What’s Happening October 9-18th

FRIDAY OCTOBER 9-11: UMASS HOMECOMING WEEKEND UMass Homecoming is coming to Downtown Amherst! Join the celebration as UMass brings the Homecoming spirit to Kendrick Park for an unforgettable Friday night (5-8PM) of fun, games, and community vibes. Community Spirit Central returns to Kendrick Park with student group performances, interactive activities, and family-friendly fun. Just a short walk away, UMass Downtown will welcome visitors with complimentary make-your-own burrito bowls, flan, and churros from La Veracruzana while supplies last. More info here.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 10: PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM presents A Reading Frederick Douglass Together Book Club, with sessions facilitated by Dr. Ousmane K. Power-Greene on October 10th and Dr. Nick Bromell on November 7th at 12:15pm.  Book club materials will be available for pick up at the event and online, and sessions will be held in the Community Room at the Hadley Public Library at 50 Middle St, Hadley, MA 01035. Register for the free book club at www.pphmuseum.org/events.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 11: APPLE HILL STRING QUARTET. 4 p.m., The Drake, 44 North Pleasant Street. Chamber at the Drake. Called “dashing and extraordinary” by The Strad Magazine, the Apple Hill String Quartet are the Artistic Directors and resident musicians at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, winner of the CMAcclaim award from Chamber Music America. The Quartet serves as the Music Directors for Apple Hill’s Summer Chamber Music Workshop in Nelson, New Hampshire, cultivating connection and understanding among people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, playing levels, and ages through music performance and education centered around the values of acceptance, inclusivity, creative expression, and encouragement. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 at the door. See complete schedule here.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 11: BARKS & BREWS AT FORT HILL BREWERY FUND RAISER FOR DAKIN HUMANE SOCIETY: WHERE: Fort Hill Brewery, 30 Fort Hill Road, Easthampton, MA WHEN: Sunday, October 11; VIP Hour: 12-1pm (VIP tickets were pre-sold online), General Admission: 1-4pm, General admission tickets will be available onsite at the event. Dakin is staging a fundraising event, Barks & Brews, at Fort Hill Brewery in Easthampton. Guests are encouraged to bring their dogs to join in the fun. VIP guests can pay $75, and the cost includes onsite parking, an event t-shirt, VIP early access and hors d’oeuvres (from 12-1pm), and a complimentary brew, while General Admission guests can pay $35 for regular admission to the event after 1pm, and the cost will include a complimentary brew. The event will feature Fort Hill’s beverages, music, food trucks, and several dog activities including a Halloween costume contest, hot dog eating competition, no-mess dog painting, and musical sit (dog version of musical chairs). There will be a caricaturist on hand for portraits, and vendors offering dog accessories and treats, a photo booth, and more.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 13: NOVEMBER 17:INTERMEDIATE WATERCOLOR CLASS WITH GRETCHEN HOLESOVSKY Time: from 10:30am to 12:30pm
Address: 91 Cowls Road, Amherst, MA 01002 Website:  www.generalstorelocalgallery.com/events
Eventbrite Link
Description: **Materials are NOT provided by the instructor. See event link for all the details!**
Join Gretchen Holesovsky for a series of 6 intermediate watercolor classes. Explore styles and expressions to enhance your creative muse. This is jammed packed with information and has homework. Great for individuals who took Gretchen’s beginning watercolor class and intermediate artists who want to deepen their understanding of painting with watercolor.
Pricing:
1. Ticket Price/instructional cost: $180
2. Required Materials to Purchase: approx. $130.
Ticket SALES END 10/6. Contact email: gallery@cowls.com Contact phone: 413.835.0966

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14: BANDITS ON THE RUN The indie-pop-folk group is touring in support of their newly released album, Rough Magic –released in June to rave reviews from critics at Atwood Magazine, EARMILK, For Folks Sake, Americana UK, and many more – and they’ll be performing at The Parlor Room on Oct. 14! Bandits on the Run have made a name for themselves as a totally one-of-a-kind group, with intricate three-part harmonies and unique instrumentation, including cello, accordion, suitcase kick, and more assorted and eclectic items. They’re also successful actors who have appeared on Broadway as well as popular network and streaming shows and films, and theatrical composers. In fact, they’re currently working on a musical adaptation of  What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, co-written with actor/musician Christopher Sears and Academy Award nominee Peter Hedges (who wrote the original novel and screenplay), and several other productions. Listen to Rough Magic wherever you stream music:  https://go.mhe.fm/botr_ rm

THURSDAY OCTOBER 15: THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS DANGEROUS: THAT IS WHY WE SHOULD SUPPORT IT. 7 p.m., North Amherst Library Meeting Room, 8 Montague Road. Austin Sarat, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence & Political Science at Amherst College, reviews the history and purposes of the first amendment and current threats to it.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 15: DAMES, DISHES, AND DEGREES: A BOOK TALK WITH AMY MITTELMAN. 7 to 9 p.m., Amherst Women’s Club, 35 Triangle Street. Join us for a look back at the role of faculty wives in this new book by local author Amy Mittelman! At a time when the hidden labor that sustains major institutions is receiving renewed attention, a new book uncovers the overlooked role faculty wives played in building American academic life. In Dames, Dishes, and Degrees: Faculty Wives in America, historian Amy Mittelman explores how highly educated women – often barred from university employment by anti-nepotism rules and gender discrimination – organized faculty wives clubs that hosted events, mentored newcomers, supported philanthropy, and helped shape campus culture throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 15: ART FORUM ONLINE WITH JANET W. WINSTON. 7:30 p.m. online. anet will present an Art Forum Online, at 7:30 pm, looking at variations in style, scale, and media over the years in the three themes she explores in the exhibit: butterflies, Mayan architecture (and other structural forms), and the landscape of Cape Cod. The program is supported in part by a grant from the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. In paintings and prints, Janet W. Winston revisits and reinterprets themes that have held great meaning for her over the years, with expressive variations depicting the Mayan ruins in the Mexican Yucatan, the fluttering movement of butterflies, and the rolling dunes of Cape Cod. A precision of line and a joyous profusion of color characterize all her work, but her artistic trajectory suggests an arc leaning towards abstraction. Register for the online event at www.gallerya3.com

THURSDAY OCTOBER 15: THE AMHERST TOWN HALL ART GALLERY EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHS BY GENE RORK AND EVELYN VILLA, on display from October 1stthrough November 30th. The public is invited to meet the artists at a free reception on Thursday, October 15th, 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Amherst Town Hall (4 Boltwood Ave, Amherst). Refreshments will be served. The Town Hall Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Exhibits are coordinated by the Amherst Public Art Commission, and artists are invited to apply to have their work displayed for a two-month exhibit. Learn more about the Public Art Commission and how to apply on their website: amherstma.gov/art

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16: “FEED THE SPIRIT:” GALA CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF COMMUNITY IMPACT OF THE AMHERST SURVIVAL CENTER. 6 to 9 p.m., UMass Student Union Ballroom. Feed the Spirit will bring together longtime supporters, community members, and civic leaders for an evening of gratitude and celebration. The event will honor the leaders who have guided the ASC’s growth while looking ahead to the future. Guests can expect food, cocktails, music, and community connection, along with a Fund-a-Need Appeal supporting the ASC’s programs, including the food pantry, community meals, free health clinic, and other essential resources for individuals and families in need. According to Executive Director Carleen Basler, “As federal policies increasingly restrict access to benefit programs and everyday costs continue to rise, the percentage of Massachusetts households relying on emergency food programs has jumped to 56%. We are delighted to mark this milestone anniversary for the Amherst Survival Center, but more than a celebration, this is a sober reminder that our work is even more critical today than when we began.” Since its founding in 1976, the Amherst Survival Center has grown into a vital community hub, offering food, health care, and essential resources to more than 13,000 neighbors each year. Feed the Spirit is an opportunity to reflect on the history, celebrate the legacy, and help ensure the ASC is able to continue fulfilling its mission for years to come.Tickets starting at $75 are available now at www.amherstsurvival.org/feedthespirit. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for community partners interested in supporting the event. 

SATURDAY OCTOBER 17: AGING IN PLACE FAIR 1:30 – 3:30pm Munson Memorial Library 1046 S East St, Amherst, MA 01002 South Amherst Common NOTE: Transportation from Amherst Senior Center will be provided. For further info contact:  Dennis Vandal, Chair of Friends of Amherst Senior Center (FASC)  413 687-9580  https://www.friendsasc.org/

SATURDAY OCTOBER 17: 54^TH ANNUAL FALL FOLIAGE AND CIDER RUN TO BENEFIT AMHERST A BETTER CHANCE. Please join us again for the 54th Annual Fall Foliage and Cider Run , formerly known as the ABC Fall Foliage Walk/Run.  Enjoy the beautiful 5K course with scenic views of the valley during peak foliage season. There will be prizes, snacks and, best of all, community at the end of the course! It starts and ends at the Amherst Town Common. Last year we raised over $50,000 for the scholars. Register now as a team or as an individual.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 17: CLASSICAL PIANIST JEREMY DENK. 7:30 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College. Celebrated pianist Jeremy Denk plays pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Unsuk Chin, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Helene de Montgeroult. Ticket sales begin October 3 through Amherst College Music.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 17: THE MOTHERSHIP IS LANDING: TILTED ORBIT OPENING PARTY 11 AM to Midnight 113 Cowls Road, North Amherst (The Mill District) Tilted Orbit opens this month at The Mill District in North Amherst with 40+ machines, a golf simulator room, food, and drinks, in a space where a first-timer and a tournament regular can walk in the same door and both feel at home. Tilted Orbit is opening its doors with a full day of pinball, music, food, and community partners. The party runs 11am to midnight, inside and under the outdoor tent until 7pm. Expect a live DJ, caricatures, face painting, a yo-yo performance at 2pm, a food truck, sweet treats, merch, and a chance to play one of the largest pinball collections in the region. All ages are welcome until 9pm; 21+ after that .Free to attend. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram, or visit tiltedorbitarcade.com for more information.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 18: THE VALLEY LIGHT OPERA cast previews selections of beloved music from Fiddler on the Roof, based on Sholem Aleichem’s “Tevye the Dairyman”. 3–4:30 p.m. at the Amherst Woman’s Club, 35 Triangle Street. Tickets $20/adult, $5/student. All are welcome. Proceeds from AWC Concert Series performances go towards scholarships for high school seniors and grants to local community service agencies. For more information, see www.amherstwomansclub.org

SUNDAY OCTOBER 18: HITCHCOCK HARVEST: CREATING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. 3 to 6 p.m., Hitchcock Center, 845 West Street. Join us to support the Hitchcock Center. Enjoy a harvest meal, libations, music, silent auction, and community connection. Wander through interactive stations inspired by the petals of our Living Building—Place, Water, Energy, Health and Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty—and discover how the Hitchcock Center and other local businesses and innovators are shaping a hopeful resilient future. Also, help us celebrate PV Squared who we are recognizing with the Resilient Community Award. Tickets $60.