduce an artist membership program, conduct a symposium about the relationship between art and history, and host an artist lab designed to support the development of an artist’s practice. Collaborator Kasini House is a contemporary art production company that operates out of Burlington and Montréal.
“Rokeby Through the Lens,” the first of the contemporary art exhibits, will be held May 19-June 16. The writers and artists among Rokeby’s Robinson family were keen observers of the land. This attention to detail comes through in Rachael Robinson’s artwork and Rowland Evans Robinson’s drawings and published writings. Today, more than any time in history, photography shapes how we see the world. In the hands of these contemporary photographs, the camera is used to slow down our fast-paced media streams. By creating complex photographs, they afford the viewer an opportunity to reflect and consider how to see the world. Among the work on view will be a thirty-foot photograph of Rokeby by Stephen Schaub that exemplifies how contemporary artists can draw out new views and perspectives.
Paper Making with a Purpose is a special offering at Rokeby in May. Workshops will demonstrate the process of papermaking and letterpress printing. Paper will be made with cast off clothing and fibers and participants will also be able to work with table top printing presses and moveable type similar to 19th century tools. The workshops will be held for students on May 8, 9, and 10. A “drop in” version of the workshops will be held for the general public on May 11 and May 12, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The program is made possible by papermaker John Turner (Wild Roots Farm, Bristol), printer John Vincent (A Revolutionary Press, New Haven) and bookbinder Jane Ploughman (Ploughgirl Press, New Haven).
This year’s Vermont Green-Up Day is Saturday, May 4. Green Up trash bags are now available at the Ferrisburgh Town Clerk’s Office during regular business hours. Bag drop off for filled bags is from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., across from the Town Garage on Little Chicago Road. The site will be monitored during those hours and barricaded before and after drop off hours to prevent unauthorized dumping of trash. For more information, call Ferrisburgh’s Green-Up Coordinator Deb Healey at 475-2944.
Green Up Day provides a simple way for all of us to organize and pick up trash on the roads in our neighborhoods — a great way to celebrate the arrival of Spring. Many thanks to all Ferrisburgh residents for their efforts to keep our town looking tidy and also to Deb Healey for her many years of work to organize our annual Green Up Day.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum will open for the 2019 Season on Saturday, May 25. Visit their website to learn what events and workshops are being offered, such as community rowing, a blacksmith “hammer-in,” and bladesmithing. The museum is offering a wide array of fishing. boating, and rowing camps. In addition, the full museum campus and exhibit building will be open to the public. For more information visit lcmm.org. 
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.