FERRISBURGH — All are invited to join the Addison Northwest Supervisory District Community Engagement Committee for the “Your Voice, Your Schools” event on Monday, Jan. 6, from 7-8 p.m. Attendance is virtual only. All are welcome to share ideas and aspirations for the future of our schools. Learn how the ANWSD Board helps the district set priorities to create a strong and responsible budget for the next year. A budget reflects the local community values, so this is an important opportunity for providing input and participation. There will be small virtual breakout rooms to promote group discussion. The Zoom link at the ANWSD website is at https://www.anwsd.org/ Scroll down the page to find the link.

The first “Your Voice Your Schools” was in-person on Dec. 4. A summary of that meeting’s discussion is at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SJMmE1PfNpCwPZDxrinJfTsoAM_eqMSRvlfSIaavZ-Y/edit?tab=t.0. Learn more about how school budgets are funded in VT by watching this short VT Public video: https://www.anwsd.org/budget2. For more information, email to Kristina MacKulin at [email protected].

Kick off 2025 at The Bixby Library’s Cat Cafe! The Bixby has partnered with Homeward Bound, Addison County’s Humane Society, to bring sweet, adoptable cats to the Bixby on Saturday, January 11. Read, play, and cuddle with the kitties while enjoying light beverages for the humans. This free event has a limited capacity, so please email [email protected] to reserve a 30-minute spot between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tell the Bixby when you are able to visit, and they’ll provide the purrfect companions.

The Friends of the Ferrisburgh Union Meeting Hall invite all of us to take part in the annual Thankful Tree Display at the Union Meeting Hall. Each year, the FUMH gathers messages of thanks from our community members and displays them in a lighted exhibit. This year, a selection of these messages will also be shared each week on social media to highlight just how much there is to be thankful for. The display will be available to the public through Jan. 10. For more information and to submit your message of thanks, visit https://unionmeetinghall.org/programming-and-events.

The Middlebury Community Music Center, in partnership with the Friends of the Union Meeting Hall, announce that registration is open for the nationally recognized Music Together program. Winter classes in Ferrisburgh occur Mondays at 10 a.m. starting Monday, Jan. 6 and continuing through Monday, March 10 at the Ferrisburgh Town Hall. Music Together is for children from birth up to kindergarten and their parents and caregivers. Classes are designed to be mixed ages, participatory, fun, and a wonderful way to provide a rich musical experience for children while opening up a lifetime love of music. A 25% sibling discount and financial aid are available. To register for the winter session, or for information about other classes, visit www.mcmcvt.org/music-together.

Ferrisburgh Grange “King Pede” card parties are scheduled for the Saturdays of Jan. 4 and 18. These get-togethers are held at the Ferrisburgh Town Hall and Community Center and will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a sandwich supper and then on to an evening of fun and games. King Pede is a game that involves “trick-taking” such as in Hearts and Spades or Pitch. This is a game of fun and skill so come prepared to use your strategic thinking.

We are fortunate that Rokeby Museum is again offering its Winter Book Discussion series. These events will be held monthly, January through March, at no charge and will use a virtual format. Registration in advance is required and the participants will receive the virtual link at that time. Attendance at all three discussions is not required to register. The first of these discussions will be on Tuesday, Jan. 31. at 6:30 p.m. The book will be “Vanishing Fleece: Adventures in American Wool” by Clara Parkes. The author, a noted wool and yarn expert, delves into all aspects of producing wool, such as sheep shearing, what goes on in a wool scouring plant, and visiting a Maine dye house. The book to be reviewed on Feb. 18 will be the graphic narrative of “The Life of Frederick Douglass” by David Walker, Damon Smyth, and Marissa Louise. March 18th’s book discussion will be on “Sleeping with the Ancestors” by Joseph McGill, Jr. and Herb Frazier. Visit www.ropkeby.org for more information on the full book discussion series.

Bixby Library will host a series of three Cabin Fever Lectures this winter. The first of these, to be held on Thursday, Jan. 16, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., will feature Mass Audubon Grassland Bird Biologist, Hyla Howe, who will present The Bobolink Project. Howe is an expert on bobolinks and other grasslands birds in Vermont and the Adirondack region. She will discuss The Bobolink Project and how farmers and landowners can assist in preserving bobolink nesting areas. For more information, visit www.bixbylibrary.org.

On Jan. 29, from 5-6:30 p.m., Bixby Library and the Vermont Forest Cemetery will present a screening of the 20-minute documentary “From Earth to Earth: The Lost Art of Dying in America,” followed by a discussion with board member and natural burial advocate Jim Hogle. In America, end-of-life choices are a one-size-fits-all product, whose rituals separate us from the realities of human mortality. “From Earth to Earth: The Lost Art of Dying in America” follows those who work side by side with the dying and the dead and offer an alternative path for returning our bodies to the embrace of the Earth. The documentary takes the viewer deep into the woods of Vermont and the meadows of central New York, where deathwork pioneers are inspiring a new way of thinking about life, death, and our enduring connection to nature. The film explores the systematic problems of the death industry and provides insight into alternative paths for returning our bodies to the embrace of the Earth. The event is in-person at the Community Room or at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84538259043.

Note: We are always interested in including a variety of Ferrisburgh-related event announcements in this column, so if you have events that would be of interest, contact Sally Kerschner at [email protected]. You are also able to access these columns and other information about Ferrisburgh news and events by viewing the Ferrisburgh Town Website at www.ferrisburghvt.org.