Hilltown Families 
Suggested Events 05/16/09-05/27/09
Worthington Gardeners Plant Sale (Photo credit: Sienna Wildfield)
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. The events below are “suggested.” Please take the time to confirm that these events are happening, along with time, location, age appropriateness and costs before attending.
FEATURED EVENT
The Ashfield Community Preschool will hold a May Fair Celebration and a benefit concert with The Nields at the preschool on Saturday May 16th in Ashfield, MA. At 10 a.m. the grounds will open to Maypole dancing, a woods walk through a fairy forest, a baby animals barnyard, crafts, music and food. The event is meant to celebrate spring and the preschool’s 25th anniversary. Lady Spring herself will greet the children wearing her long, green cloak. Other cloaked figures will guide visitors through the activities. Click here for more info.
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 the Lunch Sack Episode of HFVS.
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!
What we’re listening to:
- Recess Monkey – Lunch Sack
- Mary Kaye – Music Box
Suggest an Event | Local Forecast | Get Directions | Free Museum Passes | Farmer’s Market | Family Centers (Ages 0-4) | Facebook
Events Happening in the Hilltowns
Saturday – 05/16
- 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 – Lunch Sack Episode.
- 9-11am – Plant sale in Worthington, MA.
- 9am-12Noon – Kid Fest at Davenport Child Care in Chesterfield, MA. Includes a tag sale, bake sale and more.
- 9am-12Noon – Plant sale at the First Congregational Church in Ashfield, MA. 625-6967
- 9am-12Noon – Bridge of Flowers plant sale in Shelburne Falls, MA.
- 9:30am-1:30pm – Plant sale at the town hall in Westhampton, MA.
- 9am-2pm – Outlook Farm’s Bloomin’ Festival in Westhampton, MA.
- 9-2pm – Five Mile Pond Family Fishing Festival in Springfield, MA.
- 9am-5pm – NATURE DISCOVERIES: Visit the Barrett Fishway in Holyoke, MA to view their fish lift which carries migrating fish up and over the Holyoke dam. (Free)
- 10am – DISCUSSION: “Growing Toward Adulthood: The Role of the Local School in Neighborhood Building” happens at the Senior Center in Shelburne Falls, MA. (Free)
- 10am – May Fair Celebration at the Ashfield Community Preschool with a benefit concert with The Nields in Ashfield, MA.
- Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA is offering free admission throughout the month of May. (Free)
- 10am-1pm – Path of the Otter program continues in Ashfield, MA.
- 10am-1pm – VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Open house training and orientation day at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum in Shelburne Falls, MA.
- 10-11:30am – Farm Babies at Red Gate Farm in Buckland, MA.
- 10:30-1pm – International Fair at the Amherst Montessori School in Amherst, MA. (Free)
- 11-3pm – Bike clinic at Pulaski Park in Northampton, MA. (Free)
- 11am – Superhero party at the Odyssey Bookshop in Hadley, MA. (Free)
- 11am-4pm – Springfest ’09 at the Northampton Community Music Center in Northampton, MA. A city wide celebration.
- Noon – Northampton Day at Look Memorial Park in Florence, MA.
- Noon-4pm – MUSEUM ADVENTURES: At the Historic Deerfield Museum in Deerfield, MA discover cloth quilts from history and make a mini-quilt to take home.
- 1-3pm – Community bike ride starting at Pulaski Park in Northampton, MA. (Free)
- 4-6pm – SPORTS: There will be a public ice skate at the Mullins Center Ice Rink at UMass in Amherst. Skate rentals available. 413.545.399
- 7pm – The Hilltown Choral Society will have their spring concert at the Plainfield Congregational Church in Plainfield, MA.
- 8-10pm – Stargazing at Notchview in Windsor, MA. (Free)
Sunday – 05/17
- Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA is offering free admission throughout the month of May. (Free)
- 9am-5pm – NATURE DISCOVERIES: Visit the Barrett Fishway in Holyoke, MA to view their fish lift which carries migrating fish up and over the Holyoke dam. (Free)
- Noon-4pm – At the Historic Deerfield Museum in Deerfield, MA discover cloth quilts from history and make a mini-quilt to take home.
- 1-4pm – Hilltown Families listserv member Heather Cupo will conduct a hands-on field course on how to properly identify the invasive plant species, Garlic Mustard, at the Bryant Homestead in Cummington, MA. (Free)
- 3-5pm – SPORTS: There will be a public ice skate at the Mullins Center Ice Rink at UMass in Amherst. Skate rentals available. 413.545.3990
- 4pm – The Hilltown Choral Society will have their spring concert at the Plainfield Congregational Church in Plainfield, MA.
- 10am – Community hike of the Deerfield River Watershed, beginning at West Charlemont, MA. (Free)
- 6-8pm – Seed Bank meeting at Red Gate Farm in Buckland, MA. (Free)
Weekdays 05/18/09-05/27/09
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.
IN PITTSFIELD, MA THIS WEEK
Friday: Opening Night at Wahconah Park
After hosting the 150th Williams vs. Amherst game on ESPN at a rejuvenated Wahconah Park last week, the U.S. Military All-Stars make their much anticipated Pittsfield debut facing off against the Latin Stars followed by fireworks. In preparation for the historic 20th Annual “Red, White and Blue Tour” visiting 45 states and 8 countries, the U.S. Military All-Stars will conduct spring training at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy and play almost every night at Wahconah. The program, which was founded in 1990, has expanded to include five teams at every level of baseball including the Pittsfield American Defenders.
Friday, May 15 | 6:30pm-11pm |Wahconah Park | 105 Wahconah St | 603-883-2255 | $8/$1 for 12 & under
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Sat: Catch the Buzz at Berkshire Museum
The Berkshire Museum celebrates the return of the bees after the long Berkshire winter. From 11 a.m. to noon, cake & lemonade will be served in the Berkshire Backyard gallery, and from noon to 2 p.m., a beekeeping workshop with Northern Berkshire Beekeepers Association President and Secretary, Tom Stefanik and Tony Pisano, will be held. They will discuss the current state of beekeeping, how to start your own hive, honey harvesting, medicinal uses, differences in honey color & taste, predators, diseases, feeding, extracting, the current colony collapse disorder, bee behavior, and even how not to get stung.
Saturday, May 16 | 11am | Berkshire Museum | 39 South St | 443-7171| FREE (Hey! Don’t forget: the Berkshire Museum is FREE the whole month of May!)
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Thursday: First 3rd Thursdays of 2009!
3rd Thursdays is back in downtown Pittsfield, & celebrating its 3rd year! Come enjoy a giant 3rd.Thursdays birthday cake, the return of the Berskhire Bateria, Latin jazz from Lurid Details, performances by Youth Alive, the Rhythms B-Boys, BCD’s steel drum band, and much more as we celebrate youth, community and fun! And the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts hosts the opening reception of Art in Our Schools, which features the artwork of middle school and high school students in Pittsfield. A full 3rd.Thursdays schedule and email preview will be set out early next week. See you there!
Thursday, May 21 | 5pm-8pm & beyond | Downtown Pittsfield | North St | 499-9348 | FREE
This just in …
Saturday at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA:
Premiere Screening of New Mo Willems’ Films!
May 16, 2009
10:30 – 11:00 am
In the Reading Library
Special Storytime featuring books by Mo Willems
11:00 – 11:30 am
In the Auditorium
Mo Willems’ films, Knuffle Bunny and Leonardo the Terrible Monster
2:00 – 2:30 pm
In the Auditorium
Mo Willems’ films, Knuffle Bunny and Leonardo the Terrible Monster
3:00 – 4:00 pm
In the Auditorium
Join us for a screening of the world premiere of animated shorts, plus a Mo documentary!
* Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (starring Mo Willems with Jon Scieszka as the Bus Driver)
* Knuffle Bunny, Too (starring the whole Willems clan, Mommy, Daddy, and Trixie)
* Q&A session with producers Mo Willems and Paul Gagne
* Getting to Know Mo Willems
4:00 pm
In the Great Hall
Book signing with Mo Willems (occurs during Getting to Know Mo Willems)
Also on Saturday!
Frankie Pickle cover
In The Reading Library
Special Storytime Guest
May 16, 2009
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Join Eric Wight as he tells about his journey to becoming an author and illustrator and shares tales and tidbits from his newest book for children, Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom. In this graphic novel meets comic book, Eric’s great mix of art and text result in a romping good read filled with visual enticement. Book signing to follow
In The Art Studio
Create Your Own ComicEric Wight
May 16, 2009
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Workshop with Artist and Author Eric Wight
Space is limited so sign-up in the Art Studio when you arrive. Recommended for ages 5 and older.