Pass The Polenta. Cook, gardener and writer, Teresa Lust will read from Pass the Polenta: And Other Writings from the Kitchen and demonstrate how to cook a proper risotto.

The Writing Life. Castle Freeman will read from his novel Go With Me and his forthcoming novel All That I Have as well as talk about the writing life.

The Nuts and Bolts of Organic Gardening. Master gardener and author Henry Homeyer will talk about how to have great vegetables and flowers without using chemicals and will encourage people to start small vegetable gardens.

Town Meeting: Making a Difference at the Local Level. Deb Markowitz has served as Secretary of State since 1998. She was the first director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Municipal Law Center and founded the Vermont Women’s Leadership Initiative.

Patchworks: A Night of Quilts and Stories. Natalie Kinsey-Warnock who writes picture books and novels for young readers, is also an artist and a quilter. Using slides and drawings she will share stories and pictures of her family and life in the Northeast Kingdom.

Chasing Woodpeckers author, nature photographer and conservationist Bryan Pfeiffer will give a slide talk about his search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas. He co-hosts “For The Birds” Saturday mornings on WDEV and co-authored Birdwatching in Vermont.