Weekly Suggested Events
for the week of
Oct 12th - 19th, 2012 | | Friday, Oct 12th
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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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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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21 Community Highlights: Orchids to Earthworms. History Fair to Jurassic Roadshow.
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Orchids to Earthworms. Hilltown History Fair to Jurassic Roadshow. Latin American to Greek. Teens to Preschoolers.... These are just a few of the learning highlights we're featuring this week!
In addition to our featured learning highlights, we have several community highlights for you this week too:
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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Westfield Theatre Group presents The Odd Couple - Female Version on Oct. 12, 13, 19 & 20 at 8pm, & Oct. 20 at 2pm in Westfield for a fun parents' night out. Recently divorced Olive Madison and friends play a friendly game of Trivial Pursuit. Then arrives Florence Unger, whose husband just left her. Thinking she is on the verge of suicide, she is barely able to go to the bathroom alone. Olive the slob and Florence the neat freak decide to live together with hilarious results. Directed by Theresa Allie. Produced by Linda Buzzee. Come see Linda Slozak, Nancy Colby, Winnie Legere, Kathy Leary, Kate Hebert, Larry Chiz, Paul Rothenberg & Sue Davis in Neil Simon's hilarious contemporary classic. Tix: $10-$12. 413-572-6838. westfieldtheatregroup.com.
The 10th Annual All- 4- Kids Fall/Winter Consignment Sale happens on Saturday, October 13th from 8am-4pm and Sunday, October 14th from 10am to 3pm (1/2 price sale). New extended shopping hours! This year the sale is in a NEW LOCATION at the former Fedor Auto Dealership at 228 Northampton Street in Easthampton, MA. Stop in and find new and gently-used clothing for infants through children's size 20, baby gear, shoes and boots, Halloween costumes, snowsuits, toys, books, DVD's, games, children's furniture, and sports equipment. More info at www.sites.google.com/site/all4kidseasthampton.
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.
Paint & Pixel Festival showcases Western New England's amazing comic artists, book illustrators, and cartoonists! This year features 60+ artists, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle co-creator Peter Laird, Vertigo Comics Fables artist Shawn McManus, DC Comics Batman inker Jack Purcell, Conan the Barbarian and Goosebumps artist Greg Ruth, and underground cartoonist Gary Hallgren. Saturday, October 20, at the Northampton Center for the Arts, 10AM to 6PM. Paint & Pixel offers a free Children's Comics Workshop every Thursday in October, 4-5PM at Modern Myths, and is looking for a few schools who would like a comic book artist to visit their students. For details on the festival, comics workshop, and school outreach, visit www.paintandpixelfestival.com.
In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Eric Carle Museum, the Academy of Music in Northampton is presenting Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia's much anticipated new production of Eric Carle stories on October 26, 2012 at 6:30pm. Featuring evocative music, stunning visual effects, innovative puppetry, the triple bill shares Eric Carle's most beloved stories: A Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me. Immediately following the performance will be a question & answer period focused on how special effects were accomplished. Running time is sixty minutes. For ticket information please visit the AOM website, www.academyofmusictheatre.com, or phone the Box Office at 413-584-9032 x105.
 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
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Kane's Krusade is seeking volunteers to assist with a doghouse-building event on Sat, Nov. 3 from 10am-5pm to help launch the distribution of Kane's Canine Assistance Resources and Education kits for Springfield families who struggle financially to care for their dogs. Doghouses built by volunteers will be donated to provide insulated shelter for dogs whose owners cannot afford one. Kane's staff will pair volunteers at assembly stations that meets their experience & interest level. No carpentry experience is required and tools provided. Volunteers can choose to build for the whole day or can work 2-3 hour shifts. Children welcomed if supervised by an adult. For more information, contact George at 413-363-2101 or visit www.kaneskrusade.org
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HIKING WITH TEENS
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Get outdoors with your teens/tweens this weekend! There are a number of outdoor hikes and even a canoe trip happening this weekend for families with older children. On Saturday morning, Oct. 13th in Lenox, canoe the Housatonic River with Mass Audubon Berkshire Sanctuaries through the Darey Wildlife Management Area, a spot with calm waters and lots of wildlife. A little later in the morning in Windsor, hike the highland backcountry at Tamarack Hollow and Notchview Reservation, looking for cellar holes and other signs of the abandoned homesteads throughout the reservation while learning about the boreal forest fauna and flora that make this area ecologically unique. In Lee, families can hike the Basin Pond Trail in the afternoon on Saturday - a trek that will explore a quiet beaver pond and wetland that humans attempted to dam twice (1886 and 1968).
On Sunday morning, Oct. 14th in Great Barrington, hike the Barrett Preserve, part of the Berkshire Natural Resource Council's preserved land, learning about the history of the preserve. In Windsor, hike through upland meadows to the ruins of a former dairy farm, with great views of Mt. Greylock on Sunday morning. In the afternoon in Easthampton at MASS Audubon at Arcadia, join naturalist educator Aimee Gelinas in learning about native wetland plants and trees with a focus on Wild Rice, a native grain collected as food by native people for centuries.
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BOTANY & PLANT STUDIES
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he Berkshire Orchid and Tropical Show happens both Saturday & Sunday, Oct 13th & 14th at the Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, featuring numerous varieties of orchids, succulents, bromeliads, bonsai, and other tropical plants - as well as workshops on everything from dish gardens to helping orchids re-bloom! Families can supplement plant studies of all kinds by visiting the show - young students can learn about basic biodiversity, plant cells, and photosynthesis; older students can take a more in-depth look at the biology and evolution behind each species.
In Holyoke on Saturday morning, Oct. 13th, learn about native plants and native seeds with the Trustees of Reservations at the Land of Providence. This workshop will teach participants the importance of native plants and how to identify various species, as well as how to collect seeds and cuttings and care for plants grown in containers.
Families can participate as citizen scientists in Turners Falls on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 13th by helping the Great Falls Discovery Center and the New England Wild Flower Society put together a new "Go Botany" website that will help families identify local plants! Families can collect leaves and snap cell phone pictures of trees and leaves to contribute to the site.
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HISTORY
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In Amherst, UMass hosts a conference on disabilities in history on Saturday, Oct. 13th - the event will focus on the cultural history of people with disabilities in the United States. There will be guest speakers from all over the country, speaking on a wide range of disabilities and historical eras. Older teen students interested in the history of the human rights movement can benefit from attending - people with disabilities are an oft-forgotten group in history.
The Hilltowns History Conference and Fair happens all day in Colrain on Saturday, Oct 13th with lots of fun activities and learning opportunities for families, in addition to a number of history workshops taking place throughout the day. There will be representatives from Hilltown historical societies, genealogy, blacksmithing, archeology, lots of local memorabilia and artifacts, and a chance to meet Mary Lyon (Hilltown native and founder of Mt. Holyoke College) herself!
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MUSIC STUDIES
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On Thursday evening, Oct. 18th in Amherst, Beatles scholar Scott Freiman (hosted by Amherst Cinema) hosts, " Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper," a night of Beatles history! The presentation, which includes music and video, will look at the influence that the album had (and continues to have) on modern music. The talk will deconstruct everything from the album's cover art to the chords used in the now-classic songs. A unique event older students can attend to supplement music studies. |
PALEONTOLOGY
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The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association's Jurassic Roadshow takes place on the Amherst Common all day on Saturday, Oct 13th. There will be collections of dinosaur and prehistoric fossils on display, demonstrations, games and activities for children. Bring something you've collected from home to be identified too! There will be live music and activities happening near by at the Beneski Museum of Natural History and the Jones Library. Amherst Area Amateur Astronomers Association will be there too with their sunscopes! |
ANIMAL & NATURE STUDIES
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Learn about worms - hands-on! On Saturday morning, Oct 13th kids can handle some squiggly, wiggly earthworms at the Great Falls Discovery Center, and learn all about how worms live, what they eat, the structure of their bodies, and all that they contribute to the local ecosystem. Same morning in Shelburne Falls, children can learn all about animal homes with educator Rachel Roberts at the Arms Library. This special program will teach kids (using hands-on art and science activities) about the many different types of homes that animals live in - and why.
The Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation is offering weekly drop-in autumn nature classes for preschoolers at its Sheep Hill property on Monday afternoons beginning Oct. 15th. The weekly classes will include nature explorations focusing on how nature prepares for winter. Come to all or just a single class.
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STEM
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Baystate Medical Center hosts a lab fair on Monday afternoon, Oct. 15th, featuring lots of interesting information and activities relating to histology, cytology, chemistry, and more! Learn about what goes on in the hospital's lab, and learn about how diseases are identified and treated. Teens can learn to match up chromosomes and identify some bacteria, too! Students interested in entering a health profession will benefit from the information and resources shared.
Open to young women in grades 9-12, Women in Engineering Career Day will take place at UMass Amherst on Monday, Oct. 19th. Activities include: hands-on engineering and computing activities; demonstrations of state-of-the-art technology, information about career opportunities; lunch chats with college students, professors, and engineers; and optional tours of engineering and computer science labs.
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CULTURAL STUDIES: LATIN AMERICAN, ALGONKIAN & GREEK
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It's Family Fiesta Day at the Springfield Museum on Saturday, Oct. 13th- a day to enjoy Latin American culture! There will be live music with Bomba y Plena, food samples of traditional Latin American foods, Guiro demonstration (a Latin-American instrument), Salsa Class, parade of Hispanic Heritage, and much more! On Wednesday evening, Oct 17th, join the Shelburne Grange for a community potluck and an evening of Native American songs and storytelling. Marge Bruchac, and Abenaki storyteller and historian, will share Algonkian songs and stories. - Beginning next Friday, Oct 19th in East Longmeadow, the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Luke hosts Taste of Greece! The event includes performances of traditional dance and a Greek market and last for three days! |
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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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