Participate ~ Programs & Events
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Upcoming Events...
Friday, March 12
"The Age of Stupid"
In the year 2055, a future archivist reviews old video footage and asks, "Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?"
Pot luck at 6:00 - Movie starts at 6:45
Following will be discussion led by Patricia Hval, educator and environmental activist from Westerly, RI.
CNVA Spring Schedule of Events
“Polaris Action and the beginnings of CNVA”
Dinner at 6pm, followed by stories of the initial work of CNVA, including the half hour film “Polaris Action”. Plans for events around the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty in NY in May will also be discussed.
A hearty vegetarian soup will be provided for Friday nights dinner, folks are asked to bring a salad, bread, dessert or a financial donation for dinner. Cost of staying overnight $25 ($15 for VPT members) plus a donation for the pancake breakfast that will prepare you for Saturday's Work Day . Please let us know you are coming, especially if you are staying over: NECNVA@gmail.com or call Joanne Sheehan at 860-639-8834.
Friday - Saturday, May 14 - 15
Nonviolent Action: Resistance and Constructive Programs
From the beginning the “nonviolent action” in CNVA included a commitment to both resistance and constructive programs. We'll explore how those were interwoven and how we can continue to work against war and racial injustice, while creating economic justice and a healthy environment through nonviolent action. Friday night dinner through Saturday Lunch.
Dinner: A hearty vegetarian soup will be provided for Friday night's dinner, folks are asked to bring a salad, bread, dessert or a financial donation for dinner. Cost of staying overnight $25 ($15 for VPT members) plus $15 for breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Please let us know you are coming, especially if you are staying over: NECNVA@gmail.com or call Joanne Sheehan at 860-639-8834.
Friday - Sunday, June 11, 12, 13
CNVA 50th Anniversary Reunion Gathering
Everyone who has been part of CNVA from the early days of Polaris Action to the present, those who have attended demonstrations, workshops, trainings, and meetings, came to the Farm for draft counseling during the Vietnam War, helped in the garden, financially supported the work, etc. are invited to participate in this gathering.
Marjorie Swann Edwin and Brad Lyttle, two of the founders of CNVA, are at the core of planning a reunion at the Farm, a demonstration at EB on the 50th anniversary of their first demonstration there, and a schedule that includes sharing of stories from over the years. Let us know if you are interested in helping with the organizing, and if you have names and contact info of folks we need to invite. Save the date!
Cost of the Weekend – Sliding scale of $75 to $150, for a place to stay and food. No one will be turned away. Donations are welcome. Contact Joanne Sheehan at 860-639-8834 or email NECNVA@gmail.com.
Note to area folks: We may need extra housing for folks depending on how many want to attend the reunion. If you can offer a bed, sofa or space for an air mattress, please let Joanne know. We'll update you on the progress of this organizing and plans for future events in the coming months.
Ongoing Events...
Dust off your mat and join us in the Muste Center for this ancient practice of gentle stretching, poses, and to help develop bodily and spiritual awareness. The cost is $10 per session when you sign up for a month in advance, $12 for walk-ins. Proceeds are shared with VPT. Call Nory at 860-564-1977 to confirm current session dates. Download a POSTER (MS Word Doc) to share!
2010 Past Events ~ (Scroll down for previous years, too!)
Friday, March 5
DRUM CIRCLE
Suggested donation: $5.00
Join us as The Pachaug Drum, will offer participation and instructions in drumming, the music, song, and dance that is associated with the drum, and teach us about what changed the lives of American Indians with the advent of European colonialism through to the present. This is only the first of what we hope are many drum circles to be
held at VPT.
Drumming from 6:00 - 9:00 pm
FILM SCREENING: "The Billboard From Bethlehem"
A robust and engaged crowd came to see the award winning film Billboard From Bethlehem and to meet and listen to Bruce Barrett, the filmmaker.
Hilary Opperman did a great job of organizing the event, which was a rousing success from beginning to end.
Refreshments and mingling began at 6:00 pm. The crowd enjoyed a beautiful selection of Middle Eastern and Hebrew refreshments. Then the audience sat captivated by Bruce's amazing film. The hope that filled the room was palpable as we watched the film maker's journey to bring both Israeli and Palastinian families together to create a billboard for peace in the Middle East. Following the film, Bruce gave an inspirational talk on the process of making the film, and answered many questions and comments from those of us in attendance, regarding his work in Israel-Palestine with Connecticut artist Russell Rainbolt. Following the presentation, Bruce urged us to take time to let our congress folks know that peace matters. For more information, please visit: www.iwagepeace.org.
Synagogues, Mosques, Churches, and Peace Groups,
Order Your Free Copy of the Film Here
2009 Past Events ~ (Scroll down for previous years, too!)
The exhibit and sale of political posters and art by 20 artists reflected a variety of peace and justice issues. Included were original works, posters, artwork by NFA YouthPeace student activists, peace crane earrings, t-shirts, zines, patches, holiday cards, and the 2010 War Resisters League Peace Calendar “Sparking Change: Posters and Politics”. The Mystic Paper Beasts roamed, visitors enjoyed refreshments. .
Artists included: Amal, Jackie Allen-Doucot, Carol Chaput, Christine Corrigan, Marcelyn Dallis-Jones, David Joslin, Brian Kavanagh, Christelle Lachapelle, Caitlin MacBride, Nancy MacBride, Hilary Opperman, Dan Park, J Percy, Dan Potter, Wade Quattromani, Anne Scheibner, Suzy Stockton, Genevieve White, Matt Wiedenheft, and Garnet Wrigley.
Inspired by the peace calendar “Sparking Change”, this event was organized by the War Resisters League New England to support the Voluntown Peace Trust.
Please click here to see images from the exhibit.
1st ANNUAL GARDEN GALA & SILENT AUCTION
We are thrilled to report that our 1st annual VPT Garden Gala fundraiser on August 30th was a ginormous success! The food was beyond delectable, the silent auction fun and profitable, and the music was just-right mood-enhancing. Even the weather was fine!
We surpassed our goal to raise a good amount of seed money for next year's garden. But most of all, we enjoyed the greeting and meeting of so many good, down-to-earth folks. Thank you all for supporting this endeavor. What a joy to be able to do so much good and have so much fun!
Thanks to Karen Colberg and Nancy MacBride for taking such beautiful pictures of the day.
For a selection of recipes from the menu, click here!
"JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why it Matters"
Monday, June 22, 2009
A STORY OF "TURNING" What does it mean to be transformed? What events transform the life of a political leader, a president? In his new book from Orbis, James Douglass traces the "turning" of President John F. Kennedy from the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis right to the week of his death in Dallas as he is transformed from a conventional Cold Warrior to someone determined to pull the world back from the edge of apocalypse.
Douglass views Kennedy's change from a contemplative perspective, particularly attuned to the grave moral and spiritual issues at stake. President Kennedy, as it turns out, saw his mission in similar terms. Those who plotted his death were determined to kill the vision. Only by unmasking these forces of "The Unspeakable," Douglass argues, can we free ourselves and our country to pursue that vision of peace.
Jim Douglass has written four books on the theory and practice of nonviolence, served as a theological advisor on nuclear war and conscientious objection to the Second Vatican Council, and taught at Bellarmine College, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife Shelley founded the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action near Seattle, and Jim served a year and a half in jail for acts of civil resistance at the Trident Submarine Base. He has made numerous peacemaking journeys to the Middle East, and five visits to Iraq. In 1993, Jim and Shelley Douglass founded a Catholic Worker house of hospitality in Birmingham, Alabama, for homeless families.
Click here to buy JFK and the Unspeakable from Amazon.
IRAQI ART & PRESENTATION
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Iraqi artist Amal Alwan Al-Maseer and peace activist ChristopherAllen-Doucot give a presentation on the war in Iraq followed by a showing and sale of Amal's oil paintings.
Presentation 4:00 followed by art show and sale.
Amal, which means "Hope" in Arabic, is a mother, artist and refugee. Amal was displaced by the bombing of Baghdad in 2004 and spent years seeking safety in Syria and Jordan before arriving in New Paltz,New York, earlier this year.
Chris first met Amal in 1999 during one of his many trips to Iraq with the antiwar group Voices in the Wilderness. Chris has given presentations on the situation in Iraq at many universities,churches and at an international conference in Moscow.
Original pieces and prints available starting at $50
GROUP ART EXHIBIT
~ SATURDAY MARCH 28, 2:00 - 6:00 pm
Voluntown Peace Trust tests community’s appetite for art: the verdict? FANTASTIC!
When artist Nancy MacBride offered to host an art show to raise funds for the Voluntown Peace Trust (VPT), she wasn’t sure how local residents would respond. Undaunted, she contacted artists from around New England and New York to ask whether they would donate a percentage of their sales in return for a gallery spot, to help maintain VPT’s historic property and advance its mission of social change and sustainable living. The artists replied with a resounding “yes!” Encouraged, Nancy solicited the support of a few dedicated committee members to scrub walls, make refreshments, and spruce up the organization’s farmhouse in anticipation of the March 28th event.
Artists arrived that Saturday to find VPT’s Campbell House transformed into a gathering spot, showcasing their work. The scent of wholesome, home baked treats filled the air, and wine bottles sparkled invitingly from our rustic kitchen table. Nancy’s crew of artists and volunteers waited on tenterhooks. Within minutes of the opening, local residents and supporters began to trickle in. Soon, the “gallery” hummed with conversation, laughter, and lilting tunes played by musicians Matt Pirie and Kit Johnson. Aune Jalkanen, a longtime Voluntown resident, took time off from admiring the artwork to share sepia photographs of the property, as it was when she lived there in the 1940s. First selectman, Gil Grimm, welcomed newcomers to his town and mingled with the locals. Visitors also took time to learn more about the farm’s history – such as the role it played as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
In all, 26 pieces of art sold, raising $1,082.00 for the Peace Trust. Responding to a question of whether the show will be an annual event, Nancy chuckles... “Ask me next year!” she says.
A tremendous THANK YOU to Nancy, all of our artists, Matt Pirie and Kit Johnson for providing music, the volunteers who scrubbed, cooked, and hung art, and all of YOU who viewed and purchased the beautiful artwork to make the day a success. We couldn’t have done it without you!
For a picture gallery of the day and sample images of the artists’ work, click HERE.
Finally, a big thank you to Marc Frucht, milwaukeeindymedia, who provided this YouTube video of the day:
Article by Nory Oakes, images by Beth Gentile, Jim MacBride
PAST EVENTS: 2009 2008 2007 2006
Call us at (860) 376-9970 if you have questions or would like to register for any of our events.