NOTE: Community bulletin board-type items are welcome for inclusion in the Happenings! section of the Xpress newspapers. Please allow enough lead time for publication. Email your calendar or event notice to [email protected].

THROUGH FEBRUARY 24

• ValleyCAST, the arts and culture arm of Open Sky Community Services, is partnering with the New England Sculptors Association for the second annual Inside and Out Exhibition. Seventeen sculptors from around New England have created over thirty works that will be on display in the Spaulding R. Aldrich Heritage Gallery, 50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, and outside on the grounds of the Whitin Mill complex at the same address. The inside exhibit opened with a wine and cheese reception on Friday, January 13th. The public is encouraged to attend the closing reception, which will include announcement of three People’s Choice Awards, on Friday, February 24th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Voting ends at the end of the day on Friday, February 17th and the exhibit will end right after the closing ceremony on February 24th. For more information visit opensky.org. To schedule a visit to the gallery, call 508-234-6232 or email [email protected].

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11

• St. Peter Parish, 39 Church Ave., Northbridge, is hosting a Ham Dinner starting at 5:30 .m. in the Parish Hall. Tickets are $17 per dinner, with salad and dessert included. To-go meals are available for pickup at 5:00 p.m. and all orders must be purchased in advance. “Pay it forward” and buy an extra dinner and it will be delivered to someone in need in the community. Call 508-234-2156 or email [email protected] to purchase tickets or for more information.

FEBRUARY 11-12

• The Grafton Public Library, 35 Grafton Common, is hosting a Book Sale from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11

• Enjoy an evening of live music with the Webster duo Mark Mandeville and Raianna Richards at Booklovers’ Gourmet, 72 E. Main St., Webster. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show starts at 7:00. Email [email protected] or call 508-949-2322 to reserve your seat.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12

• “The Hanoi Hilton POW Experience Exhibit” opens at the American Heritage Museum, 568 Main St., Hudson, fifty years after American POWs release from the prison that became synonymous with the Vietnam War. There, hundreds of American aviators shot down over North Vietnam were subjected to torture, isolation and malnutrition while housed in squalid cells during years of captivity. The AHM has built a lasting tribute to these POWS with a reconstruction of the last two remaining original cells that held Americans, first-hand accounts of their ordeal and interactive displays.

• The Uxbridge Historical Society will present “Uxbridge: Crossroads of the Underground Railroad” at 2:00 p.m. at the former Uxbridge Unitarian Church, Rt. 122, with narration from notable town historians. Presenters will reveal how Uxbridge residents ran stations along the Underground Railroad, opened schools to teach those seeking freedom to read and write and became leaders in the national anti-slavery movement. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14

• The Intrepid Readers of the Simon Fairfield Public Library, 290 Main St., Douglas, will discuss Beryl Markham’s “West with the Night,” in which the author describes growing up in an Africa that no longer exists, training and breeding race horses, flying mail to Sudan and being the first woman to fly the Atlantic, east to west. Copies of the book will be available. All are welcome.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15

• Enjoy a BVT buffet breakfast that includes waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, home friends, scrambled eggs and toast, 65 Pleasant St., Upton. Cost is $7.50 per person plus gratuity. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Sign up on the main office no later than February 1st. This is a self-drive, self-pay program. 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16

• A “Women’s Health Forum with Dr. Maggie Lunch & Learn” program will be held at the Northbridge Senior Center, 20 Highland St., Whitinsville, from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. Lifestyle choices impact the aging process. Come and learn about diet, nutrition, exercise, cognitive activity and social engagement for older adults. Space is limited. Priority will be given to those who have not yet attended one of Dr. Maggie’s health forums. Sign up with Amy Wednesday-Friday to attend.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17

• Samuel Slater’s Restaurant at Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster, present a night of comedy featuring Steve Sweeney with Graig Murphy and Chris D, 6:30-9:30 p.m. This is a 21-plus event. Go to www.samuelslaters.com or call 508-943-1639 for more details.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

• "Take a Hike” with the Plummer Place Walking Club, 10:00 a.m., weather permitting. Call the Northbridge Senior Center, 20 Highland St., Whitinsville, at 508-234-2002 for locations.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22

• “The Violin Kat,” music by Violinist Kathryn Haddad, will be presented at the Northbridge Senior Center, 20 Highland St., Whitinsville, from 1:00 to2:00 p.m. Kat is an eclectic freelance violinist based in the Worcester area. She has performed to many crowds. Light refreshments will be served. Sign up at the main office. 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

• A CPR, AED and Epipen Training Class will be held at the Northbridge Senior Center, 20 Highland St., Whitinsville, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Instructor Scott Celikbas from the Northbridge Fire Department will train participants in these important lifesaving techniques. A heart-saver certification will be awarded at the end of the course. The cost is $55 per person, check or cash due to the instructor on the day of training. Sign up at the main office.

Saturday, February 25

• Ice cutting expert Ken Ethier will present his popular program describing the methods and tools used to harvest ice from lakes and ponds two centuries ago, when ice was the only way to keep things cool. His one-hour talk will be held 11 a.m. at the Samuel Slater Experience museum in Webster.

Ethier will demonstrate ice harvesting techniques with his own collection of antique tools, the often-dangerous scoring

and cutting on the ice field and describe the transport of harvested ice to ice houses for storage and delivery to peoples’ homes.

This free program is sponsored in part by a grant from the Webster Cultural Council. To register, email [email protected] or call 508-461-2955. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 4

• The Sutton Historical Society welcomes Joe Iamartino of the Thompson Historical Society for a talk, “The Nipmuc Lithic Trail,” at the First Congregational Church, 307 Boston Road, Sutton, at 7 p.m. Visit suttonhistoricalsociety.org for further info.

TUESDAY, MAY 9

•The Sutton Historical Society welcomes Carol Crossed curator of the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum, bot a talk, “Vintage Tweets: A Book of Suffrage Era Postcards,” at the First Congregational Church, 307 Boston Road, Sutton, at 7 p.m. Visit suttonhistoricalsociety.org for further info.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

• The Sutton Historical Society welcomes Andrew Noone, author of “Bathsheba Spooner: A Revolutionary Murder Conspiracy,” at the First Congregational Church, 307 Boston Road, Sutton, at 7 p.m. Visit suttonhistoricalsociety.org for further info.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7

• The Sutton Historical Society welcomes Mark Savois of the Thompson Historical Society for the presentation “The Mass 15th of the Civil war and Wilder Holbrook, Sutton,” at the First Congregational Church, 307 Boston Road, at 7 p.m. Visit suttonhistoricalsociety.org for further info.