Your Summer Arts Bucket List in Western Massachusetts
Hampshire Shakespeare Company | Amherst
While western Massachusetts is bursting with culture all year long, the arts really shine in the summer. We’ve got three resident theater companies whose seasons are in the summer every year, no shortage of outdoor summer music series, outdoor film screenings, monthly art walks and more! Whether you're a visual arts, theater, music, or film buff, there's something here to add to your summer bucket list!
Our visual arts scene can rival that of any major city thanks mostly in part to the members of Museums10, a collaboration of the Beneski Museum of Natural History, Emily Dickinson Museum, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Hampshire College Art Gallery, Historic Deerfield, Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Smith College Museum of Art, Yiddish Book Center, and the University Museum of Contemporary Art. With this summer marking Museusm10's 10th Anniversary, you should know that these institutions host more exhibitions annually than at the Met, Lourve, and Guggenheim combined and house 1.3 million collection objects! Follow Museum Adventures on Hilltown Families for tips about getting the most out of your visits.
Also celebrating ten years this summer is Easthampton City Arts+, the initiative behind Easthampton Art Walk and the Cottage Street Cultural District to name a few things! To celebrate the anniversary, ECA+ presents "dECAde", a group exhibit featuring the works of artists who have been involved with the initiative over the last ten years. "dECAde" will be on view in the ECA+ Gallery from July 7- July 27 with a special reception during Art Walk on Saturday July 11.
Did you know that the hills are alive with artists? The Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour (July 25-26, 2015) features a group of nationally recognized potters based in the scenic Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. Every year these artists open their studios for an annual coordinated, self-guided tour of their studios and pottery sale. There are eight locations featuring 21 artists all within 45 minutes of Northampton.
The popular sculpture exhibit Art in the Orchard at Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton returns with a whole new set of artwork August 13. A season of events through Halloween will be released later this summer. Join them Saturday, August 15, 2015 from 1 to 5 p.m. for the first official day. Most participating artists will be available by their creations for discussions, comments or interviews.
A great way to update Shakespeare’s works is by performing them in unique locations, and Hampshire Shakespeare Company has the perfect one. With performances under the stars at the UMass Renaissance Center in Amherst, you’ll not want to miss the second performance of its annual season, The Merry Wives of Windsor (July 8-12 and July 15-19).
With five weekends of performances, two one-night events and three 6-day theater workshops, The Ko Festival of Performance is so much more than a season of shows to check off your list. Ko’s 24th season (July 10-August 9) features original works of theater around the theme “NEW | HOME | LAND: Strangers, Newcomers & Neighbors in a New America,” all looking at the nature of the immigrant experience of new homes, new lands and examine what “homeland” means in this new America we all inhabit. Also of note this season is the Mettawee River Theatre Company’s last year of regular summer touring with “OUT OF THE PAST: Celebrating 40 Years of the Mettawee Journey” (July 19).
Northampton’s resident theater company, New Century Theatre, is in the midst of its 25th Season this summer featuring The Little Foxes (through July 11), Luna Gale (July 16-25) and Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play (July 30-August 8).
Nestled between the trees at Look Park’s Pines Theater, the good people who present the Green River Festival bring you Amourasaurus, Sunday August 30, 2015. This end-of-summer celebration features Lake Street Dive, JD McPHerson, Parsonfield, And the Kids, and the Winterpills.
There’s nothing like a free outdoor concert to top off your day walking around town on a gorgeous summer day! In Amherst on Thursdays at Kendrick Park, Amherst Downtown presents Downtown Beats (5:30 p.m. Free).
July 16: Carinae and Shokazoba
July 23: Abe Loomis and Mikey Sweet
July 30: Avi Jacob and Mr. G
Aug 6: Goat Boy and Calico Blue
Florence's Music on the Porch series is also Thursdays at 6.
July 9: Katherine First and Kitchen Party
July 16: Heritage Pops Orchestra
July 23: Pop on the Lawn
July 30: Bad News Jazz and Blues Orchestra
Aug 6: Taste of Honey
Aug 13: Free Range Cats
Aug 20: Dr. T and the Versatilles
Aug 27: Lonesome Brothers
And on Fridays the Collective Music Group presents the Northampton Summer Concert Series on the Old Court House Lawn (6 p.m., Free).
July 17: Jamie Kent & the Options, Sarah Blacker, Frannyo Show
July 24: Wishbone Zoe, Eddie Japan, Father, Misty & The Big Rock
July 31: Josh Panda, Ryan Hommel, Avi Jacob
August 7: Amy & The Engine, Mikey Sweet, A2Z Yo-Yo Team
August 14: Northampton Jazzfest Valley All-Stars
For a change of elevation, head to the Summit House on Mount Holyoke in South Hadley for concerts in July (7:30 p.m. $5).
July 9: Banish Misfortune
July 16: The Dan Daniels Band
July 23: Zoë Darrow and the Fiddleheads
July 30: Old Country Road
This summer grab a blanket and bring a picnic to enjoy some of the most classic films on a big screen under the stars. Beginning this summer, Northampton Community Television, Forbes Library, the Northampton Arts Council, Northampton Parks and Recreation Department, and the Academy of Music present Cinema Northampton.
The Goonies, July 29 at Maines Field, Florence
Beetlejuice, August 26 at Forbes Library Lawn
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, September 30 at Forbes Library Lawn
For more information and a listing of screenings year-round, go to www.cinemanorthampton.org.
If you want to see more classics on the big screen, Amherst Cinema has a cohort of films lined up every Sunday and Wednesday in July and August for its Big Screen Classics series, such as Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Graduate, and Jaws. And if you want a little more dialogue, check out Film School in 60 Minutes at Amherst Cinema in July with film expert Nina Kleinberg.
For more ideas, check out Massvacation.com’s Wicked Free Summer Fun list.