Limón Dance Company
Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall, UMass Amherst
Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
The Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of modern dance since its inception in 1946. It was the first modern dance company to perform at Lincoln Center in New York. José Limón has a special place in American culture for a social awareness that transcended distinct groups in order to address the ways in which we all search for commonality. Limón’s works continue to influence the evolution of the art form with the company’s arresting visual clarity, theatricality, and rhythmic and musical life.
10x10 New Play Festival
Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield
Thursday, Feb 13 – Sunday, March 9
Not your average play festival. You’ll experience 10 new plays by 10 playwrights, each 10 minutes long. That’s 100 minutes of fresh theatrical fun. It’s a super popular highlight of Pittsfield’s city wide 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival that launches this week.
Is anything the matter? Drawings by Laylah Ali
University Museum of Contemporary Art, UMass Amherst
On view Feb. 14 – May 9
Opening reception Thursday, Feb. 13 for 5 – 7 p.m. in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts lobby
Laylah Ali was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1968, and she currently lives and works in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The exhibit includes more than 100 drawings by Laylah Ali dating from 1993 to 2020. Though the drawings range in format — including ink, colored pencil, soluble crayon, colored marker, and mixed media works — each piece explores Ali’s ongoing interest in the amalgam of race, power, gendering, human frailty, and murky politics.
Valentine Tea
Ventfort Hall
Friday Feb. 14 from 2 – 4 p.m.
Sweet! An afternoon steeped in charm and sweetness at the Ventfort Valentine Tea. Celebrate love and friendship in the elegant surroundings of Ventfort Hall with a Valentine-themed English tea, complete with delicate frills and decadent baked goods.
To the Moon & Back: A Valentine’s Day Celebration
Springfield Museums
Friday, Feb. 14 from 5 – 8 p.m.
Here’s your chance to dress up in your favorite pink, red, or heart-adorned attire and treat yourself to a dazzling Valentine’s evening in the Springfield Science Museum. The evening includes an original planetarium show created exclusively for this event by museum staff, a tour of the rooftop observatory, hands-on activities, delicious sweet and savory bites, and a cash bar. Ages 21+.
Cello & Chocolate
Bombyx, Florence
Friday, Feb 14 at 7 p.m.
Cello and chocolate — what could be better for Valentine’s Day? Here’s a lovely multi-sensory experience that will feature the sounds of the Harman/Haughey Cello Duo paired with the delicious flavors of Ana Bandeira Chocolates of Northampton. Dave Haughey is the owner of Ana Bandeira Chocolates and a stellar multi-genre cellist who has performed internationally with the Paul Winter Consort and is joined by Jeremy Harman, artistic director of the New Directions Cello Festival.
Valley Players presents Love Letters
Black Birch Vineyard, Hatfield
Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the play starts at 7:30 p.m.
Simple by design but moving in effect, A. R. Gurney's "Love Letters" takes the form of two characters sharing the letters they have written each other from kindergarten through their golden years, relating their struggles and triumphs, dreams and fears, and setbacks and second chances. Arrive early to purchase fine wine by the glass from Black Birch Vineyard and a selection of sodas from Harmony Springs of Ludlow. A delectable spread of light bites will be available for purchase as well.
Guy Davis
The Parlor Room, Northampton
Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for best traditional blues, a musician, actor, author, and songwriter. Guy uses a blend of roots, blues, folk, rock, rap, spoken word, and world music to comment on and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking.
Queer Adult Prom
33 Hawley Street, Northampton
Friday, Feb. 14 from 8 – 10:30 p.m.
The Northampton Center for the Arts is hosting its first Queer Adult Prom — a dazzling celebration of love in all its beautiful, vibrant forms. It promises a night full of joy, inclusivity, and unforgettable memories in a safe, welcoming space where love and acceptance take center stage.
Springfield Symphony: Harmony of Love
Springfield Symphony Hall
Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.
First, enter a world of Chinese legends, with "Butterfly Lover’s Concerto," which tells the tale of two young, ill-fated lovers who are reincarnated as butterflies. Following is a suite of Asian-themed works which will wrap you in their musical embrace. The soundscape then turns to Shakespeare, by way of Russia and America, with Tchaikovsky’s "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" and Bernstein’s "Symphonic Dances" from "West Side Story" upping the emotional quotient. SSO’s artistic advisor Mei-Ann Chen conducts.
The Femmes
Iron Horse, Northampton
Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
The Femmes are an all-woman and non-binary wedding band specializing in songs by female and non-binary artists. When you’re at a Femmes show, you’re at a high energy concert experience. With epic sing alongs, expertly crafted harmonies, and musicians who absolutely love to interact with the audience, The Femmes are Boston’s go-to women’s party band!
Oh He Dead
The Drake, Amherst
Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m.
Washington D.C.’s Oh He Dead brings their funky, poppy rock vibes wherever they go. The close-knit crew, Led by CJ Bowlin’ Johnson and her golden pipes, is known for their contagious joy and for putting on a hell of a live show as Johnson “maneuvers her powerful voice — a combination of Stevie Nicks and Tracy Chapman” (Kojo Nnamdi) in rhythm with the band’s “sublime instrumentation” (NPR) and “infectious and soulful sound” (Washington Post).
Mariel Capanna: Giornata
The Clark, Williamstown
On view starting Saturday, Feb. 15
Mariel Capanna (b. 1988, Philadelphia, where she lives and works) plays what she calls “games of remembering” as a way of reckoning with loss. Working from home videos and family slideshows, whose runtime is her constraint, the artist races to record fleeting memory images in oil paint. She scatters these flat, pastel forms like confetti across deep, atmospheric surfaces, creating compositions that are at once jubilant and wistful. For The Clark, Capanna presents two new, site-specific oil paintings as well as a monumental, two-sided fresco. Here’s yet another reason to take advantage of free admission at The Clark through March!