Petersburgh

by Sherry Bowman-Kluck

This coming Saturday, November 29, marks the fourth year for celebrating Small Business Saturday. What exactly is Small Business Saturday? It is an American shopping holiday held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As with its counterparts, Black Friday and Cyber Monday featuring big box retail and e-commerce stores respectively, Small Business Saturday encourages shoppers to patronize small and local businesses.

In accordance with this goal the Annual Holiday Craft and Gift Fair will be held at the Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center on Saturday, November 29, from 9 am to 1 pm. It is filled with locally crafted gifts for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Craftspeople and artists will be offering unique pieces for sale, including pottery, woodcraft, textiles, jewelry and one of a kind gifts. Wreaths and a variety of farm products and baked goods will also be available.

The Annual Holiday Craft and Gift Fair is a family and community event. Children are encouraged to visit Santa from 11 am to 1 pm. While they are telling St. Nicholas their heart’s desire for this Holiday Season and receiving a small gift, adults will have the opportunity to peruse the selection of affordable goods from our community’s finest small and local businesses. The whole family then can savor a delicious Charlie Dog lunch at a minimal cost from 11 am to 1 pm.

Shop small this Saturday and support our community and regional artists.

Nearly 100 Hudson Valley Community College students received honors and scholarships at the annual Hudson Valley Community College Foundation Scholarship Reception on Friday, November 14.

Each year the college Foundation recognizes students who were awarded scholarships this past year as well as the donors who make these scholarships possible. The reception took place in the McDonough Sports Complex.

Erika Pelletier of Petersburgh received the CAP COM Federal Credit Union Scholarship, the NYSFHB Scholarship – Early Child/Human Services and the Women’s Enterprises at Hudson Valley Community College Scholarship.

The Petersburgh Public Library has the best black Friday deal in town. For the remainder of the month of November all books in the Library vestibule are free. The Library has received a number of donations from the public recently, and we have lots of books. So stop by the Library during regular library hours and take home a bag of books. Cash donations are always welcome but not necessary to participate in this deal of the month.

A Thanksgiving Craft

The Library invites children to stop by to make a Pilgrim hat as a Thanksgiving craft. The craft activity will be held Tuesday, November 18, between 3:30 and 5:30 pm and Wednesday, November 19, between 4:30 and 6:30 pm so stop in any time during those hours to participate.

Story Time

Story time continues Tuesday mornings at 11 am. On November 18 stories will be about the history of Thanksgiving and on November 25 about turkeys and other traditional foods for Thanksgiving.

Knitting Group

Knitters (and anyone who crochets) are invited to join other knitters at the library on Wednesdays at 4 pm.

Decorate Christmas Cookies

Save the date, Saturday morning, Nov. 29 you are invited to get a jump on the holiday season and decorate Christmas cookies between 10 and noon at the library.

Book Group

The next book discussion group will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 PM to discuss the book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Copies of the book are available at the library for all those interested in reading the book.

by Sherry Bowman-Kluck

The Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center is hosting its annual Veteran’s Potluck Dinner with a few complements this year. On Tuesday, November 11, from 6 to 9 pm, the Town of Petersburgh will have an opportunity to come together as a community to celebrate those veterans who have given us the gift of freedom.

As customary, community members are encouraged to bring a specialty dish to share. Along with the good food and comradeship, guest speaker John Parkinson will be joining the festivities. He is a current resident of Petersburgh and was featured in the Memorial Day issue of the Eastwick Press. His story of being in the Chosin Reservoir battle also has been featured on the Military Channel and is in the upcoming book, Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Brotherhood, and Sacrifice, by Adam Makos.

Hank Bak, a former Petersburgh musician and square dance caller, will be recognized at the occasion. Family and friends of Hank graciously donated money to the PVMCC in his memory. Appropriately, the PVMCC purchased a sound system with the gift and the PVMCC board is obligingly dedicating it in Hank Bak’s name.

The evening will be topped off with music provided by none other than local musicians from the Hill Hollow Band.

There is no cost for this event, and the entire community is invited to show true appreciation for those veterans who have served to provide our freedom and way of life.