Historic Deerfield has reopened for the 2021 season! Now through November 28, step into the past by touring one of their historic homes, attending a history workshop, or simply strolling the tree-lined streets of this 17th century village. Visit historic-deerfied.org for pricing and hours. Admission includes historic house tours, entry to the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, walking tours, the History Workshop, the Apprentice’s workshop, and any special programs scheduled during your visit. Purchase your tickets online here or at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life.

Deerfield’s first English settlers arrived in 1669, although Native Americans had inhabited the area for at least 8,000 years prior. The area was immediately attractive to settlers because of its fertile soil, due to its proximity to the Deerfield, Green, and Connecticut rivers. Over the years, the settlement was fought over many times, which is why the future generations took so much care in preserving the village’s history. Historic Deerfield, Inc. was founded in 1952 as an outdoor museum and the village has been on the National Register of Historic Landmarks since 1962.

Photo credit: facebook.com/HistoricDeerfield

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Whether you’ve strolled across the Bridge of Flowers one time or thousands of times, there’s no doubt you felt the heartbreak of the Bridge’s closing last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, life is moving on and the Bridge is once again open to its fans! As of June 1, 2021, the Bridge of Flower’s gates were opened for all to enter and surround themselves with the lovely flowers, vines, and blossoming trees that span the bridge. 

The Bridge of Flowers was once a trolley bridge, which became outdated when automobile usage increased and freight was more frequently transported across the Deerfield River using the nearby Iron Bridge. The trolley company went bankrupt in 1927, leaving the trolley bridge covered in weeds, unable to be demolished since it carried the water main between the two towns. In 1929, Antoinette Burnham proposed the idea of converting the bridge into a garden and the Shelburne Falls Women’s Club sponsored the project. 

For almost a century the bridge has hurdled challenges such as deterioration and flooding due to Hurricane Irene in 2011. However, the community has always stepped up for the bridge and pulled together efforts to raise funds to maintain the bridge and see to it that the plants were always cared for. To this day, the Bridge of Flowers remains a volunteer-run, donation-based project. 

Head Gardener, Carol Laliberte DeLorenzo has held her position for the last 20 years, organizing the other volunteer gardeners, known as the Blossom Brigade. Along with her assistant, Elliston Bingham, Carol has made her gardening visions for the bridge a reality. This was made possible through monetary donations from supporters and friends of the Bridge, and through the hundreds of hours spent annually by the Brigade, planting, watering, and weeding the bridge in the early morning hours before the bridge becomes filled with visitors. 

If you’re lucky enough to live in the village of Shelburne Falls, you might walk across the Bridge of Flowers on a regular basis, on your way to grab a coffee at Mocha Maya’s, or to pick up some groceries from McCusker’s Market, or maybe it’s part of your daily commute to work. If you’re traveling from farther away, the Bridge of Flowers could be the purpose of your visit, or just the cherry on top to your experience in such a lovely place. Either way, we are all grateful to have the Bridge of Flowers back into our lives this summer. Let’s all show our appreciation by making a donation, either small or large, to the Bridge’s donation box at our next visit or on their website, bridgeofflowersmass.org, and let’s see this magical garden over the river survive another century and more. 

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For more information about community happenings and real estate news visit Wanda's Blog at www.wandamooney.com/blog. 

Photo Credit: Bridge of Flower's Facebook Page

Christmas is almost here and if you’re doing any last minute shopping, remember to support our local shops! One local shop that I’m happy to support is Plum Boutique in downtown Greenfield. More than just a retail store, Plum carefully selects products made by mission-based organizations, women-owned enterprises, and local artisans. As a member of the downtown Greenfield family of shops, they seek to enrich the community and to provide us with an ever-evolving gallery of fashion, design, and art which inspires, nurtures, empowers, and delights.

Check out their Perfect Holiday Gift Guide for inspiration on unique gifts for friends and family and get free shipping through the month of December on their website with code FREE2020.

Visit their website, plum413.com, and follow them on Facebook to stay updated on what's in the shop! 

Located at 281 Main Street in Greenfield, MA

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For more information about community happenings and real estate news visit Wanda's Blog at www.wandamooney.com/blog. 
 

In past years on Black Friday, the village of Shelburne Falls has come alive with vendors, performers, lights, and festive decor to kick off the holiday season with their annual Moonlight Magic event. Shops would stay open later and offer special deals to encourage holiday shoppers to support the small local businesses. Unfortunately, there [...]

The 2020 Crafts of Colrain Open Studio Tour has moved online! This weekend, November 14 and 15, from 10 am to 5 pm, most artists are offering 10% off when you shop their online store (using discount code: colrain10). There will be many new items offered for the first time this weekend. Plus, view videos about the artists on the Crafts of Colrain website to tour their studios virtually. 

Colrain, MA is a scenic town, just below the VT state line. Its expansive area of forests, streams, and farms has made it a desirable place for artists and creative people to live and work. They draw inspiration from the town's natural beauty to bring their art alive and offer it to the community. 

Crafts of Colrain is an annual event which usually brings the opportunity for these tucked-away artists to open their doors to the community. The artists normally spend the weekend hosting workshops, giving tours of their space, and then selling their products. Support these artists and this wonderful community event so that it may happen again next year, hopefully in person! 

View videos of the artist and links to their online stores at CraftsofColrain.com/artists.

(Photos source: craftsofcolrain.com)

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For more information about community happenings and real estate news visit Wanda's Blog at www.wandamooney.com/blog.

In Shelburne Falls, businesses are accustomed to the ups and downs of tourism in the village. Summertime usually brings buses and cars full of tourists from around the world to come and marvel at the magical village with the river running through it. Visitors love to walk across the world famous Bridge of Flowers, a volunteer-run garden on [...]

Resident makers and artist tenants at The Mill at Shelburne Falls are hosting a Harvest Makers and Art Market on

Saturday, October 10 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The outdoor market features work in a multiple of mediums including oil and acrylic, fine woodworking, glass, pottery, textile arts, handwoven goods, weathervanes, metal [...]

In a normal year, the hilltowns would be gearing up for the Ashfield Fall Festival at this time. Unfortunately, for the first time since 1970, Ashfield has had to cancel the festivities due to [...]

Every summer I always look forward to the shows at Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield. Their creative performances, which invite the audience to move around their farm with them, always inspire and evoke deep thought in viewers about the world around them. Now more than ever, the artistic imagination of this theater group is something that we all need. This year, Double Edge has utilized their large outdoor space to create a safe experience for all. Now through August 9th on Wednesdays to Sundays, visit Double Edge Theatre’s farm for the showing of 6 Feet Apart, All Together, a summer spectacle for the time of COVID-19. 

This summer’s show has been downsized in both number of performers and audience size to ensure safety for all. The audience will move around in small groups on an invigorating and reflective walk through the scenes which will touch on past shows and also look towards the future. 6 Feet Apart, All Together will be performed in rounds and all audience members must wear a mask for everyone’s safety. 

From now until August 9th, you can view 6 Feet Apart, All Together from Wednesdays to Sundays at 8:00 pm in July and 7:30 pm in August with a Saturday matinee at 1 pm. Purchase tickets here in advance soon as there are a limited number of spaces.

For more information visit their website at doubleedgetheatre.org or follow them on Facebook.

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For more information about community happenings and real estate news visit Wanda's Blog at wandamooney.com/blog.

This year, you can still take part in United Way of Franklin County’s Auction Fundraiser from your home! The auction has been moved online to keep everyone safe while still raising money for our community’s education, health, and financial stability. Although we’ll miss the in-person interactions, we’ll still be able to enjoy the fun and humor of the auction through a livestream video feed of the hosts John Howland and David Howe. The auction, which is themed Casino Royale, will include live music, online live and silent auction bidding, and raffle drawings. 

Online bidding opens up Wednesday, May 27 and will close with the virtual event on Saturday, May 30 at 5:30 pm EST. So keep checking back on the items you want because there’s even more time to outbid others. Visit the auction website where you can already start browsing the auction items, which includes a variety of art, household items, gift cards to local attractions, local services, and more! This year’s live auction includes some very exciting getaway packages and a year of desserts by Timberly Grout, baker extraordinaire. You can also start buying raffle tickets for restaurant gift cards and home-cooked meals! 

To start bidding, you’ll need to create an account. It’s easy! Just go to the event page here, select “Click here to register,” fill out your details, and then start bidding on the silent auction. Then on Saturday, tune in to the live event to bid on the live auction and enjoy the show!

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