The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show
Naumkeag, Stockbridge
Wednesday, Oct. 28 – Saturday, Oct. 31
Cauldrons, cobwebs, fairy houses, volcanoes, thousands of hand-carved jack-o'-lanterns, mums, pumpkins, and gourds transform Naumkeag into an autumnal haven. Every year there are new and expanded displays embracing October's mysterious magic for visitors of all ages to discover. Tickets are still available Wednesday through Saturday. Advance ticket sales only. No tickets are sold on site.
Visions of the Supernatural
Springfield Museums
On view through Sunday, Feb. 7
Blending history, mystery, art, and folklore, Visions of the Supernatural transforms the recently reopened George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum into an unforgettable journey through the strange, the mystical, and the unknown. Try your hand at automatic writing, consult Ouija boards, gaze into crystal balls, discover the symbolic meanings of gemstones and crystals, read Tarot cards in a recreated Victorian parlor, and encounter animals, strange creatures and objects long associated with supernatural beliefs.
Beetlejuice Jr.
Academy of Music, Northampton
Thursday, Oct. 29 and Friday, Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Academy Youth Productions presents Beetlejuice JR., an adaptation for young performers of the hit Broadway musical that earned eight Tony Award nominations in 2019. Based on the popular Tim Burton film, the show follows Lydia Deetz, an unusual teenager mourning the death of her mother, who moves with her father into a house haunted by a recently deceased couple and a mischievous demon named Beetlejuice. The local young actors range in age from 11–17, and they've been rehearsing the show since September.
On Friday, come early for Northampton's first-ever Thriller Parade! Zombie-costumed dancers will perform a flash-mob-style dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller in front of the Academy at 5 and 5:15 p.m. Many of the Beetlejuice Jr. actors will participate, along with community dancers. The outdoor parade is free to watch!
Gilles Vonsattel: Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass
Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
UMass Amherst professor of piano Gilles Vonsattel is undertaking a monumental musical challenge: performing all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas, representing approximately 11 hours of music. The project includes performances at Lincoln Center in New York and two prestigious music organizations in California. Here in Amherst, Vonsattel is presenting the sonatas in a series of eight free concerts at Bezanson Recital Hall, four this fall and four in the spring, with each concert featuring different sonatas. The first concert was Oct. 22, but there are seven more opportunities to hear him, beginning Thursday, Oct. 29. Seating is limited; plan to arrive early.
Vonsattel will give a free lecture about this concert on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Amherst College Center for Humanistic Inquiry, located at the Lyceum, 197 S. Pleasant Street.
Imagination Awakened: A Wickedly Wonderful Westfield Experience
Amelia Park Memorial Garden, Westfield
Thursday, Oct. 29 – Saturday, Oct. 31
Westfield’s Amelia Park Memorial Garden has been transformed into a wonderland filled with shimmering lights, playful skeletons, enchanting characters, illuminated displays, animatronics — and nothing too scary! Unlike many Halloween attractions, this one is designed to delight rather than frighten. Imagination Preservation Society is a woman-owned, family-operated Westfield small business dedicated to celebrating imagination and bringing generations together. Thursday evening offers a quieter, sensory-friendly version, with stationary, silent animatronics. The full experience is happening Friday and Saturday.
A Happening VI: SALVAGE
Shea Theater Arts Center, Turners Falls
Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31 at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Just in time for Halloween, Cloudgaze Productions transforms the Shea Theater into a fully explorable theatrical world where audiences become part of the experience. The sixth installment of the company's immersive theater series takes us to Restoretown, a community shaped by loss, where we can wander through memories and stories that lead to a joyful celebration. VIP tickets provide an additional half hour of fun before each performance.
Daft Disko: A French House and Disco Halloween
The Drake, Amherst
Friday, Oct. 30 from 8 – 11 p.m.
Get your Halloween groove on with a dance party celebrating classic disco and the infectious, funky beats of French house. Inspired by the sounds of Daft Punk, Giorgio Moroder, Chic, Stardust, Justice, and many more, Daft Disko brings together electronic dance music, funky rhythms, and disco classics for a high-energy night on the dance floor. Costumes are welcome. Ages 18 and older.
9th Annual Holyoke Community Ofrenda
Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke
Saturday, Oct. 31 and Sunday, Nov. 1 from 12 – 2 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Wistariahurst Museum celebrates Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the Mexican tradition of honoring and remembering loved ones who have died, with its ninth annual community ofrenda. An ofrenda is an altar decorated with photographs, mementos, and offerings that celebrate the lives of departed family members and friends. Created with contributions from community members, Wistariahurst’s ofrenda includes hand-painted clay calaveras (skulls) made during a workshop with Holyoke’s Attack Bear Press.
Halloween at the Clark
The Clark, Williamstown
Saturday, Oct. 31 from 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.
Trick or treat at the Clark and pick up a free art mystery box from the Clark Center admissions desk. And, if you dress up like a work of art in the collection, you’ll receive free admission to the museum. Then, costumed or not, join a 2 p.m. “ghost” tour to explore artworks with shadowy and supernatural subjects. "Ghost" tour capacity is limited. Pick up a ticket at the Clark Center admissions desk, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Kids Monsters Ball: Fairy Tales
Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra
Chapin Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley
Saturday, Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Little ghosts, goblins, princesses, and superheroes are invited to dress in their favorite costumes for the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra's beloved Kids Monsters Ball! This year's fairy tale-themed celebration features music from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, along with selections from Disney's Moana 2. Children can dance along to the music and, at the end of the concert, explore the orchestra's instruments at the super-popular Instrument Petting Zoo.
Northampton Neighbors Halloween Prance Dance Party
Bombyx, Florence
Saturday, Oct. 31 from 3 – 5 p.m.
Northampton Neighbors is a community organization that helps older adults stay connected and active. They're hosting their first-ever Halloween Prance, a free afternoon dance party featuring music from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Costumes are encouraged but not required, and everyone is welcome to join the fun. Afterward, dancers can head over to the Florence Rag Shag Parade, which is apparently the oldest continually running Rag Shag parade in the country! It steps off from Trinity Park at 6 p.m.
Cyanotype Workshops
Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley
Sunday, Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Cyanotype Tote Bag
Sunday, Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Cyanotype Print & Zine
Cyanotype is one of photography's oldest processes — invented in 1842, still made by hand today. In these workshops, taught by Northampton artist Nikki Gardner, you will use use iron-based chemistry and UV light to create original blue-and-white prints on fabric and paper, arrange botanicals and found objects into compositions, and leave with a finished piece of art. No camera, no prior experience, and no artistic background required.
Illumine Vocal Arts Ensemble: The Echoing Vault
Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley
Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
Illumine Vocal Arts Ensemble joins forces with the Mount Holyoke Glee Club and the Western Massachusetts chapter of the American Guild of Organists for a concert celebrating the glorious combination of choral voices and Abbey Chapel’s two very different pipe organs. In the rear balcony there’s the 1985 Fisk, an instrument perfectly suited for Italian Renaissance and German Baroque tonal traditions. The Skinner organ at the front of the sanctuary commands the timber-rattling power associated with a grand orchestral instrument. The program spans centuries, from Baroque to contemporary music, with works by Herbert Howells, Louis Vierne, James MacMillan, David Lang, and Edgar Bainton.
Tuesday Morning Music Club: String Trio and Flute Quartet
Trinity United Methodist Church, Springfield
Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 10:30 a.m.
The Tuesday Morning Music Club presents a string trio of Springfield Symphony Orchestra musicians: violinist Beth Welty, violist Carol Hutter, and cellist Boris Kogan, cello performing Beethoven’s Serenade in D Major. The Meadow Flutes — Lynn Winsor, Andrea Taupier, Kimberly Figueroa, and Nancy Miller — will present selections in a variety of styles from classical to folk and jazz, including works by Amy Beach, Stephen Foster, Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington, and Catherine McMichael. The concert is free to TMMC members and their guests. It is open to the public with a general admission price of $10.
Valley Light Opera: Fiddler on the Roof
Academy of Music, Northampton
Thursday, Nov. 5 – Sunday, Nov. 8
Fiddler on the Roof is a perennially powerful musical about the exquisite joys and devastating sadnesses of daily life. Its lasting power as a piece of theatre comes from the loveable, familiar characters and their recognizable experiences that resonate with audiences of all ages. Fiddler uplifts how the people of Anatevka (like so many people around the world and throughout history) pursue life’s joys – love, family, and freedom – in the face of great sorrows. There is so much humor and love among the people of Anatevka, and their joyful moments contrast the pain of their exile from their home.
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Paul Winter Consort
Bombyx, Florence
Sunday, Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
I don’t tend to linger on regrets, but a big one for me was not going to this famed Winter Solstice celebration back in the 1980s when I lived just 15 blocks away from New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine! This year marks the fourth time that the Solstice Celebration has been held at Bombyx. Granted, it doesn’t include the dancers and theatrical effects that were possible in the world's largest cathedral. But with Paul Winter, vocalist Theresa Thomason, Eugene Friesen on cello, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Brazilian drummer Rogério Boccato, and Paul Winter on soprano sax, it’s an unforgettable intimate experience. It always sells out.
COMING SOON
CiderDays 2026
Friday, Nov. 6 – Sunday, Nov. 8
CiderDays is a super popular annual (32 years and counting) Franklin County community celebration. Enjoy tours of the region's premier cideries and orchards with cidermaking demos and tastings, workshops and exhibitions throughout the county. You can make stops in Greenfield, Deerfield, Turners Falls, the beautiful hills of Buckland, Shelburne Falls, Colrain, and lots of towns in between. Most CiderDays activities are free, but some scheduled programming requires registration and a ticket.
Eastworks Open Studios
Eastworks, Easthampton
Saturday Nov. 7 and Sunday Nov. 8, from 10 a.m – 5 p.m.
Every year, Eastworks’ artists, makers, performers, nonprofits, small businesses and entrepreneurs open their doors to the public. Participants showcase everything from fine arts, pottery and stained glass, to jewelry, textiles, instruments, and more. Meet celebrated creators, learn about your favorite artist’s process, view works in progress, participate in hands-on workshops, purchase one-of-a-kind items. Free and open to the public.
Snow Farm Seconds Sale
Snow Farm, Williamsburg
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Nov. 13 – 29
Every fall after the craft workshop season winds down, Snow Farm's campus is transformed into spacious galleries full of handmade work from over 250 local artists — glass, ceramics, jewelry, wood, clothing, prints and more. Craft seconds can be excess inventory, experimental pieces, discontinued lines, or slightly flawed items. To the artist they might be seconds, but everything you'll find at the seconds sale is fully functional and most pieces look perfect.
17th Annual March for the Food Bank with Monte Belmonte
Monday, Nov. 23 & Tuesday, Nov. 24
This amazing annual fundraiser brings hunger directly in front of the public. Led by NEPM’s Monte Belmonte, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, and Food Bank Chief Executive Officer Andrew Morehouse, marchers walk 46 miles over two days from Springfield to Greenfield to raise funds and awareness for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Plus, there’s the 3-mile Berkshire Mini-March in Pittsfield on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Heart of the Valley Chorus Open Rehearsals and Concert
Rehearsals Wednesdays, Nov. 18, Dec. 2, and Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, Northampton
Concert Saturday, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. at Bombyx, Florence
The four-part, barbershop-style Heart of the Valley Chorus invites community members to sing along at three open Wednesday evening rehearsals culminating in a holiday concert. Singers in the soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto and higher men's vocal ranges are welcome. The rehearsals offer a fun, accessible opportunity for anyone who loves to sing. Singers under 16 may participate when accompanied by an adult.