MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY CELEBRATIONS
MLK Day 2025!
MassMutual Center, Springfield
Monday, Jan. 20
Art and Wellness Expo at 12:30 p.m.
MLK Day Program at 2 p.m.
This annual gathering honors the life and enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s theme, “Pursue Justice. Persist in Peace,” captures the essence of Dr. King’s philosophy and provides a framework for how we are to approach the myriads of challenges that persist today. The celebration starts with the MLK Flag raising at Springfield City Hall. Then, the Art and Wellness Expo opens at MassMutual at 12:30 p.m. The awe-inspiring program starts at 2 p.m. Nearly 1,000 youth and supporting adult participants will manifest the theme through spoken word, dance and music presentations.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration
Greenfield Community College Dining Commons
Monday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m.
For over two decades, Greenfield Community College has been celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s 26th annual event features a program appropriate for all ages with dance, arts and crafts, education, music, food and a keynote presentation “Advancing our Beloved Community in a Time of Uncertainty” from Dr. Calvin Hill, Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Registration strongly encouraged.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2025
Berkshire Community College
Monday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m.
BCC will honor one of America's greatest heroes by giving back to the community at its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service event. The day will start at 10 a.m. with breakfast at the First United Methodist Church (55 Fenn St, Pittsfield) and an engaging keynote by Rachel Melendez Mabee, Greylock Federal Credit Union's Vice President of DEI, Culture and Brand, followed by volunteer activities and a luncheon provided by UpStreet Smoke, a Pittsfield-based, Black-owned business.
MLK Day Service Fair
Bombyx, Florence
Monday, Jan. 20 starting at 10 a.m.
Here’s a chance to honor MLK Day and find new ways to engage in your community. This event is for individuals eager to connect with impactful organizations and initiatives and organizations looking to share their mission, recruit volunteers, and inspire action. And you can expect a warm, welcoming space with snacks and beverages to keep the energy flowing! Wake the Dead Donuts will serve their signature hot mini-donuts and coffee, tea, and cider for washing them down.
National Day of Service
Town of Amherst
Monday, Jan. 20
The Town of Amherst is celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a Day of Service. We ask the community to take action and spread kindness. Dr. King believed in the power of people coming together to enact positive change. Everyone is invited to join in this spirit of service by making it “a day on, not a day off.” Whether you have a few minutes or the entire day here are some ideas of what you can do.
National Day of Racial Healing
Amherst Regional Middle School Cafeteria, 170 Chestnut Street
Tuesday, January 21 from 6 – 8 p.m.
The Amherst Department of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion will be observing the National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) as the next installment in their ongoing “Becoming Beloved Community.” Amherst will be joining dozens of other communities across the country observing this day by hosting a community discussion focused on racial healing and racial equity. Food and refreshments will be provided.
OTHER EVENTS HAPPENING THIS WEEK
Uneasy Domesticity: The Painted World of Nikki Maloof
Amherst Woman’s Club, 35 Triangle Street
Thursday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.
This talk is part of the Amherst Woman’s Club Thursday Evening Series, which features remarkable and accomplished local women and their personal journey of challenges and achievements. Nikki Maloof’s paintings depict a world hidden within the mind. Her subjects convey existential loneliness, but that loneliness is buoyed by humor. Nikki has shown throughout the US and Europe and is currently exhibiting her latest body of work at Perrotin gallery in Paris.
Amherst Community Theater Presents Newsies
Bowker Auditorium, UMass
Jan. 16–19 and Jan. 23–26
The Tony Award-winning musical Newsies was inspired by the 1899 newsboys’ strike. Amherst Community Theater’s production features a dynamic cast of all-gendered newsies, reimagining the story’s heart with dynamic choreography and show-stopping music. This rousing tale of resilience, justice, and community is more relevant today than ever.
Forward
Artspace Community Arts Center, Greenfield
Friday, Jan. 17 – Friday, Feb. 28
Opening Reception Friday, Jan. 17 from 5– 8 p.m.
This new exhibit presents an exploration of evolution, change, and movement, imagining the endless possibilities that lie ahead. With a juried selection of artwork varying from photography, painting, mixed media, textiles, ceramics, and welding, it showcases work from 37 local artists from across Franklin County and beyond.
Earth Music Theater Live
33 Hawley Street, Northampton
Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.
Picture soaking up immersive, high-resolution, astronaut-captured movies, taken from the International Space Station, of auroras, clouds, oceans, mountains and deserts from all over the world — while experiencing the live genre-straddling music of musician Steve Thomas, created in the moment, in response to the captivating visuals before you. Intrigued? Tune in to Thursday’s Fabulous 413 to learn more.
Perennial
The Drake, Amherst
Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m.
When Perennial began work on Art History, their upcoming third LP, one phrase remained at the forefront of their creative minds: “pop art.” Everything should be bold and electric, instantly memorable and insistently chic. Art History finds the Connecticut-based three-piece—electric organist Chelsey Hahn, guitarist Chad Jewett, and drummer Ceej Dioguardi—mastering their modernist punk as a collage of 60s mod grooves, post-hardcore angles, Stax soul, and experimental electronic music.
Young Shakespeare Players East Present: The Winter's Tale
Shea Theater, Turners Falls
Friday, Jan. 17 – Sunday, Jan. 18
The Winter's Tale is one of the most inspiring of all Shakespeare's plays, with major elements of tragedy, comedy, and fairytale fantasy, song and dance — and one of the most beautiful final scenes in all of drama. There are two full casts with actors ranging in age from 8 to 18, YSP newcomers and veterans. Performances are free and reservations are not needed. Delicious concessions (savory and sweet) are available before and during intermission.
The Robot Zoo
Springfield Museums
Saturday, Jan. 18 – Sunday, May 4
Opening Celebration Saturday, Jan. 18
Explore the biomechanics of complex animal robots to discover how real animals work. Three robot animals and seven hands-on activities illustrate fascinating real-life characteristics, such as how a chameleon changes colors and an insect walks on walls and ceilings. Larger-than-life-size animated robots include a chameleon, a platypus, and a house fly with a three-foot wingspread. Machinery in the robot animals simulate the body parts of their real-life counterparts — muscles become pistons, intestines become filtering pipes, and brains become computers.
Created in Color: The Picture Book Art of Raúl Colón
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Saturday, Jan. 18 – Sunday, June 1
Raúl Colón has built a celebrated career in children’s picture book illustration. His instantly recognizable style of textured watercolor-and-colored-pencil paintings appear in over 50 books. He creates stories inspired by his Puerto Rican heritage, like Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel, and biographies of Latin American heroes such as baseball legend Roberto Clemente, dancer José Limón, and novelist Gabriel García Márquez. In Child of the Civil Rights Movement and As Good as Anybody, Colon depicts the powerful work of activists who fought for justice in the 1960s.
Berkshire Opera Festival Community Sing-Along
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Pittsfield
Saturday, Jan. 18 from 1 – 3 p.m.
Singers of all ages and abilities are welcome to participate in the second annual Berkshire Opera Festival Community Sing-Along. Here’s your chance to sing some opera choral classics from Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner operas alongside choristers from BOF and members of the larger Berkshire singing community, including the Berkshire Concert Choir.
Springfield Symphony Orchestra: New Musical World
Springfield Symphony Hall
Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.
Conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson leads the SSO in a concert featuring composers who explore and express their visions of America. It will start with William Grant Still’s Festive Overture for Orchestra and James Lee III’s haunting and powerful Amer’ican. Violinist Melissa White will shine in a performance of Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2. The concert will conclude with Antonín Dvořák’s iconic Symphony from the New World. Listen to Tuesday’s Fabulous 413 to learn more.
Johnny A. with JJ Slater
The Iron Horse, Northampton
Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
Johnny A. is a highly acclaimed guitarist known for his soulful playing and innovative approach to the instrument. Influenced by blues, rock, and jazz, he developed a distinctive style that seamlessly blends elements of these genres. He gained widespread recognition for his solo work, characterized by his virtuosic guitar work and emotive storytelling through melody. JJ Slater has spent the past few years playing shows in some of America's biggest cities and most remote ghost towns. His guitar playing draws from blues, jazz, country and psychedelic excursions of yesteryear.
New Lights in the Dawnland
Wendell Meeting House, 1 Morse Village Road
Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1:30 p.m.
Head to Wendell to experience Michael Kline’s audio tapestry, “New Lights in the Dawnland,” a two-hour audio documentary told through recordings of five Indigenous narrators recounting 13,000 years of Indigenous history in Northfield, leading up to the arrival of English colonists in the 17th century and the impacts of colonialism that followed their arrival. The recording also features songs, flute and drum interludes, and ambient sounds, creating vivid imagery to accompany the narrators’ stories. The presentation will be followed by a discussion led by David Brule, president of the Nolumbeka Project, who was a Fabulous 413 guest on Tuesday.