Community Calendar

Join the Berkshire Botanical Garden for a special storytime with acclaimed children’s author Susan Edwards Richmond! The event is focused on Susan’s new book The Great Pollinator Count, which follows Mellie and her classmates as they explore the world of insect pollinators and discover the power of teamwork and community science. Following a fun and engaging read-aloud, attendees will learn more about how pollination works—and then head out to the gardens to search for pollinators in action.

Books will be available for purchase through the Garden Shop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Susan Edwards Richmond is the award-winning author of The Great Pollinator Count, which was selected as a Children’s Book Council “Best STEM Book of the Year.” Her other picture books include Bioblitz! Counting Critters, Bird Count, and Night Owl Night, a Massachusetts Book Award Honors Title and Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book selection. A passionate birder and naturalist, Susan teaches preschool on a farm and wildlife sanctuary in eastern Massachusetts and learns the native wildlife wherever she travels.

Call for artwork
Science, technology, engineering, art, math, an exhibit inspired by and incorporating the sciences.
Exhibit runs April 3 - May 17, 2026
With special events, demos, and fun activities during the course of the exhibit.
Contact margedvaa@gmail.com by March 20 with your interest.

Join the Hitchcock Center for the Environment for a special storytime with award-winning children’s author Mary Wagley Copp on Saturday, May 9! The event will focus on Mary’s picture book, Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home, which tells the true story of Yoshi, a loggerhead sea turtle who was rescued and cared for by scientists before being released back into the ocean. Discover an amazing story celebrating teamwork, conservation, and an animal hero who swam more than 22,000 miles to her true home—the longest journey of any animal ever tracked.

Following a fun and engaging presentation on the book, attendees will learn more about Yoshi’s real-world counterparts and have the chance to meet some of the Hitchcock Center’s turtles in residence.

Books will be available for purchase through Odyssey Bookshop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Mary Wagley Copp’s debut picture book, Wherever I Go, won numerous awards, including NPR’S 100 Best Children’s Books 2020, Notable Social Studies Book by CBC 2021 and was the 2022 winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. Her nonfiction book, Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home was longlisted for the 2024 Mass Book Award and was the winner of the 2024 Nutmeg Award. Mary’s students in her ELL class were the inspiration for her new book, Sometimes We Pray (2026). She and her husband live on a farm in Westport, MA. They have 3 grown children. You can learn more about Mary at marywagleycopp.com.

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves a champion! At least the losers get a juice box. A riotous ride, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius. Eagle Hill School Drama students present this musical filled with effortless wit and humor.

CAPE REP THEATRE PRESENTS 9-BALL

Cape Rep Theatre begins our 2026 season with 9-Ball, written and directed by Art Devine. Performances will be held in Cape Rep’s Indoor Theater May 6 - May 31, Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm; additional matinees Saturday 05/23 & 05/30 at 2 pm. Tickets are $40, $30 for patrons 35 and under, student rush half price at the door day of show and Pay-What-You-Like the first Friday 05/08. Call the box office or see us online at caperep.org for reservations and information. Cape Rep Indoor Theater, North Side Route 6A E. Brewster, 508.896.1888 or www.caperep.org.

9-Ball
Written and Directed by Art Devine
Based on the Original Set Design by Dan Joy
Costume Design by Robin McLaughlin
Lighting Design by Trevor Norton
Based on the Original Sound Design by Tim Healy
Fight Choreography by TJ Glenn
Stage Manager Chelsey Brown

The year is 1967. Over a game of pool, two young men swap identities. One goes to prison; the other to war. Inspired by true events and pulsating with the sights and sounds of the late 1960s, 9-Ball was Art Devine’s hugely successful first play at Cape Rep. First produced in 2001, we are bringing it back for its 25th anniversary with Devine back at the helm.

Art Devine is very well known to Cape audiences as an actor, director and playwright and heads our TheatreLab playwriting classes. 9-Ball is the first of his three world premieres produced at Cape Rep. The set is based on the original design by Dan Joy and the sound design was originally done by Tim Healy. The production team includes Cape Rep resident costume designer Robin McLaughlin joined by lighting designer, Trevor Norton. Fight choreography is by TJ Glenn.

The cast is led by Macklin Devine (Trad) as Richie Feinberg and newcomer Elijah Corbin as Larry Doucette. Jimmy Sawyer (Peter and the Starcatcher), Cam Torres (She Loves Me) and Yakov Schwartzberg (She Loves Me) return to the Cape Rep stage joined by Ju’el Martin, Zack Johnson, Izaak van der Wende and Hugo William Ceraldi making their Cape Rep debuts.

All performances will be in Cape Rep’s Indoor Theater, 3299 Main Street, Brewster. New this season, more matinees! You asked, we listened! We have added more matinees across the season. Check each show’s schedule for exact dates! For further information or to purchase tickets, contact the box office at 508.896.1888 or online at www.caperep.org.

This exhibition will explore movement as an integral throughline in Kwame Brathwaite’s work—one that spans his deep engagement with social and political movements and his keen attention to the body in motion. Brathwaite’s images intimate the powerful and transformative ways that action can convey joy, beauty, strength, and hope, even in charged moments.

Brathwaite (1938-2023) is perhaps most recognized for photographs celebrating Black beauty and excellence in fashion, music, and athletics. His studio portraits and concert photography like his documentation of historic marches, the everyday life of residents in Harlem and The Bronx, and of athletes such as Muhammad Ali convey the power of the body as a symbol of cultural strength, resilience, and pan-African solidarity. Through a selection of original and new prints from archival negatives, the exhibition will offer an opportunity to experience the breadth of his work and its resonance today.

Curated in close partnership with Brathwaite’s son and daughter-in-law, Kwame and Robynn Brathwaite (Amherst College Class of 1996 and 1998, respectively), Revolutionary Movements will expand stories about the artist's work and its international circulation.

Kwame Brathwaite: Revolutionary Movements is made possible by Teiger Foundation.

JooYoung Choi is an astro-futurist artist whose expansive practice blends autobiography and invention. For over a decade, Choi's work has centered on developing narratives within a highly structured imaginary realm known as the Cosmic Womb.

Adventures of the Quantum Soup Surfer brings together early and recent paintings, a sculptural installation, and video works that chronicle one character's journey of self-discovery. Long known as Nina Blue, the Quantum Soup Surfer first appeared in the Cosmic Womb as a professional imaginary friend, contributing to the journeys of several legendary heroes of the Cosmic Womb.

The exhibition follows Nina Blue's passage from supporting character to protagonist. She emerges as the Quantum Soup Surfer--a celestial superhero and thoughtful navigator who channels the spiritual energy of water to brave uncharted territories and share her story of resilience.

Inspired by the Cosmic Womb's motto--"Have Faith for You have Always Been Loved"--this exhibition foregrounds imagination, curiosity, and art as tools for resilience that have been significant for Nina Blue's transformation into the Quantum Soup Surfer and the hero of this story.

Adventures of the Quantum Soup Surfer is made possible by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

The Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum is seeking donations of gently used adult and children’s books, DVDs, and jigsaw puzzles for their upcoming book sale. Donations will only be accepted by curbside drop-off at the back door of the First United Methodist Church, 16 Court St., Westfield, during the weeks of April 6-11 and April 13-18 as follows: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10-1; Tuesday and Thursday from 4-7, and Saturday from 9-12.
Please note that we cannot accept musty or damaged books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, Reader’s Digest books, or outdated manuals, travel books, or self-help books.
The book sale will be held at the Church on Thursday, April 23, 10-7; Friday, April 24, 10-5; and Saturday, April 25, 10-2. On Thursday only, we are offering a $5.00 discount for educators (bring your ID!) and new Friends members joining at the door.
The Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum is an all-volunteer 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization that supports the programs and services of the Westfield Athenaeum.

Each service includes an uplifting talk that touches on real-life experiences—like relationships, resilience, and personal growth—offering down-to-earth reflections to help you navigate life with clarity, compassion, and a sense of connection.

The healing portion of the service begins with a peaceful, guided meditation accompanied by live harp music, creating a calm and supportive space. Those who wish may then receive gentle, hands-on energy healing from certified Spiritualist healers while seated.

The service concludes with a demonstration of mediumship from the podium, where the medium shares messages from loved ones in spirit. These brief, heartfelt messages are intended to provide evidence of the continuity of life and offer comfort, healing, and connection.

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves a champion! At least the losers get a juice box. A riotous ride, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius. Eagle Hill School Drama students present this musical filled with effortless wit and humor.