Are you looking for things to do in western Massachusetts? Seeking place-based learning ideas? Are you a self-directed, life-long, and/or experiential learner? Are you curious or wanting to support the interests of your family? Our weekly Suggested Events list includes suggested learning ideas, resources, and fun events for all ages, each week!
Scroll down to discover featured events, learning opportunities, and educational videos to support learning from home. And be sure to subscribe to our free weekly eNewsletter so you never miss out!
Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, CT, will hold their popular Pumpkin Patchevent starting Sept 24 and runs every Sat & Sun, including Monday, Oct 10until Oct 30. Pumpkin Patch is a family fun-filled adventure where families ride on a trolley car out to the pumpkin patch field, and each child can pick out a FREE sugar pumpkin. Back at the Museum, they can decorate pumpkins, enjoy hands-on crafts & the outside play area with SPOOKTACULAR Halloween activities. Tickets are also good for the Fire Truck Museum, housed on the same property as the Trolley Museum. Visit www.ct-trolley.org for hours of operation & to book your tickets. Admission is $14/adults, $13/seniors, $13/ages 12-17, $11/ages 2-11, and under 2 is free.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County is taking over the parking lot at Lia Toyota of Northampton at 280 King Street on Sunday, September 25th, 11am- 3pm for the 3 Ring Ruckus Home, Car, & Family Spectacular! This community event brings together home vendors highlighting their offerings, family entertainment featuring the Pioneer Valley Jump Rope Team, juggling from VillageWise, corn shucking contest, bubble zone, bike safety rodeo for kids (bring your tike’s bike/helmet), chalk art, pumpkin painting, and much more. Live music byRosie Porter & The Neon Moons, Local Burgy and Ginger Love Caféfood trucks, 3 types of raffles, and a New England car show round up the three-ring event. (Severe weather postpones until early summer 2023).
Will Bike 4 Food, presented by Stop & Shop, returns for its 12th year on Sunday, September 25, 2022, at the Lion’s Club Pavilion in Hatfield, MA! For The Food Bank’s 40th Anniversary, the goal is to raise $250,000, which will provide ONE MILLION healthy and nutritious meals to neighbors throughout Western Massachusetts in need of food. Sign up as an individual or team for a 10-, 25-, 50-, or 100-mile bike ride through the Pioneer Valley. Each cyclist gets a WB4F t-shirt and an all-access pass to the CE Floyd After Party with food, craft beverages, live music, and more! Visit www.willbike4food.org for more information, sign-up, or donate to a team.
20th annual autumn “Housatonic Heritage Walks” on five weekends, starting the first weekend in September.
Housatonic Heritage Walks are FREE, guided interpretive walks to the most interesting historic, cultural, industrial, natural, and scenic sites in Berkshire County, MA, & Litchfield County, CT. These family-friendly free walks are offered on autumn weekends throughout September and early October. Explore with knowledgeable & local historians, naturalists, and environmentalists at sites within the Housatonic River Valley: tours of historic buildings and town centers, trail hikes, walks through industrial heritage sites, a canoe paddling trip on the Housatonic River, bike rides on quiet country roads that have a history, behind-the-scenes tours at performing arts venues, and strolls through formal gardens and estates. All ages & all people are invited. More info: Heritage-Hikes.org.
The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival returns Oct 1 & 2! This popular family-friendly weekend is back and not to be missed. Held on a historic farm amid fall foliage, celebrate community and local living with two days of peace, love, and garlic! Fabulous music & performance on three stages; over 80 exhibitors featuring art, agriculture, healing arts, and local organizations; a terrific kids art tent & games for all ages; glorious garlic cuisine and chef demos; ample inspiration & workshops for a hopeful future. Family-friendly inflation-busting weekend admission! $10 adults, $5 students, seniors, EBT, kids 12 & under FREE! Visit www.garlicandarts.org for parking, shuttle, & full schedule of events. No pets. Follow on FB and Instagram.
Leapfrog Programs presents, the 5th Annual Groundnut Gathering – Earth Living Skills Rendezvous on October 7-9, 2022, in the Hilltowns! Get outdoors with nature immersion opportunities this fall during this ancestral skills gathering in Montgomery, MA. Participants will come together on the land to learn and share timeless skills practiced by people on all continents, including animal tracking, hide tanning, friction fires, storytelling, and more! Leapfrog Programs also offers after-school and homeschool programs for K-8. Experience nature immersion and connection, learn foundational skills and routines, and begin a lifelong, meaningful relationship with many species and the land. To register or to learn more, visit leapfrogprograms.org.
There’s still time to enroll your little one in an exceptional arts education offering an innovative and engaging curriculum for preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten age students. Prelude Preschool of the Arts, an arts-integrated preschool in Springfield, MA, provides a nurturing environment for children and families to explore, learn, and create. Offering a flexible, arts-centered preschool programming for ages 2.9-5, children are cared for by a dedicated team of expert artists, musicians, and educators within the walls of the treasured Community Music School of Springfield. To learn more, call 413-732-8428, or visit online at www.communitymusicschool.com.
Take a private lesson in person at BMS’s historic campus in Pittsfield or online.
Start the new school year off on the right note with lessons at the Berkshire Music School! Take a private lesson in person at BMS’s historic campus in Pittsfield or online from the comfort of your home. Private lessons may be arranged for 30, 45, or 60 minutes each week to meet the individual student’s needs. Interested in taking a music class with others? Try their fun Community Group Classes, offered on a pay-what-you-can basis! BMS private lessons and Community Group Classes are for students of all ages and levels. Check out why Berkshire Music School was named the Berkshire Eagle’s 2021 Best of the Berkshires “After-School Program.” For more info on how to register & class offerings, visit the BMS website: www.BerkshireMusicSchool.org
We are living in historically stressful times. Unfortunately, many families and marriages have struggled to navigate these difficult times. But did you know that science-based couples therapy is 70-92% effective for most motivated couples? Daniel Dashnaw is a Marriage and Family therapist AND one of the founders of www.couplestherapyinc.com, the most extensive science-based couples therapy practice in the United States. Daniel has been a Hilltown resident for over 20 years. Couples from around the world visit his secluded sanctuary in the deep woods of Cummington to roll up their sleeves and turn their marriages around. We live in tough times. Intimacy is hard. Can science-based couples therapy help your marriage? Email Daniel at daniel@couplestherapyinc.com to learn more.
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Partner with Hilltown Families in your online advertising! Delivering your message each week to over 35,000 subscribers, web visitors, and social media followers each week, Hilltown Families can bring your message to thousands of families in Western Massachusetts. Serving the region since 2005, Hilltown Families is an award-winning, online communication network, recognized as a leading family strengthening initiative in the region, promoting “positive parenting through the social norm of community social connectedness.” A trusted partner in your online marketing! To find out how we can partner together in your online marketing and outreach, contact us for info on our affordable options and packages: swildfield@hilltownfamilies.org. Have an event, resource, or opportunity you’re ready to promote? Click HERE to submit your information.
FEATURED EVENT Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, CT, will hold their popular Pumpkin Patchevent starting Sept 24 and runs every Sat & Sun, including Monday, Oct 10until Oct 30.
Pumpkin Patch is a family fun-filled adventure where families ride on a trolley car out to the pumpkin patch field, and each child can pick out a FREE sugar pumpkin. Back at the Museum, they can decorate pumpkins, enjoy hands-on crafts & the outside play area with SPOOKTACULAR Halloween activities. Tickets are also good for the Fire Truck Museum, housed on the same property as the Trolley Museum. Visit www.ct-trolley.org for hours of operation & to book your tickets. Admission is $14/adults, $13/seniors, $13/ages 12-17, $11/ages 2-11, and under 2 is free.
20th annual autumn “Housatonic Heritage Walks” on five weekends, starting the first weekend in September.
Housatonic Heritage Walks are FREE, guided interpretive walks to the most interesting historic, cultural, industrial, natural, and scenic sites in Berkshire County, MA, & Litchfield County, CT. These family-friendly free walks are offered on autumn weekends throughout September and early October. Explore with knowledgeable & local historians, naturalists, and environmentalists at sites within the Housatonic River Valley: tours of historic buildings and town centers, trail hikes, walks through industrial heritage sites, a canoe paddling trip on the Housatonic River, bike rides on quiet country roads that have a history, behind-the-scenes tours at performing arts venues, and strolls through formal gardens and estates. All ages & all people are invited. More info: Heritage-Hikes.org.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year. The biblical name is Yom Teruah, sometimes translated as the “Feast of Trumpets.” One of the themes of Rosh Hashanah is sweetness. (A traditional greeting is “May you have a good and sweet new year.”) Apples and challah (Jewish egg bread) dipped in honey symbolize that sweetness. You can celebrate Rosh Hashanah with a feast of apples! Picking apples connects children with where their food comes from, forging a stronger connection with place and making healthy food fun! Another food ceremony during Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich, a ceremony performed on the afternoon of the first day of the holiday. The ritual involves tossing bread crumbs into a body of water to represent casting off one’s mistakes from the past year. Learn more about Rosh Hashanah through the lens of food!
FEATURED EVENT Will Bike 4 Food, presented by Stop & Shop, returns for its 12th year on Sunday, September 25, 2022, at the Lion’s Club Pavilion in Hatfield, MA!
For The Food Bank’s 40th Anniversary, the goal is to raise $250,000, which will provide ONE MILLION healthy and nutritious meals to neighbors throughout Western Massachusetts in need of food. Sign up as an individual or team for a 10-, 25-, 50-, or 100-mile bike ride through the Pioneer Valley. Each cyclist gets a WB4F t-shirt and an all-access pass to the CE Floyd After Party with food, craft beverages, live music, and more! Visit www.willbike4food.org for more information, sign-up, or donate to a team.
FEATURED EVENT Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, CT, will hold their popular Pumpkin Patchevent starting Sept 24 and runs every Sat & Sun, including Monday, Oct 10until Oct 30.
Pumpkin Patch is a family fun-filled adventure where families ride on a trolley car out to the pumpkin patch field, and each child can pick out a FREE sugar pumpkin. Back at the Museum, they can decorate pumpkins, enjoy hands-on crafts & the outside play area with SPOOKTACULAR Halloween activities. Tickets are also good for the Fire Truck Museum, housed on the same property as the Trolley Museum. Visit www.ct-trolley.org for hours of operation & to book your tickets. Admission is $14/adults, $13/seniors, $13/ages 12-17, $11/ages 2-11, and under 2 is free.
20th annual autumn “Housatonic Heritage Walks” on five weekends, starting the first weekend in September.
Housatonic Heritage Walks are FREE, guided interpretive walks to the most interesting historic, cultural, industrial, natural, and scenic sites in Berkshire County, MA, & Litchfield County, CT. These family-friendly free walks are offered on autumn weekends throughout September and early October. Explore with knowledgeable & local historians, naturalists, and environmentalists at sites within the Housatonic River Valley: tours of historic buildings and town centers, trail hikes, walks through industrial heritage sites, a canoe paddling trip on the Housatonic River, bike rides on quiet country roads that have a history, behind-the-scenes tours at performing arts venues, and strolls through formal gardens and estates. All ages & all people are invited. More info: Heritage-Hikes.org.
FAMILY RADIO: 7-8am. Hilltown Family Variety Show. WXOJ 103.3FM Northampton, MA. (Radio)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County is taking over the parking lot at Lia Toyota of Northampton at 280 King Street on Sunday, September 25th, 11am- 3pm for the 3 Ring Ruckus Home, Car, & Family Spectacular! This community event brings together home vendors highlighting their offerings, family entertainment featuring the Pioneer Valley Jump Rope Team, juggling from VillageWise, corn shucking contest, bubble zone, bike safety rodeo for kids (bring your tike’s bike/helmet), chalk art, pumpkin painting, and much more. Live music byRosie Porter & The Neon Moons, Local Burgy and Ginger Love Caféfood trucks, 3 types of raffles, and a New England car show round up the three-ring event. (Severe weather postpones until early summer 2023).
Serving as a continuation of innate childhood creativity, comics and role-playing games offer maturing tweens and teens the opportunity to exercise imagination and creativity within complex structures. Comics challenge readers’ ability to combine textual and visual elements for understanding, while role-playing games challenge players by containing creative story-telling to a pre-existing structure. Families can utilize a handful of community resources to pursue these interests! Read more in our post, Comics & Role-Playing Gaming Promote Creativity & Storytelling for Teens .
Can Woolley Bears (Pyrrharctia isabella) offer us an indication as to the severity of the coming winter? Common North American folklore says that a broad brown band calls for a mild winter, and a narrow one calls for a severe winter. While there is no scientific evidence for this prediction, looking for these little guys and examining them closely with your kids opens up channels for learning while connecting to the seasons. For today’s self-directed learning module, learn more about caterpillars and let your curiosity of Woolley Bears and other weather-based folklore lead the way!
Today, let’s explore rewilding, an attempt to reverse the destruction of our natural world by reintroducing keystone animals. What’s a keystone animal? We’ll start our learning there, learning what happens when they are no longer a part of an ecosystem trophic cascade) and how their reintroduction (rewilding) can impact our environment. Today’s self-directed learning module is an excellent catalyst for getting curious! Search online to discover what megafauna once roamed New England. See if you can list which local animals are keystone species. Learn more about the impacts of rewilding and ask yourself how you might imagine keystone animals would impact our local environment if they were reintroduced or allowed to increase in number.
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.
Much of what transpires here on earth is seasonal or cyclical. From the earth’s 24-hour orbit on its axis to its 365-day orbit around the sun, we can track many of these cyclical patterns in terms of hours or days. But they also exist in terms of years! Even millennia! Comets are an excellent example of a larger cyclical pattern we track according to time. Annually we pass through the same tails of comets, but on a larger scale, comets orbit around the sun, passing by the earth on a more cosmic timeline. For instance, the newly discovered Comet NEOWISE passes by the earth every 6,800 years! For today’s self-directed learning module, we will let comets lead the way, asking questions, and seeking answers: What’s the difference between comets, asteroids, meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites? What do you see during a meteor shower? What is NASA’s plan to save the earth from a giant asteroid? What do we know about the Chelyabinsk Meteor? – When is the next meteor shower? Shoot on over to the American Meteor Society to find out!
MUSIC STUDIES/ DRUMMING. 6:45pm. The Hilltown Intergenerational Drum Circle – All ages and beginners are welcome to this biweekly drum circle, led by Rosie Fanale. Call to confirm before heading over. Shelburne Senior Center. 413-625-8470. Shelburne Falls, MA.
Born December 10, 1830, today is Emily Dickinson’s birthday. By the time Emily Dickinson turned 35 that year, she had produced nearly 2,000 poems we know of today. When you visit the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA, you’ll step into the creative space of one of America’s greatest poets. The Museum includes the Homestead, where Emily Dickinson was born and lived most of her life; The Evergreens, home of the poet’s brother and his family; and three acres of the original Dickinson property in the center of Amherst, MA. While Dickinson wrote the majority of her poems in her upstairs bedroom, all of these environments deeply inspired her work. By the time Emily Dickinson turned 35 that year, she had produced nearly 2,000 poems we know of today. Poems like “Bee, I’m expecting you!” reflect Dickinson’s love of nature. The flowers, birds, animals, and insects that shared her Amherst surroundings were the source of many of her poems, a great way to connect via language arts and the seasons of Western MA.
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.
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.
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