UPCOMING CALENDAR

This calendar is being regularly updated to reflect all event cancellations and postponements. However, it is recommended that readers contact event organizers before they attend. For the most updated version of the calendar, please visit or troyrecord.com.

A MATTER OF BALANCE WORKSHOP: Join us for A Matter of Balance, a FUN and interactive program designed to manage falls and increase activity levels for individuals 60 & over. Catholic Charities Senior & Caregiver Support Services (CCSCSS) has partnered with the Watervliet Senior Center to offer A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns about Falls 8-week Workshop, starting on Monday, October 26from 1pm to 3pm and runs through December 14, 2020. This 8-week Workshop will be hosted at the Watervliet Senior Center, 1501 Broadway, Watervliet. The cost is free to attend. Please call CCSCSS at 518-372-5667 x. 205to register, or for more information. There are many myths about falling. Falling happens to other people, not me. As long as I stay home, I can avoid falling. Fear of falling can be just as dangerous as falling itself. People who develop this fear often limit their activities, which can result in severe physical weakness, making the risk of falling even greater. Many older adults also experience increased isolation and depression when they limit their interactions with family and friends. A Matter of Balance can help people improve their quality of life and remain independent. A Matter of Balance is designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels among older adults 60+. Participants learn to set realistic goals to increase activity, change their environment to reduce fall risk factors, and learn simple exercises to increase strength and balance. Please call 518-372-5667 x. 205to register as space is limited. Please note, social distancing and masks are required to attend. This workshop may be postponed or cancelled at any time due to COVID-19concerns.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS INITIATIVES: To Life!, a not-for-profit organization providing breast cancer support services and women’s health education is pleased to offer initiatives to celebrate breast cancer awareness during the month of October. A special education series, community recognition, exercise challenges, and wellness opportunities will be available in addition to the regular programming offered by To Life! throughout the year. For its Women’s Health Conference, To Life! will host a series of six one-hour virtual programs. These talks cover topics related to surviving and thriving following a breast cancer diagnosis. Talks presented by local medical experts, and will be offered free of charge. Registration is required, visit the To Life website to learn more.The Capital Region Pink Mile Challenge is a virtual event scheduled for the weekend of October 9-11. Run or walk anywhere, anytime. Inviting individuals to gather a team or individually. Participants can also support October awareness by signing a pink card at local businesses. If your business would like a supply of pink cards contact the office. Finally, To Life! will host a virtual Pink Ball fundraising initiative throughout the month of October. We recognize and applaud the efforts of the health care professionals and community members, including Herb and Annmarie Ellis, who will receive the Community Advocate Award on October 30th. To Life! has provided services to women and families since 1998. Founded by Mara Ginsberg, a breast cancer survivor and advocate, To Life! serves a 10-county region including: Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties. To Life! remains committed to fulfill our role as a reliable resource for individuals and families dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis. During this extraordinary year, the demand for our support services has risen dramatically and we continue to meet the need. We rely on public support to raise funds necessary to continue the programs and services our community counts on, funds that allow To Life! operations to continue. Please visit our website www.tolife.org.

SPEIGLE ELDERS: With restrictions still in place due to the current pandemic, this year’s expansive events’ schedule has been canceled through 2020with the following exception. The club sponsors a non-sanctioned bowling league which is open to members and non-members as well and is held at noon on Mondays at the Green Island Lanes. Fees are $9.00weekly ($6.00for bowling and the balance toward prizes and end of year banquet.) This league will follow all COVID-19 protocol while providing exercise and fun on a weekly basis and is currently seeking new and substitute bowlers. Registration takes place every Monday at the lanes or by contacting Mary Riley, 518-469-7782or Lois Kewley, 518-235-3788.

RACE IN AMERICA READING GROUP: Uncovering and Recovering Race in America: A Reading and Discussion Group - On Tuesday, October 6th & 20th, November 3rd & 17th and December 1st & 15th at 6PM, Dr. Jennifer Thompson Burns will lead a reading and discussion group at the Troy Public Library. This reading and discussion group will explore the inception, inculcation, and function of race in American society. We chose this topic to improve our understanding of systematic, and social, inclusion and exclusion in American systems. Our goal is to tease out the implicit ways race serves as a real, and imagined, force in the lives of all Americans. This group will explore racial dynamics in America, centering on the intersectional forces imbedded in systematic racism to better understand the racial disparities in economics, health care and mass incarceration in America today. The first book the group will read is Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer L. Eberhardt. Please have this book read for the October 6th meeting. Copies of the book are available at the check out desk. Registration is required and is limited. For more information and to register call the library at 518-274-7071or online at www.thetroylibrary. org. This program will be presented using Zoom. Joining the presentation will require the installation of the Zoom client on your computer (microphone and speakers required for audio, camera for video) or the Zoom app on your mobile device. FIELD OF HORRORS: Local haunted attraction Field of Horrors is open from 6:30to 11 p.m. on Oct. 2, 3, 9, 10and 11as well as 6to 11p.m. on Oct. , 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 30and 31. This year’s event will feature five different attractions, including the all-new Dr. Morbid’s Haunted House. More information is available online at fieldofhorrors. com, where tickets are available for purchase.

COMFORT FOR THOSE WHO MOURN: This is a 6-week non-denominational Christian grief support group for all those grieving the death of a loved one. We will meet in person using Covid guidelines for safe distancing in the Great Room at St Luke’s on the Hill, 40McBride Rd., Mechanicville (located off Pruyn Hill Rd in the Town of Halfmoon). Wednesdays from 4:30-6:00pm October 21- December 2, 2020. You may register by phone at 518-664-4834 or email dcylynne@gmail.com. For further information visit stlukesonthehill.org/events.

CUT FLOWERS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Make Your Business Bloom - Financial Management for Cut Flowers in 2021. Online Zoom webinar from 12:30-1:30pm on Tuesday, Oct. 20. When the New York on PAUSE order went into effect in March 2020, the local cut flower industry showed just how adaptable it could be on short notice, but the economic impact was still severe. While there are many unknowns as to what to expect in 2021, market channel analysis can help you identify new customers and innovative methods of distribution, marketing, and sales. Join Capital Area Agriculture & Horticulture Program educators Stephen Hadcock, Dayton Maxwell, and Lindsey Christianson to discuss the 2020coronavirus repercussions to the cut flower industry, market channel analysis, and what to look for in your budget as you set goals for your cut flower farm in 2021. This is an online, Zoom-based webinar, $20per farm/ business. Visit https://tinyurl.com/CutFlowerBusiness2021to register (online registration required).

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: Albany Diocesan Cemeteries 2020Photography Contest is now open to the public! With 19 cemeteries located in the Capital District, all feature beautiful nature, statuary, architecture, interesting gravestones, and many have spectacular views. Digital enhancements of your original image is allowed. Participants are invited to submit up to TWO (2) original photographs with their registration. No entry fee. Prize money will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Photos must be of a subject located in one of Albany Diocesan Cemeteries 19cemeteries. Visit https:// blog.capitaldistrictcemeteries.org/adcphotography-contest-2020/ or call 518-350-7679for a list of cemetery locations, contest information, rules & registration form. Submission deadline for all photographs and registrations is October 15th, 2020. Good luck shutterbugs!

ZOOM MEDITATION: The Troy Public Library will offer Meditation Classes on Mondays, Sept. 14– Oct. 26at 6PM. Learn a surprisingly simple yet powerful practice that can help your reduce stress, get recharged, experience overall improved physical health and possibly get you “blissed-out” all while sitting comfortably in a chair. Led by Michael Fuselli, with over 30years of meditation teaching and practice experience. Beginners always welcome. Registration is required. This program will be presented using Zoom. Joining the presentation will require the installation of the Zoom client on your computer (microphone and speakers required for audio, camera for video) or the Zoom app on your mobile device. Please register by calling 518-274-7071, online at www.thetroylibrary.org or by stopping at the information desk.

UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE: Join us at the Troy Public Library on Thursdays, September 10th – October 8th from 6:30PM – 7:30PM for our Understanding Shakespeare workshop. This will be a five-session program on how to understand Shakespeare’s plays. We will start our discussion with Act 1of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Coriolanus.” Then in the following four weeks we will discuss the play one act at a time. This program will allow the participants to put the play in a variety of contexts, such as its relationship to his other works and to the modern existential world. Tom Bulger, Shakespeare Scholar and retired professor from Siena College will lead this workshop. This program is free and open to the public. This program will be conducted using zoom. Registration is necessary. For more information and to register, call the library at 274-7071or online at www. thetroylibrary.org.

CLOTHING SHED CLOSED: The Latham Colonie Knights of Columbus and the Columbiettes thank you for your tremendous support of this fundraising activity especially in the past months when our Social Parlor/Council Hall has been closed due to the Covid-19pandemic. Our Clothing Shed has been temporarily closed! It is hoped that this is just a temporary situation and we can reopen the shed quickly. For more information, contact the K of C at 518-783-0572.

LVORC ACCEPTING NEWTUTORS AND STUDENTS: Since 1968, Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County has helped adults to improve their ability to read, write, speak and understand English. We train volunteers to provide two hours per week of free, confidential tutoring in a public setting. New tutors and learners can join Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County by calling (518) 244-4650or sending an email to LitVolDirector@ aol.com. Call (518) 244-4650to register. Visit www.lvorc.org for more information.

REUNION CANCELED: Under the current Covid-19restrictions on gatherings that are in place, we are unable to hold the Clinton Heights Annual Reunion this year. Please mark your calendar for next year’s reunion to be held Friday, September 10th at Melvin Roads American Legion in East Greenbush.

TROY LIBRARY UPDATE: Troy Public Library is now open with limited services. For your health and safety, the Main Library will be open to the public with limited services available Tuesday - Saturday 11-6. Masks are required for everyone who enters the building. Please continue to return your items to the book drop near the front entrance - this allows us to quarantine them for safety. Curbside service continues, call the library for details at 518-274-7071. There will be a maximum of 25 people allowed into the building at a time. Please use your time wisely to give others a chance to enter. Public computers will be available for 1hour per day, see the information desk when you arrive to make a reservation. Fax and copier services are available. Use of the Troy Room will be by appointment only. Meeting rooms are not yet available. Public Restrooms are not available. No CDTA Navigator cards at this time. Not accepting book donations at this time. There will be no browsing available in the young people’s room but a librarian will be happy to assist you in this department. For details and more information, contact us by phone at 518-274-7071or online at www.thetroylibrary.org. The Troy Public Library is located at 100Second Street, Troy.

VIRTUAL HIDDEN GARDEN TOUR: Troy’s popular Hidden Garden Tour returns as a virtual tour. Now in its 21st year, the tour is a fundraiser to benefit Troy’s Prospect Park. Ordinarily, tour goers pay an admission fee to receive a self-guided map to more than 40private gardens which are open for one night only throughout the Historic Sage, Washington Park and adjoining neighborhoods. In previous years, the rain-or-shine event has attracted more than 1,000tour goers in one day. This year’s virtual tour features 28 gardens, captured in 360-degree interactive photographs that viewers can explore online with their computer or mobile devices. Twelve gardeners recorded personal video messages, which are embedded in their stop on the virtual tour at HiddenGardenTour.com. While most of the gardens are approximately the same size, about 20 feet by 30feet, they vary greatly in style. Some of the gardens feature charming pathways, fountains and pools. Some are filled with flowers, while others have more plants and vegetables — all lovingly tended by gardeners of all skill levels. The online virtual tour is offered at no charge, but donations are welcomed and will benefit ongoing improvement projects in historic Prospect Park, located on Congress Street in Troy. Friends of Prospect Park, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit hopes to provide free event programming in the park in future, when such activities are deemed safe to the public. Donation information is available on the tour’s website. The virtual tour can be accessed through a desktop or laptop computer as well as via tablet or smartphone. Certain gardens have a “play” button that will launch a special video message. The gardens are listed by number and the owners first names in the left hand column and clicking on the circular icon will open that particular garden’s 3D tour. One upside of the virtual version of the garden tour is that this one is always sunny. It’s also accessible 24hours per day for at least a month. For more information Visit www. hiddengardentour.com on your desktop or laptop computer.

RENSSELAER PUBLIC LIBRARY UPDATE: The Rensselaer Public Library now has curbside service for checking out library items. Items can be requested online at catalog.uhls. org, or people can call the library to get help selecting items. The bookdrop will be open for returns of any item in our library system. Curbside service hours will be limited, please call the

Library at 462-1193for details. Staff are also available to help with computer questions and can help set up an online video chat for doing interviews or meetings. For more information, visit our website at Rensselaerlibrary.org.