Mass Kids Lit Fest
Wednesday, May 7 – Sunday, May 11
Mass Kids Lit Fest is back for 2025 and expanding into the Berkshires. This geographically dispersed festival is taking place through May 11 across Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties. The festival showcases Massachusetts-based children’s and YA authors and features a few different types of events, including school visits, library events, and community workshops and activities, as you will see on the schedule.
Amherst Artisans Market
In front of the Amherst History Museum, 67 Amity Street
Thursdays through October from 3 – 7 p.m.
Here’s a new way to experience the vibrant arts scene in Amherst. Organized by volunteers and employees of the historic Amherst Farmers’ Market, the Amherst Artisans Market was born from the strong community connections built over the years. Each week, you can enjoy a wide variety of handcrafted goods, meet talented local artisans, and celebrate the creativity that makes our community special.
Da Camera Singers: Teenagers!
Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, Hadley
Saturday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Episcopal Church of Saints James & Andrew, Greenfield
Da Camera Singers, directed by Sheila Heffernon and in its 51st season, presents Teenagers!, a romp through choral works written by teenage composers across the centuries including early compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn and many others. The concert will also include the premiere of a work by a local teen, Lillian Pope, winner of Da Camera Singers’ call for new choral compositions from high school students in Western Mass.
Kris Delmhorst
Iron Horse, Northampton
Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m.
Kris Delmhorst is an American songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, and producer who lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, the songwriter Jeffrey Foucault. She has produced nine critically acclaimed studio albums, written songs and score for films and TV, produced albums for Session Americana and Jeremy Moses Curtis, contributed instrumentation and vocals to scores of other artists’ work, and performed thousands of shows across the US and Europe.
Splendid Torch Album Release Show
The Drake, Amherst
Friday, May 9 at 8 p.m.
You may remember mention of the band Mamma’s Marmalade in a previous issue or two of Culture to Do. When MM founding member Mitch Bordage decided to hang up his mandolin and step away from life on the road, the remaining members — Lily Sexton (lead vocals, fiddle, guitar), Sean Davis (acoustic and electric guitar vocals), and Josh Ballard (bass) — decided to turn a corner and form a new group called Splendid Torch. The debut LP from Splendid Torch sits joyfully at the intersection of indie rock and Americana and is a snapshot of the genesis of this new creative endeavor.
Emily Dickinson Museum: Poetry Walk 2025
Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
In honor the 139th anniversary of the poet’s death, the Emily Dickinson Museum presents the annual Poetry Walk through downtown Amherst, the town she called “paradise.” This year’s Walk celebrates the newly reconstructed carriage house, which opened Tuesday. Take the walk at your own pace, but be sure to head to Dickinson’s grave in West Cemetery in time for the 12pm final poems and a lemonade toast to our favorite poet!
Around the World in 80 Cups
Adams Theater, Adams
Saturday, May 10 from 2 – 4 p.m.
This weekend, the Adams Theater is opening for three pre-season events ahead of their official season opening later this month. On Friday, they’re hosting “Music and Meals for AYJ to Fight Childhood Cancer,” a fundraiser created by students at Hoosac Valley High School. On Saturday, artist and theater maker David Lane will install a retrospective of his puppet-making. My favorite: the first of three pop up coffee experiences, that explore diverse cultures and fascinating flavors behind specialty coffee from around the globe.
Shared Skies: Celebrating Migratory Birds and the Communities They Connect
Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls
Saturday, May 10 from 2 – 3 p.m.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day! Join ornithologist Chad Witko for an inspiring exploration of our avian migrants. Through cutting-edge research from across the hemisphere, explore how birds connect people and communities throughout the Americas. Deepen your appreciation for the birds that pass through our cities and neighborhoods and learn what we can do to help them thrive.
5th annual Easthampton Clay Spring Pottery Sale
50 Payson Avenue, Easthampton
Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Just across from the beautiful Easthampton waterfront, over 30 local artists will be vending handmade ceramics at 50 Payson Avenue. This event draws thousands to the vibrant downtown area of Easthampton each spring. Easthampton Clay artists cast a wide net of ceramic styles and techniques. There will be food trucks including local legends Myers Catering, Crooked Stick Pops, and others. Plus, Tandem Bagel is very close by.
A Celebration of Hildegard of Bingen
Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst
Saturday, May 10 at 4 p.m.
Grace Episcopal Church brings us a unique event that will explore the life, music, and prophetic voice of the 12th-century Benedictine abbess, composer, and mystic whose visionary works continue to captivate and inspire nearly a thousand years after her death. It will feature musical excerpts from Ordo Virtutum, Hildegard’s allegorical play, performed alongside projected images of her original illuminations. Interwoven throughout the program will be selections from her prayers, poems, and theological writings.
Heinrich Heine Far and Near
Bombyx, Florence
Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m.
This project — a series of four concerts that will be presented throughout this year — represents three decades of work by one of our finest local vocalists, Peter Shea. It presents a very wide variety of songs, all of them musical settings of the great nineteenth-century German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, whose verses have been set to music more than any other poet. All are works that Peter has in some way helped to bring into the world, either by suggestion, commission, or premiere, as part of his thirty-year project on Heine and the music he continues to inspire. Congrats to Peter!
Mother’s Day at the Zoo
The Zoo in Forest Park, Springfield
Sunday May 11 from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
The Zoo in Forest Park is home to over 200 animal residents, many of which have been deemed non-releasable to the wild by a wildlife rehabilitator due to injury, illness, permanent disability or other factors. Starting on Saturday, May 10, The Zoo will be open 7 days a week through the summer, weather-permitting. And mom’s receive free admission on Mother’s Day!
Print Room Pop-Up: Mother’s Day
The Clark, Williamstown
Sunday, May 11 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
To celebrate Mother’s Day, visit the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper to view a specially curated selection of prints, drawings, and photographs depicting the many facets of motherhood. From intimate sketches to bold prints, each piece reflects the strength, resilience, tenderness, and joy that define the journey of being a mother. Perfect for families and art lovers alike, this pop-up exhibition invites you to honor mothers everywhere and explore the beautiful layers of motherhood through the lens of art.
Rotunda Rhythms: Songs and Stories of Appalachia
Central Library, 220 State Street, Springfield
Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m.
Michael and Carrie Kline lived and worked in West Virginia for decades before relocating to Massachusetts. They place their songs, both traditional and newer depictions of mountain life, in historical context, full of imagery and poignancy, along with some toe tapping. Joe Blumenthal is known throughout the 413 for his upright bass accompaniment in Klezmer, Arabic, Balkan, Bluegrass and Oldtime settings. Jim Armenti is a beloved name in Western Mass music, known as a band member for the Young at Heart Chorus and the Lonesome Brothers. Expect lively music befitting the lively acoustics of the gorgeous library rotunda.
Ying String Quartet
The Drake, Amherst
Sunday, May 11 at 4 p.m.
The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in classical music with performances regularly taking place in many of the world’s most important concert halls. They first came to professional prominence in the early 1990s during their years as resident quartet of Jesup, Iowa, a farm town of 2000 people where they played in homes, schools, churches, and banks. The Quartet considers its time in Jesup the foundation of its present musical life and goals. The residency, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, was widely chronicled in the national media.
World Ballet Company: The Great Gatsby
Academy of Music, Northampton
Sunday, May 11 at 6 p.m.
Take Mom to the world premiere of The Great Gatsby ballet! See the glitz, glamor, and tragic romance of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel. The show features a multinational cast of 40 professional ballet dancers, an all-star creative team, lustrous hand-crafted costumes, lavish sets and an original score evokes the energy and atmosphere of the 1920s.