New England Day Trips
explore at nepm.org
Summer day trips are a big part of life in New England. Journalists from the New England News Collaborative have been on the road, seeking out the best local spots in the region. There’s still time to visit their favorite beaches and ice cream spots, bookstores, and trails.
River Roads Festival
Saturday, Sept. 7
Millside Park, Easthampton
Now in its second year, River Roads Festival and Source to Sea Cleanup is the brainchild of singer-songwriter and author Dar Williams, produced in collaboration with Laudable Productions. This year’s lineup includes Iris Dement Haley Heynderickx, Cheryl Wheeler, Gail Anne Dorsey, High Tea, Jill Sobule, Paula Cole, Sunny War, and Dar Williams. The festival will offer an array of delicious locally sourced food and drink options. Plus, there’s a Source to Sea Cleanup on Sunday!
Berkshire Pulse presents Spirits of Chesterwood
Chesterwood, Stockbridge
Wednesday, Aug. 14 – Saturday, Aug. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
Chesterwood is the former summer home and studio of Daniel Chester French , sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial Abraham Lincoln statue and a leading artist of his era. Spirits of Chesterwood is an intergenerational dance project based on historic photographs of people, places, and captured moments on the Chesterwood grounds. The audience moves with the dancers throughout the woods and gardens to enjoy an artistic collaboration between the dance community and a place of historic and natural significance in the Berkshires. Plus! If you go this weekend, you can also catch the Stockbridge Summer Arts & Crafts Show.
Big Big Sky
Chester Theatre
Wednesday, Aug. 14 – Sunday Aug. 18
Big Big Sky is set in Kilnsea, East Yorkshire. Angie and Lauren are closing up the café for another winter. The last visitor is Lauren’s dad, Dennis, stopping by for his pasty and beans. But there’s another arrival — one that’s unforeseen and life-changing for them all. The play explores nature’s influence on love, friendship, and family — the belief that anyone who’s lost can be found, even in the remotest of places. This is the final week of the final production of Chester Theatre’s 2024 season.
Cut Loose: Action
Big Red Frame, Easthampton
Saturday, Aug. 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Founded by Michael Sjostedt, Cut Loose Collage Workshops is a beginner-friendly art wellness program that offers relaxed collage workshops aimed at creative experimentation, personal wellness, and social connection. The Cut Loose: Action workshop is inspired by the legendary midcentury artist, Corita Kent, whose powerful and dynamic pop art-inspired work resonates with messages of peace, equality, and social change.
Charlemont Reggae Festival
Charlemont Fairgrounds
Friday, Aug. 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17 from 1 p.m. – 11 p.m.
The 26th Annual Charlemont Reggae Festival is set to be the biggest and best yet! For the first time ever, this year's festival will span two days filled with unbeatable music and positive vibes. Headlining this year’s festival is the legendary Sister Nancy, joined by co-headliners Yaadcore, Pilfers, Easy Star All-Stars, Talking Dreads, and many other talented artists. There are lots of ticket packages and for the first time on-site camping is offered.
The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much
Adams Theater, Adams
Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 18 at 2 p.m.
The international theater company Voloz Collective brings “The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much” to the U.S. for the first time. A smash hit at Edinburgh Fringe, the show is a Hitchco*ck-meets-spaghetti-western intercontinental, inter-genre, cinematic caper of accusations, accidents and accents that follows Roger, a Frenchman in 1960's New York, whose routine life is upended when a minor delay saves him from an explosion.
Stop Light Observations w/ Sophie Coran
The Drake, Amherst
Saturday, Aug. 17 at 8 p.m.
Stop Light Observations is a dynamic band from Charleston, South Carolina. Their sound is a unique blend of rock, pop, and indie, infused with electronic beats and soulful vocals. From songs like “2Young” to “Trajic Majic,”́ their music is a true reflection of their unique personalities, and their live shows are a testament to their authenticity and raw talent. Sophie Coran open with her signature “Noir & B” style — a blend of R&B, jazz, and classical infused with a hint of sentimentality.
Old Deerfield Painting Group Exhibition
Deerfield Community Center
Reception, Sunday, Aug. 18 from 2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Exhibit open Sunday, Aug. 18 – Sunday, Aug. 25
The Old Deerfield Painting Group was started in Historic Deerfield in 1989. Each member brings their own unique style of painting in several media, including watercolor, oil and pastel. Weather permitting, theyset up their easels in the countryside, villages, and hill towns of the area. Otherwise, they meet inside the Deerfield Community Center, gathered around a still life or working on independent projects. This year’s exhibit includes “Our Downtowns” — works that represent the artists’ personal civic center.
Concerts at 7: Springfield Chamber Players Octet
Plainfield Congregational Church
Monday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
If you enjoy chamber music written for unusual instrumentation, this is for you. The Springfield Chamber Players will perform Franz Schubert’s magnificent (and rarely performed) Octet for two violins, viola, cello, double bass, French horn, clarinet, and bassoon. You won’t get many chances in your lifetime to hear a live performance of this transcendentally beautiful work. Also on the program: Schubert’s lovely “Rosamunde” string quartet. The concert is free.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Tree House Summer Stage, Deerfield
Monday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
If you’ve driven up route 5 on the way to Greenfield lately, you probably saw the huge stage on the Tree House campus in Deerfield. I had a blast at Rhiannon Giddens' recent concert there and can report that it’s a fine set up for summer fun with Tree House’s legendary beer, pizza, food trucks, Adirondack chairs, and a large grassy area for dancing — perfect for Colorado-based Big Head Todd and the Monsters who “kick out the kind of blues-drenched rock ‘n’ roll bangers that make you want to rev the engine a little louder, sing along like no one’s looking, and live a little freer.” Have a listen.
Performance 34: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
Pines Theater at Look Park, Florence
Tuesday, Aug. 20 from 4:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Performance (formerly known as Transperformance) is a one-of-a-kind western Mass. experience where beloved local musicians step into the shoes of their favorite music artists that align with a chosen theme. This year honors modes of movement and the carriers of cargo by land, sky, and sea. Talented local performers will embody a rich and diverse array of famous artists spanning genres and eras, including The Cars, Van Halen, Joan Jett, U2, and Jefferson Airplane.
The Winter’s Tale: An Enhanced Staged Reading
Shakespeare & Company, Lenox
Wednesday, Aug. 21 – Sunday, Aug 25
The Winter’s Tale is an odyssey through a world where kingdoms collide, betrayal weaves its web, and love battles against all odds. Magic, mystery, and a man-eating bear feature as the story unfolds, examining the consequences of jealousy and the power of forgiveness.
One Hand Don’t Clap
Amherst Cinema
Wednesday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.
Amherst Cinema’s Wednesday night Sound & Vision series continues with One Hand Don’t Clap. This film captures the vibrant story of calypso and the emergence of soca, through the eyes of two legendary artists, Lord Kitchener, the Grandmaster of the music, and Calypso Rose, the first woman to break through in a traditionally male arena. After the film, head to the White Lion Taproom with DJ Trends for an afterparty.
Bartholomew’s Cobble
Sheffield
Here’s a lovely Trustees property that is perfect for a late summer outing. It’s named for its two rocky knolls—or “cobbles”—rising above the Housatonic River. Hurlburt’s Hill, the property’s highest point, rises 1,000 feet to a 20-acre upland field that offers panoramic views northward up the Housatonic River Valley. You wander open fields, transitional forests, and freshwater marshes. There’s also a pair of small caves to explore. Bartholomew’s Cobble was voted a Trustees “Hidden Gem” property by its members in 2023.
Want to know more about the Trustees? Check out the Fabulous 413’s extraordinary interview with the Trustee’s CEO and president, Katie Theoharides.
