I 'solved' this by creating a new account, under a different name (yes, I know it's 'against the rules') that is purely a member of the local groups. It has no friends, no timeline posts, just for staying up to date with community events.

I have no real reason to check it, as there is not really anything posted, but I can hop on once or twice a week to see what is coming up.

Unfortunately, that's the best way I've found to know what goes on in the village vs not actually wanting to participate in Facebook