Seven candidates are scheduled to speak.
SOUTH HADLEY - A candidates night on Thursday will give residents an opportunity to hear from the candidates for local office in this year's election.
The event will be at Town Hall at 7 p.m. and will be moderated by Channel 40 news anchor Ray Hershel.
Candidates will give statements on their backgrounds and policies, followed by questions from the audience. Refreshments will be served afterward.
There are seven candidates scheduled to speak. Three are running for the selectboard, two for the school committee, one for the board of health and one for the municipal light board.
The election is set for April 4. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Candidates Night is presented by the group Know Your Town of South Hadley. It is free and open to the public.
"People look forward to it every year to meet their candidates," said Martha Terry, a member of the organizational committee for Know Your Town.
"(The candidates) really have to speak on their toes, speak without preparation, to the questions asked by the audience."
There are races for town moderator, school committee, trustee for Free Public Library and town meeting representatives for wards B, C and D, said town clerk Carlene C. Hamlin.
Many of those running in contested races are incumbents, Hamlin said.
There are 12 people running for town meeting representative for ward B, nine for ward C and 11 for ward D. There are eight seats available in each ward, but only six people are running in A and five are running in E, said Hamlin.
Running for selectboard are incumbents Robert G. Judge and Francis DeToma, as well as Chester Sinclair. There are two seats up for grabs.
Four candidates are running for three seats on the Trustees of the Free Public Library. They include incumbents Helen Gage, Susan Crowther, and Joyce O'Neil, as well as Barbara Salthouse.
Four candidates are seeking two seats on the School Committee. The candidates are Robert Abrams, Shannon Hann, Kevin McAllister and Barry C.D. Waite.
Races for board of health, municipal light board, board of assessors, planning board and town meeting representatives for wards A and E are uncontested.