WESTFORD, MA: Grown-ups & your kids!  How about some fun time you can share TOGETHER on Saturday, October 27 from 10am-3pm in the Loft at Parish Center for the Arts?  Spend the day creating Yupo Paper Lanterns!  With the days getting shorter and the nights longer, create one-of-a-kind lanterns to decorate and illuminate.  This session is for adults with their children ages 8+.  When completed, you can take your amazing creations home, and/or include them in the PCA's Loft classes exhibition on December 16.  Bring your own lunch, but otherwise all materials will be provided. Please register early online at https://parisharts.square.site/arts-in-the-loft or call (978) 692-6333 for more information.

Sustainable Westford presents the award-winning film Kiss the Ground, a free, in-person event on Saturday September 28, 1:30 pm, at the Parish Center for the Arts, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford, MA.
Narrated by and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is a groundbreaking documentary that reveals that regenerating the world’s soils can stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems, and create abundant food supplies. The New York Times describes the film as “elevated by stirring imagery,” inspiring “a rare feeling of hope.”
The afternoon will also include a moderated panel discussion. Local soil experts from Bootstrap Compost and Weston Nurseries will be available to answer questions. Light refreshments will be served.
Topics covered will include composting and its relationship to soil health, the soil carbon sponge, and more.
All attendees will be eligible to win a great gift – one year of bi-weekly food waste curbside pick-up service from Bootstrap Compost. A $170.00 value.

WESTFORD: Another opening, another show!  The Parish Center for the Arts is formally opening its 2024-2025 season this weekend with four fun events.  Pack up your totes with your favorite foods and beverages and enjoy a wealth of entertainment and activity:

• September 13 – Trusting Fate (Americana Band), 7pm. For Trusting Fate, it's in the DNA. 15 years, hundreds of tunes both original and cover, multiple instruments apiece, three lead vocals with effortless harmony, always a switch-up parade through the genres, and more fun playing together and for their loyal followers than the law should allow - all melding into a tasty combination. Tight harmonies, varied instrumentation, powerful lyrics and great melodies are in store.  Tickets range from $15-$25.
• September 14 – Superior Sound Workshop, 9am-1pm. Techies, Singers & Musicians Welcome! Learn the basics of concert sound, reinforcement & support, and gain hands-on skills with the PCA’s sound system. Review equipment & usage, experiment with techniques, EQ, effects & more! Appropriate for all levels of experience. This is a free program, open to the public. Maximum 12. Advance registration requested. Call or email admin@pcawestford.org for information!
• September 15 – The Nashaway Trio (Chamber Music), 4pm. Roy Imperio (piano), Caroline Reiner-Williams (cello), and Angel Hernandez Dominguez (violin) make up The Nashaway Trio. The Nashaway was a Native American tribe that inhabited the Nashua River valley during the 17th century. The name was chosen by the trio as being uniquely representative of the Lancaster, MA region (where the group was founded in 2009) and its rich history, as well as the musicians’ roots here. Tickets range from $5-$20.

There’s a whole season ahead at the PCA, with events running through next June!  Stop by to see some other favorites and do some terrific things such as art classes in the Loft, comedian Frank Santorelli (The Sopranos), Lui Collins, Squeezebox Stompers, the Charlie Brown Christmas Jazz Concert, Cold Chocolate, a Beatles Tribute Karaoke Night, pianist Matthew Odell, the Westford Regional Art Event, Don White's Annual Concert, Cynthia MacLeod  and Gordon Belsher, soprano Jane Shivick...and so much more!  There’s always something happening at the PCA!
The PCA is located at 10 Lincoln Street, right on Westford Common. For tickets and information, visit pcawestford.org, call (978) 692-6333, or email to admin@pcawestford.org to receive weekly updates!
Direct Ticket Links:
Trusting Fate: https://parisharts.square.site/product/9-13-24-trusting-fate/185
The Nashaway Trio: https://parisharts.square.site/product/9-15-24-the-nashaway-trio/216

Prachi Dayal, of Acton, dropped out of high school at 16-years-old. After earning her GED, she started looking into options to continue her education. In May 2024, Dayal graduated from Middlesex Community College with highest honors and an associate degree in paralegal studies. “MCC gave me a jumpstart on my college education,” Dayal said. “I found an accessible education at a low cost that offered a major that perfectly aligned with my goals. Because of MCC, I was able to intern at the courthouse and work at ACE (MCC’s Academic Centers for Enrichment), which helped me grow my network and gain more job opportunities.” Dayal chose to pursue paralegal studies because of her interest in fixing the legal systems in both India andAmerica. Classmates and professors such as Virginia Drislane offered support to help her succeed. After meeting her through ACE, Drislane inspired Dayal to apply to four-year schools. Studying different areas of the law prepared Dayal for her internship. At the Lowell Juvenile Court, she read and watched cases, processed people as they went in and out of court, and completed administrative duties. She also had the opportunity to handle a variety of types of cases found at juvenile court, including delinquencies, care and protections, and child requiring assistance cases. “I developed my network and met many court employees and attorneys who inspired me,” Dayal said. “I learned that the Lowell Juvenile Court is truly rehabilitative and the judges, court officers, clerks and personnel that work there are genuinely compassionate people.” As an MCC tutor and Blackboard Ambassador for ACE, Dayal formed connections around the college. While MCC learning specialists helped her find opportunities, she assisted other students in progressing in class. Calling the position “rewarding,” Dayal believes the experience showed how committed MCC staff were to her success. At the college’s 2024 Evening of Excellence awards, Dayal received the Deborah Walsh Paralegal Studies Award for her academic achievement and service to MCC through activities and leadership experiences. Named a speaker at the ceremony, Dayal spoke about her journey to getting her education. “My speech reflected on a letter I wrote to my future self in sixth grade,” she said. “It was so healing to write and read out loud. Being nominated and then selected instilled so much confidence, and I am so grateful to the people who nominated me and helped me get there.” After graduating from MCC with her associate degree in paralegal studies in May 2024, Dayal plans to transfer toUMass Amherst to pursue her bachelor’s in sociology. One day, she hopes to go to law school. “I have met so many great people who encouraged me to open up about my background,” she said. “I was able to access so many networking and job opportunities with extremely supportive professors and students, and a variety of classes that prepared me for jobs.”