wknd-20260611

Northampton gardens open to visitors in fundraiser to support Forbes Library, Page D2

Step into the garden

What makes their gardens grow?

For these Northampton gardeners, it’s lots of hard work

Garden tour is back

RKeith O’Connor | Special to The Republican

emember the old nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?”

That is the question inquisitive garden lovers will be asking on Saturday as they visit six diverse home gardens as part of the 32nd annual Friends of Forbes Library Northampton Garden Tour.

“My garden grows with a lot of hard work. Gardening is a constantly evolving, ever-changing hobby. You can plant beautiful flowers one year, then a family of moles under the ground might eat what you planted and what you thought you had coming up in the spring may not be there the next year,” said Cate Shaw,

Questions answered from the garden

By K eith O ’C onnor

Special to The Republican Cate Shaw answered additional questions about her garden from The Republican, several of which follow. The following answers have been condensed.

Q. What do you think people will enjoy seeing at your garden?

A. I think that they will discover that gardens are meant to be walked in and engaged with. We purposely incorporated garden paths so that you don’t stand from a distance and look at the garden. You get right on a path, and you walk amongst the perennials. I think we’ve done some really interesting things making use of what our property has an abundance of ... and that is boulders and stones. We can’t put a shovel in the ground without hearing the

whose garden will be part of Saturday’s tour.

Fortunately, those rodents didn’t do major damage this year to all of her gardens — only one.

Tour hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine.

A public description of Shaw’s outdoor space reads: “Years of thoughtfully planned projects have coalesced into a dramatic gardenscape. Curved beds shape the sloped front yard. Large rocks, sculptures, decorative gates and stone edging offer visual contrast to thoughtfully planted shrubs, sweeps of perennials, and grasses. Follow curving paths under mature deciduous trees and admire a rich tapestry of layered plantings. Thriving here are hibiscus, native grasses, carex, Japanese forest grass, and coral bells. Swaths of Hosta and persicaria edge the area. A pleasing stone patio graces the front door from which to enjoy the view. A water feature and oversized potted plants accent the front beds. The backyard is a host’s delight.”

Shaw said she is happy to share the fruits of her labor with others after being asked by a master gardener who said, “You’ve really created something pretty unique and

“I’ve been going on the garden tour for about 25 years ... and I have about 25 years’ worth of pictures from having attended the tours from which I’ve drawn tremendous inspiration.”

Cate Shaw, of Florence

hands,” she responded, “OK, maybe.”

special. How would you feel about being nominated as one of the tour gardens this year?” And “with quivering

“I’ve been going on the garden tour for about 25 years. We didn’t really inherit a garden when we purchased the house about 20 years ago. So, I enjoyed going on the tours because I love beautiful things and seeing other people’s craft and design that they put into their garden... the combination of flowers and interesting things they add to the garden. And I

have about 25 years’ worth of pictures from having attended the tours from which I’ve drawn tremendous inspiration,” Shaw said.

Plant descriptions and volunteer guides are available at each home garden to answer questions visitors might have. Several locations also will feature live music and a pleinair painter. All gardens are located within 5 miles of the Forbes Library.

Heritage Greens Kitchen & Bar

Come experience the beginning of something special!

Welcome to Heritage Greens Kitchen & Bar, the newly imagined restaurant at Wyckoff Country Club, offering a fresh and elevated dining experience in a beautiful setting.

NIGHTCLUBS & OUTINGS

THURSDAY

White Lion Pridelands: Live music by a local DJ & cold drinks on tap. 1447 Main St., Tower Square Park, Springfield

Wyckoff Country Club: Ladies

Night with DJ Greg James. Heritage Greens. 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke

Uno Chicago Grill: Country Music. 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield

Lawn Party @ The Landing: Savage Brothers, 1277 Main St., Springfield

FRIDAY

Delaney House: Made Men. 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke

MGM Springfield: Free Music Fridays presents Crush. 1 MGM Way, Springfield

Shaker Farms Country Club: Brass

Attack. 866 Shaker Road, Westfield

Wyckoff Country Club: Kwartetto Mambo. Heritage Greens. 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke

The Drake: Amherst Pride Presents: Camp Drake. 44 North Pleasant St., Amherst

Theodores': Peter "HI-Fi" Ward. 201 Worthington St., Springfield

Uno Chicago Grill: Roots, Blues and Rock. 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield

West Springfield's Irish House

Restaurant & Pub: Frank Serafino. 429 Morgan Road, West Springfield

SATURDAY

Delaney House: Bruce Gregori. 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke

MGM Springfield: MGM Roar

Comedy Club presents Amber Wallin. 1 MGM Way, Springfield

The Drake: Handsome Jack, Troy

Mercy, Canyon Lights. 44 North Pleasant St., Amherst

Theodores': Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze. 201 Worthington St., Springfield

Uno Chicago Grill: Modern, Contemporary Rock. 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield West Springfield's Irish House

Restaurant & Pub: Dee Reilly. 429 Morgan Road, West Springfield

SUNDAY

Delaney House: Trivia with Bobby Roast Beef on the Patio. 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke

Uno Chicago Grill: Jazz. 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield

Items should be mailed to Entertainment Guide, The Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01102-1329, emailed to pmastriano@repub.com or submitted to www.masslive.com/ myevent

Lawn Party

The Landing

@

Lawn Party @ The Landing, a free outdoor summer concert series being offered in the outdoor space adjacent to the MassMutual Center, kicked off last week with a free concert by Grateful Dead jam band Northbound. The free music continues tonight with the Savage Brothers, who will take the stage from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Concerts continue each Thursday night through Aug. 27, with a complete lineup available online at massmutualcenter.com/ teams/detail/lawn-party-the-landing. There is no cost of admission and the concerts are appropriate for all ages.

Pictured here, clockwise from top left, are guests and workers enjoying the Northbound concert last week, including one concertgoer, top center, sporting a season-appropriate flower crown.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13

SATURDAY, JUNE 13

Florence Summer Concert series back with a bang

THE FLORENCE

Summer Concert series started long before John Reily started booking it, but he can’t give an exact date.

He once asked the founders of the series how many years ago they started it and he got a less-than-precise answer.

“They said they started it umpteen years ago,” Reily said with a laugh during a

Honoring

recent interview with The Republican.

Reily, known better as his alter ego Johnny Memphis, has been a notable piece of the local music scene for decades as a musician and DJ. He now fronts his own band as well as books acts for the Florence series, which he started doing five years ago. The series takes place each Thursday in the gazebo in

the best of Broadway

Broadway revivals, ‘Liberation’ win big at Tony Awards

By M Ark K enneDy Associated Press

NEW YORK — “Schmigadoon!,” an adaptation of an Apple TV series that gently mocks big, brassy Broadway shows, won the best new musical Tony Award on a night when actor John Lithgow and playwright Bess Wohl made history.

The musical parodies golden-age Broadway classics like “The Music Man” and “Oklahoma!” centered on a modern-day couple finding themselves in a “Briga-

doon”-like fantasyland where the wholesome townspeople keep breaking into song.

The win is a redemption for creator Cinco Paul, whose TV series was canceled after two seasons. He won Tonys for the score and the book Sunday.

“Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need,” said producer Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” after the win.

The win for “Schmigadoon!” also completes what some unofficially call a

front of the Florence Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. through Sept. 10.

Reily looks for a combination of attributes when booking acts.

“First, almost all the bands are local. Every once in a while, we grab someone outside the area, but most of them are local,” he said. “Then we look for a mix of things that will appeal to a

large audience.”

One aspect of that mix is blending new acts with more well-known bands.

“This year we have 15 concerts, and 10 of the acts have never played it before,” he said. “We always have some people come back every year, but this year just worked out where we had a lot more new people.”

“studio EGOT,” giving the producing company credits for winning awards at all four major ceremonies. Apple already has Emmys for comedies “Ted Lasso” and “The Studio,” the Oscar for best picture for “CODA” and a Grammy via Chris Stapleton’s contribution to the “F1” soundtrack.

Who took home Tony Awards?

The prize for the best new play went to Wohl’s

clink. So, rather than try to fight that, sometimes, when we can’t get a boulder out, we put other boulders on top and make a bit of an arrangement that we then flower around. It’s all about trying not to resist what nature gave us but playing with it.

Q. What portion of your gardens did you design and plant?

A. Nearly all of it. We’ve been experimental gardeners for 30 years now. Experimental, meaning, we have no proper training, but we’ve

Q. How much time do you spend tending to your gardens?

A. Most summers we spend about 15 to 20 hours a week doing upkeep. April and May is when all the cleanup begins and this year it was significant because of all the snow. This year more than ever before, we had a lot of damage done to some of our gardens.

So, we’ve been spending a lot of time — too much, more than usual — to get them back in shape and ready for the tour. However, when the summer comes, we usually spend about 15 to 20 hours a week doing upkeep.

used instincts, research and resources, and a trial and error method to build our gardening skills.

When we bought this house 20 years ago, it had a lovely variety of trees, but other than that only overgrown rhododendrons and old yew bushes. With limited financial resources initially, we slowly removed the overgrown shrubs and started planting one bed at a time. The sides and back gardens were planned once we put in our pool and framed the garden with the white fence. In the spring of 2023, we fulfilled our dream to eliminate all grass and lawn in the front yard. We worked with a landscape designer to create the macro plan, and with a hardscaper to implement the plan.

The tour raises funds to support Northampton’s historic public library. The organizers design the tour to inspire and educate, with a variety of landscape styles, plants, and gardening methods on display.

“The funds raised from the tour help to supplement things not covered by the museum’s regular budget. In the last few years, they have

Q. Where do you spend most of your leisure time among the gardens, in the front yard or in the back around the pool?

A. We love to enjoy the end of a day in our red Adirondack chairs in the front yard, waving at the neighbors, listening to the water fountain, and watching the bees buzz around our extensive plantings of lavender, Russian sage and echinacea. But then again, the backyard isn’t so bad either. It has the pool and we often eat meals outdoors. It has a newer section of prickly pear plants amidst a stone base, lots of huge hostas, bee balm everywhere, and our pots of vibrant annuals.

We call it our oasis, a fitting name.

helped with the expense for an outdoor performance stage, youth community room and sometimes technology upgrades and staff development,” said Jody Rosenbloom, chairperson of the Friends of Forbes Library Northampton Garden Tour, noting that the tour’s sponsors make the annual event possible each year.

“People really enjoy having a day outdoors looking at beautiful gardens and spending time with others talking

about the plants and having other conversations. We try to choose gardens that we feel are doable for those who want to incorporate some of what they are viewing into their own home gardens,” she added.

To help raise additional funds for the library, there will be a raffle with prizes that include a garden bench, a set of planting urns, a garden-themed quilted throw,

TUESDAY

Chicopee Elks #1849

431 Granby Road, Chicopee 413-592-1849

Bingo Tuesday

Doors Open at 4PM

2 Progressive Jackpots 6:15PM Early Bird

6:20PM Start

Min. Entry Package $15

Open Seating

2 Halls for Players

Handicap Restroom 1st Floor

WEDNESDAY

Polish American Citizens Club

355 East Street, Ludlow, 583-6385

Bingo Wednesdays 6:30-9:30pm

Doors Open at 4pm.

Minimum Admission $50

1 - 1199 Progressive Betty Boop 50/50 Prize $900

2 - $500 Cover Alls

3 - $400 Special Games All regular games $100 with 80 people or More. All Cards are included with Admission. Prizes climb with additional attendence. Full Kitchen 4-6:30pm.

THURSDAY

Fairview Knights of Columbus

1599 Memorial Drive, Chicopee (413) 532-2011

DOORS OPEN 4:30PM

MASKS OPTIONAL Progressive Jackpot 6:15pm Early Bird 6:20pm Start

Electronic Bingo Aval. Snack Bar, Open Seating, Handicap Restrooms

Min. Entry Package $15

Old-fashioned family fun awaits at Granby’s CHARTER DAYS

By K eith O ’C onnor

Special to The Republican

This weekend’s Granby Charter Days festival has all the makings of a good old-fashioned country fair, combined with a special celebration honoring the founding of Granby and the 250th anniversary of America.

The three-day event which begins on Friday at Dufresne Park features ox, truck and tractor pulls, as well as music, amusement rides and plenty of fun.

“We are a farming town and our truck pulls always attracts hundreds of spectators, as well as our ox and tractor pulls which are also a favorite at Charter Days,” said Randy Guevin, chairperson of the Granby Charter Days Committee, noting the event attracts families from Ludlow, Belchertown, South Hadley, Agawam, Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield and other surrounding towns.

Friday features fireworks at 9:30 p.m. — changed from being held on Saturday in past years — and a performance by Aquanett at 7 p.m. Ox pulls begin on Saturday at 8 a.m., followed at 2 p.m. with the MATTPA Truck Pull

Above is a scene from the 1991 Granby Charter Days Festival and top left is a scene from the 2014 festival. This weekend’s Granby Charter Days will celebrate the founding of Granby as well as the 250th anniversary of America. (THE REPUBLICAN, FILE PHOTOS)

Granby Charter Days celebrates the town receiving its charter and becoming its own entity in 1768 , seven years

before the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Granby was first settled in 1727, and

Garden

organic compost, gift certificates, garden supplies, and other items. Raffle tickets are available in advance in-person at Forbes Library through June 13. Tickets are cash only if purchased at the gardens. The raffle drawing will take place at the end of the tour. Winners will be notified by phone.

If you want to visit the gardens in style, Northampton Garden Tour T-shirts can be purchased for $25 — or two for $40. They will be sold at Forbes Library.

Participants provide their own transportation to all gardens on the tour, however, carpooling and bicycling are encouraged.

Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased through June 12 in-person at Bay State Perennial Farm in Whately, Cooper’s Corner in Florence, State Street Fruit Store in Northampton, Sugarloaf Gardens in Sunderland, or at Forbes Library. Advance tickets are also available on the Forbes Library website and must be picked up during library hours between Thursday and Saturday morning. Day-of tour tickets are $25 and will only be sold at Forbes Library from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

which runs through 10 p.m. There will be an intermission during the day where kids will be invited to climb into small battery-operated trucks and have some fun of their own.

The Playing Fields will perform live at 2 p.m. followed at Phoenix at 5 p.m. Tractor pulls will be held on Sunday at 8 a.m., followed by a Volleyball Grass Tournament at 10:30 a.m. and a DJ spinning live music throughout the day.

Boy Scout Troop 306 will also host a fishing derby on Saturday in memory of Conner Mungier, a Granby native and avid fisherman, at Dufresne Pond from 8 a.m. to noon. The derby is open to kids of all ages and experience levels. There will be prizes for various categories such as largest and smallest fish, youngest and oldest angler, and most fish caught.

Celebrating Django jazz

2-day event celebrates legacy of jazz guitarist

By K eith O ’C onnor

Special to The Republican

Just hearing the word “Django” may bring thoughts of music or dance for some. And they would be right.

“Django” is a 1954 jazz standard written by John Lewis as a tribute to Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. But it is more than that.

Reinhardt was an innovative Romani-Belgian jazz guitarist and composer considered to be one of the most innovational European musicians of the 20th century. He is credited as the “father” of jazz manouche dating back to the 1930s in Paris, playing alongside violinist Stephane Grappelli in the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Jazz manouche is characterized by its rapid, unique form of strumming on the rhythm guitar.

You won’t see Reinhardt, better known by his Romani nickname Django, performing on Friday and Saturday night in two concerts at the Academy of Music in Northampton — he died in 1953 at the age of 43 following a brain hemorrhage. But you will see artists performing a sampling of jazz a la Django for the general public who are dedicated to his unique musical approach and style to this subgenre of jazz.

Friday’s concert begins with Hot Club of Cowtown and Gwen Cahue, while Saturday will see the stage filled with

The

the Sam Farthing Trio and Giacomo Smith, followed by Fapy Lafertin, Tcha Limberger, Dave Kelbie and Vilmos Csikos.

Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

The concerts will feature staff who have been leading workshops and jamming at Northampton’s Django in June this month.

Since Monday, more than 200 attendees from around the world have been filling the dorms and grounds at Smith College to celebrate and learn Reinhardt’s technique for playing jazz manouche also called Gypsy jazz, hot jazz, and sinti swing.

Andrew Lawrence, Gypsy jazz enthusiast, musician and guitar teacher, held the first music camp in 2007 in the United States dedicated to the Gypsy jazz tradition.

“My earliest exposure to Django was when I was a teenager and my guitar teacher played ‘Undecided,’ a famous old jazz standard that Django later recorded with his group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, in 1938. I suspect that was the first time I had ever

“Sometimes jazz is impressive, but maybe hard to wrap your mind around. Django was never like that. It’s wonderfully accessible, and yet at the same time, you can really marvel at the person’s virtuosity.”

Andrew Lawrence

heard his name mentioned. Then while teaching guitar in Baltimore, I came across at least a half-dozen of books that had already been written about him. Django is just so famous that he is hard to avoid if you have studied guitar,” Lawrence said.

“The music is, especially Django, this wonderful combination of enthusiasm, joyfulness, virtuosity, and accessibility. Sometimes jazz is impressive, but maybe hard to wrap your mind around. Django was never like that. It’s wonderfully accessible, and yet at the same time, you can really marvel at the person’s virtuosity,” he added.

Lawrence went to France on the 50th anniversary of Django’s death to attend one of the big jazz festivals dedicated to this specific style of jazz.

“The original inspiration for me was to go there and learn more about Gypsy jazz. I teach guitar today through a program called Community Guitar. The whole idea of the program is to focus on styles of guitar that are good for people to jam on as opposed to performing solo. And Django’s variety of jazz is probably the best jazz guitar style for multiple guitars to play at the same time,” he said. Audiences on Friday at the Academy of Music will hear Hot Club of Cowtown, Elana James and Whit Smith, who are considered by many as America’s premiere hot jazz and Western swing trio. They began making music in the late 1990s and have toured extensively for over 25 years performing with such greats as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Mavericks, Roxy Music and many others.

They will be followed onstage by the Gwen Cahue Quartet, from France.

A self-taught musician who trained under the guidance of masters, Cahue blends the raw energy of Jimi Hendrix with the melodic inventiveness of Django Reinhardt. The rest of his group is made up of bestin-class specialists in this style: Bastien Ribot on violin, William Brunard on double bass, and Benji Winterstein on rhythm guitar, all of whom carry on the tradition of jazz manouche.

Saturday’s concert begins with Sam Farthing, a 22-yearold guitarist and songwriter from Baltimore, specializing in jazz manouche and gypsy music. Inspired by his hero Django Reinhardt, he began playing guitar at age 10 and quickly immersed himself in the rich tradition of gypsy jazz. His career has already taken him to stages around the world, including performances at the Festival Django Reinhardt in France, Djangofest Northwest in Washington, Django sur Lennon in Ireland, Django à Gogo events across the USA, and the Charm City Django Jazz Fest in his hometown of Baltimore. He appeared last year at Django in June on another artist’s bill. This year, the show is all his, supported by Sami Arefin on guitar and Zach Valentine on bass. He will be joined by a perennial favorite of Django students and audiences alike, clarinetist Giacomo Smith.

The final concert of the series features Fapy Lafertin, Tcha Limberger, Dave Kelbie and Vilmos Csikos which is being billed as “an intimate gathering of extremely talented family and old friends” who do not normally tour together as a group.

Tickets range in price from $25 to $45 and are available in advance at aomtheatre. com, at the box office from 3-6 p.m., now through Friday, or by phone at 413-584-9032, ext. 105.

A fairgoer is pictured with her horse during the 1990 Granby Charter Days Festival. This year’s festival, running Friday to Sunday, will honor not only the nation’s 250th anniversary, but the founding of Granby as well. (THE REPUBLICAN, FILE PHOTO)

Charter

CONTINUES FROM PAGE D7

the town is named in honor of John Manners, Marquess of Granby, a hero of the Seven Years’ War. Granby was originally part of the Hadley Equivalent Lands, and then part of South Hadley, before being incorporated on June 11, 1768.

This year’s party for Granby also celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“We’re going to have a bigger fireworks display this year and we asked the folks at Pyrotechnico for a spectacular display of red, white and blue in honor of our nation’s 250th anniversary,” Guevin said.

Leadfoot Brewing from Chicopee will be celebrating the nation’s milestone onsite at Granby Charter Days with a limited-edition commemorative 250th USA Birthday can of their classic Leadfoot Lager.

“We tasted it last week and it is great,” Guevin said.

Fairgoers can enjoy all the sights and sounds at the Midway all three days with Fiesta Shows providing more than a dozen rides for all ages, as well as games and concession stands with cotton candy, fried dough, popcorn and more. Wristbands for the Midway are available for a discount in advance

online at fiestashows.com.

For more high-flying fun, HTX Helicopters will be onsite on Saturday and Sunday with rides available for $60 per person.

There will be no shortage of good things to eat with plenty to choose from including Bruiser’s BBQ, along with boba tea, Thai Place, ice cream from Poppie’s Concessions, Deano’s Concessions, Heart’s Catering Concessions, Villa of Lebanon with tacos, gyros and pizza, D’s Smokehouse BBQ, Madd Eatz, and Leadfoot Brewing with beer and sangria. Additional food is available in the Truck Pull area from D&L Concessions and John’s BBQ.

Vendors will be selling a variety of products, crafts and services throughout the weekend and nonprofits also will be represented at various booths.

Festival hours are Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Regular parking is $5 on Friday and Sunday and $10 on Saturday. Parking for those attending the MATTPA Truck Pull is $25, available at the pulling area at the 40 Kendall St. entrance to Dufresne Park.

For more information visit the Granby Charter Day’s Facebook page at facebook. com/granbyvolunteers.

THURSDAY

LAVA Film Night with Daniel Hales “Of Moths and Men”: Thu., 6 p.m. LAVA Center. $1–$5 suggested donation. 324 Main St., Greenfield.

Northampton Jazz Festival Film Night “The Girls in the Band”: Thu, 8 p.m. Northampton Center for the Arts, $15 in advance on Eventbrite (plus online ticketing fees) or $20 at the door. There will be a light dessert reception for guests at 7 p.m. 33 Hawley St., Northampton. 413-584-7327 or www.nohoarts.org.

‘The Tempest’: Thu.-Fri., 6:30 p.m. Black Birch Vineyards, Valley Players present their own take on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” going up as a picnic-theater performance on the lawn at Black Birch Vineyard (108 Straits Road in Hatfield). Half of net ticket sales will be donated to the Center for New Americans to support immigrant and refugee families in the Valley. Tickets are on a pay-what-youcan scale starting at $15 and can be booked at valleyplayers.org Guests can bring a meal to enjoy during the show or can grab an artisanal pizza from The Vintner’s Slice food truck as well as choose from a selection of fine wines and other drinks (including non-alcoholic options) from Black Birch Vineyard, $15. 108 Straits Road, North Hatfield.

FRIDAY

CitySpace presents Levyosn: Fri., 7:30-9 p.m. Blue Room at CitySpace, $15-$25 sliding scale. 43 Main St., Easthampton.

Click Workspace 10th Anniversary: Fri, 6-8 p.m. Click Workspace, All are invited to celebrate CLICK Workspace’s 10 years on Market Street by viewing and bidding on exhibited artwork, enjoying live jazz by pianist Rob Fontana, beverages and food, and mingling with fellow community members. For more information visit CLICKWorkspace. org, 9 1/2 Market St., Northampton.

Hatchery The Young Artist Performance Project presents Asteroid b-612: A Love Story”: Fri, 7:30 p.m.; Sat, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Center for the Arts Trust Building, in the A.P.E. Workroom Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit zeffy.com/en-US/ ticketing/hatchery-june--2026 $15, $25, $35. 33 Hawley St., Northampton.

JBO Brew Fest: Fri, 5 p.m. John Boyle O’Reilly Club. Breweries include Craft Massachusetts, Vanished Valley, Sole Syndicate, Rustic Brewing Company, Oakholm

CALENDAR

Brewing Company, Dingle Distillery and more. Broken Wolf’s Backyard BBQ food truck will be on site as will a DJ. Open to the public, $10 members, $15 nonmembers. 33 Progress Ave., Springfield; 413-7888603 or www.jbo-club.com.

”Path to Wholeness” Workshop hosted by Traditional Shaman Khaluna Kam: Fri., 7-8:30 p.m. The Hidden Temple, Join Khaluna Kam, an initiated Eurasian Shaman and internationally educated sound artist, for an evening focused on internal restoration. This workshop aims to harmonize spirit and body by integrating nature-based wisdom with perspectives on the autonomic nervous system. $25. 221 Pine St. Suite 320, Florence; hiddentemple.org.

‘The Tempest’: See Thursday listing

SATURDAY

2026 Northampton Garden Tour: Sat, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Forbes Library, Once again, lovers of gardens and Forbes Library may explore inspiring delightful home gardens featured on this year’s 32nd annual Forbes Library Garden Tour, rain or shine. Tickets provide garden locations along a 12 mile route and parking guidance. You provide your own transportation to all gardens on the tour, $20 per ticket in advance or $25 per ticket day-of tour. 20 West Street, Northampton; 413-587-1011 or www.forbeslibrary.org.

Amherst History Society presents Women of West Cemetery

NORTHAMPTON

‘The Girls in the Band’

The Northampton Jazz Festival will kick off its 2026 festival season with a documentary film, “The Girls in the Band,” today at 8 p.m. at Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St. The 2013 film, written, directed and produced by Judy Chaikin, tells the untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their groundbreaking journeys from the late 19220s to the present day. After the screening, Chaikin and Grammy-award winning vocalist Catherine Russell will lead a Q&A session with the audience. Russell’s mother — guitarist, bassist and vocalist Carline Ray — is interviewed in the film as one of the members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm orchestra of the 1940s.

Tickets for Northampton Jazz Festival Film Night are $15 in advance on Eventbrite (plus online ticketing fees) or $20 at the door. There will be a light dessert reception for guests at 7 p.m. For more information, visit northamptonjazzfest.org/jazzfilm-night or facebook.com/northamptonjazzfest, or send an email to info@northamptonjazzfest.org.

field, 413-733-2171.

Walking Tour: Sat, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Amherst History Center, This 90-minute tour will examine how Amherst women from different backgrounds have lived, died, and been remembered. Led by Sarah Zureick-Brown, cemetery tour guide and creator of The Silent Sod. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. Bring a water bottle if desired. Meeting location and information provided upon registration. Registration required, visit www.amhersthistory.org, space is limited, $10 members, $15 nonmembers. 45 Boltwood Walk, Amherst.

Hatchery The Young Artist Performance Project presents Asteroid b-612: A Love Story”: See Friday listing Misty Blues Live in Concert: Sat, 1 p.m. Forbes Library, Bring a lawn chair/blanket, a picnic, and a friend for this show. In the event of inclement weather, the performance will take place in the Coolidge Museum on the second floor of the library. Free. 20 West Street, Northampton; 413-587-1011 or www.forbeslibrary.org.

Walking Tour — Underground Railroad: Sat., 10:30 a.m.-noon, Tower Square. Join local historians and neighborhood experts for enlightening strolls through the downtown Springfield area. Visit locations and meet people that salute the perseverance, ingenuity, and resilience of some of Springfield’s unsung early residents. The tour will begin at Tower Square, Cost is $10 for the public, or $5 for members. 1500 Main St., Spring-

SUNDAY

Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop: Sun., 7 p.m. LAVA Center. The LAVA Center’s monthly “Theatre of the Oppressed” workshop, facilitated by Ash Goverman, will have its final workshop in the current format. Free, but donations greatly appreciated. 324 Main St., Greenfield.

West Springfield Coin Club Meeting: Sun., 7 p.m. Mittineague Congregational Church, A presentation and discussion will include facts about the U.S. 3-cent piece from the 1860s. Refreshments will be available. Guests are always welcome. For more information, contact Peter Setian at 413-5969871. Free. 1840 Westfield St., West Springfield.

Quadrangle

George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum: Permanent exhibitions include Asian decorative arts, Japanese arms and armor, Chinese cloisonné, American and European paintings, antiquities, and rare decorative objects.

Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History: “Declaration of Innovation: Springfield’s Revolutionary Ideas,” through Sept. 27. Permanent exhibits include vintage automobiles, Indian motorcycles, historic firearms, Hasbro GameLand, and other industrial and cultural artifacts.

Michele and Donald D’Amour Mu-

seum of Fine Arts: “One Foot in Two Places” by Olwen O’Herlihy Dowling, through Oct. 4. “Family Pride Day 2026,” June 13, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The annual celebration of diversity, equality, and family, featuring a rainbow of activities for all ages. Free with museum admission. Takes place throughout the museums. “Markets, Foodways, and the Essence of Place: Works from the Museo de Arte de Ponce,” through Sept. 6, on the first floor of the Alpert Gallery. “Please Touch! A Tactile Exploration of Sante Graziani’s Mural,” through July 26. Museum a la Carte. June 11, 12:15 p.m. “Springfield’s Revolutions.” Cost: $4, free for members. Presented by Elizabeth Kapp, curator of history for the Springfield Museums. On the first Wed. of every month through the end of 2026, admission is free for all visitors.

Springfield Science Museum: “Dinosaurs Still Live: The Story of Archosaurs.” This dynamic, 1,400-square-foot gallery in the Springfield Science Museum invites visitors of all ages to uncover the surprising connections between dinosaurs, birds, crocodilians, and pterosaurs. Permanent exhibits include dinosaurs, African wildlife, interactive STEM labs, Earth’s ecosystems, and immersive planetarium shows.

Quadrangle admission - $25 for adults, $17.50 for seniors (60+), $16.50 college students with ID, $13 for children ages 3-17; free to children under age 3 and members, Springfield residents are free with proof of residency. Special exhibit fees may apply to all visitors. Welcome Center and Museum store. Closed Mon, Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

the themes of “Liberation” in her speech.

“This is for the mamas. This is for the single mamas. This is for my single mama. You are the wild heroes. This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me,” she said.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which reimagines the 1980s classic feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture, won for best direction of a musical by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.

“We honor the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were ballroom’s pioneers, as well as today’s icons, and our cast of astonishing triple-threats, including people from their 20s to their 80s, and every decade in between,” Levingston said.

Lesley Manville, an Oscar nominee for “Phantom

stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion, added a top hat and belted out “Lady Marmalade” with contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion — and some 170 performers.

In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater’s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. “I’m not here just to steal peoples’ wigs, although I will be doing that. I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,” she said.

“Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in 1970s Ohio, which earlier this year also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Wohl’s play collects stories from second-wave feminists from all walks of life as they tackle misogyny, racism and traditional gender roles. Wohl is only the fourth woman to win a best play Tony, joining Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza and Frances Goodrich.

“I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice,” said Wohl, who thanked her mom, daughters and female producers. “And to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.”

“Liberation” joins a list of 18 plays that have won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award in the same year.

The Tony for best play revival went to “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream. It won the 1949 Tony for best new play and best revival crowns in 1984, 1999 and 2012.

It earned a leading six Tonys: “Roseanne” star Laurie

Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman’s wife opposite Nathan Lane in the revival, which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.

‘Ragtime,’ ‘Giant,’ and other standout plays

“Ragtime” — a big, soaring musical that depicts an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth and political unrest — won the best musical revival.

Caissie Levy, who was Broadway’s first Elsa in “Frozen,” won her first Tony for playing the matriarch of a wealthy suburban family in “Ragtime.” She thanks all the babysitters who let her become both a mother and a Broadway performer.

Moments later, Joshua Henry, a four-time nominee, won his first Tony as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime.”

“Even in the face of pain and tragedy, he found a way to be heard,” Henry said of his character. “Every artist in this room, every artist at home, fight — fight to be heard

Lithgow won his third Tony for best lead actor in a play for “Giant” playing children’s writer Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983, when the author is

“Schmigadoon!” and “Death of a Salesman” each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”

Plenty of medleys and dance sequences

After the big opening number, Pink was generally a genial, exuberant figure, popping up in new outfits for a few self-deprecating bits, but then roaring to life when leading a very convincing “All That Jazz” as “Chicago” celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the pop singer nailing the Bob Fosse-inspired choreography.

facing intense backlash for his antisemitic comments. At 80, he is the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony.

“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” he said. “In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”

Shoshana Bean, who won best featured actress in a musical for playing a single mom in “The Lost Boys,” echoed

Thread,” won best lead actress in a play, making her Broadway debut in a modern retelling of Sophocles’ classic tragedy “Oedipus.”

Pink’s performance as the host

Pink, the Tony’s host, started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself.

“You’re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,” he told her.

After lifting Harris off the

The In Memoriam section was led by Leslie Odom Jr. singing a powerful “Without You” from “Rent,” honoring such lost figures as actors Robert Duvall, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, as well as playwright Tom Stoppard. Rachel Zegler then stunned with a version of “What I Did For Love” from “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Other performances included the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — reuniting to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

The band playing this Thursday is one that plays every year: the Florence Community Band.

“It’s a wonderful big band. They play concert band music, which is kind of a classic thing you hear on a town green in New England,” Reily said. “The fun thing this year is repairing them with the Northampton High School Jazz Band, so they’ll also play a set. The great thing is that a lot of people who play in the Community Band used to play in high school, so it’ll just be a great intergenerational thing.”

outdoor setting and added amenities also add to the quality of the series.

“It’s just an incredible thing to be right there in downtown Florence, especially if the weather cooperates, and from there right in front of the Civic Center, you can see all of Florence kind of fan out in front of you,” he said. “And it’s free, and we have food trucks now every week along with our concession stand.”

The series lineup includes:

As noted above, the Florence Community Band will play on June 11, and June 18 sees longtime rock ’n’ rollers the Tommy Filiault Band take the stage. Lisa Bastoni will bring her folk trio to entertain on June 25,

“It’s just an incredible thing to be right there in downtown Florence, especially if the weather cooperates, and from there right in front of the Civic Center, you can see all of Florence kind of fan out in front of you.”

John Reily, aka Johnny Memphis, organizer of the Florence Summer Concert series

Next week’s concert will feature local notable Tom Filiault.

“Tommy is one of those classic guys who’s a great musician and has done a million things and really knows how to entertain a crowd,” Reily said “There are just so many great musicians around, and it’s really fun to highlight them.”

Reilly said there’s definitely a large portion of the audience that returns week after week.

“There’s definitely somewhat of a built-in audience,” he said. “A lot of people are from Florence, and there’s a lot of little kids running around, which is great to see. You get to hang out, bring a chair and see your neighbors. But also, a lot of music lovers from all over have gotten the idea that it’s actually a really good music series.”

Reily added that the

with the Expandable Brass Band bringing their brand of funkiness on July 2.

July 9 will add some honky-tonk flavor to the mix as Miss Paula & the Twangbusters occupy the gazebo, with flamenco music being showcased by Tony Silva Fiesta Rumbera on July 16. The indie string band Moon Shells will play on July 23, and Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze will bring the blues on July 30.

A new month kicks off on Aug. 6 with the world beat rhythms of Pangeans, while Aug. 13 showcases the Afro-pop of Zikina. Springfield’s Frank Manzi takes the stage on Aug. 20, with the month ending with Ozzie’s Basement, a cover band.

The series comes to an end with two shows: Christa Joy & the Honey Bees’ folk-rock on Sept. 3 and the Celtic global tunes of the Gaslight Tinkers on Sept. 10.