Thank you Northfield for supporting Rise Up Bakery and the Ukrainian People through our Farmer's Market!

The Barre Historical Society invites the public to join newly-elected Barre Mayor Jake Hemmerick for the presentation and reading of a proclamation honoring Rise Up Bakery bakers Jim and Larissa Haas on Friday March 18, 5 pm outside the Old Labor Hall and the Bakery, at 46 and 48Granite St.

The Haases are being honored for their service to the Barre community and as a gesture of support for Ukraine. Jim, a Vermont native, met Larissa while studying in Ukraine. In 2006, the couple opened a bakery outside of Kyiv, which they ran for two decades. In 2019, they left Ukraine to open a wood-fired bread business at Barre's newly-restored Rise Up Bakery.

The proclamation states in part that the Haases "have brought Ukrainian pride and solidarity to Barre during the savage invasion of Ukraine and the threats to their very family there."

The Haases have also launched a fundraising drive to send essentials including hygiene products, clothes, food, first aid and, medications to Ukraine.

People attending the Labor Hall presentation must be vaccinated and masked.