Briefs

Published on October 26, 2007

Halloween celebrated in town

Nonstop fun will be found in downtown Amherst Halloween afternoon and evening with treats at businesses, a parade, outdoor performance and party complete with haunted house. All the events are open to the public.

The action begins at Oct. 31 at 4:15 p.m. when trick or treat bags will be distributed at the Leisure Services office in the Bangs Center and at the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce office on Amity Street.

Maps will be included in the bags identifying the local merchants who will provide treats to the ghosts, witches, princesses, cowboys and cartoon characters who visit.

The treat bags are a collaborative effort with the town's LSSE department, the chamber and the Promote Downtown Amherst Committee, according to Linda Chalfant, LSSE director.

"It will be nonstop fun and a good reason for families to come downtown," she said.

Store windows have been painted for Halloween for the past 35 years. The windows will remain on display Nov. 1 for the Monthly Art Walk, another reason to come downtown, Chalfant said.

The Amherst Chamber is interested in making this a big downtown event and taking it over the top, Chafant said. In an earlier interview Patty Brandts, new chamber executive director, said she would like to make the parade bigger expanding the route and adding bands.

The trick or treating will last until 5:30 p.m. when all the costumed characters will gather by 5:45 p.m. at Sweetser Park for the parade. The route includes North Pleasant Street and Kellogg Avenue ending at the Boltwood Parking Garage plaza for an outdoor performance by the Rainbow Players, who will offer a "Monster Mash."

Town Manager Larry Shaffer and Amherst Area Chamber President Cinda Jones will be in costume leading the Halloween Parade downtown Oct. 31. Shaffer will be dressed as the "King of the Beasts."

Then it's on to the Bangs Center for a "big hoopla Halloween party," Chalfant said. University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management students volunteer to staff the Halloween carnival with games and activities that fill two rooms at the Bangs Center. The main event is the Haunted House. There is a small charge for the party at the Bangs Center.

For information, call 259-3065.

UNICEF seeks area donations

Pirates, ghosts, witches and other costumed children will be out trick or treating for Halloween next week. Some of them will also be carrying the little orange boxes, Trick or Treating for UNICEF. The donations they collect provide immunizations, clean water and education for millions of needy children around the world. In times of emergency or conflict, UNICEF is there. Today in the Sudan it maintains feeding centers, primary health facilities and is the main source for vaccines.

In the 57 years that "Trick or Treat for UNICEF" has existed, more than $136 million has been raised. Residents are asked to contribute when the special trick or treaters appear. UNICEF boxes are available at Amherst Pediatrics from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at 253-3773 or call Bernadette Jones at 549-6522.

Shaffer visits women's league

The Amherst League of Women Voters will host Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer who will give a "State of the Town" talk Oct. 30 at the Amherst Woman's Club, 35 Triangle St.

New League members will be welcomed at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served at 7:30 p.m. The talk will begin at 8 p.m.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

For information, call 253-0633.

Acupuncture day to be held Oct. 26

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day will be celebrated Oct. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Acupuncture Works, 479 West St.

Linda Robinson-Hidas will host an open house and offer free seated ear acupuncture, a standardized relaxation treatment. However, a donation to Acupuncture Without Borders is suggested.

Visitors will be able to touch, smell and taste substances in the herbal pharmacy. Free integrative acupressure massage will also be offered.

Robinson-Hidas has been in practice locally since 1991. She earned her master's in traditional Chinese medicine from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1989. She is board certified in both acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

For information, call 253-2900.

Amherst College Professor N. Gordon Levin will present an up-to-date assessment, "Possibilities for Peace in the Middle East," at the Itzhak Rabin Memorial Lecture Oct. 28 at 10:30 a.m. at the Jewish Community of Amherst, 742 Main St.

Levin, who is the Dwight Morrow Professor of History at Amherst College, will discuss the complex and shifting strategies of the many players involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the Oslo Accords to the conference planned in November in Washington.

The talk is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served at 10 a.m.

For information, call Eva Sartori at 467-3626.

Amherst basketball tryouts coming soon

The Amherst Suburban Basketball tryouts will be held at the Amherst Regional High School Gym for fifth- through eighth-grade students.

The tryout for boys in fifth and sixth grade is Oct. 25 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon. For boys in seventh and eighth grade, the tryout is Oct 25 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and Oct. 27 from noon to 2 p.m.

The tryout for girls in fifth and sixth grade is Nov. 1 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon. For girls in seventh and eighth grade, the tryout is Nov. 1 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and Nov. 3 from noon to 2 p.m.

Registration forms must be filled out before the first tryout date. Call Jim Matuszko at 549-1378 or Bob Brandts at 259-3144.

Dance class held

Dancer choreographer Alicia Morton is offering two fitness classes to benefit a New Orleans recovery charity. The Dance 'N' Stretch class will be held Mondays from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. from Oct. 22 to Dec. 10. The Soothing Stretch Class will be held Fridays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. from Oct. 26 to Dec. 14. The classes are held at the Barn Studio, 20 Dickinson St. The suggested donation is $10 per class.

For information, call 253-1499.

Home loans provided

Amherst will provide six low- and moderate -income households with a maximum $50,000 no-interest 15-year deferred payment loan to purchase a home in town. The loan is for households whose incomes are below 80 percent of the HUD defined area median income. Preference will be given to those households who currently live or work in Amherst. For information call the Community Service Department at 259-3074.