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Header Photo Credits
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Clockwise from top left: Cranberry harvest; Hancock Shaker Village; Mayflower II/Plimoth Plantation; Christian Scott, Mass Jazz/Berklee College of Music; D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield
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Greetings! Massachusetts is rich in arts & culture, so it's no surprise that exciting events, exhibits and festivals are held in the state's 16 regions all year long. Find out more!
 QUICK TAKE: Cluster of five campuses in the Connecticut River Valley. Lots of art; no homework. SEE & DO: At the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum: El Anatsui's large-scale, richly-textured sculptures reflect Africa's global history. Prints by Andy Warhol and Georges Braque are some of the New Arrivals: Modern & Contemporary Additions to the Collection at the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College (opens February 14th). The Eye is a Door at the Smith College Museum of Art features landscape photographs by Anne Whiston Spirn. At UMass Amherst's Museum of Contemporary Art, Dialogue with a Collection pairs Kim Carlino's work with pieces from the permanent collection. Lots more art, music, and dance: 5-College calendar. EAT & SLEEP: The Lumber Yard serves up contemporary American cuisine; the Amherst Inn
provides elegant Victorian hospitality. Photo credit: El Anatsui sculpture, They Finally Broke the Pot of Wisdom, 2011. Found aluminum and copper wire. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, NY
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Featured Region: Mohawk Trail Region
| |  This February, learn about the great history in the Mohawk Trail Region! Celebrate Susan B. Anthony's Birthday with the Susan B Anthony Birthplace Museum on February 16th at 3 p.m. in Memorial Hall at the Adams Free Library, featuring the replica of the Anthony LaMoyne Star Quilt. Hear Marjorie Childers tell all about the social media of the time - Quilting! Stop by the museum for free tours from 10 a.m. to noon or sneak a peek at the Quaker Meeting House. The Memorial Hall is the preserved former meeting place of Civil War Veterans. Visitors sit in the same seats once occupied by those men. Adams, Massachusetts offers a small town feeling with wonderful places to shop and dine. Visit the famous St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, rich in architecture and history. Closed by the Bishop in 2008, it was occupied for 1,150 days until Vatican courts re-opened it. Find more information on the Mohawk Trail Region. |
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MetroWest
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Credit Marla Singleton
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Come enjoy a unique, all-encompassing experience for music lovers, set to a rollicking, first-rate soundtrack! The 29th Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, presented by the Boston Bluegrass Union, takes place February 14-16 at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel. The region's top wintertime roots music festival features three days of national and regional artists and an extensive lineup of educational programs, including master classes, workshops, instructor-led jam sessions, and the Academy for Kids. All this, plus thousands of attendees pickin' around the clock! Find more information MetroWest. |
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Nantucket Island
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 The Theatre Workshop and the Nantucket Atheneum present the Fourth Annual Staged Reading Series on February 1st and 2nd! You are invited to another season of FREE Staged Readings: new and old plays, a night of Improv, and a 25-hour continuous reading of the Herman Melville classic Moby Dick. All performances are on the Atheneum's Great Hall stage. These readings will give you a wonderful escape during the off-season! Begins Saturday at 9 a.m and ends Sunday around noon. Find more information on Nantucket Island. |
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North of Boston
| |  While we humans cozy up inside this winter, the Bald Eagle is making its return to the Merrimack Valley! Celebrate their return at the Merrimack River Eagle Festival on February 8th and join the Mass Audubon at Joppa Flats and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for a day full of fun free activities! New to the festival this year is the Eagle Festival Eagle Eye Scavenger Hunt. Visit participating Newburyport merchants and find hidden eagle facts within the stores! Find more information North of Boston. |
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Plymouth County
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 South Shore Conservatory & Plymouth Public Schools perform with the African Children's Choir on February 8th at Plymouth North High School and February 10th at Duxbury Performing Arts Center! Both shows at 7 p.m. The Ugandan Civil War left thousands of children orphaned and starving. Human-rights activists became inspired by the singing of one small boy who thought that if he could show the world that Africa's children have beauty, dignity and unlimited ability, it would be possible to lift Africa up, one child at a time. For Plymouth tickets, contact 508 830-4469. For Duxbury tickets, contact 781 934-2731! Find more information on Plymouth County.
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Southeastern Massachusetts
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Attleboro will host a Winter Night Festival on February 22nd from 5 to 9 p.m. This free, fun celebration of winter features free entertainment like fire juggling, a grand bonfire, giant snow globes, a craft fair, jewelry sale, ice carving demos, free face painting, live music, free pony rides, and affordable warm food & beverages! Experience the world of Edgar Allan Poe as New Bedford kicks off its first Big Read with the February 13th AHA! Night, devoted to all things Poe. AHA includes art activities, readings, music, and food. Find more information on Southeastern Massachusetts.
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The Berkshires
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|  North Adams has a great way to shake those winter blues! Head downtown to WinterFest on February 15th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for hot chocolate, a chowder competition, ice sculpting, and roasted marshmallows at a community campfire. This family-friendly, day-long downtown event is sure to brighten up even the coldest winter day! Festivities will wrap-up at the North Adams Skating Rink, which will offer free skating and a snowman contest. Visit ExploreNorthAdams.com for details. Find more information on the Berkshires. |
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Greater Merrimack Valley
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Come celebrate the winter season with unexpected adventures right here in the Greater Merrimack Valley! Join us February 21-22 at the 14th Annual Lowell WinterFest, where our nationally known Human Dog Sled Competition takes place. This is one human spectacle you won't want to miss. Warm up with our famous Soup Bowl Competition, enjoy one-of-a-kind brews and enjoy live music from award-winning acts throughout New England. Family fun includes face painting, interactive arts & crafts and more! Find more information on Greater Merrimack Valley. |
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Central Massachusetts
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|  On February 8th, Worcester Center for Crafts will be hosting From the Backstreets to Mainstreet! Boston University Professor Cynthia Becker will be on hand with her investigations of the visual and cultural history of Mardi Gras in the United States. Also this month, the big Flower & Patio Show at the DCU Center will be arriving on February 28th. Attendees can get great ideas for creating their dream outdoor living room! Find more information on Central Massachusetts. |
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Franklin County
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 The Looney Tunes Cartoon Festival will be held February 21-22 at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls! Delight in an uproarious cavalcade of the misadventures of wascally wabbits, frustrated lisping mallards and faulty ACME products. You will not stop laughing for the entire 90 minutes in this best-of program of cartoons from the 30s to 50s! On Friday at 7 p.m., enjoy Dick Moulding performing rompin' rags & piano Americana; on Saturday at 7 p.m., check out Daniel Hales & the Frost Heaves! Find more information on Franklin County.
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Greater Boston
| |  Choose from musicals - Witness Uganda, Man in a Case and American Idiot - or perhaps the acrobatic daredevils of Circus Oz! The art of dance can be enjoyed with Boston Ballet's Close to Chuck, the spell-binding movements of TAO Dance Theater or the innovative hip hop of Compagnie Kafig. Pop and rock can be heard at the TD Garden when Justin Timberlake and Kings of Leon perform.
Ice skating is also part of Boston's culture, whether it's a Bruins game, college hockey, especially the Bean Pot (February 3 & 10). The culture of wine can be enjoyed at the Wine Expo February 15 & 16! Find more information on Greater Boston. |
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Cape Cod
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Greater Springfield
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The 2014 Holyoke Winter Carnival runs two weekends, February 7-9 and 13-16, at various locations in the city! The second weekend focuses on arts and entertainment and will feature a Night Parade, Quilt Show, Chili Cook-off, Free Community Pancake Breakfast and Puppet Show. The first weekend of the Carnival includes the Holyoke Dog Show, a Curling Demonstration and Hockey Games. For a full roster of information about these events, click here! Find more information on Greater Springfield.
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Hampshire County
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 It will be well worth coming out of hibernation for the first annual Easthampton WinterFeston Friday, Febuary 7th through Saturday, February 8th at various indoor and outdoor locations throughout Easthampton. In celebration of the winter season, the Nashawannuck Pond Steering Committe e and Easthampton City Arts+ collaborate to feature fun family activities and showcase Easthampton's cultural and natural resources. Featuring films, snowshoeing, wagon rides, chili cook-off, community bonfire, annual Fire and Ice Art Walk, and more! Find more information on Hampshire County. |
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Martha's Vineyard
| |  Learn to collect oral histories in a two-session workshop series on February 15th at the Martha's Vineyard Museum in Edgartown, led by Oral History Curator Linsey Lee. Gain knowledge of interviewing and recording techniques, care of collections, and creative use of oral histories. In the process, listen to audio samples from the Museum's collection of over 400 interviews with Vineyard subjects! Workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission fee is $20 per person. Find more information on Martha's Vineyard. |
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