Community Notes

Freedom's Way honors the region's heritage

HARVARD - Join the second annual heritage tour of Fruitlands trails and Historic Harvard from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, beginning at Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Road.

The purpose of Freedom's Way is to encourage a deeper understanding of the region's unique heritage and to inspire a sense of stewardship in children and adults by promoting cultural sites, open space resources and historical events and to honor its heritage through education by supporting the use and linkage of existing facilities at Fruitlands and other museums, town historic sites and cultural centers in order to enhance understanding.

Freedom's Way is a region comprised of 45 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that share a common geographic, historical and cultural heritage.

For more information and directions, call (978) 456-3924, Ext. 235 or visit www.fruitlands.org.

Theatre company offers rare insights into the deaf community

FITCHBURG - Boston's Show of Hands Theatre Company will offer rare insights into the world of the deaf community through use of their improvised theatre works in naturally-evolved American Sign Language, the distinct language of its own right at Fitchburg State College.

The event, a Robert Cormier Lecture, will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in Kent Recital Hall of the Conlon Building. It is part of the college's New England Writers Series.

The evening's presentation will encompass the deaf community's history, culture and struggle of being misunderstood and oppressed; and will move through to enlightenment, with their storytelling, body movements and poetry in rhymes of handshapes and movements to tell their basic truth.

Vocal translation for the benefit of the non-deaf audience will be provided. ASL interpreters will be provided.

The Robert Cormier Lecture was established through an initial gift from Knopf Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group, a division of Random House Childrens Books. The lecture is in memory of the late young adult fiction writer who gave so graciously of his time and talents to the community and the college.

Tickets, $10; $7 for faculty, staff and seniors, ($5 for FSC students and children under 18) are available at the college's box office, by mail order, or at the door. Call the Weston Box Office at (978) 665-3347 or (978) 665-3709 for more information.