Make the Most of a Busy Fall Weekend in Western Mass.
The Haberdashery | Easthampton
This coming weekend, four of the five schools in the area are hosting their annual friends and family weekends, which means it’s going to be bustling all over Hampshire County in western Massachusetts. Why is that a big deal, you ask? It means there’s even more going on for you to enjoy! So whether you’re here to see your student, here by chance, or live here, take advantage of some of the extra happenings this weekend.
Back to Skills
Two local modern maker businesses, Beehive Sewing Studio + Workspace in Northampton and The Haberdashery in Easthampton, bring you the first annual SkillFair on Saturday, October 25. If you’ve ever been curious about making your own lip balm or adding zippers to things, Skillfair is packed with skill-based demonstrations and educational booths to get you started. With events all day long in two locations, you can pop in for just the thing that you want to learn and maybe even help judge a contest.
Dance, theater & music
Family and friends weekend means there are lots of opportunities for the students to strut their stuff on stage. Just like other times of the year, these events are still open to the community, too. At Smith College, you can catch the Performing Art Department’s The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (October 24, 25, 30, 31, November 1, 7:30 p.m. in Theater 14) or Montage, an annual Family Weekend extravaganza with performances by groups like the orchestra and a capella singers (October 25, 8 p.m. at John M. Greene Hall). At Amherst College, the symphony orchestra takes on “The Three B’s: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms” (October 24 at 8 p.m.).
Extra special experiences
If you’re in downtown Amherst, you’ll notice the trolleys running all weekend from downtown to UMass campus and if you’re so inclined, you can go for a ride, too!
Enjoy a night at the observatory with the Amherst Area Amateur Astronomers Association and Amherst College Science Outreach. Starting at 9 p.m. on October 25, observe the night sky with the college’s refractor telescope in Wilder Observatory.
And don’t forget, the colleges are home to some of our best cultural institutions from the Emily Dickinson Homestead to Eric Carle’s picture book museum. For a more complete listing of school-related events, see the Five Colleges Event Calendar.