EARTH DAY

Earth Day is this Wednesday.  Included below are events happening on and for Earth Day for families.  Check out the side bar for links to on-line resources for Earth Day too.

EVENTS FOR SCHOOL VACATION. ETC.

This week’s list of suggested events will include the weekends of April 18th/19th and April 25th/26th, along with event links for Earth Day.  Be sure to check out our  “Suggest an Event” page for event happening during spring vacation week, along with our “Suggest a Camp” page.  If you didn’t get you event posted on our “Suggest an Event” page on time, no worries … go ahead and post it and families can find events there.

SUGGEST AN EVENT

If you have a family-friendly event or educational program happening in Western Massachusetts that you’d like to let us know about, post your event on our “Suggest An Event” page.

FEATURED EVENT

Puppet Festival in Northampton!  Marionettes take the stage at the Academy of Music in Northampton, MA during the April School Vacation period, April 20-23, 2009. The finest puppet companies in New England will bring the magical world of Marionette Theater to Northampton every morning of School Vacation with two shows daily: 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Each day a different show will be presented.  Click on the image to see a full schedule of events.

HILLTOWN FAMILY VARIETY SHOW

Tune in to the Hilltown Family Variety Show on Saturdays from 9-10am on Valley Free Radio (VFR), 103.3FM (Northampton, MA), or listen via streaming audio at www.ValleyFreeRadio.org for an encore presentation of the Bill Harley Episode.

Every Saturday VFR offers four hours of commercial-free, quality family program from 6-10am, including Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child from 7am-9am. It’s better than Saturday morning cartoons!

Suggest an Event | Local Forecast | Get Directions | Free Museum Passes | School Closings and Delays | Family Centers (Ages 0-4) | Facebook

Events Happening in the Hilltowns

Saturday – 04/18

• 7am-9am – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child on 103.3FM WXOJ, Northampton, MA or starting at 8am on The River.
• 9am-10am – Hilltown Family Variety Show on 103.3FM WXOJ, Northampton, MA. – Encore episode with guest DJ, Grammy-award winning storyteller, Bill Harley.
• 8am – Altantic Salmon Fry stocking at the Sawmill River (intersection of Route 47 & 63) in Montague, MA.  For more info call Caleb Slater at 508-389-6331 (Free)
• 9am-Noon – Older kids and their parents can learn about area invasive plant species with the Trustees of Reservations at the Community House in Cummington, MA. (Free)
• 10am – Vernal Pool discoveries at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton, MA.
• 10am-4pm – Hancock Shaker Village Baby Animals Events in Pittsfield, MA.
• 10am-Noon – Northampton’s Week of the Young Child happens at the Jackson Street School in Northampton, MA with a children’s festival.  (Free)
• 11am & 2pm – THEATER: The Brementown Musicians will be presented by Castle Hill Theatre in the auditorium at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.
• Noon-5:30pm – Chicken coop tour in Hatfield, Florence, Easthampton and Chesterfield. (Free)
• Noon-4pm – Take the kids to discover the Lost Art of Letter Writing at the Historic Deerfield Museum in Deerfield, MA. [Free with general admission. Check out a museum pass from your library]
• 8pm – MUSIC: Swing Caravan at Elmer’s in Ashfield, MA.
• 8:30pm – MUSIC: Radio Free Earth at Ashfield Lakehouse in Ashfield, MA.

Sunday – 04/19

• 10am-1pm – Path of the Otter in Ashfield, MA with Rona Leventhal.
• Noon-4pm – Paris Day at The Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA for the whole families. (Free)
• 1-4pm – OPEN HOUSE: Fun events for the family at the Art Bridge Open House in Shelburne, MA. (Free)
• 2pm – THEATER: The Brementown Musicians will be presented by Castle Hill Theatre in the auditorium at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.
• 3pm – MUSIC: Bring the family to hear choral music. The Smith College Orchestra, Chorus and Glee Club, joined with several area adult and children’s choral groups and mezzo-soprano Krista River will be presenting Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.3, “Posthorn” at John M. GreenHall at Smith College in Northampton, MA.

Earth Day – 04/22

• The Canal Gallery in Holyoke, MA
• The Fine Arts Center at UMass in Amherst, MA
• River Valley Market in Northampton, MA
• Academy of Music Theater in Northampton, MA
• The Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA
• Historic Deerfield Museum in Deerfield, MA
• Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA
• A2Z Science and Learning Store in Northampton, MA
• Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA

Saturday – 04/25

7am-9am – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child on 103.3FM WXOJ, Northampton, MA or starting at 8am on The River.



April Fun at UMass. Click to see flyer.

9am-10am – Hilltown Family Variety Show on 103.3FM WXOJ, Northampton, MA.

8am – Altantic Salmon Fry stocking.  Meet at the Gateway Regional HS in Huntington, MA.  For more info call Caleb Slater at 508-389-6331 (Free)

9am-Noon – PLANT SALE: Get your family garden plants at the River Valley Market’s plant sale in Northampton, MA.

9am-Noon – Community celebration with the Florence Savings Bank in Williamsburg, MA. (Free)

9am-5:30pm – Check out antique maps at the Historic Deerfield Museum in Deerfield, MA.

9am-1pm – VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:  Community clean-up at the Chapel Brook Reservation in Ashfield, MA. (Free)

9-11:30am – Woodland Fairy Fun at Northfield Mountain in Northfield, MA.

9:30-11:30am – HIKE: Take the family on a beaver hike at the Fitzgerald Lake in Northampton, MA with Bob McMaster. (Free)

10am-4pm – Hancock Shaker Village Baby Animals Events in Pittsfield, MA.

Noon-4pm – Take the kids to discover the Lost Art of Letter Writing at the Historic Deerfield Museum in Deerfield, MA. [Free with general admission. Check out a museum pass from your library]

10am – HIKE: Community hike in Colrain, MA with the Deerfield River Watershed Association.

10:30am-Noon – Families wanting to conserve energy can join Take Charge! home energy savings campaign on the lawn of the Meekins Library in Williamsburg, MA. (Free)

8pm – THEATER: The Diary of Anne Frank will be presented at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls, MA by the Arena Civic Theatre.

Under the Tree Music Company will be presenting a playshop connecting nature, music, art and self-expression at the Hitchock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA.

Sunday – 04/26

All Day – Fantastic Family Expo at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton, MA, featuring Mariana Iranzi.

9am-2pm – VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:  Families can volunteer at the River Valley Market for a planting day in Northampton, MA. (Free)

Noon – VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Hilltown Hunger Walk in Huntington, MA. (Free)

1-4pm – Families wanted to have chickens can check out Red Gate Farms workshop, Chickens for Beginners, in Buckland, MA.

4-6pm – Family dance at the Montague Grange in Montague, MA.

4pm – MUSIC: More choral music the family can enjoy with a choral concert with the Pioneer Valley Cappella in Holyoke, MA at the Wistariahurst Museum. (Donation)

Weekdays 04/20/09-05/01/09

For more events happening this week visit our “Suggest An Event” page. There are also fun suggestions on our THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO SEE page. If you know of an upcoming event that you would like to share with other families, please feel encourage to do so by posting it HERE.