Play it Forward Western Mass. Instrument Drive
Accepting Donations Saturday, May 3 – Wednesday, May 14
NEPM and Community Music School of Springfield are joining forces to host the Play it Forward Western Mass. Instrument Drive, an initiative designed to provide students in Springfield and Holyoke public schools with the instruments they need to pursue their love for music. We are specifically looking for instruments that can be played by band and orchestra students. Band and orchestra instruments to be donated include: piccolo, flute, clarinet, saxophones, horn, trumpet, trombone, baritone/euphonium, tuba, violin, viola, cello, upright bass.
Martín Espada Book Launch: Jailbreak of Sparrows
De la Luz Divine Theater, Holyoke
Thursday, May 1 at 6 p.m.
Join Mass Humanities and the Holyoke community to celebrate the launch of Martín Espada’s new poetry collection: Jailbreak of Sparrows. Martín Espada is a poet, editor, translator and essayist who uses writing and storytelling to address pressing issues and reclaim historical narratives, including those of the Puerto Rican community in Massachusetts. Espada is a recipient of the National Book Award, Massachusetts Book Award, Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and the Massachusetts Governor’s Award in the Humanities, and more.
Easthampton Film Festival
Thursday, May 1 – Sunday, May 4
Now in its 4th year, the Easthampton Film Festival celebrates independent filmmaking and enriches our local arts scene by hosting events, workshops and parties that bring people together through a shared passion for cinema. Screenings will take place at Abandoned Building Brewery, CitySpace, and Easthampton Media. You’ll find a diverse selection of remarkable films — including the highly anticipated locally grown and shot feature Tallywacker — from local, regional, and international filmmakers, with talk backs after each film.
New England Repertory Orchestra Symphonic Finale
Shea Theater, Turners Falls
Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m.
The New England Repertory Orchestra endeavors to dismantle the exclusivity of symphonic music as a discipline and build pathways for all to realize a true place for themselves within the performance, study, and support of this art form. NERO closes its symphonic season with three blockbuster and moving orchestral works, two by luminary female composers Émilie Meyer’s Faust-Overture, Florence Price’s Adoration (arranged by Elaine Fine), and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.
Hampshire Pride
Parade and festival in Downtown Northampton
Saturday, May 3 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Every year, Hampshire Pride creates a space where people of all genders, gender expressions, sexual orientations, races, and ages can come together in a day of joy. The iconic parade will start at 11 a.m. in Sheldon Field and make its way down Route 9 & Main Street’s downtown area to disperse at the end of Crafts Ave. The festival will be held in the Armory Street lot behind Thornes Marketplace where dozens of vendors — queer artists, local businesses and non-profits — will provide information and merchandise. Enjoy family-friendly drag shows and music performed by local queer and diverse performers, and more.
Pilobolus: re:CREATION Tour
The Mahaiwe, Great Barrington
Saturday, May 3 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Pilobolus has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies since being founded at Dartmouth College in 1971. The re:CREATION Tour, brings their celebrated collection of repertory to delighted audiences from coast to coast. Plus, Pilobolus will debut its interpretation of Martha Graham’s seminal work, Lamentation, on the Mahaiwe stage to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Berkshire Bach
The Organ Masters: Peter Sykes
First Congregational Church, Great Barrington
Saturday, May 3 at 4 p.m.
The Hilborne L. Roosevelt organ, installed in 1883 at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington is a local cultural treasure. It is one of the most significant surviving examples of Roosevelt’s work, showcasing his groundbreaking use of electricity in organ mechanics. To demonstrate the remarkable versatility of this organ, Peter Sykes will play works based on the hymn Vater unser im Himmelreich (The Lord’s Prayer), set by Samuel Scheidt, Georg Böhm, Felix Mendelssohn, and J.S. Bach.
Pioneer Valley Cappella: Last Words
Edwards Congregational Church, Northampton
Friday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.
The central work of this concert is Joel Thompson’s stunning and heart-breaking Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, composed in 2015. It sets to music the last words of unarmed Black men just before they were killed by police officers. Thompson’s masterpiece is paired with Alice Parker’s Heavenly Hurt: Songs of Love and Loss, a setting of seven poems by Emily Dickinson. Three Shaker melodies, an energetic setting of the Kaddish prayer by 16th century composer Salomone Rossi, and two choruses by the Elizabethan master William Byrd round out the program.
Wooly Wonders — Heritage Breed Sheep Weekend
Historic Deerfield
Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Here’s a fun way to learn about the history of sheep in New England. Back by popular demand is “Meet and Greet the Sheep” with heritage breed expert, Peter Cook from Tare Shirt Farm in Berwick, Maine. You can enjoy sheepdog herding and sheep shearing demos, hands-on activities like dyeing yarn, spinning wool, weaving, and more. Plus, music starts each day at noon — by Tim Van Egmond on Saturday and Roger Tincknell on Sunday.
African Tea Gala
UMass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center at Springfield
Saturday, May 3 at 1 p.m.
The Western Massachusetts Chapter of Jack and Jill of America (WMJJOA), Inc. invites you to their first fundraising event, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, author of Africana Tea: A Global History of Tea and Black Women's Health. Come dressed in your best African garment or your best outfit and explore together the history of tea while supporting the local community. NEPM is honored to be a sponsor of this event.
Springfield Symphony Orchestra: Variation & Virtuosity
Springfield Symphony Hall
Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
The SSO’s final concert in its 2024-25 season will feature Brazilian-born conductor Marcelo Lehninger and pianist Natasha Paremski. Ronaldo Miranda’s Temporal Variations (Beethoven Revisited) opens the concert. Next, Natasha Paremksi joins the orchestra for Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The concert concludes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
Schoen Books Charity Book Sale
The Old Firehouse, 7 Sugarloaf Street, South Deerfield
Sunday, May 4 from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. (rain date May 11)
Behind the bay doors of the 1930s WPA-built firehouse in South Deerfield is a book shop that offers a place of solace and community. Wandering the aisles is an intellectual journey that stretches into 19th century Vienna and Berlin and ends up in the modern world. Schoen Books specialties are Judaica in all languages (but especially German Judaica), books on the Holocaust, exile and refugee writers, Israel, and psychoanalysis. Funds raised at this books sale will go to local food banks, survival centers and to aid refugees and migrants.
Double Edge Theater Community Day
The Farm, 948 Conway Road, Ashfield
Sunday, May 4 from 1 – 4 p.m.
The Farm, home to Double Edge Theater, is a magical rural performance place in Ashfield. DE’s vision is to prioritize imagination in times of creative, emotional, spiritual, and political uncertainty. Their art is grounded in a rigorous ensemble aesthetic unfolded in dream, imagery, metaphor, mystery, and symbolism. It’s a true 413 gem! Community Day gives you the opportunity to learn more about what is happening at Double Edge. It’s also a free event where you can sing, play music, and fly on bungees!
Beginners Quilt Along: The Village Quilt
Hoop and Bee, Eastworks, Easthampton
6-session course Sundays, May 4 – June 8 from 2 – 5 p.m.
Build your own quilted neighborhood in this fun and flexible quilt-along. Using Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.’s pattern or a customizable grid system, students will create as many tiny houses as they like — maybe a handful for a small cul-de-sac wall hanging or a whole village for a full-size quilt top. This class is designed for all skill levels and introduces essential quilting techniques. As of this writing, there are only a few spots left for this course, but other classes are happening soon.
Shine: 25 Years — Celebrate the Brilliants
Fashion Show & Gala
Carney Family Auditorium, Furcolo Hall, UMass
Sunday, May 4th at 2:30 p.m.
ETTA Arts and The Rainbow Players proudly present an afternoon of glamour, generosity, and celebration. This event will combine style and purpose, featuring stunning runway displays, a silent auction, and exclusive gifts and services — all while supporting ETTA’s mission to create inclusive programming and arts opportunities for the enrichment and empowerment of individuals of all abilities. With fashion partners like Zanna, the Closet, and The Fisher Home Hospice Shop, this is the show-and-sell event you won’t want to miss.
Holyoke Civic Symphony: The Best is Yet to Come
Holyoke Community College
Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m.
The Holyoke Civic Symphony is made up of talented amateur musicians and students who perform an exciting mixture of styles and composers. Their mission is to make orchestral music accessible to Holyoke and the surrounding communities. All concerts are free of charge. Jiyu Moon, the winner of this year’s HCS Student Concerto Competition, will join the orchestra as soloist for Shostokovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1. Also, music by Quinn Mason and Howard Hanson. The final concert of the season includes Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2.