Skillsharing & Folk Schooling Builds the Best Kind of Connections

Haberdashery Skillfair 2014

Have a great family pie recipe that you make from scratch? Made something fabulous from secondhand items? Come show off your homemade goodies and projects at The Haberdashery Skillfair, Saturday, October 25th from 12pm-9pm in Easthampton! There will be competitions for best pie, best upcycled item, best jam, and many more. So gather the family and come up with something great to bake, brew, or craft using local ingredients and materials. It could be the perfect opportunity to teach your children that traditional family recipe or crafting skill. If you don’t have something to enter in the contest, don’t worry! Come to the Skillfair and see what tasty and creative things your friends and neighbors have been making. You may even find inspiration for your next family crafting or culinary project. 

Pre-registration for the competitions is required. Entry forms must be submitted by October 24th. For more information, please see the website link below. The Haberdashery, 52 Union Street. Easthampton, MA. And The Beehive Sewing Studio + Workplace, 271 Pleasant Street. Easthampton, MA. (Free to attend and enter competitions).

Grow Food Amherst Workshops

Don’t be scared away by that chill in the air! Grow Food Amherst has moved their weekly Sustainability Sunday Workshops indoors for the fall on Sundays! They will now be holding them at All Things Local Cooperative Market in Amherst. All Things Local is a year round, six day a week, farmers’ and craft market focused on sustainability and community. Learn how you can support local farming and food sources by turning your local produce from those fun filled fall apple picking excursions into delicious homemade jam at the September 14th workshop on jam making! Other highlights from this season’s lineup of workshops include local residents sharing their knowledge and skills in the handmade soap workshop and how to make herbal oils, creams, and lip balms to keep your skin and lips healthy when the cold weather comes. Pre-registration is required to attend some of the workshops. Please go to the link below to see the events and sign up. All Things Local Cooperative Market, 104 North Pleasant Street. Amherst, MA. (Most of the workshops are free, but a few have small entry fees to cover the cost of materials for you to take home).

Repair Café

Wondering what to do with your child’s broken remote control that’s been laying around the house? Or those ripped pair of jeans from your child’s playground adventures? Don’t waste money replacing them! Keep them out of the landfill and repair them instead at the Repair Café in Pittsfield on Saturday, October 18 from 1pm-5pm. Your children can learn about how those damaged items work while restoring them with the help of specialists who will on hand to help you and your family master the art of DIY! The repair specialists will include electricians, seamstresses, carpenters, and bicycle mechanics! Tools and materials will also be provided to help you with your repairs.

Even if you don’t have anything to repair right now, come join the fun by having tea and coffee. You can also help out friends and neighbors with their repairs, be inspired to start that DIY project at the reading table, or watch and learn more about different trades from the specialists.

Takes place at Saint Stephen’s Church, 67 East Street. Pittsfield, MA. (Free to attend).