Community Spotlight

Haverhill Students in Grades 4-7 Can Learn Digital Game Design

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The UMass Lowell Innovation Hub will host a free digital game design workshop for Haverhill students in fourth to seventh grade and who live in or go to school in Haverhill. The workshop takes place Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to noon. Limited available spots will fill quickly; those who are interested may visit uml.edu/ihub to register. Participants will learn about the game design process through tabletop games and demonstrations of digital game tools. Students will have an opportunity to playtest their prototyped games with others,

No experience is necessary, and all materials will be supplied.

Community Spotlight

Haverhill’s Brightside Invites Volunteers to Join Earth Day Cleanup

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Haverhill’s Brightside welcomes volunteers for its annual Earth Day Cleanup, focusing this year on neighborhood “pocket parks” and hidden green spaces. Volunteers and Brightside members will gather Saturday, April 20, at 8:30 a.m., at the Citizens Center, 10 Welcome St., and from there disperse to their assigned locations throughout the city. Last year, more than 400 people took part. With those kinds of numbers, organization is a must, which is why volunteers are asked to visit the Haverhill Recreation Department’s website, haverhillrec.com, to register. Participants choose their own site and note whether they’re signing up as a group or individual.

Community Spotlight

Haverhill to Honor Livingston, Who Wrote Scripts for ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture,’ Many TV Shows

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Harold Livingston, Hollywood screenwriter and novelist best known for writing the script for the 1979 “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” is set to be inducted next week into the Haverhill Citizens Hall of Fame. Livingston was assisted by the creator of the original television series, Gene Rodenberry, and sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster, earning them a nomination for the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. The movie starred the cast of the cult classic TV series, including William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, and spawned a franchise of sequels and spinoffs. A ceremony takes place Saturday, April 13, 2 p.m., at Haverhill Public Library’s Johnson Auditorium, 99 Main St. There is no admission charge.

Community Spotlight

Haverhill Art Walk Seeks Artists and Vendors for Art Market Saturday, June 8

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The Haverhill Art Walk, returning to downtown Haverhill in June and September, is seeking artists and vendors to participate in the art market Saturday, June 8. The annual event highlights local businesses and forgotten alleyways with plein air painting, poetry, exhibitions, outdoor activities, music performances and the Haverhill Alleyway Art Market. Artists of all ages and practices are invited to apply, and new this year, there is no participation fee. The application is online at creativehaverhill.org/haverhill-art-walk with a deadline of Monday, April 22. Vendors will be notified by May 1.

Community Spotlight

Greater Lawrence Family Health Center to Honor WBZ-TV’s Mallika Marshall May 1

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Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation, will be the keynote speaker next month when Greater Lawrence Family Health Center honors Dr. Mallika Marshall, WBZ-TV’s medical director. It’s all part of the Health Center’s 19th Annual Making a Difference Gala, the agency’s largest fundraiser benefitting 68,000 patients across the Merrimack Valley. Marshall is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Anchor for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for more than 20 years. A practicing physician board certified in both internal medicine and pediatrics, she serves on staff at Harvard Medical School. She practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and formerly at the MGH Revere Health Center, where she worked on the front lines caring for patients with COVID-19.

Community Spotlight

Free ACAT Summer Theatre Workshop Taking Applications for Kids 7-17

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Registration is open for The Annual Academy of Creative Arts at Trinity Summer Theatre Workshop. During the week-long workshop, kids ages 7 to 17 work on preparing a full, multicultural presentation of “Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids.” They will create the set design, learn choreography, sing and act. The ACAT workshop runs from Monday, July 29, through Friday, Aug. 2, at Trinity Haverhill, 26 White St., Haverhill. Monday to Thursday hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday is 9 a.m. until the end of the performance that starts at 5 p.m. The program is free and open to all local children thanks to a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council.

Community Spotlight

Give to Haverhill Boys and Girls Club and Amelia Peabody Foundation will Match ‘Back A Kid’ Donations

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Donors have a chance to double their impacts on the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Haverhill between now and June as the 2024 Amelia Peabody Foundation matches donations in support of the “Back a Kid” annual fund. “Back a Kid” supports operations of all after-school and summer programs that serve nearly 1,000 kids every year. The Club provides kids with a caring adult mentor, a daily hot meal and access to more than 25 programs.

During the matching grant challenge, all donations to “Back A Kid” will be matched dollar for dollar up to $25,000 by the Amelia Peabody Foundation. The first 100 donors to donate $100 or more by April 15 will be listed on the Club’s “Walk-A-Palooza” event t-shirt. The annual walk through downtown Haverhill, which raises awareness and support for the Club, takes place Saturday, May 4.

Community Spotlight

Plaistow, N.H., Recreation Plans Easter Egg Hunt Saturday Morning

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An Easter Egg Hunt for Plaistow, N.H., children takes place Saturday morning. Plaistow Recreation is hosting the hunt Saturday, March 30, 9:30 a.m., at the Plaistow Town Green. Mr. Bunny plans to leave the Pollard School and the egg hunt begins when he arrives at the Gazebo. Parents are advised to bring an Easter pail for their children. After all the eggs have been found Mr. Bunny will be available for photos.