Programming

July 16th – July 22nd

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Into the Breach is really, really good. Spectacular, even. Give it a shot if you’re at all interested in games in which you move around robots on a map and try to destroy gigantic bugs! It’s fun in part because so much of it is just like improvising a solution to a push-pull puzzle.

This week we highly recommend you hit up the Greenfield Games events and tell them – at length – how much you appreciate the fact that they have started posting events to a dedicated website instead of Facebook, the least fun website to visit!

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Art:

Monday, July 16th
Greenfield Games [238 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Monthly Painting Workshop
Painting workshops with Andrew! All you need to do is show up ready to paint! All materials are provided. Though wait, that seems implausible. Do they mean all paints? All we know about miniatures is that they’re wildly expensive. Maybe they’ve got like extras or plastic ones that are cheaper. Anyway, these are questions you can most easily resolve by attending the event!
Tuesday, July 17th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Children’s Book Writers Group
Adults who write for kids, talk to other adults who do the same! Facilitated by Nell Wright, it’s a chance to share tips, discuss skills, and get input about stories!
Wednesday, July 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Rock Painting
Bring a rock! Paint the rock! Bring as many rocks as you like, really. A few practice rocks can’t hurt.
Thursday, July 19th
Gandara Youth Development Center [306 Race St., Holyoke, MA] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Radioplasma Recording Studio Sessions
Meet in the Teen Room to walk as a group to the Radioplasma Recording Studio to get some hands on experience with journalism, storytelling, and sound mixing! SOUNDS cool! Get it? See that? Nice.
Friday, July 20th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Stitch Camp (2)
Sew and embroider a cute mini animal out of felt! Be careful not to allow your hubris to overwhelm you, causing you to create a felt animal so real that it comes to life. That’s too much responsibility! Lead by Heather Wynne, a local designer who specializes in textile products! Pre-registration required! Call 413-665-2642!

Board Games:

Monday, July 16th
Greenfield Games [238 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Tanks from GF9
All day on Monday, and possibly future Mondays, the Tanks crew is around to teach people a fun and accessible new miniatures game! It’s about librarians oddly enough. To be fair it’s about librarians who are represented in-game by highly detailed little models of tanks, and re-shelving books is represented as a sort of combat tactics game.
Wednesday, July 18th
Brass Cat [65 Cottage St, Easthampton, MA 01027] at 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Wednesday Games – Sagrada
Sagrada is great! Kind of a dice-based solitaire you play against several other people that’s about building a nice stained-glass window. Give it a shot at the next delightful Wednesday Games!

Books:

Tuesday, July 17th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Bikes and Books
The library and the Urban Bike School are teaming up! Discuss a book, take a bike ride after! We were much more in the discuss a book, play a videogame after crowd but this seems like it’d have more benefits overall.
Wednesday, July 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Writing Critique Group
Writers of picture books, middle grade, and YA books meet to read and get some feedback! The group is facilitated by following SCBWI guidelines but you don’t have to be a member to participate. Learn to write better and also meet some colleagues!
Thursday, July 19th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Ben Goldfarb, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
Oh that makes a ton of sense: a book about how what we think is a reasonable natural environment is actually the consequence of massive amounts of beaver-hunting for the fur trade. And since beavers literally terraform things in a visible manner even in small groups, it stands to reason that having basically none of them around makes for a damaged environment. Learn more from actual expert Ben Goldfarb at this talk! Register here: https://www.odysseybks.com/event-rsvp
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Local Author Talk – Norman Schell and the Ballade of Mary Reede
“On Thursday, July 19, at 7pm Norman Schell will speak about his new novel, The Ballad of Mary Reede at LeVanway Meeting Room of the Greenfield Public Library. The reading and a video presentation will be followed by a discussion of Piracy, past and present, and Slavery past and present. The program is free and open to the public. Copies of the novel will be available for those interested.”

Card Games:

Friday, July 20th
Greenfield Games [238 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Friday Night Magic
Friday Night Magic! This is one of the best opportunities you have to competitively play a wonderful game that also maybe keep a diary of how much you spend on it. Two tournaments starting at 6pm, $5 for each, one’s going to be Standard Format, one’s Modern! Win packs and promo cards!

Community:

Saturday, July 21st
Building Autistic Community, Inc. [8 Washington St, Westfield MA] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Saturday Autism and Asperger’s support group
“This group is an opportunity for support and discussion for people on the autism spectrum. This group is a “safe space” for adults in our community and is not intended as a parenting group; family members are encouraged to get in touch with us for relevant resources for their needs. Adults 18+ who identify with autism, Asperger’s, or other murky labels. For a number of reasons, including the difficulty of getting a diagnosis as an adult, a formal clinical diagnosis is not required.”

Entertainment:

Monday, July 16th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Muggle Quidditch at Hillside Park
“Muggle Quidditch, the popular wizard’s game, will be played on Mondays starting July 9 @ 6pm at Hillside Park. The Recreation Department will be sponsoring this program and you will need to register through the Rec Department http://www.greenfieldrecreation.com/youthandteens.html by July 3. Be sure to reserve your place on the teams!” All the excitement of Quidditch, none of the excitement of the flying part of it!
Tuesday, July 17th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
I Was (And Still Am) a Teenage Metal Head
Local rock musician and Academy of Rock instructor and founder Matt kim will share his coming of age story through his love of electric guitar!
Wednesday, July 18th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Summer Reading Event – Johnson Organs: Westfield’s Famous Organ Builder
Johnson Sophia Lorenzo Organs, the famous organ builder of Westfield. Who made a new liver for the Queen of England in 1987? Johson Sophia Lorenzo Organs. Who invented a new organ that’s capable of seeing time as color? Why of course, it was none other than Johnson Organs! Spectacular.
Thursday, July 19th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Anime Club
Anime! We’ve heard great things about My Hero Academia or as it’s known in Japan “[My Hero Academia]* *translated from Japanese”
Saturday, July 21st
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Developing a Podcast
Do you want to make a podcast? Good news! You actually already have one it’s 2018 we’re all currently interviewing someone on or being interviewed by someone for a podcast. But we could all use two! Talk to this local entertainment and pop culture reporter who’s thinking about starting a podcast and wants to collaborate with someone else in town! Bring your lap top and see what comes out of this brainstorming session!
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
13th Annual Children’s Book Festival: Four Seasons, Five Senses
A day celebrating the seasons! An exhibition, book signings, storytimes and art projects with artists from the Western Massachusetts Illustrators’ Guild. Drawing demonstrations! Films! Journaling workshops! The Happier Family Comedy Show! It’s going to be a packed day.
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Magic Show with Robert Clarke
A magician who has managed to not be destroyed by the crowds of Boston is a magician who has honed their craft to a fine edge. See the magic in person! Also juggling, which is impressive as well though not breaking any laws of physics.
Cummington Fairgrounds [97 Fairgrounds Road, Cummington MA] at 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Massachusetts Renaissance Faire: Pirate Weekend!
Pirates! Though not as much of a pop cultural phenomenon as they once were they are still a fun thing to dress up as! You can have a fun time and either eat a big turkey leg because it’s kind of fun or NOT do that because they’re really actually bad as heck. You should hit up one of the actually delicous foods on offer! Turkey legs at these things usually taste like someone brined a sponge.

History:

Thursday, July 19th
Historic Northampton [46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060-2406] at 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Summer Lecture Series: Uncovering Hidden Histories through the Portrait of a Woman in Silk
Zara Anishanslin, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Delaware, will help you understand how you can use the Portrait of a Woman in Silk to uncover hidden histories of this world too terrifying and portentious to commit to mundane works. But beware, the Woman in Silk is known to be as devious as she is wise, delve neither too deep nor too greedily into the knowledge she holds!

Kids:

Monday, July 16th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Minecraft Club
Children! Play some Minecraft with friends!
Tuesday, July 17th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Kids! Play with LEGO! It’s fun!
Wednesday, July 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Forest Park Zoo on the Go!
Meet some delightful animals and learn about how they’re adapted to survive in the wild! Touch and observe these crazy critters, and ask questions of your own!
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Family Night: The LEGO Lady
Apparently she’s always a big hit! What does she do, though? Juggling? Maybe dressage. Hm.
Thursday, July 19th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Escape from the Wizard’s Tower
Can you solve the puzzles, find the keys, and escape the room? If you can’t, you’re going to be eaten by a dragon! Children… we wish you the best of luck. Open to ages 10 and up, pre-register at Youth Services Desk or by calling 413-283-3330!
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Escape from the Wizard’s Tower
Did you solve the 2pm puzzle? Did your parents look oddly distraught? Well… here’s to another success story!
Saturday, July 21st
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Raina Telgemeir Fan Club
Grades 4-7 are welcome to come hang out and talk about the extremely excellent work of graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier! She’s so good. Discuss your favorites with fellow fans, and make a craft! Just drop by, no registration necessary!

Movies:

Monday, July 16th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 2:00 PM to 3:45 PM
Movie Monday: The Wizard of Oz
A movie! Snacks! Drinks! Probably non-alcoholic drinks because it’s all-ages, no registration required. The current movie is Wizard of Oz, which is a pretty good movie!
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Teen Movie: Princess Mononoke
This is one of our favorites! It’s just… very intense, and subtle in a way that we needed as a younger gestalt entity representing the myriad entites writing for this site. Plus we saw it in theaters once and it was really neat as heck, highly recommend seeing it on as big a screen as possible.
Tuesday, July 17th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Movie: Wonderstruck
Two kids from different eras set out on their respective journies of discovery that if we know anything about narrative conventions will in no way wind up being related. Also, as far as we can tell from the poster they’re being pursued by spectral wolves.
Wednesday, July 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM
Casablanca on the Lawn
A classic movie on the library lawn! It’s a great night that you’ll love, particularly if you bring a blanket and some snacks! Free to all, film rolls once it’s dark.
Friday, July 20th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
“Walk-In Theater” Outdoor Film Series
Matilda is like Carrie, but for kids! Also a great way to convince any smart kids in your life that they should keep reading so that they can eventually manipulate objects with their minds!
Saturday, July 21st
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Hot Summer Saturday Movie Matinee: La Bamba
This is a biography of Ritchie Valens, a young rocker who made it big and died in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. The tagline is “Born in Poverty, Destined for Stardom, He Lived the American Dream”, which is kind of eliding over the whole “died in a plane crash tragically young” part.

RPGs:

Tuesday, July 17th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 5:45 PM to 7:45 PM
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons? We have dungeons. Dragons? Eeeeessssh. Hmm. HMmHmHMMMph. Dragons. Real dragons? The big kind? Fire ones? We don’t have fire ones… Ice? No no no ice dragons. What’s that? Like a dead dragon? We could get you a dead dragon! Wait, but still moving? Oh UN-dead, no no none of those. SSsssss sss s s hm. Hm. We can do displacer beasts! Will those do?
Thursday, July 19th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
Play a game where you pretend to be another person! That covers a pretty wide range, so we don’t know exactly what’ll be up here but for some reason most of these games involves swords and dragons at some point. Even if someone tells you you’re going to be playing an RPG about minding a small convenience store, take a few levels in Longswords just in case.

Technology:

Monday, July 16th
Click Workspace [9.5 Market St., Northampton MA] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Monitoring with Prometheus – Monthly Full Stack Meetup
Alberto Castro will come to talk about Prometheus! The man we all love, who gave us the fire-gift that stays the wolf and makes meat so tasty and delicious. We don’t understand how that relates to oh it’s a monitoring toolkit that’s open-source that is neat, Alberto will give you a rundown of when and where it might be a good idea to use Prometheus! Door code for the event and slots left are at the Meetup site! https://www.meetup.com/wmasswebdev/events/250097838/

Teens:

Thursday, July 19th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:15 PM to 4:15 PM
Workshop for Young Sound Artists and Podcasters
Learn how to record and edit audio, and make a piece of sound art of start a podcast! Intended for all teens who haven’t somehow already become internationally successful artists/podcasters. Sign up at the YA Desk!

 

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July 2nd – July 8th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

The Families Belong Together event in Springfield yesterday was impressive and inspiring. The speakers included people who had lost family or loved ones for a variety of reasons, and who encouraged the crowd to do what needed to be done to keep families together not just at the border but in the Commonwealth.

There were a few folks there running for congress who all seemed nice and whose names we didn’t get because we’re not actually reporters. We did see Tahirah Amatul-Wadud get up to the podium to speak and was excellent so take a look at her campaign.

Make sure to register to vote, donate, volunteer, call your representatives, and do what you can. There are a lot of spectacular people in the Valley who could use help.

Next week is Nerd Nite! Come to Nerd Nite! It’s going to be a fun time, you’ll learn about permaculture and the luminiferous ether! Goes together like peanut butter and chocolate. It’s at the World War 2 Club at 7:00pm – 9:00pm on July 9th, and you’ll like it we promise.

It’s a big Steam Sale on, which is a lot less intense now that we’ve got like one a month. We recommend checking out What Remains of Edith Finch, Pyre, Night in the Woods, and Prey because they’re a good bunch of games.

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Art:

Thursday, July 5th
Emily Dickinson Museum [280 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002] at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Arts Night Out at the Dickinson Museum!
“The Emily Dickinson Museum participates in Amherst Arts Night Plus on first Thursdays each month. Free and open to all! Each month enjoy the following: 5 to 8 pm: Pop-up contemporary art exhibit in the Homestead, 5 to 6 pm: Open mic signups for poets, writers, performers of any kind, 6 pm: Open mic begins, Featured readers follow the open mic ” This month the Featured Poet is Leslie Marie Aguilar, and the Featured Artist is Arielle Jessop!
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Burnett Gallery: Opening Reception for Mark Balcom Photography
An art reception! Cheese? Possibly. Wine? Plausibly. At the least there will be art! Delicious art!

Entertainment:

Thursday, July 5th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Anime Club
Watch anime! We have heard good things about My Hero Academia! It seems fun.

History:

Thursday, July 5th
Deerfield Community Center [16 Memorial St., Deerfield MA] at 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Digging Beantown: Uncovering Community Identity through Public Archaeology in Boston
“What do broken pieces of pottery, a family heirloom, and an artifact in a museum exhibit have in common? Made, owned and handled across generations, centuries or even millennia, historical artifacts are time travelers, carrying information and histories that might otherwise be misunderstood or forgotten altogether. ” in the first lecture in this series, find out what we can tell about life in old Boston from archaeological digs!

Kids:

Tuesday, July 3rd
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Ages 5 and up can enjoy an afternoon playing with LEGOs!
Saturday, July 7th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Build and Pilot Walkalong Gliders
Like paper airplanes except you can keep them in the air! Nifty. Hands-on building and piloting of gliders! Ostensibly this is also a way to get you interested in aviation but we’re pretty sure you can tune out all the inspiration and learning if you work hard at it.
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM
My Bees – Interactive Musical Theater for Kids
“Jonathon Mirin and the Piti Theatre Company present ” My Bees”, an interactive musical play. A Saturday morning filled with learning play production and acting skills from the ground up, ending in a play at 11am.” Hopefully not too many bees. Gotta keep your bees to a reasonable level.
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Science of Sound (Ages 7 & Up)
Learn about the science of sound! Then, use that new knowledge to invent some new sounds!

Movies:

Tuesday, July 3rd
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Family Movie: Peter Rabbit
It’s nice when we can say we’ve heard good things about a kid film but unfortunately all we can do is say that this one is free, at least? It’s… not been well-received.
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Sing Along Movie Night
Bring the family and sing along to a fun film! Bring props! Wear costumes! Sing your heart out!

RPGs:

Thursday, July 5th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
RPGs are great! Play Noirlandia, or Questlandia, or Dread, or Monsterhearts, or Apocalypse World, or Dogs in the Vineyard, or One Thousand and One Nights, or any of a lot of amazing games created right here in this Valley! They’re all very good!

Technology:

Tuesday, July 3rd
The Foundry [24 Main St., Northampton, MA] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Northampton Webdive – After Work
Meet up and talk with friendly web-type folks! They enjoy talking about both work and not work, depending on what you find most interesting. Also don’t sweat it if you think you’re not technical enough yet or something they’re happy to hang with all sorts.
Wednesday, July 4th
Northampton Community TV [380 Elm St., Northampton, MA] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Northampton High-Speed Community Network Coalition Organizational Meeting
“Continue working on petitioning the city to help create a high speed municipal network, similar to efforts completed or underway in nearby cities like Leverett, Westfield, Holyoke/South Hadley and one proposed in Easthampton. We’ll get reports from members of the group doing outreach and talking with the city and others.” get some decent internet to the people!

Teens:

Friday, July 6th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Stitch Camp!
Folks 10-17, sew a felt pouch embellished with fun buttons, bright fabrics and embroidery stitches! Heather Wynne, a local designer, will give you a short course in how to make neat stuff!

June 25th – July 1st

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Go to a protest on June 30th if you are able to do so. If you show up, it will make a difference. People just want to know that their neighbors also realize kidnapping the children of asylum-seekers in order to torture them is wrong. It’s not a high bar.

In less distressing news, let’s talk about a Valley Creator doing a neat thing!

Have you been watching folks on Twitch? Maybe some actual-play RPG sessions? Well, so have the people writing the RPGs being played! They’re frankly giddy that there’s a sudden like participatory-watch community centered around the art form they’ve been working within for so long.

Epidiah Ravachol of Dread and more importantly at the moment Swords Without Master, has been doing “Speed Runs” of Swords Without Master! Full play-throughs with folks in less than an hour! It’s both a fun Actual Play viewing experience and a powerful example of how Swords Without Master is a great indie RPG for folks who want to have fun without devoting a lifetime to every game.

You should check it out here! https://www.twitch.tv/videos/270880758. There are a bunch of them and that’s one.

Also join the Discord to find other players! And while you watch new episodes play along using the new rules for Scrying!

It’s all very fun and neat. Buy Swords Without Master now to see what folks are getting excited about!

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Art:

Tuesday, June 26th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Greenfield Rocks! Kindness Rock Painting
Paint a rock! Teach the rock to love! Teach the rock to understand compassion! Warning: do not throw a friendship rock at another person, it makes the friendship rock sad.
Wednesday, June 27th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Rock Painting
Paint a rock! Make a new best friend is literally what they say here which seems kind of like an insult? Is Forbes saying we don’t have a best friend?! Bring your own rock! Or like… go outside before the event for a minute.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Reception for Artists Pamela Acosta and Dara Herman Zierlein
Good artists! Good reception! Possibly cheese? That’s what makes or breaks a reception.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Forbes Library Zine Club
ZINE! ZINE! ZINE! ZINE! ZINE! ZINE! ZINE! MAKE A ZINE! AT THE CLUB! A ZINE ABOUT CLUB…. SANDWICHES!
Thursday, June 28th
Gandara Youth Development Center [306 Race St., Holyoke, MA] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Radioplasma Recording Studio Sessions
Meet in the Teen Room to walk as a group to the Radioplasma Recording Studio to get some hands on experience with journalism, storytelling, and sound mixing! SOUNDS cool! Get it? See that? Nice.
Saturday, June 30th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Make a CD Mandala
Using colored sharpies and other decorative elements, turn some old CDs into beautiful artwork! If you’ve got some old CDs, we think the last CD we can remember having was like a decade and a half ago.
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Greenfield Rocks! Kindness Rock Painting
Paint a rock! Teach the rock to love! Teach the rock to understand compassion! Warning: do not insult a friendship rock, because it makes the rock feel bad. Be kind to rocks!

Books:

Wednesday, June 27th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Sunderland Short Story Series
Short stories by British mystery writers! Featuring some dramatic readings by excellent actors to really bring them to life. Linda Tardif will be reading Mr Millcroft’s Birthday by P.D. James, and Kermit Dunkelberg will be reading The Reigate Puzzle by Arthur Conan Doyle, who famous wrote the series of Conan the Detective stories.
Thursday, June 28th
Packards [14 Masonic Street, Northampton MA] at 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Welcome to Night Vale Boook Discussion And Dinner
Meet to talk about a book from a fun podcast! Meet, talk, eat, hang out in a nice pub. What’s not to like?

Community:

Saturday, June 30th
Millside Park [Easthampton MA] at 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Families Belong Together Stamp Out
“Join us on June 30 at 3pm at the Nashawannuck pond to peacefuly protest the separation of children from their parents on the US-Mexico border, while seeking asylum. This is a cruel policy that rips families apart.” Interested in protesting the ripping apart of families, abuse of asylum-seekers, and general deep-down evil? Check out this event or find another event near you at: https://act.moveon.org/event/families-belong-together/. Not interested in protesting? Donate! https://www.raicestexas.org/coll-page-section/donate/. Can’t donate? Talk to everyone you can and call your congresspeople! 5calls.org is a good start!

Entertainment:

Monday, June 25th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Great American Songbokk with Skylarkz
Kick off summer reading with a musical duo! Let’s Face the Music and Dance is some music that inspired dancers of the 30’s, 40’s, and inexplicably the 2060’s.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Far Out Film Discussion: Spring Breakers
Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine has been called “A Movie” and also “…. huuuh.” You can get copies of it in the library, and then talk about the film in this group!
Tuesday, June 26th
Mead Art Museum [41 Quadrangle Dr, Amherst, MA 01002] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
HOUSE Closing Cookout
Activities, a DJ, food, beer (for people who can drink beer and also want to drink beer) and a last chance to see HOUSE before it closes in July! Free and open to all! Though probably you need to pay for food and beer?
Wednesday, June 27th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Libraries Rock Family Night Kick-Off
“”Libraries Rock” Kickoff Event for Kids and Families: Magician, Fran Ferry, will entertain a family audience with magical storytelling, doing fancy tricks with ordinary newspaper, and bringing kids into the act with his well-known flair for child-friendly silliness and amazing magic! Free and open to the public thanks to The Friends of the Greenfield Public Library, this is the first in the summer series of Wednesday Family Night entertainment.” Wholesome as heck, yeah?
Thursday, June 28th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Mini Golf in the Library!
Mobile MiniGolf brings a fun MiniGolf course to the library! There are a ton of interesting holes for you to try putting into, and it’s suitable for kids and adults, a few holes might even be outside! Golf and the library, a match made in heaven, yeah?
Friday, June 29th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
The Firebird presented by The Puppet People
“Join us for this spectacular marionette show inspired by the Russian folktale and popular ballet The Firebird. Watch as even the impossible is possible as the mythical firebird comes to life and Ivan and Princess Yelena team up to break the enchantment placed over their kingdom. This 50 minute long puppet fantasy features beautifully handcrafted marionettes, lavish costumes, and vivid sets accompanied by Stravinsky’s musical score.” Wow, dang. That sounds awesome! Register at sscott@westath.org! There’s a waiting list already!

Kids:

Tuesday, June 26th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
LEGO! FOR CHILDREN! WE CAN’T STOP YELLING WHERE’S THE CAPS LOCK
Thursday, June 28th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM
Story and Craft Time @ Munson Memorial Library
Hear stories! Or well, have your kids hear stories we suppose, we’re assuming preschoolers don’t read this. Then make a craft!
Friday, June 29th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Family Concert with Roger Tincknell
A good danged family concert with a local musician! Children will sing, dance, move, pretend to be animals, play instruments, sing in Spanish and other languages, and explore cultures around the world! Edify your children through wholesome musical stuff!
Saturday, June 30th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Musical Petting Zoo with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra
The Musical Petting Zoo is the special event where animals are transformed into musical instruments for you to gently pet. Get a chance to give some weird instruments a try! Or not-weird ones, really just fool around with some instruments in a setting where no one is nervous you’re going to break something.

Movies:

Tuesday, June 26th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Paddington 2
Paddington has been recommended to us as a real gem of a family film by multiple people, and so has the sequel! It seems like a really good one to take a look at if you’re interested in some friendly, low-key entertainment.
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Summer Reading Movie: The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom! A film that we’ve never really heard GOOD things about, but it’s definitely like, it’s a thing to experience. It’s odd and probably worth taking a look at and maybe making fun of if you’ve got a friend to josh about it with.
Wednesday, June 27th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Film: Censored Voices
“Censored Voices is an Israeli film drawn from censored audio tapes made within weeks of soldiers returning from the 1967 Six Day War. The film project was the initiative of Israel’s best known anti-war author and activist Amos Oz to be shown in advance of the current 70th anniversary of the Israeli state and the Palestinian Nakba. These men were appalled at what they were required to in the 1967 war and nearly 50 years later gather to discuss the tapes in a 2015 film made by Israeli filmmaker Mor Loushy complete with raw, real military footage. Oz and his friends are seen a half-century later listening to those tapes of their younger selves and discussing how they see the impact of that war on current Israel/Palestine, and the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Free and accessible. The Resistance Film series is co-sponsored by The Resistance Center of Western MA and the Northampton Committee to Stop the Wars.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Casablanca at the Library!
This one starts early because the lovely Bistro Les Gras has a special menu for the night and expanded outdoor dining for you, and you can check out art in the Forbes Hosmer Gallery from 6pm-8pm, followed by the main event later at night! After it’s dark enough to project. We’ve heard Casablanca is pretty good, but we tend to only like really good movies like Citizen Kane so… Also there’s a prize for best-dressed in a 1940 style!
Thursday, June 28th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Family Movie: Coco and Musical Craft
Watch CoCo, widely regarded as a realy triumph of recent animation work, and make your own cardboard guitar! Cardboard guitar is an entry-level instrument, usually something you play for a while before moving on to a zinc guitar.
Sunday, July 1st
Yiddish Book Center [1021 West St., Amherst MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
FILM | Song of the Lodz Ghetto
“Song of the Lodz Ghetto, a documentary by David Kaufman, is a moving account of the history of Poland’s “first and last” Jewish ghetto. The film is based on a haunting program of songs performed by the renowned Jewish music group, Brave Old World. Many of those songs were written by the ghetto’s beloved street singer, Yankele Herszkowicz, whose life story is recounted in the film through interviews and historic photographs. ” Student $4, Member $6, General Admission $8

Technology:

Monday, June 25th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Python Coding Club
Meet with interested coders to talk Python! Bring your computer and a copy of Python, which can be downloaded for free online! https://www.python.org/!
Thursday, June 28th
Merrill 215 at Amherst College at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Debugging and Version Control for Programming
“Want your computer code to be perfect? Start by realizing that you will make mistakes when writing it! In this class you’ll learn how to discover and fix your errors. We will cover basic principles of debugging applicable to any programming language, though examples will use the Python language and its standard debugger pdb. Sometimes you’ll also want to try out new ideas without ruining the code that’s already working.” Learn to code well! This sounds really useful, and we love the fact that there’s a light dinner at 5:30pm. Register in advance at: https://www.amherst.edu/library/services/students/summer/response
Sunday, July 1st
Another Castle [30 Olive St, Greenfield MA] at 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
MAKE TALK PLAY | Pitch & Interest Meeting
“In celebration of the upcoming Canada Day, we’re holding our first game Pitch & Interest event at Another Castle on July 1st! If you’re interested in pitching or collaborating on a project, we encourage you to fill out this quick survey by June 30th. It’s not required, but it will help us facilitate the event better. It’s also kind of a karma thing. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOxSCV2GJrfxqcK-cN3khGIDbhUl1NXo51DecZa0nNjqfDtw/viewform?usp=sf_link Here’s how this works: 1) Think of a pitch for a game idea. 2) Show up and present a 3-5 minute pitch of your idea and then talk to other devs about your idea. 3) Listen to other game developers pitch their ideas and think of ways you may want to contribute to help others make their ideas happen. 4) Profit (or at least have fun). During the event, we’ll help facilitate introductions and help hone in on your idea. After the event is over, we’ll make all pitches accessible to the group so people can follow up.”

Teens:

Monday, June 25th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Teens Only Movie: Back to the Future
Teens only! Teens exclusively! 12? Too young! 20? Too old! 19? That’s pushing it… but we’ll allow it. Watch a classic that your parents have already bugged you about a bunch, Back to the Future!
Friday, June 29th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Teen Zine Workshop (Ages 12 – 17)
Madeline Dye, a local graphic artist, will help you learn how to create a zine! Learn how zines are used at cons and how they can be used to market your art! You’re going to get 10 of your danged zine to keep, too! Pre-register in advance! teens [at] joneslibrary [dot] org!
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
It’s LIT: Summer Sex and Relationship Series at the Library
In partnership with the River Valley Counselling Center, youth will have a chance to talk about sex, relationships, sexuality, and how to stay safe happy and healthy. Frankly these sorts of workshops should be attended by everyone every year in our experience. This stuff remains confusing forever. Snacks are provided, and there’s a $50 gift card you can earn for completing the whole series!

 

June 11th – June 17th

 

The Valley Nerd Watch!

It’s E3 week and you know what that means!

That means we want you to check out Nerd Nite NoHo! It’s our thing we do so we get to advertise it up here all the time and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop us. As always it’s at the World War 2 Club at 50 Conz St in Northampton 7:00pm to 9:00pm and as always if you attend you will gain the ability to shoot lasers out your eyeballs.

This week we’ve been spending a decent chunk of time playing the new game Cultist Simulator on our PC. It’s weird and if you like any of the excellent work by our local creators we recommend you take a look. It’s a sort of adventure game by way of combining cards with pithy descriptions and seeing what happens.

And of course you get to start a cult which is great fun!

You should take a moment to check out local creator Comic Kibble’s web store! You can buy excellent zines and you can buy very good interrobang patches!?

Also check out “speed runs” of local creator Epidiah Ravochol’s Swords Without Master during which folks play through a satisfying start to finish fantastic adventure in less than an hour! It is a very neat RPG that you should definitely play and these playthrough will give you an example of why, with creator Epidiah himself playing!

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Art:

Monday, June 11th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Button Making
Design your own buttons with a button maker! Maybe you need a button to keep your shirt closed? Maybe you need a button to launch your master plan? Maybe you need a button that says “I made a button!” all of these are possible with a button-maker!
Tuesday, June 12th
Gandara Youth Development Center [306 Race St., Holyoke, MA] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Radioplasma Recording Studio Sessions
Meet in the Teen Room to walk as a group to the Radioplasma Recording Studio to get some hands on experience with journalism, storytelling, and sound mixing! SOUNDS cool! Get it? See that? Nice.
Wednesday, June 13th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Crafternoon
Head to the Teen Loft for a craft! There are SNACKS! SNAAAAAAAAAAACKS! Ages 12-18 welcome.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Forbes Library Zine Club
ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINES this club has a lot of them, you make them, folks are nice, there are a bunch of people of all ages and interests just making art together.
Hadley Historical Society [12 Middle St., Hadley MA] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Steve Wilda, Local Artist
The titular artist will display and discuss a series of acrylic still life paintings of objects in ruin from the past, including items from WW1 and the Hadley Historical Society, as well as one odd piece of metal that seems to sing as you look at it, promising ever more revelations so long as you never tell anyone that you found it in a meteorite.
Saturday, June 16th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Watercolors
Pain some watercolors! Or look at some watercolors? Provide therapy to watercolors? Maybe you dance with them, or debate them? It’s impossible to tell, the description is just “watercolors”. Maybe this IS watercolors, like all of them?
Gill-Montague Senior Center [62 Fifth St., Turners Falls MA] at 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
The Making of Rock Paper Scissors, Public Art in Turners Falls
“Tim de Christopher, stone sculptor, will present a lecture describing the making of his work, Rock Paper Scissors, a public installation honoring the history of the Village of Turners Falls, in Montague, Ma. de Christopher will talk about the concept that inspired the work, how he presented his idea to the town, and, most of all, the execution of the work.” That way you can replicate it at home for a nice gigantic marble centerpiece.

Books:

Monday, June 11th
Amherst Books [8 Main St., Amherst MA] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Amherst Books Author Event – David Wanczyk’s Beep
Beep takes you into the world of baseball for the blind, a frankly impressive sport involving balls that beep, bases that buzz, and a bunch of people playing a sport involving fast-moving objects who don’t have any visual on said objects. It sounds like an innovative and incredibly difficult sport to take up!
Thursday, June 14th
Emily Williston Memorial Library at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Dave Daley Author Talk: Rat Fucked
David Daley, former Editor-in-Chief of Salon, joins the library on June 14th to talk about his book Rat Fucked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count. It runs down the aggressive plan by Republicans to strategically gerrymander districts so that they can continue to have pluralities even in places where the vast majority of votes were cast against them. Daley will be talking about his book with local author Seth Harwood, answering Q&A, and there’s tea and coffee afterward!
Saturday, June 16th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Roxy and Beary’s Bar Harbor Adventures: Wagging Tails with Roxy
Meet two excellent doggies! Author Crysta Ascolillo has written a lovely book with the help of Roxy all about their adventures in new doggie destinations around Maine! Dogs are good, and author dogs are even better.

Community:

Wednesday, June 13th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Represent Western Mass
A seminar to introduce people to a nonpartisan group fighting corruption in government! Help find your place in the projects that they’re working on, and meet fellow concerned citizens who want to make politics at least require a basic level of not directly accepting bribes to your Bribes account at the bank.
Saturday, June 16th
Building Autistic Community, Inc. [8 Washington St, Westfield MA] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Saturday Autism and Asperger’s support group
“This group is an opportunity for support and discussion for people on the autism spectrum. This group is a “safe space” for adults in our community and is not intended as a parenting group; family members are encouraged to get in touch with us for relevant resources for their needs. Adults 18+ who identify with autism, Asperger’s, or other murky labels. For a number of reasons, including the difficulty of getting a diagnosis as an adult, a formal clinical diagnosis is not required.”

Entertainment:

Monday, June 11th
World War 2 Club [50 Conz St, Northampton] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Nerd Nite NoHo
Two excellent presenters! One great night! That’s Nerd Nite! This week will have “Bullets are Bad for the Brain: Designing Effective Presentations” from Fred Zinn, who really thinks you may want to reconsider Powerpoint, and “Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War” from Cooper Wood, who actually also have a lot of opinions about how bullets are bad for your brain.
Wednesday, June 13th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Speaker Series
Speakers! Speak about things! We don’t know what because there’s no description but we’re going to say this week a speaker will come in and tell you how to raise a skeleton army.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM
Lawn Concert by Ray Mason Band
“The Ray Mason Band consists of: Frank Marsh (drums, vocals), Stephen Desaulniers (bass, vocals), Tom Shea (guitar, vocals) and Ray (vocals, guitar)” It also consists of a Mason jug, which belongs to Ray hence the name. Free for everyone, bring picnics, if there’s bad weather they’ll do it indoors!
Thursday, June 14th
Gateway City Arts [92 Race St., Holyoke MA] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Drag Queen Trivia presented as part of Western Mass Beer Week
“Have you experienced the gift that is Jenayah De Roasario Della Notte? Jenayah is the host of our monthly Drag Queen Bingo- one of GCA’s most loved regular events. We are teaming up with Jenayah, Liz, and Artisan Beverage Coop to bring you a killer night of Drag Trivia to celebrate Western Mass Beer Week! Come on out with your team and test your wits while you sip on a glass of Ginger Libation! $5 per person, teams of 1-4”
Sunday, June 17th
MYSTERY LOCATION at 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Serenity Screening with the Western MA Sci-Fi Meetup!
For more details, like where it’s actually being held, check out https://www.meetup.com/4scifi/events/251523517/! Special request: bring either sugar and gluten-free food or just chip in $5 to defray potluck costs. Be a nice guest! Dang, Firefly. Remember when there weren’t like 10 shows at a time catering to a nerd thing you like?

History:

Monday, June 11th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Civil War Hijinks with Judy Cook
When we think of the Civil War, we don’t generally think “Hijinks” but well, alright. “Civil War Hijinks features the letters of Judy’s great-great-grandparents: Gilbert Claflin, a Wisconsin farmer drafted at the age of 40; and his wife, Esther, keeping the farm going with their two teen-aged sons. Interspersed throughout the program Judy will play tunes and sing songs written during the Civil War.” History, as it were lived! Free and open to the public!
Tuesday, June 12th
Mead Art Museum [41 Quadrangle Dr, Amherst, MA 01002] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
The Texts of King Philip’s War and Native New England Continuance
“In 2018, Yale University Press published two new books about King Philip’s War: Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War by Amherst College Professor Lisa Brooks and Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast by Christine Delucia. In this talk, these two authors will talk about their books with emphasis on the published texts and other archival resources they relied on in their research.” Learn about the history of this country, and be ready to get sad! You rarely find out that US history was LESS horrific than you were expecting.
Wednesday, June 13th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Film: Memory of a Forgotten War
“Memory of Forgotten War conveys the human costs of military conflict through deeply personal accounts of the Korean War (1950-53) by four Korean-American survivors. Their stories take audiences through the trajectory of the war, from extensive bombing campaigns, to day-to-day struggle for survival and separation from family members across the DMZ. Decades later, each person reunites with relatives in North Korea, conveying beyond words the meaning of family loss.” Free and accessible. Local Korean-Americans and academic experts will participate in the post-film discussions.
Thursday, June 14th
Chicopee Public Library [449 Front St., Chicopee MA] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Unraveling America’s Musical Roots
A free interactive program with Craig Harris, a percussionist and educator and also author! The presentation goes over the history of American music in all its great variety. You’ll see archival footage, hear stories, and even play some music yourself!
Saturday, June 16th
Historic Northampton [46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060-2406] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
The Gilded Cage: Northampton’s Last Water-Powered Elevator: A Film by Stan Sherer
Learn about the history of the Masonic Block, that big stretch of Main Street in downtown Northampton that has Fitzwilly’s in it. And specifically, about how they installed an elevator that was powered by the Northampton city water pressure until 2016! Apparently a pretty standard thing at the turn of the previous century, this one was distinguished mostly by being fancy as heck. Sherer’s film shows you exactly how this works and speaks to elevator operators and servicepeople about how neat it was. Free and open to the public, with a second showing at 4pm!

Kids:

Monday, June 11th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Kids Writing Club
Creative writers from 9-12, join the writing club and practice writing! Learn tips and techniques, write to prompts, and even share your work if you possess a heroic level of social calm. At the end of the summer everyone’s best pieces will be collected into a chapbook! It’s the perfect opportunity to start your 70-book fantasy epic The Sky Cycle of Lost Mnethiem!
Tuesday, June 12th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Kids! Play with Legally Ethical Great Objects!
Wednesday, June 13th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Youth Leadership Program
A hands-on series during which the youth will have the opportunity to develop leadership skills and interact with their community through games, conversations, field trips, and other activities! You’re going to want to pay attention to how to lead, the youth, we really need you to tell us to stop being horrible.
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Ukulele Club! (Ages 8-12)
Ukulele! Play uke, learn uke, uke all day long if you like! Well uke from 3:30 – 5pm at least. Though you’re free to uke after as well. Dang we hope people call playing the ukulele ‘ukeing’ or else all of this will sound very uncool.
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Donuts with Dad
We KNEW our dad was faking his death! How dare he oooooh wait no it’s not donuts with OUR dad, it’s an event for dads to bring kids to eat some donuts and hear stories! Registration required, contact 413-562-6158×5!
Thursday, June 14th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Preschool Storytime
Hear stories! Or well, have your kids hear stories we suppose, we’re assuming preschoolers don’t read this.
Munson Memorial Library [1046 S East St, Amherst, MA 01002] at 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM
Story and Craft Time @ Munson Memorial Library
Stories and crafts! Craft a story, tell a story about a craft!
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM
Comics Club
Join Callie in the Children’s + YA Department for a meeting to make your own comics and talk with other comic fans! Intended for elementary and tween readers. Have you read Squirrel Girl? It’s great read that one.
Friday, June 15th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Ukulele Music Time with Julie
Listen! Play! Learn! Learn how to make music with a delightful instrument, and listen to fun songs!
Saturday, June 16th
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Happier Family Comedy Show
Happier Valley Comedy is the heart of improv comedy in Western Mass! Let your family’s creativity flourish in an accepting improv atmosphere! Geared for kids aged 5-12, call 413-559-6336 to get tickets! We should warn you that this may lead your child down the path to improv themselves, from which no one returns unchanged.

Movies:

Sunday, June 17th
Yiddish Book Center [1021 West St., Amherst MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
FILM | “Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me”
A documentary featuring never-before-seen photos and excerpts from his performances traces this talented entertainer and his journey for identity. Student $4, Member $6, Public $8!

Science:

Sunday, June 17th
Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery [172 Hockanum Rd, Hadley MA] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Cow Power: From Waste to Watts
Learn about how the farm makes cow poop into power through the magic of what we assume are machines that are not super good smelling. There’s a free walking tour of the digester system they use to generate green electricity for over a thousand homes! It’s a neat side-effect of having local small farmers that they can choose to do cool things with their waste byproducts instead of just secretly dumping them into the river.

Technology:

Tuesday, June 12th
Common Media [84 Russell St., Hadley, MA] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Hack for Western Mass
Most important info up front: Dinner and drinks are on them! Yaaaay. But who are them? They’re a bunch of people in Western Mass who both like to fiddle with computers in general and like to support local things that need help! Find out about current projects! Start your own! Join the github https://hackforwesternmass.github.io/! Join the slack https://h4wm.slack.com/signup! Do it 4 Western Mass!
Wednesday, June 13th
Last Call Media [136 West St., Suite 01, Northampton MA] at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Northampton Atlassian User Group Meetup
Talk about distilling conversations into ready stories by using Confluence. Now, we don’t understand why those words are in that order, but based on the capitalization of the word Confluence we assume it’s some sort of spell? Like you can somehow rob words from your conversations and use Confluence to turn them into readied Stories, which we assume fight the forces of darkness somehow? Anyway RSVP here to learn magic: https://aug.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-northampton-presents-distilling-conversations-into-ready-stories

Teens:

Monday, June 11th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Teens Only: Make a Sharpie Tie-Dye T-Shirt
Teens! Steal a shirt from your least favorite parent and turn it into a sharpie tie-dye shirt! Then when you have the hang of it make your own! Bring a t-shirt to decorate!
Thursday, June 14th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Teen Room Activities
Stop by the Teen Room afterschool to play games from the collection (or bring your own!), read, craft things, draw stuff, make a button or two, hang out with friends, all the stuff teens like!
Friday, June 15th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Teen Lounge
Longue about on any of the library’s fantastic fainting couches! Hang out with pals!

 

May 28th – June 3rd

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Sorry about the lateness but also, not really because it was for a reasonable reason. Migraines are bad,  folks! Take your medicine at the first sign of head trouble, and don’t try to convince yourself you can “tank it”. Blurgh.

Have an excellent night! You’re great. Sorry some of this already happened!

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Board Games:

Saturday, June 2nd
World War 2 Club [50 Conz St, Northampton] at 1:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Tabletop Day at the Deuce
A huge stack of games! A huge stack of friends! A huge stack of tables! A huge stack of chairs! Everything stacked, everything prepped, all for a great day playing boardgames! Bring food and snacks because the WW2 Club kitchen is still under construction. Go to the FB event to plan things out for specific games if you like, but also just show up with your favorite game ready to play! https://www.facebook.com/events/921076271405315/?notif_t=event_calendar_create&notif_id=1527099955492764

Books:

Saturday, June 2nd
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
“1000 Books before Kindergarten proudly presents a special reading celebration. Featured will be a reading of the children’s classic, Ferdinand the Bull. Bim Bam with Laurie Davidson and Tom Carroll will offer a bilingual, Spanish/English, interactive, music and movement program.”
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Antoine Revoy, Animus
“The residents of a quiet Japanese neighborhood have slowly come to realize that inauspicious, paranormal forces are at play in the most unlikely of places: the local playground. Two friends, a young boy and girl, resolve to exorcise the evil that inhabit it, including a snaggle-toothed monster.” Excellent pitch! A spooky young-adult graphic novel about hauntings from Antoine Revoy, a French illustrator, cartoonist, and graphic novelist who was raised in Japan and currently based in the East Coast US.

Comics:

Saturday, June 2nd
Comics N’ More [31 Union St, Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027] at 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Dollar Bin and Bargain Rooms: Bigger N’ Better!
A new expanded improved and very excellent dollar bin room! Get your favorite books for a great price at a great place! Why not set up a pull while you’re there to stay up to date?

Community:

Wednesday, May 30th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Women’s Small Business Owners Meet Up
A group of people getting together to enjoy each others company, with a common bond: every one of them know what happened in that mountain bungalow in 1987 but none of them will speak of it for fear of making the thing real. No, it’s that they’re all women who all own their own small business! It’s a safe haven to brainstorm, talk about how to do things in your business, and just talk about owning a company and how it is for you. Get in touch with Teresa Weybrew at teresaweybrew [at] gmail [dot] com for more information!

Entertainment:

Monday, May 28th
Haymarket Cafe [185 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Far Out Film Discussion: Five Obstructions
Watch the movie first! It’s like a book club but for films. This one is going to be the 2003 Danish Documentary by Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth. It’s off-site because the library is closed for Memorial Day!
Wednesday, May 30th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Brian Marchese Presents: Where’s That Sound Coming From?
A talk about Music Podcasting featuring audio clips and live performances! “The podcast generally features one song per episode that has been covered by a variety of artists across time and genres. The origin of the song is discussed, the original is played, followed by several notable cover versions, each of which are also discussed. The fun part is hearing how drastically different artists can be influenced by the same song, but express it in so many different ways.” Sounds illuminating and entertaining!
Saturday, June 2nd
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Tales from the “Nightclub Era” of Boston Belly Dance
“In this presentation, Amy Smith will share highlights of her research on Boston’s belly dance history, as well as the “Aziza!” documentary project. ” Learn about a vibrant era in the Boston arts scene!

Games:

Sunday, June 3rd
The Quarters [8 Railroad St., Hadley MA] at 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
MAKE TALK PLAY | Game Dev Social & Networking
Do you make games for a living? For a hobby? For an elf that refuses to leave until you provide for it the games it demands? Talk to the Pioneer Valley Game Developers! They meet up and talk game dev and other stuff, and just generally get folks together to think about games and how to make them. They’re friendly and fun to hang out with and you can also just eat good food and play videogames if all else fails.

History:

Tuesday, May 29th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Quest for the Eastern Cougar: Extinction or Survival?
Did you know there’s a sort of conspiracy theory about cougars? There is! Basically the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the Eastern Cougar species extinct, but folks are still seeing them! Listen to Robert Tougias, a local nature writer and author of Birding Western Massachusetts, explain what he believes about the current range of the Eastern Cougar. Maybe we’re lucky and they did survive extinction! They’re neat as hell animals.
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
The Restoration of the Sunderland Fire Department History 1933 – Present
Learn about the restoration of the history of the local Sunderland Fire Department! Always nice to know more about where you live.

Kids:

Tuesday, May 29th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Kids! Play with LEGO! It’s fun!
Wednesday, May 30th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
LEGO Club (Ages 5-10)
Kids! Play with LEGO! It’s fun!
Saturday, June 2nd
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM
TOUCH A TRUCK!
Touch a danged truck! Sit inside a truck! Experience 360-degree Truckvision! Fire Trucks! Police Cars! Ambulances! All the trucks you could want!
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM
Summer Reading Kickoff Celebration!
A ton of stuff to see and do! 9 am – 2 pm Forbes Library Annual Book Sale, 10 am – 2 pm Summer Reading Signups, 10 am – 11 am Face Painting for Kids, 10 am – 12 pm AEIOUkes Perform, 11 am – 11:30 am Music for Kids with Mr. Liam, 11:30 am – 1 pm Listening Station with bean bag chairs, vinyl records, and headphones, 1 pm – 2 pm Libraries Rock Concert featuring Forbes Library Musicians in Residence Gentle Hen, Beach Honey, and The Fawns, 1 pm – 2 pm Temporary Tattoos for kids, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Summertide Poetry Workshop for Teens and that’s all! We included the whole list, so that’s all of the things.
Sunday, June 3rd
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Multi-Arts Presents Time-Traveling Stories
“In this play, meet Angeline Palmer, a brave African-American girl who was saved from slavery with the help of the town. Journey to the past to discover the exciting history that made Amherst what it is today.” Learn about local history at the Carle!

 

May 21st – May 27th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Hello and thank you for reading!

We had a great time at the most recent Nerd Nite, and we highly recommend you come to the next one! We made very good freshly-baked cookies, and everyone agrees that hey that’s pretty much going above and beyond you’re welcome. We also raised $50 for the Northampton Survival Center! That’s enough to provide monthly groceries and supplemental produce to one person for TWO months!

The creators of Apocalypse World went on the 3W6 podcast to talk about RPG design and would you believe it they’re LOCAL folks! They’re near us! They’re also very nice and interesting!

English episode! We talk to the designers of Apocalypse World about their design philosophy, the origins of Apocalyse World and the entire PbtA phenomenon, as well as their new game, The King is Dead.

We’re really excited about The King is Dead! It’s neat to combine interesting RPG design with party games. We tend to play more party games, because they’re lowest impact and stress and such, so something new in that space is always good and new AND designed by the folks who came up with Apocalypse World? Dang, that’s great.

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Art:

Wednesday, May 23rd
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Forbes Library Zine Club
A club to create zines! It’s for all ages! It’s for all types! It’s for you, and for us! It’s for anyone who wants to make a little thing they can pass around to folks and say hey this is my zine it’s full on neat art/writing/whatever, you’ll like it!
Saturday, May 26th
Smith College Museum of Art [20 Elm St, Northampton, MA 01063] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Reunion Gallery Talk with Dwight Pogue
Join renowned artist and Smith Professor Dwight Pogue for a tour of FLOWERING STARS: Prints by Dwight Pogue. Heeeey, wait a second. That’s probably the same Dwight Pogue! The exhibition celebrates Pogue’s work as a print-maker and retirement from teaching it at Smith since 1979. Or maybe it’s a separate Dwight Pogue and this is just a real coincidence.

Board Games:

Wednesday, May 23rd
Brass Cat [65 Cottage St, Easthampton, MA 01027] at 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Board Games at the Brass Cat
Play board games with a bunch of nice folks at a nice bar! We can do it outside now, which means more tables and more folks! It’s very good, everyone finds it enjoyable and you should come meet new friends!

Books:

Wednesday, May 23rd
Historic Northampton [46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060-2406] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Teri O’Brien, Reading and Book Signing: While I Danced Alone with the Moon Across the Front Yard
A memoir of Teri O’Brien’s youth in a large family in the 50’s and 60’s! Teri weaves together stories of growing up in a loving family in a small New England town. That’s significantly more pleasant than stories about growing up in a hating family in a big English town!

Community:

Monday, May 21st
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Designing a Suburban Permaculture Homestead
Join Ashley Schenk of Broadfork Permaculture to learn how to live simply and in community with others in order to become a steward of the land! Learn how the permaculture design process can help make a single subruban acre into something more than a bunch of horrible lawn. Seriously, lawns are the worst, and boring! Make a tiny farm or whatever, at least it’ll be interesting. Maybe a bunch of cacti? Do those work in… no those don’t work in places with a winter, do they? That wouldn’t make sense. Anyway we aren’t the experts
Tuesday, May 22nd
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Prospects for Single Payer Health Care with Rep. John Scibak and Deborah Levenson
“In Congress there are HR676, The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, and S1804, The Medicare for All Act, but, while growing in support, they are going nowhere. So, several states are looking to set up their own Single Payer plans. In Massachusetts, Rep. Denise Garlick and Sen. James Eldridge have introduced similar legislation, House Bill 2987 and Senate Bill 619. What are their prospects?” A good opportunity to support useful healthcare for you, yours, and all the other yous and yourses in the Commonwealth! We all need healthcare to not die of preventable disease, so it’s good to advocate for greater access to healthcare.
Thursday, May 24th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Creating Community for Women with Chronic Illness
“We hold a monthly support group for women living with a variety of chronic illnesses (e.g. autoimmune disorder, MS, arthritis, Crohn’s and colitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme disease, etc.). It is free and open to the public.”

Computers:

Tuesday, May 22nd
Click Workspace [9.5 Market St., Northampton MA] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Monitoring with Prometheus – Monthly Full Stack Meetup
Alberto Castro will come to talk about Prometheus! The man we all love, who gave us the fire-gift that stays the wolf and makes meat so tasty and delicious. We don’t understand how that relates to oh it’s a monitoring toolkit that’s open-source that is neat, Alberto will give you a rundown of when and where it might be a good idea to use Prometheus! Door code for the event and slots left are at the Meetup site! https://www.meetup.com/wmasswebdev/events/250097838/
Thursday, May 24th
Last Call Media [136 West St., Suite 01, Northampton MA] at 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Website Accessibility Presentation and Clinic
“Have you wondered if your website is accessible but don’t know where to start? Join us for a half-day interactive workshop where we provide a quick introduction to the layers of accessibility and then jump into a clinic, which is an opportunity for you to do an evaluation of your site using tools introduced. Based on the exercise, folks will determine the most critical accessibility errors found (if any), and leave with recommendations for implementing fixes.” It’s important to make sure that everyone can get the information your website has! It’s an important website!

Entertainment:

Thursday, May 24th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Anime Club
Watch anime! Why are there so many specialized high schools in anime? Like high schools where everyone only wears pineapples and are aspiring chefs. It seems like a lot to ask of a child to know they want to be in such a specialized environment.

Kids:

Monday, May 21st
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
STEAM Activities
Science! Technology! Engineering! Art! Mathematics! By their powers combined, they are activities that kids can do to learn things!
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Kids! Play with LEGO! It’s fun!
Tuesday, May 22nd
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Teen and Tween Art Club
Teens! Tweens! Eeens of any sort! Join this club to produce artworks of such staggering beauty that they inspire the adults around you to stop their endless work dismantling the world!
Wednesday, May 23rd
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
World Turtle Day
Celebrate World Turtle Day by making a turtle and eating turtle snacks! Wow. Wow that’s just… intense. First you bring a turtle to life, introduce it to the world and teach it to love… then you just chomp down on that. Jeez. For ages 12-18, please register by contacting 0eberli@westath.org!
Friday, May 25th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Laser Tag (Registration required) Ages 11 – 17 (Please use Garden Entrance)
Incinerate your friends with lasers at the library! Tragic.
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Library Lego Lady
Lots of Lego fun with the Lego Lady! Build! Build to the heavens! Craft to your heart’s content, and beyond! Create a second person, tell THEM to craft!
Saturday, May 26th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Saturday Stories, Songs, and Crafts
Craft a song, tell a story about a craft, sing about how storied you are, any of that! It’s all here!
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Special Storytime with Michelle Cuevas
“In Turtle’s shell there’s room for only one. But in Turtle’s heart, there is room for everyone! Join Berkshire author Michelle Cuevas as she reads from her new book The Town of Turtle. This tale of a lonely turtle who comes out of his shell to find friendship and community celebrates diversity and inclusion.” Adorable! Turtles are very good. They’re slow and they’re round and they like to slowly eat leaves, good job turtles!

Movies:

Wednesday, May 23rd
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Death and Taxes: A Film about War Tax Resisters and Their Motivations
“Twenty-eight people offer their motivations for –and methods– of resisting the war machine with their tax money. This unnarrated film introduces viewers to war tax refusal and redirecting tax dollars to peace. Most say it is a matter of conscience barring them from financially supporting war or other actions they find morally unacceptable. They explain that tax resistance can range from including a protest letter with full payment to withholding payment completely. Some of the resistors say they have taken on lifestyles that keep them below the legal threshold for taxable income. Others explain their drawn-out dealings with the IRS. A placard at one point explains that of the tens of thousands of tax resistors since World War II, fewer than 30 have been jailed. The combination of the speakers’ good humor and their apparent sincerity makes this film recommended for anyone interested in learning about using tax resistance as a method of protesting wars and war funding.”

RPGs:

Thursday, May 24th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
RPG Club is for fans of RPGs! Meet up with fellow players and chat about playing roles! Maybe try out one of the many RPGs made by Valley Creators!
Friday, May 25th
Camp Pomperaug [1174 Buckley Hwy, Union CT] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
NERO MA Ravenholt – The Bloody Road
“Hey Beauties! NERO MA Ravenholt has an event on May 25th-27th in Union, CT at Camp Pomperaug. Never larped before and want to try it out? We’d love to have you! Did your campaign just end and you’re looking for a new game? We have a special offer for those of you who are looking for a new home. We’re starting players who are coming from a LARP that’s ended at level 15. If you’re interested and have ANY questions, PM me and I’d be happy to answer them. https://www.facebook.com/events/143199673016596/” It’s a bit far away, but it seems like a fun LARP so why not give it a go?
Saturday, May 26th
Westfield Atheneum [6 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085] at 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Dungeons and Dragons
Contact Tristin Anderson at a mysterious pub by the name of trisdragon2@gmail.com to begin your wondrous adventure in the Boys and Girls Library Activity Room! SHAZAM!

Science:

Wednesday, May 23rd
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Genealogy Drop-in Lab
A free drop-in lab for all your family history needs! We don’t need to know anything extra about our family. Grampa always used to say we were descended from a being that was designed specifically to bring a terrible judgement upon the human race and that one day our purpose would be fulfilled and we were to never tell anyone and that’s good enough for us!
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Lyme Disease Education Symposium
Lyme disease is a hell of a scary thing! And it’s getting more prevalent because of well… because of a lot of factors that are all bad. Learn about it to help yourself and others! You’ll also learn how you can help as a Volunteer or Board Member for the organization!

May 14 – May 20th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

We’re going to have fun stuff at Nerd Nite NoHo this week! We’re going to be doing Beerology Beer Trivia at 7:00pm! So get here on time! We’re also going to be having the folks from Puzzled Escape Games in Eastworks! They’ll be bringing over some of their mobile game stuff, which will be real neat based on what we know about their main operation!

We saw Infinity War over the weekend with our mom and it was pretty fun and also wild to contemplate how much work it must have taken to put together this sort of silly extravagant get-together. We’re hoping the next one is like all our good movie friends at a murder-mystery party, though. We’ve never been fans of the big end-of-the-world-but-times-fifty Crossover Event That Changes Everything.

Go check out the Valley Creators page! As always, be sure to check out our Patreon and the Weekly Events page! There are a lot of fun things happening this and every week! And don’t forget to check out the updated Book Clubs List!

THIS WEEK

Art:

Tuesday, May 15th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Join Rhonda Fazio from Dyer Maker Studio for a “Dyeing” Experience
Okay we’re not professional marketers but “a dyeing experience” might not be the BEST way to sell this. Anyway though, a class to find out how to dye clothing! Sounds fun. Space is limited, so call 413-420-8101 to reserve a seat!
Wednesday, May 16th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Compass Roads Reading
A reading of Compass Roads – Poems about the Pioneer Valley! The Straw Dogs Writers Guild is putting this together. Here’s our poem about the Valley: The Pioneer Valley is a – nice place that has a lot of – people in it who do good work in a variety of creative fields – free verse is a sort of poem you can do without any effort – just not well.
Emily Dickinson Museum [280 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002] at 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Emily Dickinson Poetry Discussion Group
Session Topic: Revival, Temperance, and Intoxication in Emily Dickinson’s Amherst, leader: Melba Jensen. Speak about a great local poet with other people who also like her work!
Thursday, May 17th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Jones Library Stitchin’ Group
Stitch! A stitch in time saves 9, so it stands to reason that if you stitch ENOUGH ahead of time, you’ll be able to coast on those for a pretty long while. You’ll be able to enjoy your retirement clothed in hand-stitched luxury, looking back on your sensible decision to stitch in time instead of waiting until it wasn’t time!
Friday, May 18th
Smith College Museum of Art [20 Elm St, Northampton, MA 01063] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Commencement & Reunion Gallery Talk
A guided tour of “Modern Images of the Body from East Asia” led by Yao Wu, Jane Chance Carroll Curator of Asian Art. Learn more about a spectacular exhibition at a great local museum!

Board Games:

Saturday, May 19th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Palmer Scholastic Chess Tournament
There are four sections: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. It’s a 4-round Swiss System and there are trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Entry is free! This particular tournament is going to be played on a life-size chess board with real people at the whim of the villainous Doctor Doom.

Books:

Tuesday, May 15th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Children’s Book Writers Group
“Adults who write for children are invited to attend a critique group in the Greenfield Room the third Tuesday of each month from 6 to 8 pm. The group will be facilitated by Nell Wright. Participants will discuss skills, share tips and opportunities for development, and read and discuss their stories. For more information, Call the library at 413-772-1544.” Get better at writing with some fellow writers!
Yiddish Book Center [1021 West St., Amherst MA 01002] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
TALK | “People of the Picture Book:” The Many Diasporas, with Ilan Stavans
“The final lecture in this series showcases contemporary picture books from different cultural habitats, including the United States, Israel, Europe, Latin America, and the Arab world.”

Community:

Monday, May 14th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Opioid Overdose Prevention and Narcan Training
“Community members are invited to attend an opiod overdose prevention workshop and Narcan training. Co-sposored by the Opiod Task Force of Franklin County and North Quabbin Region and Tapestry Health, this event is open to the public. Information on treatment and recovery will be available.” Learn how to help your neighbors!
Wednesday, May 16th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Cambridge Focus Groups
“Cambridge Focus on behalf of Massachusetts Cannabis Control Board ( Mass. Department of Public Health) conducting focus groups. ” Talk to the Department of Health about what you think is important RE: Cannabis!
Saturday, May 19th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Adulting 101 – Find Your Perfect Job!
Teens and young adults ages 14-22, get some tips on how to get employment! Create a great cover letter and resume, interview well, and more! We recommend having your resume and cover letter consist solely of the phrase “GIVE ME THE JOB NOW” repeated as many times as it takes to fill the page.

Computers:

Thursday, May 17th
Northampton Community TV [380 Elm St., Northampton, MA] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
WordPress Developers and Admins
Talk about your current WordPress projects, bring forth problems and offer up solutions, talk about your favorite plugins, and most of all get in touch with a local community of designers who can help you out!

Entertainment:

Wednesday, May 16th
Historic Northampton [46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060-2406] at 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Readers’ Theatre: The Mill River Disaster of 1874
Elizabeth Sharpe, co-director of Historic Northampton and Author of ‘In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874′, will narrate a readers’ theatre presentation on the Mill River Disaster. Which stands to reason, when you think about it. Registration required, $8 for donors, $12 for non-members.
Saturday, May 19th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Swedish Ancestry Research Association
“Our program that month will be Scandinavian Desserts. Many of our members’ families have been in America so many years that they no longer know what many of the true Swedish recipes are that came with their ancestors. I, Esther Johnson, will be one of the presenters for this delicious meeting. The desserts will be accompanied with copies of the recipes. Coffee and tea will be available throughout the event. We will assist members with their genealogy during the meeting. Members bring lunch to share.” Dessert research is always a good plan.
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Victorian Lady: Dressing from Corset to Gloves with performance artist Kandie Carle
Sunday, May 20th
MYSTERY LOCATION at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Firefly Episodes 9, 10, 11, & Potluck!
Bring some food! Watch some good old fashioned space-cowboy television! Cowboys, but also spaceships! Two of your favorite things, presumably! It’s a fun show.

Kids:

Saturday, May 19th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Pig Out On Reading with Farmer Minor and Daisy the Pig!
It’s a pig! And some pugs! They’re going to hang out and read with you! Aaaagh pigs are cute and pugs are cute! Well, we suppose Farmer Minor is going to do the reading. Pigs are smart and good but famously they refuse to speak in public. They’re very shy, you see. We really wish pigs were not 300+ pounds, because they seem like such nice folks!
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Happier Family Comedy Show
Happier Valley Comedy is the heart of improv comedy in Western Mass! Let your family’s creativity flourish in an accepting improv atmosphere! Geared for kids aged 5-12, call 413-559-6336 to get tickets!
Sunday, May 20th
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Special Storytime: Nadia Hohn
“In Malaika’s Winter Carnival, Malaika has moved to Canada, where everything is different. It’s cold, no one understands when she talks, and Carnival is nothing like the celebration Malaika knows from home. Written in a blend of standard English and Caribbean patois, author Nadia Hohn tells a warm story about the importance of family, especially when adjusting to a new home. During this special storytime, Hohn will delight families with an interactive, lively, and musical program exploring Caribbean songs, rhymes, and games.” A good book and a fun storytime!

Science:

Monday, May 14th
World War 2 Club [50 Conz St., Northampton, MA] at 7:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Nerd Nite NoHo: Life in the Earth’s Hot, Dark, Crust & Let Me Google That For You!

It is estimated that 20% of Earth’s microbes live in Earth’s crust. How do these microbes live there? What do they eat? Do they cooperate with one another or compete for resources? What can they teach us about origin of life and life on other planets? ‘Let me Google that for you’. A look at the more esoteric features of Google search in Google and Google Scholar. Advanced search, search tools and how to get the most relevant results will help you ferret out the good bits and leave behind the chaff.