Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

The KO FESTIVAL hosts its 31st & final season July 22-31, now on the Hampshire College campus in Amherst. WEEK 1: FLUSHING (Make Room for Somone Else),” a collaboration between 2 artistic leaders, Eric Bass of Sandglass Theater (Putney, VT) & Linda Parris-Bailey of Carpetbag Theatre (Knoxville, TN), who are passing leadership to the next generation. It’s about family, legacies + what it means to retire, bestow & inherit. 7/24 at 8pm, the ever-popular KoFest STORY SLAM returns with an appearance by Sara Felder. WEEK 2 features Clear Creek Creative from Rural KY with “EZELL: Ballad of a Land Man,” an outdoor, daylight, all-ages parable also about family legacy & environmental extraction (fracking). Dates/times/info/sliding scale tix at kofest.com

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts (PVPA) Charter Public School in South Hadley is committed to supporting the Artist in every student. Students from over 50 towns in grades 7-12 thrive in an arts-centered, creative, challenging learning environment. PVPA is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 school year. Application deadline is July 22. Lottery will be held Aug 1, for grades 7 & 11 only. Applications will be accepted for grades 7-11. Per state regulations, they will hold onto any applications for students in grades 8-10 until the time that their current waitlist for those grades is exhausted. If/ when that time comes, they will give at least one week’s notice to announce a lottery for the grade w/openings. More info: admissions@pvpa.org.

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Meteorology/Thunderstorms

The feeling of a summer thunderstorm is familiar to us all – the temperature drops, the breeze cools, bright leaves rustle endlessly louder, and a distant echo of thunder rolls across the darkening sky. Though they can be scary for youngsters (and anxious pets), thunderstorms are an important part of summer weather, bringing much-needed rain to the landscape and cooling the oppressive heat that hangs in July’s muggy air. But how are thunder and lightning formed? How do flashes of light appear, and where does the sound come from? Learn more about meteorology and the science behind lightning storms.

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Self-Directed Learning: Theater Studies

Learn about the theater through a “behind the scenes” look at technology, choreography, costume design, rehearsal, stories, and the impact a teacher can have “behind the scenes” on a young child’s life. Through the lens of theater: examine the history and techniques of an 18th-century mechanical theater; review 50 years of costume at the National Theatre; become intimate with a costume from Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway; take a tour of The Metropolitan Opera’s home at Lincoln Center; listen to stories from a winner of a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play; and watch rehearsals with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

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Self-Directed Learning: Bike Riding

The summer months are perfect for a bike ride! The bike paths are accessible for tandem rides, and these warmer months are often when children graduate from tricycles to two-wheelers. Besides being a heart-healthy activity that gets families outdoors through slow-travel in their neighborhoods and across town, bikes can support many interests for self-directed learning. With today’s module, let bikes lead the way for learning about engineering, history, manufacturing, cultural studies, aviation, and women’s studies.

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Self-Directed Learning: Cherry Season

It’s cherry season! Tart cherries are turning red on cultivated cherry trees around Western Massachusetts, followed by native species in Mid-August to early September. One of the top producing countries of sweet cherries (Prunus avium) and tart cherries (Prunus cerasus), with roots in Native American culture (Prunus virginiana), it’s no wonder this stone fruit is a part of our cultural heritage. Cherries find their way onto our dinner tables and in our pantries. They are a great way to learn about Native American food traditions, colonial food history, culinary arts, wild edibles, and food preservation.

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Self-Directed Learning: Multicultural Celebrations in July

We can find holidays and cultural celebrations within the roots of the cultural heritage of a region. These yearly events often sprout out of events within religion, politics, and agriculture. Learning about multicultural celebrations is one way to learn about the culture and heritage of another country through the lens of their annual holidays and celebrations. In today’s self-directed learning module, let’s journey to Japan, Portugal, France, and Puerto Rico by paying a visit to festivals, celebrations, and observation days, which happen in July. Let your learning spark curiosity, diving deeper by researching where your interests lead you, comparing and contrasting different festivals and political systems, integrating culinary arts by preparing associated foods, and exploring their regional geography and habitat.

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Self-Directed Learning: Animation

Animated short films can spark the imagination and open up channels of learning. In today’s self-directed learning module, we’re featuring three short animated films to support learning and curiosity about the relationship between flowers and humans, the resiliency of nature and an optimistic outlook on mortality, and an animated representation of a well-known piece of classical music.

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Self-Directed Learning: Entomology/Water Striders

The ability to walk on water has fascinated humans for millennia! We’ve created devises to help us walk on water, and many have been inspired through illusions and faith. But scientifically speaking, we simply are not able. For this reason, we should be in awe of the 1,200+ species of animals who actually can! Their ability to walk on water is due to their relationship with physics and the chemistry of H2O. Many creatures have developed the skill to walk on water, including birds, lizards, mammals, spiders, and insects. Close to home here in Western MA, water striders capture our imaginations and reverence as they glide across the surface of still waters in the summertime. This native insect species is our guide today as we learn about entomology, physics, and chemistry through these select videos and STEM-based DIY science projects.

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Weekly eNewsletter

Online and in-person events and resources shared above are done so as a courtesy and not as an endorsement. While we do our best to share accurate and up-to-date information, please take the time to confirm information, age appropriateness, registration requirements, safety protocols, and associated costs.

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Hilltown Families’ list of Suggested Events is supported in part by grants from the Agawam, Amherst, Becket, Bernardston, Buckland, Chester, Chicopee, Colrain, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Heath, Hinsdale/Peru, Huntington, Leyden, Montgomery, Mount Washington, Northern Berkshire, Orange, Otis, Palmer, Pelham, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Tolland, Tyringham, Westhampton, Windsor, and Worthington Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.