WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AMHERST?

There is a lot going on in the Amherst area this winter. Here is a select list of some events.

Every Saturday –All Winter Long.  Winter Farmer’s Market at the Hampshire Mall.  10 AM – 2 PM.  More Info here:  https://wfmhm.com

Saturday January 25 – Sunday January 26. Amherst Leisure Services Community Theater presents Roald Dahl’s Matilda (the musical). Bowker Auditorium, UMass. For more information, look here or call 259-3065. To Purchase Tickets go here.

Saturday January 25. Annual Thomas Paine Birthday Celebration. 1 PM, at Jones Library, Amherst.  Speaker, Robert Meerpol on “What Would Tom Paine Advocate Today?”  and music by Barbara and Graham Dean, songs of political activism.  More Info: Martha and Irwin Spiegelman  spiegelmanmartha@gmail.com / 413-253-7934

Saturday January 25.  International Day of Action Against a War in Iran. Our goal is to highlight the connections between the madness of wars and the profit made from wars and consequently the power of the Military-Industrial Complex as well as the connections between these wars and unmet urgent local social needs. We are planning to hold a rally outside the L3 Harris plant in Northampton at 12:30 PM  calling for ending US wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan. L3Harris Technologies specializes in surveillance solutions, microwave weaponry, and electronic warfare. It is among the top ten defense contractor in the world with a revenue of US$17 billion and number of employs 50,000. See: https://www.gazettenet.com/L3Harris-merger-and-Northampton-27044490 This action is sponsored locally by the The Resistance Center and nationally by Codepink.

12:15 Transportation will be available to and from L3 Harris Technologies on 50 Prince Street from downtown Northampton. Pick up location is Main Street between Gothic and King at the end of the weekly Northampton Peace Vigil.

12:30 – 1:30 A rally outside the plant of L3 Harris Technologies on 50 Prince St, Northampton with Dr. Vijay Prashad from the of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.

Hot tea will be served to participants. Questions: email or call us at the Resistance Center for Peace and Justice, TRC. Email: miranda@theresistancecenter.org  or yoav@theresistancecenter.org Phone: 413-992-7355 

Tuesday January 28.  Amherst Schools Electric Buses/Transportation Contract. Joint Region/Amherst School Committee meeting.  7:19 PM - 8:14 PM. Amherst Regional High School Library (side entrance). Public Comment on agenda – item 3a (Joint Agenda). 3. New and Continuing Business: Bus Contract/Electric Bus Item. Discussion: To share the information requested by the School Committee about the cost of integrating electric bus usage into the upcoming Transportation Contract.

February, March and April..  Free UMass Music Faculty Concerts at Benzanson Recital Hall,  UMass.  Dates and times below.

Tues. Feb. 4, 7:30pm: Elizabeth Chang, violin & guest Steven Beck, piano Thurs. Feb. 6, 7:30pm: Greg Spiridopoulos, trombone & Nikki Stoia, piano Sun. Feb. 9, 4:30pm: Ayano Kataoka, percussion & guest Hiromi Fukuda, piano Wed. Feb. 12, 7:30pm: Faculty Chamber Series, Part III Thurs. Feb. 20, 7:30pm: Edward Arron, cello & guest Jeewon Park, piano Thurs. Mar. 5, 7:30pm: Faculty Jazz Concert Sun. Mar. 8, 4:30pm: Joshua Michal, horn & Ludmila Krasin, piano Sun. April 5, 4:30pm: Nadine Shank, piano with guest Gran Wilson, tenor & others Tues. April 28, 7:30pm: Gilles Vonsattel, piano   More info on the above concerts plus a full schedule of Music Department events can be found here.

Monday January 27. Community Sing Along with the Choir of We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Featuring Damien Sneed  6:30–8 p.m., Wesley United Methodist Church, 98 North Maple Street, Hadley (near the UMass Horse Farms). Free. For more information, send an email to Yvonne@umass.edu or call 545-4161.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020.We Shall Overcome Concert. , 7:30 p.m. Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, UMass. We Shall Overcome is a celebration of African-American music and the civil rights activists who have been inspired and electrified by the tradition. Interspersed with the spoken words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the evening brings together gospel and spirituals with jazz and Broadway tunes. The production is led by Damien Sneed, a conductor and composer whose unique understanding of these genres allows him to fluidly cover much musical ground. From Nina Simone to The Wiz, Stevie Wonder to traditional spirituals, it’s an evening of music that shows the lineage of these Civil Rights visionaries is still with us today.  Pre-performance talk on gospel music and Horace Clarence Boyer in the lobby at 6:30 p.m. by Stephanie Shonekan, chair of the UMass W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies. Tix: $35, $25, $15; FAC Club Seating: $70; Five College Students and Youth 17 & Under: $10.

Thursday, January 30.  Public Hearing to receive comments and suggestions from local residents regarding the Town’s final recommended activities for funding as part of the 2020 Community Development Block Grant application.. 7:00 p.m. in the Town Room, Town Hall (4 Boltwood Ave, Amherst, MA 01002)

Friday January 31 – Saturday February 22.  Assorted Dates. UMass New Play Lab. Curtain Theater, UMass.  Two sisters working out family tensions amid a climate crisis and the settlement of Mars. Four meddling kids and a dog confront the unexplainable and question their identities. The pair of plays selected for this year’s UMass Theater New Play Lab use sci-fi conventions as a way to look at familiar issues from a new angle. Now in its seventh iteration, Play Lab offers our team of graduate student dramaturgs and director, as well as our cast of undergrads, the opportunity to work on selecting and shaping new work fresh from the brains of emerging playwrights.   Tix:  $5 students and seniors.  $7.50 general. More info here.

Event dates and times:
 January 31—February 1, 2020 7:30 pm
February 6, 2020 7:30 pm
February 8, 2020 2:00 pm
February 14—February 15, 2020 7:30 pm
February 20, 2020 7:30 pm
February 22, 2020 2:00 pm

Saturday February 1.  Reparations for Slavery: A Discussion with Dr. Amilcar Shabazz.  10:15 AM to 12:15 PM.  First Congregations Church, 43 Silver Street. Greenfield.  Free (donations welcome).  Childcare available with advance request. Sponsored by Racial Justice Rising.  For more info: email@racialjusticerising.org or www.racialjusticerising.org.

Wednesday February 5. District 5 Neighborhood Association Rescheduled. 6:00-7:30 PM.  Munson Library Lower Level Meeting Room. You can also find us on Facebook at AmhDistrict5. We use our Facebook page to share announcements and information relevant to District 5 and the Neighborhood Association.

Thursday February 6.  Amherst Arts Night Plus.  5-8 PM. Multiple venues in Amherst Center.  Amherst Arts Night Plus is a free cultural event held in and around downtown Amherst, MA. Each first Thursday of every month, from 5-8PM, participating venues host gallery openings, concerts, lectures, and other creative events. For a listing of current shows, visit the “This Month” link in the main menu above. More info here:

Friday February 28. Black Art Matters Festival. Meade Art Museum, Amherst College.  5-8 PM.   Join the Amherst College Multicultural Resource Center and the Mead as we conclude Black History Month with the Black Art Matters Festival, a visual art exhibition and performance showcase highlighting the work and artistic talent of Black student artists across the Five Colleges. All are invited for salon-style viewing of visual art, followed by a night of live music, spoken word, dance, and more! This program is offered in collaboration with the Amherst College Multicultural Resource Center, the Department of Black Studies at Amherst College, Student Activities, and AAS.Free and open to all!  More information here:

Saturday February 29.  Climbathon for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.  A Fundraiser for BBBS. 12-3PM Central Rock Gym, Hadley. $30. Registration. Register by FEB 22 at www.centralrockgym.com/hadley