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].

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

• The UMass Cancer Walk and Run, celebrating twenty-five years of the community’s commitment to cancer research, will take place at Polar Park in Worcester. Go to umasscancerwalk.org or email [email protected] for further details.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

• The Greenway Challenge takes place in the Blackstone Valley and around the region.

• General Rufus Putnam Building & Museum 200th Anniversary Celebration, 4 Uxbridge Rd., 12-3 p.m.

• The Friends of Charlton Public Library continues its September membership drive at the Fall Festival at The Overlook in Charlton on Saturday, September 30, from 11 am to 3 pm. Members of the group will be available to register new and returning members and to answer questions. A selection of used books will be available for purchase. Interested individuals can pick up membership forms at the circulation desk at the Charlton Library. They may also join the organization via PayPal. For more information, email [email protected].

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4

•New member meeting of the Millbury VFW Post 3329 is held the first Wednesday of every month, 7-9 p.m., 16 South Main St., Millbury.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5

• The 7th Annual New England Electrical & Alarm Expo takes place from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Twin River Casino, 100 Twin River Road, Lincoln, Rhode Island. The Exhibitor Show Floor opens at 3:30 p.m. More than 400 manufacturers will be represented. Visit neeae.com for further details.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 & 8

• The American Heritage Museum, 568 Main St., Hudson, presents “Battle for the Airfield WW II Re-Enactment Weekend,” with over 350 re-enactors from branches of the Allied and Axis military participating in encampments and battles, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. both days. www.americanheritagemuseum.org or call 978-562-9182. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9-23

• The Friends of the Simon Fairfield Public Library as Douglas’s fourth annual online auction begins. Proceeds benefit the library’s capital campaign to renovate the building and make it handicapped accessible. The Friends are also accepting sponsorships from community members or businesses.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14; SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22;  FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27

• Book signing with Thomas D’Agostino, author of “A Guide to Haunted New England” from 5:50 – 8 p.m. at Miner Grant Store, Sturbridge Village. You must have ticket to Phantoms by Firelight at Sturbridge Village to access the bookstore.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15

• Crop Hunger Walk to Benefit Oxford Food Shelf: Please join the Oxford Ecumenical Council, Oxford Food Shelf volunteers and others on Sunday, October 15, for the annual Crop Hunger Walk. It’s a fun way to get together with family, friends and neighbors while supporting a worthy cause - helping to end hunger in our community. The Oxford Food Shelf, located on the lower level of the Oxford Community Center, assists individuals and families who live in Oxford or belong to an Oxford church and need help with food. The Crop Hunger Walk is an easy 3.5-mile walk through Oxford, beginning at the First Congregational Church on 355 E. Main St. at 1 pm. Registration at the church is at 12:30 pm.  Everyone is welcome!

Additional information on the Oxford Food Shelf Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OxfordFoodShelf. You may also call the Food Shelf at 508-987-1062. 

• Grafton recreation Fall Festival: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. on the Grafton Common. Presented by Kid Hero Books and Feedback Earth. Pumpkin Decorating and scarecrow building contest, food trucks, DJ, carnival games, fun family activities and more!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21

•St. Patrick’s Church Recycling Event, 7 East St. Whitinsville from  8 a.m. – 1 p.m. 

Accepting gently used books (no encyclopedias); gently used textiles/clothing; electronics for a fee ( no propane, batteries or lightbulbs); rinsed bottles/cans returnable in Massachusetts (no glass); gently used media (video games, dvd’s, cd’s, etc.). Paper shredding at $8 a box, 9 – 11 a.m. only.

Please keep items for each station separate. For more information and pricing, email [email protected] or call 508-234-5656.

• The Blackstone Valley Crop Hunger Walk will start at 9 am at the Village Congregational Church in Whitinsville with registration at 8:30 am. For moreinformation, contact the Blackstone Valley United Methodist Church office at 508-234-2275.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28 

•Historic Cemetery Tour at Sutton Center Town Cemetery, 4 Uxbridge Rd. at 7 p.m. Ree-enactors will tell the tale of early settlers buried in the cemetery.

Sunday, November 5

• The Harvest Home 5k Returns! Join Community Harvest Project to celebrate another successful season of volunteer farming for hunger relief. Our 17th Annual Harvest Home Festival & 5K, featuring a 5k and kids fun run, online auction, food and drink, kids activities, hay rides, pumpkin trebuchets, apple cannons, and more is fun for everyone! Our 5k course loops around our farm fields and showcases the beauty of the Grafton farm in the fall. Join us for this special community event, which will help support our neighbors in need! Location: Community Harvest Project, 37 Wheeler Rd, North Grafton - 11 am - 3 pm

​5K Check-In: 10:30 am - 5K Start: 11 am

Festival admission is included with 5K registration - September 26th - October 16th $30 , October 17th - November 4th $35

Day of $40, Kids (18 and under) $15 pre registration, $20 day of.

Visit community-harvest.org/events for more information about this year's Harvest Home festival, including the schedule of events!

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 soldier,” at the First Congregational Church, 307 Boston Road, at 7:00 p.m. Go to www.suttonhistoricalsociety.org for further info.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15

• The Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce’s 45th Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony will be held at Pleasant Valley Country Club on Armsby Road in Sutton from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. Do you know a business or individual deserving of recognition, or a business that is celebrating a milestone anniversary? Submit your nomination to Liz O’Neil at [email protected].

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2

•Chain of Lights, Sutton’s annual town-wide Christmas event. Free trolley rides from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. to participating locations. Food, children’s activities, shopping and lots of holiday cheer. Tree lighting with Santa and the Sutton High School Band at 5 p.m. on the Town Common. 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5 

•Christmas Potluck at 6:30 p.m. First Congregational Church, 307 Boston Road, Sutton.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31

•Midnight, Last Night Cannon firing, M.M. Sherman Blacksmith Shop, 6 Singletary Ave., Sutton.

SATURDAY, MARCH 16 2024

• The Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Home & Community Expo will be held at the Northbridge High School Field House on Linwood Avenue in Whitinsville from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Registration will occur late summer, early fall.