Weekly Suggested Events
for the week of
Oct 5th-Oct 12th, 2012 |
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COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
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"Hilltown Families is the perfect portal into all the great events, organizations, and people that our region has to offer. You're building community, one email at a time!" - Wendy Sweetser, The Trustees of Reservations
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SUPPORT
HILLTOWN FAMILIES
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If you have any additional events, camps or classes to suggest, please feel encouraged to share on these free bulletin boards, or find out more about our enhanced publicity options.
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HILLTOWN FAMILIES SPONSORED EVENTS
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PARENTS' NIGHT OUT
TICKET GIVEAWAY!
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Ongoing Columns
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| HILLTOWN FAMILIES SPONSORS | |
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| Serving Western Massachusetts since 2005, Hilltown Families supports development and enhancement of our local economy and community! Local businesses, individuals, schools and non-profits are invited to Sponsor and Advertise with Hilltown Families. Let us help get the word out about your class, event, camp, workshop, fundraiser, business or announcement. Deliver your message to thousands of families living throughout Western Massachusetts while supporting the work of Hilltown Families. Email hilltownfamilies@gmail.com for more information, or click here.
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HILLTOWN FAMILIES
eNEWSLETTER
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18 Community Highlights: Migrating Hawks to Edible Mushrooms. Ghost Towns to Cemetery Walks.
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Words of wisdom found on the Ashfield Town Green last year during the Ashfield Fall Festival. (Photo credit: Sienna Wildfield)
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Migrating Hawks to Edible Mushrooms. Native American Harvest Festival to Jewish Harvest Festival. Ghost Towns to Cemetery Walks.... These are just a few of the learning highlights we're featuring this week!
We've featured 10 Harvest and Fall Festivals happening on Saturday and/or Sunday this week in the Best Bets section of our list of Weekly Suggested Events, so be sure to check those out!
With Columbus Day on Monday, it's a long weekend for many! A few highlights for Monday, Oct 8th include:
- Sing-a-long with beloved children's musician David Grover at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield
- Open Hearth Cooking at Historic Deerfield
- Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton
- Mornings on the Farm at Red Gate Farm in Buckland
- Pumpkin carving at Chesterwood in Stockbridge
- Berkshire Coaching Weekend at The Mount in Lenox
Find out more on these Columbus Day events in our listing for Monday, Oct 8th.
Scroll down to see our other highlights, or select a day of the week to your left, and plan on getting out into your community, learning while you play!
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BULLETIN BOARD
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 Nestled among field and forest, The Montessori School of the Berkshires in Lenox Dale provides hands-on, individualized education for toddlers through eighth graders. Montessori education helps children become responsible, caring learners and community members who are self-motivated, confident, independent, and creative. MSB's LEED-registered campus allows children to learn about sustainability both within the classroom and out of doors. Children have access to the natural world through garden areas and trails. Dr. Maria Montessori considered this connection to the earth and living things to be an essential part of education. Join the school for an Open House! Oct 2, Oct 27, Nov 7. For more info and to register visit BerkshireMontessori.org.
On Sunday, Oct 14 from 11:30am-4:30pm is the Grow Food Northampton FARM FEST 2012 at Crimson & Clover Farm (part of Northampton Community Farm)! Join The Farm Education Collaborative in celebrating the harvest at Farm Fest! Meet and learn about some of their farm animals and spend some time working with fibers, seeds, and more. Fun on the Farm in the Fall with Family! Meadow and Spring Streets in Florence, MA. For more info visit www.thefarmeducationcollaborative.org.
Stitch Lounge in Greenfield offers both youth & adult classes this fall, including: Alabama Chanin Skirt class using upcycled tee's, stenciling & hand-stitching, Oct 18 & 25; and a beginners 3-part Wonky Squares Quilt class starting Oct 20. Never sewn before or have rusty skills? Check out their Beginner Sewing Class. Kids Classes begin in Nov.! Visit stitchlounge.net for more classes. Stop-in to find inspiration, modern fabrics, sewing notions & lots more, including social sewing! A devoted sewing space with all the supplies you need. Bring your own machine or use one of theirs. Stitch Lounge is located at 30 Mohawk Trail. Open Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, & Sat 10am-3pm. stitchlounge@comcast.net. 413-475-3246.
 Halloween Costume Party with Mister G! Popular, international children's music artist & local hero Mister G will be hosting a one-of-a-kind Halloween costume party at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton on Sun., Oct 28 at 11am. The event will double as a CD release concert for his Parents' Choice Gold Award-winning album, Chocolalala. The bilingual (Spanish/English) CD blends Latin rhythms, traditional instruments and uniquely catchy songwriting. Mister G will also perform songs from his 2011 Grammy-nominated CD BUGS, called "irresistible" by People Magazine. Eat Pizza for Breakfast, wear your funkiest, scariest costume & come ready rock. !Bailamos! Tix: $8 children/$10 Adults. info@mistergsongs.com. www.mistergsongs.com.
 ADVERTISE YOUR FALL/HOLIDAY EVENT: Reach thousands of families in Western MA while supporting the community development work of Hilltown Families! See your fall festival, holiday event, afterschool class, homeschool program, community celebration, workshop, school, or business featured here in the bulletin board section of our list of Weekly Suggested Events and eNewsletter, reaching thousands of families living throughout the four counties of Western MA! Find out more about our enhanced publicity packages and options and how we can help with your online marketing by emailing us at hilltownfamilies@gmail.com.
JOIN OUR TEAM OF CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Interested in becoming a Contributing or Guest Writer for Hilltown Families? We welcome writings that reflect the community building and educational efforts parents, teens, teachers, artists, activists and community leaders work towards and accomplish and how that affects, supports and empowers our families. All writing styles welcomed, including local reviews, DIY posts, seasonal cooking/local food, and community-based educational & community service learning opportunities/resources. Send your query to hilltownfamilies@gmail.com
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2 SWAPS. 1 DAY.
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 HALLOWEEN COSTUME SWAP: You know that handmade costume you spent hours on a couple of years ago that your child has now outgrown, or the mask and cape you picked up at the dollar store that is "so last year" for your child this year? Bring it to the Hilltown Families Halloween Costume (& Props) Swap on Saturday, Oct 13th from 9:30-11am in the community room of the Meekins Library and swap with another child who would love to be that robot, purple monster or masked superhero this year... all while finding new inspirations for this year! Leftover costumes and props will be donated to Northampton ReUse. The Library is located at 2 Williams Street (Route 9) in Williamsburg, MA. Free & open to all. Join us on Facebook.
 KIDS' WINTER WEAR SWAP: Do you have a bunch of winter weather gear that your kids have outgrown and wish that it would somehow just... get bigger? That may never happen, but you can get the next best thing... new-to-you gear that fits! Hilltown Families Kids' Winter Wear Swap is happening again this year after a fun and successful swap last year on Saturday, Oct 13th from 9:30-11am in the community room of the Meekins Library! Bring winter jackets, boots, snow pants, hats, gloves & scarves that kids of all ages have outgrown to swap with other families. Leftover winter wear will be donated to charity. The Library is located at 2 Williams Street (Route 9) in Williamsburg, MA. Free & open to all. Join us on Facebook.
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| BIRDS | |
It's Hawk migration season and bird lovers and families looking for outdoor adventures can join in several hikes in Berkshire County in search for these birds of prey. On Saturday, Oct 6th, hike Spruce Hill with Mass Audubon in North Adams, or Hulburt's Hill at Bartholomew's Cobble with the Trustees of Reservations in Sheffield. Both hikes are lead by naturalists to summits for great vantage points for spotting migrating raptors. On Friday, Oct 12th, folks can continue their search for migratory birds at Canoe Meadows in Pittsfield with Mass Audubon as they make their trek from northern habitats to warmer climates.
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CULTURAL STUDIES
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Both the Springfield Museums and the Berkshire Museum will offer a chance for families to explore Native American Culture on Saturday, Oct. 6th. The Springfield Museums will have a Native American Harvest Festival with live music and drumming throughout the day. There will also be vendors of handmade Native American crafts, artifact identification (BYO artifact!), and traditional games and activities for kids! The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield will host guest artist Jeremy Frey, who will be demonstrating traditional Passamaquoddy basket-weaving techniques. The demonstrations are in conjunction with the museum's Rethink! American Indian Art exhibit. Families can supplement studies of early New England history and Native American culture by visiting either event.
Then on Wednesday evening, Oct 10th, Westfield State University will offer an "antidote to Columbus Day" - the school will host a free evening of Native American poetry, featuring Native American poets who will read their work and discuss the importance of providing an indigenous perspective to the history of Columbus. Older Students can learn to understand the day of observance in a different light that acknowledges the whole story of the settling of North America.
The Congregation B'Nai Israel of Northampton invites the community to celebrate Sukkot on Sunday, Oct 7th. This free Jewish harvest festival will be jam-packed with fun, interesting, and delicious activities like bread baking in a wood fired oven, cider pressing, wheat threshing, live music, tastings of apples and honey, and more! Families can learn about the Jewish traditions that accompany the festival, its place within Jewish history, and more.
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HISTORY
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Dost thou desire to take part in medieval combat? Suit up in armor and visit Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum for their annual Medieval Faire on Sunday, Oct 7th in Lenox! There will be armored combat (every hour, on the hour!), equestrian demonstrations, roving troubadours and jesters, displays and demonstrations of medieval arts and crafts, and, for the more serious students of medieval history, lectures on medieval traditions and culture. The event is fun for the whole family - take a step back in time and surround yourself in history! Ventfort Hall's unique architecture provides the perfect backdrop for the fair, too!
Other celebrations that will highlight local history on Sunday, Oct 7th, include the Hatfield Fall Festival (be sure to check out their new exhibit, Hatfield's Ghost Town!) and the Wilder Homestead's Colonial Sampler in Buckland. Both free celebrations offer local food and fiber art demonstrations and hands-on of traditional arts (like weaving, spinning, and shoemaking).
For the adventurous types on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7th, take a tour of the Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton to learn about the town's interesting history by discovering whose graves lie in the cemetery, including Jonathan Edwards, an 18th century writer and theologian who preached in Northampton for over 20 years! Or, in Plainfield on Sunday, Oct. 7th is their Historical Society's final Hidden Walls, Hidden Mills event. The topic is stone walls - titled, "Farming in Stone," and includes a free indoor talk on the use of walls and who built them (locally), as well as an afternoon exploration of the beautiful woods to take a firsthand look at some remaining stone walls.
Tie history together with Halloween at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7th with a lecture on the history of witchcraft in 17th century New England. Perfectly timed for Halloween, the talk will address the culture and religious beliefs of early New Englanders and will explore the basis for the widespread belief in witchcraft. Best for older students.
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MYCOLOGY & CREATIVE FREE PLAY
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Two other free highlights we must note involve mushrooms and cardboard boxes. On Saturday morning, Oct 6th, teens (and tweens) ages 12+ are invited to explore the wild woods of Williamsburg on a hunt for edible wild mushrooms! Lead by Marty Klein, artist/naturalist/forager, the event is for both beginners and experienced foragers. Great for kids interested in learning to identify edible local plants!
Also on Saturday morning, Oct 6th, it's Cardboard Art Day at Owl and Raven! There will be plenty of cardboard on hand, but bring (if you can!) duct or masking tape, a cutting tool (simple scissors for little ones, boxcutters can be OK for teens/tweens), and lots of enthusiasm and design ideas! Who knows what will be created - you can work on an individual project or collaborate with others to make a masterpiece. It's a great opportunity for creative free play and, for older students, to experiment with architecture and design.
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PARENT WORKSHOPS
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Child Care of the Berkshires is offering a Family Nutrition class, presented by Nutritionist, Allyse Wiencek on Tuesday evening, Oct 9th in North Adams. Also on Tuesday evening, the Collaborative for Educational Service and the Palmer-Monson Family Network will offer a free 6-week workshop series titled, "The Puzzle of Parenting" in Three Rivers. Then on Wednesday evening, Oct 10th, also in North Adams, Childcare of the Berkshires presents, "Everyday Parenting Solutions," with Scott Noyes at the Haskins Center. - All three parent workshops are free.
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HILLTOWN FAMILY VARIETY SHOW: Bluegrass/American Roots Episode with Jordan Shapiro of Astrograss
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 Jordan Shapiro of Astrograss is our Guest DJ, with a great American roots style program with terrific bluegrass and folk music!
Check out our archives to listen anytime, or tune in this weekend to hear our Summer Essential Episode. Families have several ways to tune in to the Hilltown Family Variety Show:
Streaming Audio: Surf on over to ValleyFreeRadio.org on Saturday (9-10am) & Sunday (7-8am) mornings and listen to us live via streaming audio.
On Your FM Dial: Tune in to WXOJ 103.3FM if you live near Northampton, MA.
Podcast: Listen to the most recent episodes of the Hilltown Family Variety Show anytime you wish! Click here to see our current select of episodes, and be sure to subscribe to our podcast too!
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 | Hilltown Families' Blog was voted as Best Local Blog in the Valley Advocate Best of the Valley Readers' Poll for the past two years in a row! Thank you for your support!
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Hilltown Families is an online grassroots communication network serving thousands of families living in the four counties of Western MA. Through an award winning web site, social networking, listserv, radio show/podcast, online bulletin boards, and collaborations with civic and nonprofit groups, Hilltown Families connects people and organizations in the widespread communities of Western MA. With your support, we help area residents to share ideas, organize activities, support their children's education and increase participation in community life. We welcome your participation and feedback at anytime.
Warm regards, |
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