Spring Break Suggested Events

It’s Thursday (already!) and I’m home with my daughter. Her school was canceled today due to the fact that it’s SNOWING outside! That’s wacky. That’s New England (or is that global warming?).

This past weekend many hilltown families celebrated Easter or Passover, or both. Click here to see a video from a community Passover celebration in West Chesterfield. One very gracious family invited many non-Jewish guests to gathered for a Sader dinner, sharing the culinary traditions and history of foods served during Passover.

This next week is school break. There’s a lot of things to do at our area museums. I’m certain there’s more going on than what’s listed below. Call your favorite museum to see what’s going on this week. Check with your local library for a free museum pass to borrow.

If you have a family friendly event or educational program you’d like to let us know about, or would like to submit your event to the Hilltown Families calendar of Suggested Events, email Sienna at swildfield@juno.com.

Comments are warmly welcomed!

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Friday – 04/13/07

9am – BOOK SALE – At the Westfield Atheneum. 413.568.7833 [Families]

5pm – COMMUNITY DINNER – Elmer’s in Ashfield, MA, invites community members to come together to share dinner and conversation every Friday evening. Menu TBA. 413.628.4003 [Families] ($)

6:30pm – VERNAL POOLS – At Arcadia Mass Audubon in Easthampton, MA. Vernal pools are unique and critical habitats that are breeding grounds for many state listed species. April is the best, and often the only, time to see animals such as spotted salamanders and wood frogs. When the wood frogs hatch, it is possible to see them from the Arcadia boardwalk. Play games indoors to learn about vernal pools and what “the big night” really is. Learn why it is so crucial to protect these small bodies of water, and what you can do to help ensure their protection. Bring a flashlight and wear good walking shoes. Registration required: 413.584.3009 [Families] ($)

5pm – ARTS NIGHT OUT – In Northampton, MA, A festive cultural excursion around Northampton’s visual arts community, with artist showings and light refreshments at selected galleries from 5-8pm. Galleries include A.P.E., Artisan, William Baczek Fine Art, Don Muller, Old Courthouse, R. Michelson, Oxbow, The Naked Art and Alfredo’s. Other venues are Claytopia, Guild Art Supply, Northampton Pottery, Pinch, Smith College Museum of Art, Silverscape Designs, Northampton Center for the Arts and Scandihoovians. 413.584.1900. [Families] (Free)

Saturday – 04/14/07

8am – MUSIC – While traveling around town, tune-in to WXOJ 103.3 FM in Northampton, MA, from 8-10am to hear fabulous family friendly music on Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. This weeks show is hosted by Sienna & Persephone from the HFVS. [All ages] (Free)

8:15am – SALMON STOCKING – The Westfield River Watershed Association invites families to help stock Atlantic salmon to the Westfield River. Fun for the whole family. Bring water, light lunch, and river shoes. Meet in the Commuter Parking lot of Westfield State College. 413.562.3467 [Families] (Free)

10am – Noon – HEALTHY KIDS DAY – At the Northampton YMCA.

10am – FAMILY BOOK CLUB – Parents and children ages 9-12 are invited to the Meekins Library in Williamsburg for a free family book club. Each family will read the same book and then come together once a month for discussion and fun. Next gathering will be 04/04/07. Call to register: 238.5511 x155. [Ages 9-12] (Free)

Noon – RALLY FOR A LIVABLE CLIMATE – A family event in Northampton at Pulaski Park. Call on Congress to help solve the climate crisis. Performances by the Lonesome Brothers, Hilltown Children’s Chorus, Aza Ashe drumming group, Feet of the Sky Puppets, along with local leaders address the audience. Part of the Step It Up 2007 project. [Families] (Free)

7:30pm – PANOPLY – The Hampshire College’s Circus Folk Unite! Circus and cabaret will be performing Panoply at the Northampton Center for the Arts. 413.584.7327 [Families] ($)

Sunday – 04/15/07

NATIONAL MONTH OF THE YOUNG CHILD

3pm – SWING INTO SPRING – The Florence Community Band, in affiliation with the Northampton Recreation Department, will present Swing Into Spring at the Northampton High School theater. Featuring music from the “Big Band Era” and special guests the Jack Kowal Swing Band. There is no charge for admission, however donations will be accepted. There will be a Spring Raffle and Bake Sale. 413.584.3238 [Families] (Free)(Canceled due to SNOW??!!)

Monday – 04/16/07

TAX DAY & PATRIOT’S DAY

1pm – BIRDS IN THEIR HABITAT – At the Springfield Museum Henry Lappen will be performing “Birds in Their Habitat,” using imaginative masks and comic antics. Lappen shows how birds adapt to their environment and why they look and act the way they do. In the Museum of Fine Arts auditorium. Also at the Springfield Museums with be a craft projects: “It’s a Twister” – Make a spiral mobile with pipe cleaners, felt, pom poms, and other materials; 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum. 1.800.625.7738 [Families] ($)

Tuesday – 04/17/07

New Moon

1:30pm – PUPPET SHOW – At the Springfield Museum, “Rosalita and the Giant Bugs” will be performed by Rosalita’s Puppets. The show tells how Rosalita drinks a bottle of something strange, she shrinks and is scared of the giant bugs in her garden. Mr. Bob, the caterpillar, tells her the only who can help is the dragonfly, so she goes on a quest to find the dragonfly. On the way she meets Queen Ant, a ladybug, and a spider. In the Museum of Fine Arts auditorium. 1.800.625.7738 [Families] ($)

7pm – Hilltown Family Variety Show – Tune-in between bath and bed time to the Hilltown Families very own radio show on WXOJ 103.3LP-FM, Valley Free Radio, out of Northampton, MA. www.valleyfreeradio.org [Families] (Free)

Wednesday – 04/18/07

1pm – FAMILY PERFORMANCE – At the Springfield Museum, Jackson Gillman performs “Swamp Cakes and Cattails,” through songs and stories about a dinosaur’s birthday party. In the Museum of Fine Arts auditorium. 1.800.625.7738 [Families] ($)

9am-ish – HILLTOWN PARENTS SOCIAL – Breakfast at Elmer’s! After dropping your children off at school, Hilltown Families invites you to head on over to Elmer’s in Ashfield, MA, for coffee, tea and crumpets. Bring your lap tops and get some work done too. 413.628.4003 [Parents] (Free/$)

Thursday – 04/19/07

1:30pm – EARTH DAY PERFORMANCE – At the Springfield Museum, Mark Binder performs “Tales from the Outdoors,” environmental stories in celebration of Earth Day. At the Museum of Fine Arts Auditorium. Craft project for the day: Make a 3-D “spinning sun”; 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum. 1.800.625.7738 [Families] ($)

6pm – GIRLS ROCK CLIMBING – Last chance! From 6-9pm at Westfield State College in Westfield, MA, there will be indoor rock climbing for girls. Learn safety, knots, belay techniques, while exploring rock climbing. Call for more information. 413.667.2299 [Girls 7 & up] ($$)

Friday – 04/20/07

11am – CHILDREN’S THEATRE – The Berkshire Children’s Theatre presents Peter Rabbit at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA. Peter Rabbit, Farmer McGregor, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail sing and dance in this 1950s musical “twist” on the classic children’s story, directed and adapted by Kara Demler. 413-443-7171, x 10. [Ages 3 & Up] ($)

1pm – CHILDREN’S PERFORMANCE – At the Springfield Museum, “Maggie’s Garden” will be performed by Marmalade Productions. A 6 ½-foot-tall horse named Maggie inspires her 2 ½-foot-tall human friend, Robin, to plant a garden of her own, complete with talking vegetables and dancing earthworm. In the Museum of Fine Arts auditorium. 1.800.625.7738 [Families] ($)

7pm – NOCTURNAL POND – Join Red Gate Farm in Buckland, MA, for a tromp down to the pond from the farm to experience The Nocturnal Pond. Learn about springtime pond activity as children get firsthand experience with evening pond life and creatures of the wetlands. 413.625.9503 (All Ages) ($)

Anyday – Anytime

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