Here’s a delicious way to show your support for the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department: Attend the organization’s annual ham supper, to be held on Tuesday, May 7, from 5-8 p.m. at the Waybury Inn. The cost is $15 for adults, $5 for children ages 10 and under, and kids 3 and younger get to eat for free. Take-out will be available at the door. Tickets can be purchased at 7 South Sandwich Company, Champlain Plumbing and Heating, Cole’s Flowers, Goodro Lumber Company, the Waybury Inn and any Middlebury firefighter.
 
Join Homeward Bound for their first-ever “Cat Café” at the Bixby Library in Vergennes on Saturday, May 4. The event will take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Half Round Room. Enjoy refreshments, the company of adoptable shelter cats, and the wonderful ambiance of the Bixby.
 
Drivers passing through Middlebury this Sunday, May 5, should take note of a few brief road closures during the annual Middlebury Maple Run. The race starts at 9 a.m. from the parking lot behind Porter Hospital, and there will be two short-term road closures to make the race safe for the roughly 500 participants. If you’re driving in the area on that day, please comply with the officers, flaggers, and volunteers who will be controlling several intersections along the route. Temporary road closures are: South Street, from Porter Hospital to downtown, will be closed 8:55-9:15 a.m. Then South Street and South Street Extension, from Porter Field Road to the intersection of Morse Road, will be closed 9:45-11:30 a.m. Residents, employees, hospital visitors and emergency vehicles will be permitted to pass. Race and town officials offer thanks for your support.
 
The Town Hall Theater will hold “A Toast to the Arts” on Thursday, May 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It’s a special fundraising celebration during which you can meet some of the best visual artists from our area and have an exclusive opportunity to purchase their works for the benefit of Town Hall Theater. More than two dozen carefully selected paintings, pastels, ceramics, wood and glass sculptures, tapestries, wearable art, basketry, and photography works will be for sale. There will also be a raffle drawing for a custom handcrafted gold and jeweled ring from Raintree in Vergennes. The event will include hors d’oeuvres, libations, and music, and a show preview — open to all — will take place Wednesday, May 8, from noon to 5 p.m. Event tickets are $25 and can be obtained through the THT box office or by phone at 382-9222.
 
The idea of running a series of “pop-up” events to keep Middlebury’s Main Street active is keeping its momentum. “Bundle,” the new pop-up event space at 60 Main St., will be host to a curated secondhand clothing and makers market this Sunday, May 5, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Ten vendors are scheduled to showcase gifts of various sorts, as well as secondhand spring and summer clothing. Vendors include The Waypost, Round Robin, The Good Witch, Buy Again Alley, Breathing In Wellness, Rebecca Freedner Art and Henna, Root Studio, Just Bead Different, Wild Forest Herbals and more.
 
Volunteers have done a great job sprucing up the Starksboro Village Meetinghouse, and there’s another upcoming opportunity to help. On Saturday, May 11, a crew will be needed to make final touch-ups and paint the walls. Please come and help prepare the interior of the community building for the next 50 years of its life. Work will start at 9 a.m. and conclude around 1 p.m. Those not excited about painting can work in the flower beds in front of the building. When painting wraps up, helpers will enjoy a celebratory lunch with grilled burgers, dogs, and beverages provided by the meetinghouse board. Feel free to bring a pot luck item for the grilling.
 
It’s been chilly lately, but here’s a sign of spring: Middlebury College’s Ralph Myhre Golf Course opened for business on Wednesday — at least for those willing to walk the course and not ride golf carts. Officials said the course remains too wet to accommodate carts, and the driving range is also closed for the time being. They’re also asking golfers to cooperate in keeping the course in good condition by avoiding wet spots, filling and replacing all divots, and repairing ball marks. Those interested in a little early golf may book tee times online at ralphmyhre.teesnap.net.