Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Jacob’s Pillow, Becket
Wed. Aug. 26 – Sunday, Aug. 30
The final week of Jacob Pillow’s 2026 Summer season brings us Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Founded in 1977 by dancer and choreographer Lou Conte, and now led by former Hubbard Street and Ailey dancer Linda Denise Fisher-Harrell, Hubbard Street has brought top choreographers and works to Chicago and beyond for almost half a century. At home in Chicago, Hubbard Street performs 20 times a year and delivers renowned education programs in dozens of classrooms across 17 Chicago schools. It is one of the most original forces in contemporary dance.
The Cummington Fair
97 Fairgrounds Rd, Cummington
Thursday, Aug. 27 – Sunday, Aug. 30
The Cummington Fair has been bringing people to the hills of western Massachusetts since 1883, and its 158th edition has plenty of wonderful things to do. There’s a sheep obstacle; an ox teamster’s challenge; antique engines and tractors; demolition derbies, livestock shows, midway rides, music, delicious fair food, and more. For a smaller fair, with lots of traditional features, like the famous chicken barbecue and the exclusive pocket lady, check out the Shelburne Grange Fair happening Saturday, Aug. 29 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Junkyard Shakespeare: Sweet Prince
Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley
Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m.
Junkyard Theater is the brainchild of actor, producer, and Shakespeare specialist Hilary Dennis. In the “junkyard,” small groups of actors come together to create raw, clear, text-driven 90-minute versions of Shakespeare’s plays in one week. Sweet Prince is a bit different. It’s an interactive, one-woman adaptation of Hamlet that invites members of the audience to step in as the missing characters, and it will be going on tour this fall.
Kwartetto Mambo
Peskeompskut Park, Turners Falls
Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7pm.
Contemporary Afro-Latin jazz quartet that blends jazz, African, and Cuban musical traditions with imaginative pop rearrangements. Featuring virtuosos John Clark (French horn), Wes Brown (Bass/piano), Julian Gerstin (Congas/percussion) and Dan DeWalt (trombone). Free and accessible. Bring a lawn chair and a picnic dinner. In case of rain this event will be rescheduled.
Latino Arts Festival
Springfield Museums, Springfield
Friday, Aug. 28 from 3:30 – 8 p.m.
Celebrate Latino arts and culture at the Springfield Museums’ fourth annual Latino Arts Festival. The afternoon begins with “From 413 to DC: Springfield’s Influence on Latinx Stories at the Smithsonian,” a talk by western Massachusetts native Ariana A. Curtis, curator of Latinx Studies at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Then the festival gets underway with Bomba de Aqui, interactive art-making, family activities, a children’s book giveaway, and opportunities to explore exhibitions from Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte de Ponce. Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will also be available.
Arcadia Folk Festival
Mass Audubon’s Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton
Saturday, Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Northampton’s Signature Sounds and Mass Audubon team up for the eighth annual Arcadia Folk Festival, bringing a full day of folk and roots music to the meadows and woods of the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. This year’s lineup features Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Allison Russell, The Milk Carton Kids, John Craigie, Fantastic Cat, Caitlin Canty, and others. And this festival is solar powered, zero waste, carbon neutral, and provides bike valet service.
Forging Freedom
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield
Saturday, Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
The Springfield Armory is marking America’s 250th with a day of living history and family activities. From 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., kids can become Junior Rangers, enjoy free Friendly’s ice cream and explore interactive exhibits. There will also be re-enactments, military vehicles to see up close and a Black Hawk helicopter landing on the Armory Green. Then, from 4 – 6 p.m., the U.S. Army rock band Rip Chord performs a live concert. Admission is free.
Chicha: The Cumbia of Peru
The Blue Room at CitySpace
Saturday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.
Chicha Libre is a Brooklyn-based six-piece founded by Olivier Conan, the French expatriate behind the influential the Barbès nightclub in Brooklyn. Conan was first introduced to chicha — the psychedelic Peruvian cumbia born in the Amazon and the barrios of Lima during the 1960s and '70s — on a trip to Peru in 2005. Chicha Libre became the first non-Peruvian band to disseminate chicha and psychedelic cumbia outside of Peru.
June Millington and the IMA Allstars
Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), Goshen
Saturday, Aug. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Rock pioneer June Millington takes the stage at the Institute for the Musical Arts for a rare, career-spanning concert and official Double Album Release celebration! Experience the newly remastered re-release of her classic debut solo album, Heartsong, alongside her brand-new studio album, Home to My Soul. June will be joined by IMA All-Stars — faculty, alumni, and current students — plus special guest IMA Artist in Residence from Nairobi, Kenyan singer-songwriter and activist Lydiah Dola.
Tuba Skinny
Iron Horse, Northampton
Saturday, Aug 29 at 8 p.m.
For over a decade Tuba Skinny has grown steadily in popularity, releasing twelve albums and touring all over the world. While they’ve become known as world-class interpreters of traditional jazz, over the years they’ve branched out into jug band music, spirituals, country blues, string band music, ragtime, and New Orleans R&B. Their approach is a true reflection of Americana, encompassing the full genealogy of popular American music from an early 20th century perspective.
Mohawk Trail Concerts: Thank-you Concert
Charlemont Federated Church
Sunday, Aug. 30 at 3 p.m.
What a lovely and generous tradition — a free concert for attendees and supporters. The concert will feature performances by the Farmhouse Quartet, Estela Olevsky, Masako Yanagita, John Clark, Jerry Noble, Tinky Weisblat, and Mark Fraser. The music will be followed by elegant hors-d'oeuvres prepared and served by the Mohawk Trail Concerts Board of Directors. All are welcome!
Tedeschi Trucks Band with Lukas Nelson
Tanglewood, Lenox
Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.
This show is going to be rich! Led by powerhouse singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi and guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks, the 12-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band brings its blend of blues, rock, and Southern soul to Tanglewood. Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas Nelson, opens the evening.
Our Lady of Fatima Festa
438 Winsor St., Ludlow
Thursday, Sept. 3 – Monday, Sept. 7
Ludlow’s deep Portuguese roots are on full display at the Our Lady of Fatima Festa, a Labor Day weekend tradition held every year since 1949. Five days of festivities draw thousands of people for Portuguese food, a midway, fireworks, a candlelight procession, and more. The musical lineup includes Trailer Trash on Thursday; Project 267 and Paulino and the Great Escape on Friday; and Tony Carreira on Saturday. On Sunday, Zé Amaro who is known as the “Portuguese Cowboy” and is pictured above, will perform with his band.
COMING SOON
Springfield Public Forum
Jill Lepore: The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State
Springfield Symphony Hall
Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
Building on an essay in The New Yorker in 2024, Jill Lepore traces our increasing dependence on and strangulation by data. Political campaigns, awash in an avalanche of fake bots, have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, while multinational media corporations dictate public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to a rapid end, replaced by billionaire technocrats reliant on autocracy and the tools of AI. As always, this Springfield Public Forum event is free and open to the public.
Glendi Greek Festival
Greek Cultural Center, Springfield
Friday, Sept. 11 – Sunday, Sept. 13
St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral’s annual Glendi festival fills the Greek Cultural Center with Greek food, pastries, live music, dancing, and plenty of celebration. The festival has been a Springfield tradition since 1978 and offers a lively introduction to Greek culture for the whole family. Admission is $2 and includes a raffle entry.
Miles for Music: Walk or Run
Downtown Amherst to downtown Northampton
Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m.
Here’s a race with a rhythm all its own. The inaugural Miles for Music is an 8.1-mile run, walk and relay linking The Drake in Amherst with The Iron Horse in Northampton. Live music performances along the course and the finish at Taste of Northampton make it part race and part music festival, while raising funds to support and strengthen two phenomenal local music venues that you read about often here in Culture to Do!
Springfield Puerto Rican Parade
Main Street, Springfield
Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m.
The theme of the 36th annual Springfield Puerto Rican Parade is “Como el Coquí.” It’s a nod to the famed tiny tree frog that is native to Puerto Rico. Like the coquí, Puerto Rico is small in size but full of heart, rhythm, and energy. The parade steps off at Main Street and Wason Avenue and makes its way through downtown Springfield to Boland Way.
Concerts at The Big E Arena
Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield
Friday, Sept. 18 – Sunday, Oct. 4
The Big E is coming, and the lineup of ticketed concerts in the Big E Arena includes some very big names. Shock-rock pioneer Alice Cooper performs Saturday, Sept. 19; Roger Daltrey of The Who takes the stage Sunday, Sept. 20; and The Beach Boys, led by founding member Mike Love with longtime member Bruce Johnston, arrive Thursday, Sept. 24. Electronic music superstar deadmau5 plays Saturday, Sept. 26. Later in the fair, rapper Ice Cube performs Saturday, Oct. 3, and classic-rock band Styx closes out the Big E on Sunday, Oct. 4. Arena concert tickets include admission to the fair.
Deerfield After Dark: Ghosts of the Revolution
Historic Deerfield
Friday, Oct. 9 – Saturday, Oct. 24 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Have you ever wanted to talk to the ghost of a Tory tavern keeper? Or have a conversation with two friends who were on different sides during the Revolution? This October, Hall Tavern will be filled with ghosts of the Revolution. Enjoy hot mulled cider, hear ghost stories, and follow a guide outside into the darkness to meet ghosts from the Stebbins and Williams families. Short guided walks begin at 7 p.m. and depart every half hour until 9 p.m.