RPGs

March 13th – March 19th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Most important thing this week? NERDSummit 2017! It’s great, you’re great, you should head there and be great at a great event. You can find out more at NERDSummit.org, and we feel like we really need to emphasize that there’s free food there so basically it’s the best.

In other news: wow, did you get a chance to check out the new Zelda? Dang. Dang heck. That’s a hell of a game. We’ve had the opportunity to play a tiny bit, and it’s just so danged neat as heck. We picked a very good time to be friends with a person who owns a WiiU!

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, March 13th
Historic Northampton [46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060-2406] at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
States of Incarceration Opening Reception
A travelling exhibit from the Humanities Action Lab examining prison in the US. At 7pm, the group Voices From Inside will perform Voices Carry, a collection of poetry readings from formerly incarcerated women.
Thursday, March 16th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Cookies with a Curator
Not sure who’s up this month, but have some cookies and talk about art! What’s not to like?

Books:

Tuesday, March 14th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Roger Ekirch, American Sanctuary
In 1797 with the bloodiest mutiny suffered by the British Royal Navy, the HMS Hermione, left one of the mutineers on American shores. John Adams sanctioned his extradition to Britai, igniting a political firestorm. Ekirch lays out the stories of the Robbins affair and the constituional crisis it created soon after in he US!
Wednesday, March 15th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Book Talk with Ed Orzechowski: You’ll Like It Here
Ed Orzechowski tells the story of Donald Vitkus, who was committed to Belchertown State School in 1949 when he was six years old. He was clinically labeled a “moron”, and spent a lifetime convincing others and himself after the dehumanizing experience of schooling that he wasn’t something less. To register for the talk, call 413-283-3330 ext 0!
Saturday, March 18th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Super Hero Party With Lisa Yee
Calling all capes! Super Saturday with Lisa Yee is going to be great! Celebrate the release of Batgirl at Super Hero High, costumes encouraged! Check out this excellent new entry in the series and have a great time doing it!

Community:

Tuesday, March 14th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Diabetes: Our Journey to Improve Our Health
Learn more about the effects of diabetes on your heart at this presentation!
Wednesday, March 15th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Ides of March Political Postcard Party
Join your fellow Valley citizens and write some postcards to make your voice heard! Put your beliefs into action by letting the White House and your representatives about what you find important! Postcards, pens, and addresses for local and national politicians will be provided along with some light refreshments!
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 7:45 PM
MA Forest Rescue Campaign
Rescue forests in our great state! Forests are a general good that could use more protecting. Lend a hand and be a helper for the woods that need it! Work in the spirit of the Lorax, a Mass native!

Computers:

Saturday, March 18th
UMass Integrated Sciences Building [661 N. Pleasant St., UMass Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003] at 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
NERD Summit 2017
The main event! The big deal! The summit that’s going to be a very excellent time for everyone who attends it! NERDSummit 2017 is going to have over 40 sessions across two days! Get job-seeking advice! Learn how to build a more responsive website! Learn anything and everything you could imagine about development!
UMass Integrated Sciences Building [661 N. Pleasant St., UMass Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003] at 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Agile Methods Meetup
At the NERDSummit you’ll have a chance to learn about Agile, the methodology of the moment! What works for you? What doesn’t? How much can you apply and in what manner can you apply it?
Sunday, March 19th
UMass Integrated Sciences Building [661 N. Pleasant St., UMass Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003] at 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
NERD Summit 2017
The NERDSummit! Delightful computer related talks and talking! Luminaries of the field mingling in our fair Valley! It’ll be a great weekend!
UMass Integrated Sciences Building [661 N. Pleasant St., UMass Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003] at 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
March 2017 Western Mass Drupal Users Group Meeting
Drupal! There’s a whole day of Drupal at the NERDSummit! It’s a cavalcade! Drupal 101, Drupal Views, Drupal 8 tips and tricks, real world config management, and finally check out SaaS or Creating a Flexible Website!

Entertainment:

Wednesday, March 15th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Punishment in Paradise: the History of Incarceration in Northampton, 1654 – Present
Retired lawyer and judge as well as native of Northampton Mike Ryan will discuss crime and punishment in Northampton and the development of the series of Northampton jails and other houses of correction. How philosophies about incarceration have changed in our fair Valley over the last 350 ears.
Thursday, March 16th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Anime Club
Watch anime! Watch it with pals! Watch it with whomever you’d like! There’s some good anime, we’ve been told.

History:

Saturday, March 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Meadow City Historians
At the quarterly meeting of the Meadow City Historians archivist Julie Barlett Nelson and local history librarian Elise Bernier-Feeley will discuss special collections relating to local history! To join up with MCH, email info [at] historicnorthampton.org and tell them about your research interests!

Kids:

Wednesday, March 15th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Wednesday Wizards
Learning and fun combine to make fulearnun at the library! Learn a scientific concept and experiment with it to cement what you learn, a new guest presenter each time!
Thursday, March 16th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Enjoy a fun afternoon playing with LEGO! Great fun for all ages!
Saturday, March 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Scientific Kids Club
Explore weather and meteorology with Steven and Ralph! Call 413-587-1010 to register!

Movies:

Wednesday, March 15th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Film Screening: Harold and Maude
A classic starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon. The friendship between a septugenarian and a young man dealing with absentee parents leads to comedy and drama!

RPGs:

Thursday, March 16th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
Have a good time pretending to be someone else at the library! But like as part of an RPG, not just to freak out a librarian.

Science:

Monday, March 13th
The World War 2 Club [50 Conz St., Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Nerd Nite NoHo
Learn, laugh, and make new friends! We’ll be talking Game of Thrones and music theory at this Nerd Nite, neatly creating yet another Nerd Nite with absolutely no unifying theme! It’ll be fun!

February 13th – February 19th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

First of all! Next month is NERDSummit! They asked us to tell you this, and they also gave us some money which is a very good way to get us to remember to do a thing! Check it out March 18th 9am – 6pm and 19th 10am – 5pm at the UMass Integrated Sciences Building! There are going to be a lot of great folks there to learn from and workshops for everyone from absolute beginners or non-coders to advanced coders!

So hey also we’ve been really digging Pandemic Legacy recently AND BUT ALSO we just got to play Seafall, which is the newest Rob Daviau creation and it’s a heck of a game. We just got to play the introductory bit, but it was a pretty decent combination of simple decisions and complicated effects.

The story being told also seems interesting. Sort of a fantasy colonialism but with a really obvious bent toward how incredibly short-sighted the provinces doing the colonizing are. Lots of “the locals say that there’s a VERY GOOD REASON to not do what we’re about to do, and they also demonstrated it directly with several very compelling examples but on the other hand aren’t we the smartest and best? Yes.”

“Anyway we did the thing and now half our crew have spontaneously combusted in what we can only assume is an entirely separate event.”

You should definitely check out Nerd Nite NoHo this week! It’ll be a really good time and we always appreciate seeing you there! As always half of the money plus whatever you want to put in the donation box goes to charity! It’s a very good system for doing good things for folks.

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, February 13th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Learn to Paint the 45 Million Dollar Flower
Possibly the fastest way we can imagine to save for retirement! Award-winning pastel artist and teacher Gregory Maichack will teach you to paint Georgia O’Keeffe’s elegant Jimson Flower and then sell it for the price that people are willing to pay for a painting of this nice flower: $45.4 million dollars. Why haven’t we already done this! It’s so simple!
Tuesday, February 14th
Mead Art Museum [41 Quadrangle Dr, Amherst, MA 01002] at 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Mead Reimagined: Take 2
The debut of Kota Ezawa’s “Gardner Museum Revisited”, which recreates 13 paintings stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990! The paintings were worth over $500 million and the mystery is still unsolved because no on has ever been smart enough to catch us wait nO HOW DO WE DELETE POSTS
Wednesday, February 15th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Knitting Clinic
Having trouble with your knitting projects? want to modify a pattern? Bring stalled projects of any type to the knitting clinic so they can help!
Thursday, February 16th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Cookies with a Curator
Informal conversation and show and tell with the Forbes Library collection. And cookies!
Friday, February 17th
Emily Dickinson Museum [280 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002] at 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Emily Dickinson Poetry Discussion Group
The session topic will be “Emily Dickinson and the Art of Hiding”. So if you really want to impress them, just don’t show up and say you were there but you’re incredible at hiding. That’s using your noodle.
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Submissions and Revisions
A free drop-in group of writers who gather to polish and send out submissions of work to magazines, agents, and editors! The submissions process can be terrifying and demoralizing, so do it with a group of friends who’ll applaud every time you shout “Sent!”

Board Games:

Saturday, February 18th
Comics n’ More [31 Union Street, Easthampton MA 01027] at 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Mutants and Masterminds!
Why read about superheroes when you be superheroes? Well, probably because of the inherent difficulty in getting together a lot of folks to play an RPG regularly. That’s what this is for though! New players are always welcome for a wonderful time battling evil!

Books:

Wednesday, February 15th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Lisa Carey, The Stolen Child
Lisa Carey will discuss her book about magic and love and secrets and all that fascinating stuff. Set in Ireland in 1959, the novel follows a woman whose hands can mystically harm as she begins a tumultuous affair with a mysterious American woman who visits the secluded island on which she lives and the events of a winter full of terrifying and possibly mystical troubles!
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Book Talk & Signing: Katherine Anderson
Katherine will talk about her novel Hospital Hill, set in the Northampton State Hospital. In it, Valerie Martin – a former employee – returns after the closure of the hospital and discovers a dark secret! Why does no one ever return to an abandoned asylum and discover a delightful secret?
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.
Thursday, February 16th
Gamble Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Roxane Gay: Flashpoint!
The best-selling author of books such as An Untamed State and Bad Feminist will present a lecture exploring social critique and innovative reasoning on race, gender, and identity.
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Jilly Gagnon, #famous Book Prom!
Prizes for the best dressed at this book prom! Debut author Jilly Gagnon will talk about her novel about falling in love in front of the whole world and the terrifying thrill ride of social media and also liking another person!

Comic Books:

Saturday, February 18th
Comics n’ More [31 Union Street, Easthampton MA 01027] at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
LGBTQ Comics Meet-up
A good conversation with friendly people in a comic shop. Meet new people and talk about comics!

Computers:

Thursday, February 16th
The Dirty Truth [29 Main St., Northampton] at 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
User Experience, Accessibility, and Inclusive Design
For digital makers who are interested in creating products and services that provide a good experience for everyone! Things like considering whether or not your UI is readable to people who don’t see a difference between red and green!
Northampton Community TV [380 Elm St., Northampton, MA] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
WordPress Developers and Admins
Talk about current projects, problems and solutions for members, BuddyPress and bbPress, and installing SSL Certificates! It’s a great chance to get a rundown of some useful information about WordPress and to meet friendly people!

Entertainment:

Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Anime Club
Watch some anime! We’ve heard Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure is… weird? Good? We honestly can’t tell, but at least we can say we’ve heard that it exists, which means something!

History:

Monday, February 13th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Conversation with Author Series: Derek Strahan’s new book “Lost Springfield, Massachusetts”
Derek Strahan takes readers on a tour of the historic landmarks and wonderful old buildings that are living monuments to the history of a city of firsts, ad well as a look at some of the most historically significant places that no longer exist!
Tuesday, February 14th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
A Polish Odyssey
Family historian Sara Campbell will tell the unique story of the Rzewski family and their travails as they attempt to reunite in their new Holyoke Home over the course of conscription into the Russian Army, children being scattered by WW1, and a pacific crossing! It’s a story of the deep familial love that keeps hope alive over the course of a long and difficult immigration process!

Kids:

Wednesday, February 15th
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Story & Craft Time @ North Amherst Library
Hear a story, make a craft, generally enjoy the fact that you’re a kid and you’re having a good day!
Thursday, February 16th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Come Play Laser Tag in the Library!
Cauterize your friends! It seems like it makes very little sense to provide teens with lasers and set them loose in a library but hey we’re not in charge. Grades 5th – 8th, please sign up in advance!
Friday, February 17th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Stuffed Animal Sleepover in the Library!
See what your favorite doll or stuffed animal or action figure gets up to when they spend the night at the library! Hear a special story and then leave your stuffed pal for a night of fun! You can drop them off any time between 10am and 7pm! Reunite with them on Saturday at 10:30am and enjoy breakfast and pictures of their sleepover! This is so frigging adorable we cannot handle it.

Movies:

Wednesday, February 15th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Film Screening: Richard Pryor, Live on the Sunset Strip
Richard Pryor! Classic of comedy, in one of his first performances after his very public battle with drugs. A venerable comic mind tackles a lot of topics and we’re like 90% certain holds up without that wrenching disconnect you get with some older comedy specials.
Saturday, February 18th
MYSTERY LOCATION at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Potluck and Brazil (Director’s Cut)
Bring food and/or drink to share! After a nice dinner, the Western Mass Sci-Fi Group will watch a classic of weird SF, Brazil! It’s a Terry GIlliam film so you’re in for really distinctive visual design and a plot you can understand a bit in retrospect.  Sign up for the Meetup Group to find out where this is!

RPGs:

Thursday, February 16th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
Play an RPG! Be a person you’re not in a world you aren’t! Or… or you could role-play exactly who and where you are! Just sort of recurse through your current experiences like you’re in a hall of mirrors!

Science:

Monday, February 13th
The World War 2 Club [50 Conz St., Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Nerd Nite NoHo: Trees and Nerds
Join us for another fun Nerd Nite! Half of all proceeds go to charity! This time around Henry Lappen will be around to teach us about trees and their various mysteries, and Melissa Lewis-Gentry will speak about nerd communities and how to host nerd events in a really meta talk!
Saturday, February 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Scientific Kids Club
Explore geology and volcanoes with Steven and Ralph this month! We’re assuming Stephen and Ralph is what the library calls their pet volcanoes.

January 23rd – January 29th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

We hope you had a delightful weekend, we had a good one.

Anyway! On to the new stuff this week: You should take a look at Direct Action Comics, a new gallery show at UMass that starts January 30th and goes until February 25th! There’s also a reception on February 2nd. From the mouth of the very horse:

The exhibition “Direct Action Comics: Politically Engaged Comics and Graphic Novels” will present over 50 of the most influential and provocative graphic novels dealing with political and social issues. The exhibition will include printed copies of each book plus original art for representative pages and a variety of associated materials, including preliminary sketches and drafts for outstanding an important works, examples of rare posters and promotional materials, and a selection of important precursors for contemporary graphic novels including underground comics and the work of the political artists collective who produce World War III comics.

Also we’d again like to draw your attention to the forum on combating climate change this weekend on the 28th!

On Saturday, January 28 at 3 pm we will be holding a forum “Climate Action in a Time of  Crisis”  in the sanctuary of First Churches, 129 Main Street in Northampton. Featured will be State Senate President Stan Rosenberg and other representatives from the Massachusetts legislature, climate scientists and activists to discuss the problem and an action plan that will protect our earth from climate destruction. The forum will be one step in forming our segment of the massive movement that will be necessary to protect our earth and the generations to come.

Have a great rest of the week, lovely readers!

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, January 25th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Crafternoons in the Library
Unwind in the teen room and make some neat crafts! It’s a fun time and you should come up with some new craft ideas if you think that sounds fun!
Thursday, January 26th
Mead Art Museum [41 Quadrangle Dr, Amherst, MA 01002] at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Team Mead Presents: Create & Curate
Become a curator for the night as you cast your vote for the Mead’s next acquisition! Presentations will be done by students participating in the class Collecting 101: Acquiring Art for the Mead. You’ll get refreshments, crafts, and a musical guest! It’s pretty neat and you should support a lovely local museum with your voting and refreshment eating!

Board Games:

Tuesday, January 24th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Game On
Play board games at the Holyoke Public Library! It’s a good time for young and old and we really have to again recommend you check out Cosmic Encounter it’s just amazing.
Thursday, January 26th
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Family Game Night
Play board games with your family and also your family at the Holyoke Public Library, which is to say the friendly staff!

Books:

Monday, January 23rd
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
World Literature Book Club
There’s 100% not time for you to read the book, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, but you can attend to say hi and find out about the NEXT book they’re going to talk about!
Holyoke Public Library [250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Theatre on Mt. Tom
Join author Jacqueline Lynch as she talks about her soon to be released book about the history of theater on Mt Tom, from vaudeville to the final acts in the 1960s at the Mt. Tom Playhouse!
Wednesday, January 25th
Morrison Room, Willits-Hallowell Center, Mount Holyoke College at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
OFF-SITE: Kate Hennessy, Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty
Saturday, January 28th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Sunderland Short Story Series
Court Dorsey will be reading “Assembly Line” by B. Traven, and Alice Grendon will be reading “Pricing Green Beans” by local author Juanita Nelson, plus there’s going to be one bonus story! Everyone loves a good story, and we are assuming that these are some great stories, hence these folks feel like they should share them. This is a perfectly logical line of thinking! Good job, us.

Community:

Wednesday, January 25th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Henshaw Society
Meet for a friendly debate about current topics in culture and politics. It’s a structured debating society where two speakers each debate the Pro and Con sides of an argument and then people talk about it afterward! It sounds fun, we did debate in high school and it was pretty fun! Good way to hone the argumentation skills.
Saturday, January 28th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Forbes Library Tour
Learn about the wide ranging services available at our spectacular local library! It’s a useful, beautiful, friendly place.

Entertainment:

Tuesday, January 24th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Adventures Travelling in India
A slide show will be presented about a trip to India including Kerela, Rajasthan, and other places in what we can only describe as a pretty great use of the library.

Kids:

Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Kids’ Craft Club
Read a story, make a craft, enjoy being a kid! It’s nice, give it a shot.
Thursday, January 26th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Build LEGO structures in the company of friends, an activity that all can agree is fun for kids from ages 9-90. Also, 1-8 and 91-…. … 120? What’s the oldest anyone has ever been? Apparently 122 years, 164 days according to Wikipedia. Dang. Anyway, after 123 we can’t guarantee LEGO is fun anymore!
Saturday, January 28th
Odyssey Bookshop [9 College St, South Hadley, MA 01075] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Make Your Own Friendship Bracelet, Saturday Morning Kids
Get your best friend and head to the Odyssey! Make some friendship bracelets using the materials and support they provide, or bring your own! Seal your friendship in the most solid of manners possible: via bracelet!
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Valentine Card-Making Party
Get a friend and make some creative Valentines! The museum will provide all the materials you need to make some fun stuff for your friends and family and classmates! Ages 3 and up with an adult!
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Saturday Stories, Songs, and Crafts (Ages 0-5)
A great time for kids where you will hear stories, sing songs, and make little craft things!
Sunday, January 29th
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Special Sundays in the Studio: Our Feathered Friends
There’s no description for this so we’re assuming it has something to do with EITHER meeting some really cool birds OR just human beings who grew feathers!

Movies:

Wednesday, January 25th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
In Pursuit of Peace
A feature length documentary film that makes the case for unarmed civilian peacemaking and mediation as a response to violent conflicts. It was made about two Canadian men who work for the Non-Violent Peace Force and it follows them through their work. It’s going to be introduced by Annie Scariff, an advocate for the organization who’ll speak about their current activities. It’s presented by the Northampton Committee to Stop War!
Friday, January 27th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Matilda
Popcorn and children’s Carrie but with a happy ending movie Matilda! Matilda is a pretty wonderful film that’s fun for all kids who secretly think they’re the most intelligent person in the world and also maybe have psychic powers! It is based on the classic book by Roald Dahl

Science:

Monday, January 23rd
Union Station [125 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
“Where am I?” and Other Fundamental Questions Robots Think Long and Hard to Answer
What is a robot? What can they do for us? How do they work? Why do they find it hard to do things that we find trivial? What will they look like a decade from today? Joydeep Biswas, assistant professor of informtion and computer science at UMass, will talk to you about these questions and more! Since it’s a SciTech Cafe, expect adorable children to ask questions!

January 16th – January 22nd

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Why is this issue late? Well, on the one hand computer troubles since we’ve had to reinstall Windows but on the other much more accurate hand we thought we were like an hour from the end of The Witness and it turns out we were like 10 hours from the end oh GOSH that’s a beautiful frigging game start to finish. Just spectacular. Probably the best puzzle game we’ve played in a decade, and that’s a decade that includes the likes of SpaceChem! Very neat, highly recommended.

Speaking of highly recommended, why not contribute to the last leg of the Kickstarter for the spectacular dark Western comic book The Other Son? It’s in the last legs this week and you can help push it past the finish line! The starting contribution gets you the comic for $4, and that’s pretty much the going rate for a comic book these days. Why not buy a comic AND make a local creator’s day a bit brighter?

We also got word from a local organizer this week about an event on the last weekend of January that we think you should probably attend! It’s a forum on what Massachusetts can do to help combat climate change. If you don’t really want to see a future where large portions of the US coast are no longer habitable, this is a chance to help make sure that reality doesn’t come to pass!

On Saturday, January 28 at 3 pm we will be holding a forum “Climate Action in a Time of  Crisis”  in the sanctuary of First Churches, 129 Main Street in Northampton. Featured will be State Senate President Stan Rosenberg and other representatives from the Massachusetts legislature, climate scientists and activists to discuss the problem and an action plan that will protect our earth from climate destruction. The forum will be one step in forming our segment of the massive movement that will be necessary to protect our earth and the generations to come.

Get to it, folks!

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, January 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Forbes Library Zine Club
ZINES! Revolutionary! ZINES! Amazing! ZINES! Hyper-specific! ZINES! Building community from the ground up! Learn to put together and distribute some ZINES!
Friday, January 20th
Emily Dickinson Museum [280 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002] at 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Emily Dickinson Poetry Discussion Group
Hear Joy Ladin Gottesman, Professor of English at Yeshiva University, speak about Emily Dickinson! She’s published a bunch of essays on Dickinson, and a book-length study, Soldering the Abyss: Emily Dickinson and Modern American Poetry. We always lose our solder in the abyss.
Saturday, January 21st
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Teen Craft – Loom Weaving (Ages 11-17)
Learn how to weave on a loom! That’s just good preparation, you never know when loom-weaving is going to come back into vogue and you definitely don’t want to be left behind when all your friends bust out their looms.

Board Games:

Tuesday, January 17th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Palmer Library Family Game Night
Play games! Bring your own or use the vast library at the library! It’s a good time for young and old.

Community:

Saturday, January 21st
Jones Library [43 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Racial Equity Leadership
There’s not really a description of this one on the site, but we’re assuming this is a get together that encourages folks to take leadership roles in ensuring that discrimination is appropriately dealt with? Let us know what you think about it if you go, it sounds interesting!

Computers:

Tuesday, January 17th
MYSTERY LOCATION at 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Building Shell Tools with node.js – Monthly Full Stack Meetup
Sequoia McDowell gets to present the Node.js talk he was hoping to give in December! It’ll be a blast, talking about building shell tools in Javascript and it is both useful and fun!
Thursday, January 19th
Hampshire College Weneczek House [205 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
January 2017 Western Mass Drupal Users Group Meeting
There are going to be “show and tell” presentations about anything that you’ve worked on recently or just something you think the group would be interested in! Sounds like a perfect first time to attend, as well!

Entertainment:

Monday, January 16th
Modern Myths [34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Queers in Comics and Games
Talk about comics and games with friendly locals at friendly local shop Modern Myths!
Thursday, January 19th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Anime Club
We aren’t really big on anime most of the time but we’ve heard good things through the General Nerd Osmosis Network about Mob Psycho 100? Oh it’s by ONE! That’s the person who did One Punch Man! That means it’s probably real gross and a bit mature but also real funny. It even has a similar dead-eyed main character!

History:

Sunday, January 22nd
Deerfield Community Center [80 Old Main St, Deerfield, MA 01342] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Winter Lecture Series: Revolutionary Acts: Tea, Taxes and Tempests
Learn about the inciting acts of the American Revolution! How did a group of people who were pretty danged happy being British subjects get so angry at the Crown? A smart person will be there to explain some facets of the situation to you!

Kids:

Tuesday, January 17th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Kids’ Craft Club
Craft! No not Minecraft, craft craft! Physical objects that you can hold, throw, juggle, launch into orbit, all that jazz! It’ll be a blast and a half.
Wednesday, January 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Minecraft Club
Minecraft! No, not crafts! Virtual craft! Non-physical objects that bend to your every whim! You can emulate a computer in there and play Minecraft IN Minecraft!
Thursday, January 19th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
LEGO! No, not Minecraft and technically distinct due to being a more specific subset from crafts in general! Put together a bunch of fun stuff using the most versatile toy ever made.
Saturday, January 21st
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Northampton CommunityMusic Center Family Concert Series: Shiprock and Anchordog
See the continuing adventures of the beloved Shiprock and Anchordog! Two best friends will tell kids about the exciting adventures they’ve had and the new ways they’ve learned to look at the world!

Movies:

Wednesday, January 18th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Anomalisa Screening
Anomalisa is that one movie that looked really interesting a while back done up in stop-motion animation. Seems interesting enough, though it is kind of the four millionth movie about a middle-aged man finding himself. At least it looks neat!
Sunday, January 22nd
Yiddish Book Center [1021 West St., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Carvalho’s Journey
“A real-life nineteenth-century American western adventure story, Carvalho’s Journey tells the extraordinary tale of Solomon Nunes Carvalho (1815-97), an observant Sephardic Jew born in Charleston, South Carolina, who was a groundbreaking photographer, artist, and pioneer in American history.” Sounds like a danged intriguing tale.

RPGs:

Thursday, January 19th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
You get to pretend to be an Orc Bard, an Elf Bard, a futuristic techno Bard, the King of the Bards, a sort of modern-day rock and roll type Bard. Really, you can be any Bard you want to be in the world of your imagination!

January 1st – January 7th

The Valley Nerd Watch!

Happy New Year!

Hopefully you’re starting off properly! That means a nice slow morning where you ideally do not need to do much of anything because this is that post holiday sort of thing where no matter what you feel like you’re not getting quite as much time off as you needed.

Hey here’s something to start your year off right: some of our own local luminaries, UMass undergrad Kevin Harrington and UMass Astronomy Professor Min Yun have discovered Outrageously Luminous Galaxies! Which is neat as heck!

It’s basically what it sounds like honestly! They found galaxies that are so gigantically amazingly bright that they outshine every other thing we’ve ever found in the entire universe by orders of magnitude!

In fact, it’s a good indicator that maybe we gotta pull back on our naming conventions. Like they already have Ultra-Luminous and Hyper-Luminous objects, so now these have to be called something that puts into perspective just how much brighter they are. We don’t have much space to move if we find brighter objects! They’ve been calling them Outrageously Luminous and we like that so let’s go with that!

It’s pretty awesome that this groundbreaking work was done at our own UMass Amherst!

We hope you started off the year right, and we are here for all your local events and local creator news in 2017. You’re an excellent audience and we think each and every person who reads this newsletter deserves a fun time all the time.

Happy New Year!

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, January 7th
Modern Myths [34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Board Game Night
Play boardgames with friends and soon-to-be-friends as well as some of the friendly staff at Modern Myths! It’s a great night to try out something you may have been meaning to check out!

Books:

Saturday, January 7th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
David Austin, MD Author Reading
Local author David Austin will discuss Therese’s Dream – Maine to Darfur: a Doctor’s Story. The book chronicles his time working with Doctor’s Without Borders.
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
David Austin, MD Author Reading
Local author David Austin will discuss Therese’s Dream – Maine to Darfur: a Doctor’s Story. The book chronicles his time working with Doctor’s Without Borders.

Card Games:

Friday, January 6th
Modern Myths [34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM
Friday Night Magic: Casual/101
Learn one of the most popular games of existence with some of the most wonderful staff in existence! The folks at Modern Myths will help ease you into the game, help you test new decks, and explain strategy! No experience necessary! A $5 day pass is required to attend, returned as store credit immediately. You also get a special foil promo card!

Community:

Thursday, January 5th
Cultivate and Nest [2 Bay Rd., Suite 100, Hadley, MA] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Hack for Western Mass
It’s time to update! We’ll talk about the organizations we’ve contacted, and projects that we can all get set to do! Teams are going to solidify and projects are going to launch! It’s a great time to get involved!

Computers:

Tuesday, January 3rd
The Foundry [24 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Northampton Webdive – After Work
A night of nice conversation with people who do development work. It’s a place to gripe about your work, talk about your plans, and just talk about whatever you feel like with some nice people!

Entertainment:

Wednesday, January 4th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
First Wednesday Speaker Series
A mystery speaker! But hey, it’s probably someone neat, right? For all we know they got the Queen! That would be cool, yeah?
Thursday, January 5th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Anime Club
Watch some neat anime! Evangelion maybe? Hamtaro? Fruits Basket? We have nothing to go on for these but the titles we’re really bad anime fans in that we haven’t heard about much anime. Stein’s Gate? We’re pretty sure we heard that was a neat time-travel story, watch that!

Kids:

Tuesday, January 3rd
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Kids’ Craft Club
Children ages 5-12 will have a great time reading a story and then making a fun craft item! We do recommend that you caution your children to not put more than about a third of their unearthly power into whatever item they do create. It’s important not to leave any obvious weak points for adventurers! Never more than 50% of your eldritch energy should be item-locked!
Thursday, January 5th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
LEGO Club
Play with the best toy ever! There’s no question this is a great time for all kids.
Friday, January 6th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:15 PM to 4:15 PM
Sensory Storytime
A special sensory storytime involving singing, dancing, reading, and other fun activities for young kids and their caretakers! If your kid has trouble sitting still, this is the program for you! This is designed to accomodate kids with special challenges, but it’s open to every kid!

RPGs:

Thursday, January 5th
Palmer Public Library [1455 N Main St, Palmer, MA 01069] at 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
RPG Club
Play a game with friendly people where you pretend to be other people! You can pretend to be a bunch of beet farmers in an agrarian society. Or you can pretned to be a bunch of adventurers! Or a shadowy gang of criminals in the future! It’s all up to you, except you CAN’T pretend to be Mario. Nintendo’s lawyers are really strict.
Modern Myths [34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Dungeons and Dragons
Play Dungeons and Dragons with a bunch of nice folks. Generally this is a sort of encounters-based game when it’s at the shop so don’t worry too much about whether or not they’ll have a spot for you. Also for real play a Bard, nothing is ever more fun than playing a Bard!

December 26th – December 31st

The Valley Nerd Watch Christmas Magic Special!

The special magic is that this is coming out on Christmas Day! That’s dedication, you’re welcome. We’re hanging out with our beloved mom, we hope you’re having a decent day with whatever person place or thing delights you!

Not strictly because it’s a holiday, but because it’s a Sunday and just relaxing and feeling should really be a regular weekly thing for everyone.

There’s a Steam sale on! We recommend you purchase a whole ton of Choice of Games games because they’re the only people currently putting things on Steam that we’re currently aware of who employ a Local Creator!

Let us know if there’s other stuff on Steam we should talk about because boy howdy do not underestimate how much we want to talk about video games, it is a shocking display of willpower that this is not just a videogame blog.

Anyway! Happy holidays everyone, this is a bit of a light one on account of these holidays!

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, December 29th
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
New Year’s Eve Noisemaker and Crown Making Workshop
Oh they’ll try to stop you. They’ll try to keep you from making that incessant sound. They’re going to come after you with everything they have to prevent the sonic assault that has already ruptured their eardrums from destroying all they hold dear. But then, my friend… then you’ll point to the CROWN.

Entertainment:

Tuesday, December 27th
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Special Storytime: Kevin Barry
As per the listing “Join Kevin Barry for this special storytime that follows one family through the course of a day as they march through meadows like ants, dive to the depths like seals, play hide and seek like fireflies, and chatter like raccoons.” Sounds delightful!
Thursday, December 29th
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CactusHead Puppets Present: The Pied Piper of Hamelin
As per the listing “The town of Hamelin has a rat problem, and there’s only one person who can help! CactusHead Puppets brings the story of The Pied Piper to life in this comedic, updated adaptation of the traditional folktale. Not only does the town find a musical solution to pest control, but the kids of Hamelin also teach the grownups a lesson about generosity. In the end, the townspeople all come together in celebration. Join puppeteers John and Megan Regan as they present this classic tale, told with multiple puppetry styles, and plenty of dancing rats!” Sounds like a fable that was terrifying in the original German and is now a lot more heartwarming!
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
CactusHead Puppets Present: The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Same as the other listing, but in this one human sized rats play all the characters.
Friday, December 30th
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CactusHead Puppets Present: The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Same as the other listing, but in this one the entire audience will be rats except for you.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
CactusHead Puppets Present: The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Same as the other listing, but in this one man was the real rat all along.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art [125 West Bay Rd., Amherst, MA 01002] at 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Whole Book Approach Storytime with Megan Dowd Lambert
Families will get to experience a storytime with Megan Dowd Lambert, followed by a signing of copies of her books, including “Reading Picture Books with Children”!
Saturday, December 31st
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
First Night: John Porcino
Stories and songs from a renowned storyteller and musician! They’ll light up a chilly night for all ages. It’s offered as a part of First Night Northampton 2017, and admittance requires a button!
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
First Night: Sam Perry
A family jam with a nice person who plays the acoustic guitar and sings great children’s music! It’s offered as a part of First Night Northampton 2017, and admittance requires a button!

Kids:

Tuesday, December 27th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Treats at 2: Game Time
Play some boardgames with friends! It’s a fun time and boardgames are good to have fun times with when you’ve got friends around.
Wednesday, December 28th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Treats at 2: LEGO Club
LEGO: the best toy. It does try to hurt you, though, when you step on it. But it’s amazing, and everyone loves it. Little blocks you can turn into anything and everything! Do it with friends and it’s twice as fun! For children 5 and up!
Thursday, December 29th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Treats at 2: Kids Craft Club
Make winter-themed crafts with coooool folks! Enjoy tasty treats while you do so. For ages 6-12!
Friday, December 30th
Forbes Library [20 West St, Northampton, MA 01060] at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Film Screening: Beauty and the Beast
Watch an animated classic and enjoy free popcorn! Suitable for children of all ages!

Movies:

Tuesday, December 27th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Film Screening: The Secret Life of Pets
Illumination, the makers of the weirdly successful Despicable Me films, made one about cute pets that stars like 20 comedians we think are pretty good. We didn’t really hear much about it… which doesn’t mean it’s awful but like, yeah. Hm. Well hey look it’s basically guaranteed that anyone young enough will like literally any movie you show them, so why not take a chance to hang out at the library with your kids and watch something that’s probably okay? It’s free!
Greenfield Public Library [402 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301] at 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Film Screening: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
See that wizardy kiddo in one of his best adventures on the silver screen! Harry Potter is beloved by all, young and old, and this is the one where he stages a big old prison break and confronts the frankly horrifying correctional system of the wizarding world. Seriously, they force you to stay in a cell where monsters eat your hope, that’s messed up!
Wednesday, December 28th
Sunderland Public Library [20 School St., Sunderland, MA 01375] at 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Film Screening: The BFG
This story was like 4 pages long, right? That’s so hard to stretch into a whole film! It’s probably beautiful to look at, at a minimum. Not like Disney is working with anything but a literal mountain of money, so the effects have to be great. We think we heard alright stuff about this one. Also again, free movie that you can take a kid to, hard to argue with if you’ve got a kid to entertain.

RPGs:

Wednesday, December 28th
Modern Myths [34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, MA 01060] at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
RPG Encounters: Star Wars
Play Star Wars because you’re excited about Star Wars! The RPG will allow you to explore the nooks and crannys of the universe, acting out your own personal Rogue One!
Thursday, December 29th
Modern Myths [34 Bridge Street #4, Northampton, MA 01060] at 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Dungeons and Dragons
Play one of the classic RPGs at Modern Myths! New players are always welcome, and there’s a friendly crowd there every week!

It’s Epimas Eve!

We need to draw your attention to the wonderful Worlds Without Master, the magazine curated by the excellent Local Creator Epidiah Ravachol!

Because it’s Epimas Eve! Tomorrow is Epimas, the holiday we all celebrate and understand implicitly! In order to celebrate Epimas, Epidiah put a bunch of awesome games and stories and comics on sale in convenient sale bundles large and small!

Here’s how it works:

  • Choose a bundle from below. When you add it to your cart, you will be prompted for your gift recipient’s email address and name.
  • You will be able to download your copy of the bundle immediately.
  • Your recipient will get an email from me on Epimas morn (Dec. 24th) with instructions for downloading their copy of the bundle.
  • If you buy $45 or more, use the coupon code “Abundance” to receive an additional 20% off.

You’ve got a little while left, buy a bunch of fun things!