Community Calendar

There's something for everyone at this family-fun event, from midway rides and games for all ages and tasty carnival eats to Victoria Circus thrill shows featuring high-wire, aerial and The Globe of Death motorcycle acts.

Event admission, circus shows and parking are free.

Unlimited ride wristbands (for riders 36" & taller) are $37 on site ($35 cash price) or online before 5 pm Sept. 17 for $20 each or 4/$75.

Ride tickets are also available on the midway. Online pre-sale special: $45/50 tickets + 1 free ride. (Rides take multiple tickets each.) Visit the website for coupon savings on rides and food.

Daily hours: 5-10 pm Wednesday - Thursday, 5-11 pm Friday, noon-11 pm Saturday, noon-10 pm Sunday

Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult age 21+. Please check the website for event updates before attending.

More information: 866-666-3247 or www.DreamlandAmusements.com
https://dreamlandamusements.com/upcoming-events-amusement-carnival/crystal-mall-carnival/

The Amherst Symphony Orchestra (ASO) opens its 2025-2026 series with the annual concert welcoming Amherst College's entering first year class. Mark Lane Swanson, director. General seating, no tickets required. FREE.
The Amherst Symphony Orchestra (ASO) launches its 2025-2026 season with classical music referencing social themes still relevant today. This event also celebrates and welcomes the incoming Amherst College class of 2029.

The ASO opens with Leonore Overture #3, Ludwig van Beethoven's 1806 curtain-raiser for his only opera, Fidelio, in which a woman disguises herself as a male prison guard to rescue her husband from death in a political prison.

It next performs March & Benediction from Margaret Bonds' masterful Montgomery Variations, inspired by the Civil Rights movement, dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr., and based on the spiritual "I Want Jesus to Walk With Me."

The ASO continues with the overture to Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco, about the 586 B.C.E. Babylonian captivity of the Israelites and featuring the immortal chorus "Va, pensiero," in which exiles yearn to return to their homeland; it served as Italy's anthem during its struggle for unification during the Risorgimento.

Next, Amherst College senior Charlie Odulio '26 is trumpet soloist in John Williams' moving With Malice Towards None from the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, and the concert concludes with Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, a musical protest against censorship and domination by the Russian Empire.

Every night is Mardi Gras when Crawdaddio is in town! Crawdaddio brings the spirit and rhythm of the bayou to life with their driving Zydeco beat. This high-energy band has performed all over the USA, and for five years has headlined Disney’s Mardi Gras Celebration in Orlando, FL. Featuring accordion and piano, fiddle, steel rub-board, guitar, and a smoking hot rhythm section, this band is tight! Musical selections cover the gamut, from original compositions to New Orleans standards. Three-part vocal harmonies lace the thunder and excitement of each arrangement. Experience a little bit of Louisiana with Crawdaddio!

Part concert, part puppet show, part ghost story. This 50-minute multimedia performance reimagines classic literary monsters through queer, musical shadow theater and features a world premiere video. Join ensemble Shadow, Sound, Spectacle for a fresh perspective on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, Emily Dickinson, Anne Rice, and others, told through live music, shadow puppetry, video, and narrative. All are welcome, but recommended for adults and teens. Q&A to follow. This program is funded in part by a grant from the Holyoke Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Step into a fabulous, feel-good hour of music, magic, and unapologetic joy in Belt It Out: A Big Gay Singalong! This one-of-a-kind musical celebration invites audiences to unleash their inner diva as they sing along to beloved showtunes, classic standards, and Disney anthems — all with a glittering queer twist.

Hosted by Tori McClain with Broadway-worthy pipes and Eden Casteel who has sass to spare, this interactive show blends powerhouse performances with crowd-led musical moments, cheeky commentary, and heartwarming stories that honor the LGBTQ+ community’s deep love affair with musical theatre. From Wicked to The Little Mermaid, Somewhere Over the Rainbow to Let It Go, no high note is too high, no harmony too ambitious, and no jazz hand left behind.

Whether you know every word or just want to bask in the sequined glow, this all-inclusive celebration promises laughter, nostalgia, and a whole lotta love — all set to the soundtrack of our shared queer joy. Come for the songs, stay for the soul!
This performance is a benefit for the Stonewall Community Foundation. This organization is a driving force in the fight for LGBTQ+ equity, investing in leaders, nonprofits, and innovative ideas that make a lasting impact. Their mission is to create a world where all queer people -especially those most marginalized- can live openly, freely, and authentically.

NOTAFLOF

Trad is the hilarious and poignant Irish play about a son, 100-year-old Thomas, and his even older Da, who set off on a quest to find the son that Thomas thinks he fathered 70 years ago. After all that time on earth, they want to know if the family line will survive. An award-winning comedy by Mark Doherty that keeps you laughing all the way to an unexpected finale.

Winner of the prestigious Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Trad is being presented in the Barn.

Directed by Alison Weller, the production features Scenic and Lighting Design by James P. Byrne and Costume Design by Robin McLaughlin. Holly Erin McCarthy serves as the Production Stage Manager.

Macklin Devine’s (Archibald Avery) and Seton Brown’s (Prelude to a Kiss) return to the Cape Rep stage in the roles of a 100-year-old son, Thomas, and his even more geriatric father. Ian Hamilton (Sunday in the Park) rounds out the cast as Sal and Father Rice.

Trad is the hilarious and poignant Irish play about a son, 100-year-old Thomas, and his even older Da, who set off on a quest to find the son that Thomas thinks he fathered 70 years ago. After all that time on earth, they want to know if the family line will survive. An award-winning comedy by Mark Doherty that keeps you laughing all the way to an unexpected finale.

Winner of the prestigious Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Trad is being presented in the Barn.

Directed by Alison Weller, the production features Scenic and Lighting Design by James P. Byrne and Costume Design by Robin McLaughlin. Holly Erin McCarthy serves as the Production Stage Manager.

Macklin Devine’s (Archibald Avery) and Seton Brown’s (Prelude to a Kiss) return to the Cape Rep stage in the roles of a 100-year-old son, Thomas, and his even more geriatric father. Ian Hamilton (Sunday in the Park) rounds out the cast as Sal and Father Rice.

There's something for everyone at this family-fun event, from midway rides and games for all ages and tasty carnival eats to Victoria Circus thrill shows featuring high-wire, aerial and The Globe of Death motorcycle acts.

Event admission, circus shows and parking are free.

Unlimited ride wristbands (for riders 36" & taller) are $37 on site ($35 cash price) or online before 5 pm Sept. 17 for $20 each or 4/$75.

Ride tickets are also available on the midway. Online pre-sale special: $45/50 tickets + 1 free ride. (Rides take multiple tickets each.) Visit the website for coupon savings on rides and food.

Daily hours: 5-10 pm Wednesday - Thursday, 5-11 pm Friday, noon-11 pm Saturday, noon-10 pm Sunday

Guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult age 21+. Please check the website for event updates before attending.

More information: 866-666-3247 or www.DreamlandAmusements.com
https://dreamlandamusements.com/upcoming-events-amusement-carnival/crystal-mall-carnival/

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6697329

We Wiggle Dolls is touring YET AGAIN!

On September 21st at Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro, VT, select members of the New-York centered (yet geographically ambiguous) puppet show collective "We Wiggle Dolls will perform a new adult-aimed puppet cabaret set, alongside short form pieces by Northampton's Madison J Cripps, and puppetry and music from Greenfield's Free Pile Productions!

We Wiggle Dolls is a diasporic puppet show collective spun out of a popular Brooklyn Puppet Slam. Since October 2023, We Wiggle Dolls has produced 10 puppet slams, a 6-day festival, immersive experiences, long form productions, a light and shadow rock music spectacle, three national tours, and has published several puppet-themed zines! We Wiggle Dolls mission is to bring as wide a variety of puppetry as possible to audiences, to showcase new talent alongside seasoned veterans, and to make historical puppet culture more readily accessible as well.

CAST:
naughty little no good (ig:@naughtylittlenogood)
Playdoh & Basil (@nosepickah & @socrateskitten)
YELLOWLEMONSHAPEDROCK (@yellowlemonshapedrock)

LOCAL GUEST PERFORMERS:
Madison J. Cripps (@madisonj.cripps)
Free Pile Productions

We Wiggle Dolls is touring YET AGAIN!

With local guest Madison J. Cripps and musical accompinament from The Velvet Dirtmunchers!

On September 23rd at Deep Thoughts, select members of the New-York centered but diasporic puppet show collective "We Wiggle Dolls” will perform a new adult-aimed puppet cabaret set!

We Wiggle Dolls is a diasporic puppet show collective spun out of a popular Brooklyn Puppet Slam. Since October 2023, We Wiggle Dolls has produced 10 puppet slams, a 6-day festival, immersive experiences, long form productions, a light and shadow rock music spectacle, three national tours, and has published several puppet-themed zines! We Wiggle Dolls’ mission is to bring as wide a variety of puppetry as possible to audiences, to showcase new talent alongside seasoned veterans, and to make historical puppet culture more readily accessible as well.

Doors open at 7pm

CAST:

Guest artist- Madison J. Cripps (ig: madisonj.cripps)

naughty little no good (ig: @naughtylittlenogood)

Playdoh & Basil (ig: @nosepickah & @socrateskitten)

YELLOWLEMONSHAPEDROCK (ig: @yellowlemonshapedrock)

MUSIC: The Velvet Dirtmunchers (ig: @velvetdirtmunchers)