What’s Happening In Amherst?

You can help us make our events calendar more useful by sending us your listings and including contact information and/or a link for more information. Send events listings to amherstindy@gmail.com.

IN PERSON ONGOING OR MULTI-DAY EVENTS

EVERY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY: FREE COVID VACCINE CLINICS. The Health Department has resumed its vaccine clinics at the Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk from 12-2 p.m. on Thursdays. All residents, ages 12 and up who have not had a vaccine or booster in the past two months are eligible for and urged to get the new bivalent vaccines, which offer protection against the omicron variant of Covid-19. Registration for appointments is at https://www.amherstcovid19.org/vaccine . Walk-ins are also welcome.

UMass is offering bivalent Covid vaccines for ages 12 and older in Room 101 at the Campus Center on Thursdays from 12-4 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and for those 12 and younger on Thursdays from 4-5:30 p.m. Appointments https://umass.my.site.com/covidtesting/s/vaccination  are recommended but not essential. To find other sites offering the bivalent vaccine, go to https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/ .

EVERY WEDNESDAY BEGINNING NOVEMBER 30: CAN’T REMEMBER CAFE. Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Are you or a loved one experiencing memory loss? At the Amherst Senior Center, we understand memory changes and have developed a new program based on the popular Memory Café format. The Can’t Remember (CR) Café offers fun, relaxation, and of course, snacks. This program is perfect for caregivers, people with mild memory loss, or anyone in the community who enjoys good conversation and strong coffee. Each Can’t Remember Café opens with a coffee and conversation hour, followed by a group activity. Join us on Wednesday, November 30th for a performance by our special musical guests, “Healing Hearts with Harmony” at 11:00am. Come for the coffee, stay for the connections! Email seniorcenter@amherstma.gov or call 413-259-3060 with questions. 

SECOND TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH: OPEN MIC NIGHT AT THE DRAKE. 44 North Pleasant Street. Free event. Performers arrive by 5:30 p.m. Stage time: 6 p.m – 10 p.m. All ages. Younger performers will be slotted earler. All performers and styles of performances welcome, including but not limited to: music (of all kinds) – acoustic, folk, rock, hip hop, jazz, classical, etc…comedy, spoken word / readings, poetry,
dance, performance art. House rules and more information.

LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH : LAST FRIDAYS AT THE DRAKE POETRY SERIES HOSTED BY LYRICAL FAITH. 44 North Pleasant Street. Join us every last Friday of the month* for Last Fridays at The Drake hosted by Lyrical Faith for an unforgettable open mic and poetry night experience featuring award-winning spoken word artists from across the country. Come through for music, drinks, and artistic expression where poets take center stage to share new work, old work, or any work that helps them get free. Doors and bar open at 5PM. Early arrival is encouraged to get a slot on the sign-up sheet. The cover charge is $5 with a college ID or $10 general admission. More Information. Full Events Calendar at the Drake.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12 – FRIDAY DECEMBER 9: QUILTS FROM STITCHING TIME, THE SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATION QUILT PROJECT Augusta Savage Gallery, New Africa House, 180 Infirmary Way. Free and open to the public. Hours: Monday and Tuesday 1-7 p.m. Wednesday – Friday 1-5 p.m.
In 1997, incarcerated men serving life sentences at Louisiana State Penitentiary, known colloquially as “Angola” after the former plantation on which it is located, created a hospice program to care for the dying among them. To raise money for the program, the Angola hospice volunteers, themselves sentenced to life imprisonment, made and sold quilts. In 2012, one of the hospice quilters, Kenya, and his long-time friend, Maureen Kelleher, founded the Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project. More information

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19- WEDNESDAY APRIL 3: FEINBERG LECTURE SERIES ON US IMPERIALISM – CONFRONTING EMPIRE. Events are online or hybrid. This free public lecture series brings together scholars, journalists, educators, writers, community organizers, and survivors of state violence to examine global histories of U.S. imperialism and anti-imperialist resistance.The series traces the history of U.S. imperialism from the conquest of North America to the creation of an overseas empire in the late 19th century and to the present day. It also offers a critical historical analysis of the various traditions and movements that have opposed U.S. empire, including Black radicalism, Marxism, revolutionary feminism, armed struggle, international solidarity, pacifism, and liberal, electoral, and diplomatic activism.  The series kicks off Monday, September 19 for the Keynote Address, US Policy In the Global South by Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, joined by journalists Vincent Bevins anAmy Goodman. 7 p.m. on Zoom.
Register here.
Full listing of series events and more information

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30 -SUNDAY MAY 14: 60 YEARS OF COLLECTING -AN ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION CELEBRATING THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART PERMANENT COLLECTION. Bottom Floor of the UMass Fine Arts Center. Look here for gallery hours and additional information. Free. The exhibit can be viewed on line here.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 THROUGH MONDAY DECEMBER 19: AMHERST POLICE DEPARTMENT HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE. The APD will be collecting unwrapped toys, books, clothing, gift cards, and wrapping supplies to be distributed to the Amherst Survival Center, Jessie’s House, and the Bridge Family Resources Center for the holidays. Donations should be brought to the police station at 111 Main Street. For more information, contact Detective Marcus Humber at 413-259-3355 or humberm@amherstma.gov.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2 THROUGH FRIDAY DECEMBER 30: ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOW AND SALE AT GALLERY A3. Gallery A3 at 28 Amity Street, will hold its annual holiday group show and sale from December 2 through December 30. Intimate, enticing, in-person, affordable, and fun, the show and sale “Small Wonders” features small works of art created by current members of the cooperative gallery, plus several guest artists.  Most of the original artwork is created on 6” x 6” or 5” x 7” wood panels and includes paintings, prints, photographs, collages, and assemblages. In an effort to make pieces affordable, prices range $50 to $150.  Hours are 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Masking and social distancing are required. More information

IN PERSON SINGLE DAY EVENTS

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3: EVENT COMMEMORATING ANTI-CASTE LEADER DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR. New Africa House, 180 Infirmary Way, UMass. 4-6 p.m. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was a leader of the Dalits (outcastes or Scheduled Castes, formerly called untouchables) and law minister of the government of India (1947–51). He  challenged Mahatma Gandhi’s claim to speak for Dalits (or Harijans—“Children of God”—as Gandhi called them). After Independence from British rule in 1947, Dr. Ambedkar became the law minister of the government of India. He took a leading part in the framing of the Indian constitution, outlawing discrimination against untouchables. In October 1956, in frustration at the perpetuation of untouchability in Hindu doctrine, he renounced Hinduism and became a Buddhist, together with about 200,000 fellow Dalits. Hosted by the Boston Study Group
For more information: contactus@bostonstudygroup.org

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3: AUTHOR KEN SAMONDS AT THE ST. NICHOLAS BAZAAR: Grace
Episcopal Church, 14 Boltwood Avenue. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Samonds will be selling and signing his new book about the historic of stained glass windows at Grace Church. More information about the bazaar.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3 AND SUNDAY DECEMBER 4: Theater -MARGARET MAHER AND THE CELTIFICATION OF EMILY DICKINSON. Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield. Matinees are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 2pm with an evening show on Saturday at 7:30pm.  Call (413) 774-0150 for ticket availability. More Information

SUNDAY DECEMBER 4: AUTHOR KEN SAMONDS WILL GIVE A TALK ON THE HISTORIC STAINED GLASS WINDOWS AT GRACE CHURCH. Grace Episcopal Church, 14 Boltwood Walk. 12:15 p.m. in the sanctuary. The public is invited.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 4: RECEPTION INTRODUCING BACK FROM THE BRINK AND HONORING LEADERSHIP IN THE ANTI-NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION MOVEMENT. The Drake, 44 North Pleasant Street. 5-7 p.m. Please join us as we celebrate the successes of the campaign and look ahead to our plans to scale up and hire a team of professional organizers. More information.

MONDAY DECEMBER 5:SPECIAL COVID VACCINE CLINIC WITH $75 GIFT CARD. The Massachusetts Vaccine Equity Initiative, in collaboration with the Amherst Health Department, is sponsoring a COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Monday December 5, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Bangs Center, 70 Boltwood Avenue. The clinic is open to everyone from age 6 months and up who needs a first vaccine or booster dose. Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available, including the new Pfizer and Moderna bivalent boosters which offer protection from some of the Omicron variants.The timing of the vaccine clinic will provide protection in time for the end-of-the-year holidays, because it takes about two weeks to develop a full immune response. As a special incentive, the Department of Public Health will award a $75 gift card to everyone who is vaccinated at the clinic. More information

MONDAY DECEMBER 5: UMASS CONCERT BAND. 7:30 P.M. The program, which will be conducted by interim conductor James Minnix, will feature works including Frank Ticheli’s Shenandoah, Vaughan Williams’English Folk Song Suite, Kevin Day’s Song for Tomorrow, Erica Svanoe’s Steampunk Suite and alumnus Jose Blésa-Lull’s Thought for Do.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7: UMASS WIND ENSEMBLE AND SYMPHONY BAND. 7:30 p.m. Tillis Performance Hall, Bromery Center for the Performing Arts, 151 Presidents Drive.An ambitious end of year concert. Guest performers will include the Longmeadow (Mass.) High School Wind Ensemble, as part of a day-long visit and clinic led by Matthew Westgate, and Luis Alberto Castro, conductor of the Banda Sinfónica Metropolitana de Quito (BSMQ), a professional wind band in Quito, Ecuador. Free parking for Bromery Center events is available in nearby University lot 71 off Massachusetts Avenue and lot 62 via Thatcher Way or Stockbridge Road.  Visit the Fine Arts Center website for more information or refer to the UMass interactive parking map. All visitors must follow established safety protocols set forth by UMass and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Tix: $10 general public. $5 UMass students, seniors and UMass employees.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7: FILM “BEHIND THE SHIELD: THE POWER & POLITICS OF THE NFL”: 7 p.m. Free to Amherst Cinema members. Amherst Cinema screens a documentary produced by the Media Education Foundation followed by a discussion with David Zirin of The Nation magazine and Howard Bryant, author, ESPN journalist and NPR commentator.  In BEHIND THE SHIELD: THE POWER & POLITICS OF THE NFL, acclaimed journalist Dave Zirin of The Nation magazine and MSNBC.com tackles the myth that America’s most popular and influential sports league was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other players took a knee.

Navigating a stunning excavation of archival media, Zirin traces how the NFL, under the guise of “sticking to sports,” has promoted militarism, war, and nationalism; glorified reactionary ideas about manhood and gender roles; normalized systemic racism and corporate greed; and helped vilify challenges to the dominant order as “unpatriotic” and inappropriately “political.”

Presented in collaboration with the Media Education Foundation.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 8: TECH TIME FOR SENIORS. Amherst Senior Center at the Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk. 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Help with your electronic devices provided by UMass computer science students. Bring your devices (phones, tablets, laptops) and questions. Call the Senior Center at 413-549-3060 to reserve a time.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9: CUPPA JOE: Bangs Center Large Activity Room 8 a.m. to 9:30, 70 Boltwood walk. Join Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman, Finance Director Sean Mangano, and Comptroller Sonia Aldrich for a casual Cuppa’ Joe event to discuss the upcoming annual budget. All are welcome! Visit the Annual Budget Page on the Engage Amherst site https://engageamherst.org/budgetfy24 to access resources, ask questions, and offer feedback.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9: FROM THE CLEMENTE CLASSROOM: 100-WORD STORIES ON STITCHING TIME. Augusta Savage Gallery. 180 Infirmary Way, UMass. 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. Members of the Clemente Seminar at UMass will read their short stories, written in response to the exhibit Stitching Time and exhibit of quilts made by incarcerated men and addressing racial injustice in American history and celebrating Black creativity, thought and political activism. More information

SUNDAY DECEMBER 18: “LAST REQUEST: A LOVE STORY” A ONE-WOMAN MUSICAL PLAY BY PETE NELSON STARRING TRACY GRAMMER: The Drake 3 p.m. Well known local folk singer Tracy Grammer stars in Pete Nelson’s play narrated by 40 something Katie, whose dying mother asks her to write a musical about her life and sing it to her before she dies. Based on two novellas published by Nelson in the 70’s and 80’s. Also being presented at 7:30 p.m. at December 8 at Studio 30, 30 Maple Street, Florence and 7:30 p.m. on December 16 at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield. Free with donations accepted.

ONLINE EVENTS – ONGOING OR MULTI-DAY

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12 – FRIDAY DECEMBER 9: QUILTS FROM STITCHING TIME, THE SOCIAL JUSTICE COLLABORATION QUILT PROJECT Augusta Savage Gallery. View the exhibit online here.
In 1997, incarcerated men serving life sentences at Louisiana State Penitentiary, known colloquially as “Angola” after the former plantation on which it is located, created a hospice program to care for the dying among them. To raise money for the program, the Angola hospice volunteers, themselves sentenced to life imprisonment, made and sold quilts. In 2012, one of the hospice quilters, Kenya, and his long-time friend, Maureen Kelleher, founded the Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project. More information

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19- WEDNESDAY APRIL 3: Feinberg Lecture Series On US Imperialism: Confronting Empire Events are online or hybrid. This free public lecture series brings together scholars, journalists, educators, writers, community organizers, and survivors of state violence to examine global histories of U.S. imperialism and anti-imperialist resistance.The series traces the history of U.S. imperialism from the conquest of North America to the creation of an overseas empire in the late 19th century and to the present day. It also offers a critical historical analysis of the various traditions and movements that have opposed U.S. empire, including Black radicalism, Marxism, revolutionary feminism, armed struggle, international solidarity, pacifism, and liberal, electoral, and diplomatic activism.  The series kicks off Monday, September 19 for the Keynote Address, US Policy In the Global South by Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, joined by journalists Vincent Bevins and Amy Goodman. 7 p.m. on Zoom.
Register here.
Full listing of series events and more information

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30 -SUNDAY MAY 14. 60 YEARS OF COLLECTING -AN ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION CELEBRATING THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART PERMANENT COLLECTION. Bottom Floor of the UMass Fine Arts Center. Look here for gallery hours and additional information. Free. The exhibit can be viewed on line here.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 1 – SATURDAY DECEMBER 31: VIRTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT-THE SOUTH AMHERST RAIL TRAIL AND SWAMP THROUGH THE SEASONS BY SALLY GREENEBAUM.
During the month of December 2022, photographer Sally Greenebuam will be showing 24 of her photographs in a virtual exhibit at the Burnett Gallery at the Jones Library. These photographs will show the South Amherst Rail Trail and Swamp through the seasons. Greenebaum looks for interesting landscapes, unusual water reflections, minute details in tree bark, and changes in the animal life in and around the swamp.There is so much to see, so many colors, textures and patterns, at the beginning of the Norwottuck Rail Trail, on Station Road, in South Amherst. Throughout the year, the swamp and woods offer dramatic beauty as the ice and snow melt, the trees and flowers bloom, birds and animals return, the fog rolls in and out, lily pads appear, the leaves change and the snow returns. Exhibit link here
Contact Sally Greenebaum with questions or comments here.

ONLINE SINGLE DAY EVENTS

TUESDAY DECEMBER 6: LEV BENEZRA, UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING FOOD INSECURITY. 7-8 p.m. on Zoom. The League of Women Voters Amherst presents their next presentation in the Judy Brooks Conversation series. Amherst Survival Center Executive Director Lev BenEzra will. discuss food insecurity. Get more information and the Zoom link here.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7: VIRTUAL CELEBRATION FOR EMILY DICKINSON’S BIRTHDAY. 6 p.m. Behind the scenes exploration of the Emily Dickinson Museum’s collection, including family objects, such as oil paintings, textiles, furniture, servingware and other household items. Register at https://emilydickinsonmuseum.ticketing.veevartapp.com/tickets/view/list/emily-dickinson-virtual-birthday-celebration . Free, but registration is limited.