A Leominster Credit Union team of volunteers recently participated in the Combat Hunger food packaging event for the United Way of North Central Massachusetts.

This was the 4^ta event held at the Town and Country Apartments in Leominster where in 3-4 hours approximately 90 volunteers packaged 22,224 nutritious meals.

The packaged meals were sent to over 20 local food pantries as well as Kylee McCumber’s Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kids and Kira Andreucci’s Karing 4 Kidz.

2017 Kidsfest Vendor Application

2017 KidsFest Sponsor Application

This year marks our 27th Annual KidsFest – one of the longest running festivals in Central MA celebrating children (age 12 & under) and families and attracting 8-10,000 people during the 2-day event. We have two exciting vendor booth opportunities available:
STANDARD Vendor (No Charge) – You may promote your business or service ONLY and you MUST provide a complimentary activity or giveaway for all Festival attendees. Sales ARE NOT permitted.
PREMIUM Vendor ($100 Fee – new this year) – You may promote AND sell merchandise from your booth. You MUST still provide a complimentary activity or giveaway for all Festival attendees however, Sales of appropriate goods and/or services ARE permitted (pending approval from Festival Management).
As always, we’re actively working on other ways to make this the best KidsFest ever and we need your help to be even more creative than ever in coming up with an appropriate activity for your booth. We encourage you to provide an interactive booth that appeals to both kids 8 & under; but also to the older 9-12 year olds. We’re happy to assist you with ideas to provide a fun, entertaining, engaging activity for all ages. We would also be glad to connect you with other resources that might be able to assist you. Below is a list of some suggested ideas and we also welcome you to bring your own ideas to the table! If you have any questions, or would like to run an idea by us before submitting your application, please don’t hesitate to contact me via phone or email.
This year, we are also rewarding the Best Booth/Vendor Activity with a $100 Wachusett Mountain Gift Card. We are trying to keep routine activites like coloring, stickers, enter to win contests or prize wheels to a minimum. They are acceptable as an added attraction to your booth but not as the primary activity. Here are a few interactive ideas for you to consider:
Thank you so much for your support of KidsFest and we look forward to seeing you in September!

The Annual Celebration of Fitchburg-made Bicycles Returns

The Fitchburg Historical Society is pleased to offer its popular summer exhibition of classic Iver Johnson Bicycles from June 17 to July 19, 2017. The display is timed to coincide with Fitchburg’s summer cycling events, including Fitchburg Rides and the Longsjo Classic, as well as the city’s annual Civic Days celebration. During Iver Johnson: Designed to Last, the Fitchburg Historical Society will be filled with the historic bikes that were made for decades in Fitchburg by the Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works. Many of the bicycles have been loaned by private collectors; others come from the Fitchburg Historical Society collection, which includes bicycles, tools and ephemera donated by Richard Hansen.

From 1891 to 1941, Iver Johnson’s Arms and Cycle Works in Fitchburg manufactured nearly 700,000 bikes. The bicycle models on exhibition are a favorite among bicycle historians for the quality of their construction and their capacity for high speed in long-distance bike races. These included racing bikes, standard and touring bikes, as well as children’s bikes and tricycles. They are known as some of the highest quality bikes ever made.

The skilled metal workers who created Iver Johnson bicycles were known for the quality and consistency of their work. Some worked for as many as 60 years at the factory, which also produced Iver Johnson guns until the 1970’s. This year’s exhibition will feature images and records documenting the workers and their innovations in bicycle design, gun design, and marketing.

The exhibition will also include photos and artifacts about American Olympian bicyclist Arthur Longsjo, a Finnish-American athlete from Fitchburg who was considered one of the greatest bicyclists of his generation. Longsjo died tragically young and his memory is honored with the Arthur Longsjo Classic Bike Race. The exhibition will be open extra hours, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, when the Arthur Longsjo Classic Bike Race comes to Fitchburg.

The normal opening hours for the exhibition are Monday and Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Saturday, June 17, when the FITchburg Rides program will also take place in downtown Fitchburg, the exhibition will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be additional special hours during Fitchburg’s Civic Days celebration, when the Historical Society will be open Monday, July 3 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., as part of the Main Street Block Party celebration.

The exhibition is free and open to the public, though donations are accepted. For more information, call 978-345-1157, write or visit www.fitchburghistoricalsociety.org y https://www.facebook.com/FitchburgHistoricalSociety.

The Fitchburg Historical Society and Crocker Family Center for the History of Fitchburg is located at 781 Main Street, Fitchburg in the historic Phoenix building. There is abundant on-street parking near the Historical Society and free parking behind the building. The building is handicapped accessible.

The Dirt Dawgs fall in the season opener, as the Pittsfield Suns overcome a quick start by Wachusett to come away with a 8-5 victory at Doyle Field, on Thursday night.

The Basics

Scores: Pittsfield Suns 8, Wachusett Dirt Dawgs 5

Records: Pittsfield (1–0) | Wachusett (0–1)

How It Happened

The Dirt Dawgs were led offensively by the efforts of Kyle Pangallo (SNHU) and John Stanton (SNHU). Pangallo went 3–for-5 on the night blasting a home-run to dead center while also picking up a double and single. Stanton got the Dawgs going early on launching a ball to deep right for a two-run shot. He ended up 1-for–2 on the night while also reaching base on a pair of walks and a hit by pitch.

The Suns received a stellar performance from Kevin Donati (SUNY Albany) as he went 2–for-4, including belting two home-runs over the left field fence. The Suns also received an offensive showing from their 8-9 hitters, as Andre Marrero (Quinnipiac) and Justin Cooke (Oklahoma) both drove in a pair of runs each.

The Dirt Dawgs wasted no time getting on the board as John Stanton(SNHU) blasted a two-run shot to right field in the home half of the first inning. Pittsfield cut the Wachusett advantage in half, with a solo home run by Kevin Donati (SUNY Albany)  in the top of the third. The Dirt Dawgs responded in their half of the third as Stanton scampered home on a passed ball.

In the top of the fourth, the Suns had an offensive outburst which included back-to-back home runs from Marrero and Donati. Naushon Galbraith (Elon University) came on to stop the bleeding for the Dirt Dawgs in the 4th.

The Dirt Dawgs answered again when Steven Gallagher singled to lead off the fourth and came around to score on a fielding miscue from the Suns.

After a leadoff walk in the sixth Marrero came around to score on a double by Conor Moriarty (UConn). Moriarty then came around after a couple of miscues to make the score 8–4 in favor of Pittsfield. Pangallo got the Dirt Dawgs back within three after a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning making it 8–5.

On the mound starter Dan Southerland (Wheaton) took the loss in 3.2 innings of work letting up six earned and striking out five. Suns starter Mitch Holcomb went 4.1 innings giving up four earned and striking out four. Suns reliever Austin Pope (Fairfield) picked up his first win of the year in 1.2 innings of relief.

Inside The Numbers

• Suns reliever Craig Lacey (Bryant University) came in the bottom half of the ninth, and recorded a 1-2-3 inning to pick up his first save of the season.
• Luke Brennan (Worcester State) pitched 3.0 innings of no-hit baseball in relief, while retiring a game high seven Suns, by way of the “K”.
• Zach Tower (Franklin Pierce University) was the lone other Dirt Dawg to record multiple hits on the evening.
• Both bullpens matched their opponent on the hill. The two teams relief pitching went 10.0 innings, while just yielding three hits, and collecting 19 strikeouts.

Up Next

The Dirt Dawgs will try to get to .500 on the young season with a 7:05pm first pitch at Brockton against the Rox. Pittsfield looks to continue their quick road trip, as they travel to the defending FCBL Champions, Nashua Silver Knights, for a 6:45pm tilt.

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