Community Calendar

Get ready to sing along — Queer Joy Chorus is bringing our Spring Sing to Bombyx on June 20th, 5–7pm, and we can't wait to share the stage with you.

This year we're thrilled to perform at Bombyx, one of the Pioneer Valley's most beloved venues, with its stunning acoustics and professional stage. Expect a joyful, roof-raising set spanning choral classics, beloved pop anthems, and songs that'll delight kids and adults alike — all performed with the warmth and exuberance that QJC is known for. Whether you're a lifelong choral music lover, a pop fan, or just someone who believes music is better together, there's something here for you.

After the concert, stick around for a potluck picnic — bring a dish, bring a blanket, and come ready to connect with an incredible community. All are welcome. Seriously, all of you. Come as you are, bring your family, bring your neighbors, and let's celebrate queer joy together.

Electric Earth Concerts continues its 2026 season with “Kind of Blue”, on Saturday, June 20 at 7pm at the First Church in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. A jazz-tinted program featuring some of the greats of 20th & 21st century American music. Works by Leonard Bernstein, Joan Tower, & Derek Bermel; plus, newly composed music (premieres!) by Scott Lindroth and Jamie Keesecker. With Lisa Emenheiser, piano; Ari Streisfeld, violin; Thomas Kraines, cello; Derek Bermel, clarinet & composer; Jonathan Bagg, viola & Laura Gilbert, flute.
For more information, contact joan.electricearth@gmail.com or call 603.499.6216.

Mount Holyoke College Summer Theatre proudly presents “The 39 Steps” adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel of John Buchanen from the movie by Alfred Hitchcock, playing July 17th-July 25th in the Studio Theatre of Kendall Sports & Dance Complex.

Our first season closes with a fast-paced comedy thriller packed with spies, mystery, and nonstop laughs. When ordinary man Richard Hannay becomes entangled in an international espionage plot, he is swept into a whirlwind adventure across Britain. Featuring a handful of actors playing dozens of characters, The 39 Steps is a wildly inventive theatrical experience that combines Hitchcock suspense with hilarious physical comedy.

This production is directed by Mochael Ofori with Set Design by Alina Tschumakow, Costume Design by Jensen Glick, Lighting Design by Sam Skynner, Sound Design by Kirk Longhofer.

Performance Dates and Times:
Friday, July 17th, 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Saturday, July 18th, 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sunday, July 19th, 2:00pm
Wednesday, July 22nd, 7:30pm
Thursday, July 23rd, 7:30pm
Friday, July 24th, 7:30pm
Saturday, July 25th, 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Tickets: $15 General Admission | $25 Season Pass
For more information or to reserve tickets, please visit mhcsummertheatre.ludus.com or contact us at MHCSummerTheatres@MtHolyoke.edu.

Tone Forest is a groundbreaking contemporary jazz ensemble featuring three world-class musicians: Miro Sprague (piano), Jason Ennis (6- and 7-string guitars), and Marty Jaffe (bass). Longtime friends and collaborators with shared roots in Western Massachusetts, their music fuses jazz, world music, and free improvisation into a genre-defying sound that is lyrical, adventurous, and deeply grounded in beauty and groove.

Tone Forest is a truly collaborative trio with an improvisational ethos that makes every performance unique and alive. Drawing inspiration from nature, their compositions and performances take listeners on a cinematic journey through a rich spectrum of musical colors, dynamics, and emotions — from the most delicate passages to the most danceable grooves. Along the way, they weave in rhythms and influences from a wide range of folk and global traditions, including swing, samba, baião, New Orleans street beats, and more.

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.

Discover the Pioneer Valley, one bookshop at a time! Visit 10+ bookstores to be entered into the Grand Prize drawing to win $800 in bookstore gift cards. Each additional bookstore you visit is another entry into the drawing! And the more bookstores you visit, the greater your chances of winning. More info: http://tinyurl.com/pvbc26

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.