November 2010
November 6th & 7th
16th Annual Franklin County CiderDays
CiderDays is a community event celebrating all things apple in Franklin County. There will be two days of orchard tours, cider making and tastings, workshops, and much more. There is a charge for some of the activities; the self-guided tours of the orchards and the Marketplace at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center in Shelburne Falls are free. For more information and for tickets, click here.
The 2010 CiderDays Harvest Supper will be held at PVMA in the Blue & White Society Room in the Deerfield Teachers’ Center building from 7 to 9 pm on Saturday, November 6th.
November 19, 20, & 21
Christmas Sampler: Big E’s Better Living Center, West Springfield
The Old Deerfield Christmas Sampler combines the best traditions of Christmas & the Old Deerfield Craft Fairs, with 275 exhibitors!
Friday: 12 noon–6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Admission is $8 for adults: $1 for children under 12.
Discount coupons are available online here.
An exhibit of a miniature village decorated for the holidays circa 1897 will be on display, plus free demonstrations by crafters, and cances to win $50 gas cards and shopping certificates—multiple winners each day!
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October 2010
The BIG READ and PVMA/Veterans Education Project are co-sponsoring the following upcoming performances (off-site):
(See September calendar also)
October 8th and 9th
Friday & Saturday 8:00 p.m. at Zen Peacemakers in Montague
AMBUSH ON T STREET: A Vietnam veteran struggles to cope with demons carried home from the war. Details and advance tickets here.
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September 2010
September 9-12, 2010
Franklin County Parade & Fair
PVMA and The Big Read march again! If you’d like to walk/ride with us in the parade and help distribute thousands of Big Read bookmarks, we’d love to have you join us. Contact sdamkoehler@deerfield.history.museum. And be sure to visit our booth outside the Dole Building during the fair to learn about this year’s book, The Things They Carried, our partnership with the Veteran’s Education Project, and how our Big Read projects explore history through great literature.
September 18 & 19, 2010
Old Deerfield Fall Craft Fair
outdoors in the village of Old Deerfield
Saturday 10:00 am–5:00 pm, Sunday 10:00 am–4:00 pm
$ 7 Adults: $ 1 Children 6–12
September 25
Saturday 11:30 to 4:30, Smithsonian Magazine’s 2010 Museum Day
Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian Media in which participating museums across the country open their doors for free to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket. It’s also a perfect opportunity for PVMA’s launch of The BIG READ 2010-2011. Tim O’Brien, author of this year’s selection, The Things They Carried, speaks of how “stories rule our lives, how they’re told and retold as we look for an elusive truth.” Memorial Hall Museum and the Indian House are full of stories to discover and rediscover!
Download your FREE pass to Memorial Hall Museum and the Indian House and learn more at the Museum Day website here. Some restrictions apply. Memorial Hall Museum and the Indian House will also be free to those without a Smithsonian pass who “sign in” at the door with their email address.
September 24th & 25th
Friday & Saturday 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls
AMBUSH ON T STREET: A Vietnam veteran struggles to cope with demons carried home from the war. Details and advance tickets here.
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July & August 2010
Beginning July 11 through August 29
Old Deerfield Sunday Afternoon Concert Series
In the lovely setting of Memorial Hall Museum’s Music Room.
Details here.
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June 2010
June 19 & 20 Saturday & Sunday, outdoors on the PVMA campus in the village of Old Deerfield
Old Deerfield Summer Craft Fair
Saturday 10:00 am–5:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am–4:00 pm
$ 6 Adults: $ 1 Children 6–12
Learn more here.
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May 2010
May 1
Memorial Hall Museum opens for the season!
See May 16th for your invitation to our Opening Reception.
May 5
Wednesday, 7 p.m., The White Church, Old Deerfield, MA
Economic Change in the Connecticut Valley before the Civil War
Dr. Christopher Clark, Professor of History, University of Connecticut, co-sponsored by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and the Pioneer Valley Institute
Prior to the advent of the Civil War, there were important adaptations in local agriculture, and a significant expansion of commerce and manufacturing as this region engaged in national economic developments. For many families and individuals, these changes brought upheavals; some moved away to pursue opportunities elsewhere, while new immigrants from Ireland, Canada and elsewhere began to settle in the Valley’s towns and farmlands. Drawing on case-studies from local libraries and archives, this talk will explore the significant changes to peoples’ lives that accompanied the growth and transformation of the Connecticut Valley’s economy in the half-century or so before the American Civil War.
Christopher Clark is a Professor of History at the University of Connecticut. Three of his books are about the Connecticut Valley region: The Roots of Rural Capitalism: Western Massachusetts, 1780-1860; The Communitarian Moment: The Radical Challenge of the Northampton Community; and, edited with Kerry W. Buckley, Letters from an American Utopia.
May 16
Sunday, 1:00–4:00 p.m. Memorial Hall Museum’s Opening Gala! The event is free and open to the public.
CHANGES ON THE HORIZON: An Exhibition of Paintings and Prints
Changes on the Horizon is an exhibition of 15 paintings, and over 50 prints, maps, stereographs, and postcards depicting Franklin County’s ever-changing landscape. Looking at the period from about 1830 to 1950, we see how industrialization (Russell Cutlery, Lamson Goodnow, New Home Sewing Machine companies), transportation (railroads, trolleys, automobiles), roadways and bridges transformed the rural landscape.
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April 2010
April 1
Thursday, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Davis Auditorium, Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA
The BIG READ at Museums a la Carte: “Following in Frost’s Footsteps: One Writer’s Journey” It is hard to imagine becoming a writer in America in the shadow of Robert Frost and not being influenced by his work. Karen Osborn, poet and novelist, will discuss this and her own connection to the narrative and to nature writing. The author of three published novels and dozens of poems, Osborn has established her roots as a writer clearly within the tradition of American poetry and prose. Her presentation will include readings from both her own work and that tradition. Author, Karen Osborne, is a Visiting Professor with the English Department at Mt. Holyoke.
Arril 9 & 10
Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Pothole Pictures, Shelburne, MA
Tobias Wolff’s memoir, This Boy’s Life:Celebrate The BIG READ: Old School at this film event.
April 24
Saturday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Academy of Music, Northampton, MA
Circa Sixties Music Madness: Calling all “Mad Men” fans! Shining Star Karaoke’s Tom and Dawn Mayo, of both the Valley and Amherst Idol shows, will host our culminating BIG READ event this year—a celebration of c. 1960 Music Madness in the beautifully restored Academy of Music Theater. Performers will choose hits from 1955 to 1965 (the era of “Old School”). Listen to the same pop hits that Betty and Don were dancing to. You won’t want to miss this event! (Sixties attire encouraged.) Vist the Academy of Music’s calendar for more information.
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March 2010
February 19th to March 27th
Fridays and Saturdays (except March 6th) at the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls, MA
From Hornbooks & Samplers to facebook & SMART Boards: Living and Learning in the Connecticut River Valley—The BIG READ-Old School-inspired exhibit in the Great Hall, co-created by PVMA and students at Pioneer Valley Regional High School. The Great Falls Discovery Center‘s winter hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
March 13 & 14
Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Young Building, Eastern States Exposition, W. Springfield, MA
Old Deerfield Spring Sampler
$ 6 Adults: $ 1 Children 6–12
More information here.
March 13
Saturday, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA
The BIG READ for Young Readers: The New 
England Society for Children’s Books Writers and Illustration will hold a panel discussion titled, “My Biggest Writing/Illustrating Challenge and How I Solved It” with panelists Elise Broach, Lita Judge, Grace Lin, Sara Pennypacker. With “Old School” exploring the process and challenges of writing poetry and fiction, our “BIG READ for Young Readers” event this year at The Carle looks at the process as it relates to children’s books. Listen in as four veteran authors and author-illustrators discuss how they struggled with and overcame challenges as they created the children’s books we know and love. Their stories will inform and inspire writers, writing teachers, and children’s book enthusiasts. Book sale and signing to follow. Free with Museum Admission.
Elise Broach is the author of six picture books and three novels. Both When Dinosaurs Came with Everything and Masterpiece won the E. B. White Read Aloud Award.
Lita Judge combines her love of history and nature to write and illustrate children’s books. Her first picture book, One Thousand Tracings, won the 2008 IRA Children’s Book Award and was a Jane Addams Award Honoree.
Grace Lin is the author/illustrator of more than a dozen picture books. Also an author of middle grade fiction, Grace’s most recent novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was the 2009 Parents’ Choice Gold Winner.
Sara Pennypacker is the author of the New York Times Best-Selling Clementine series, two other chapter book series, and two picture books, one of which won the 2007 Golden Kite Award.
This 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.
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February 2010
February 4
Thursday, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Davis Auditorium, Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA
The BIG READ at Museums a la Carte: “Old School” This slide show and public conversation invites your reminiscences of an “old school” education. Images of standing old schools from around the valley may evoke your fond (and not so fond) memories of schooldays gone by. The audience is welcome to bring a lunch to enjoy during the program. Cookies and beverage are provided.
February 9
Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m., the Rendezvous in Turners Falls, MA
Craft Night at the Voo! Join us for the third in our series of informal BIG READ get-togethers at the Voo! All materials provided for our “Old School”-inspired craft at The BIG READ Craft Night. Bring your handmade paper from last month (or we’ll provide some) and make a small accordian-folded blank book. Perfect for poems and inspiratonal quotes! Free BIG READ materials to take-away.
February 27th
Saturday, 1 p.m.–3 p.m., Community Reception, Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls, MA
From Hornbooks and Samplers to facebook and SMART Boards: Living and Learning in the Connecticut River Valley—“Old School”-inspired exhibit in the Great Hall, co-created by PVMA and students at Pioneer Valley Regional High School.
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January 2010
January 12
Tuesday, starting at 7:30 p.m., the Rendezvous, Turners Falls, MA
Join us for the second in our series of three informal BIG READ get-togethers at the Voo! All materials provided for our “Old School”-inspired craft, celebrating the art of the book—tin-can papermaking—at The BIG READ Craft Night at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls. We can use our hand-made paper for next month’s project: small poetry/blank books! Free BIG READ materials to take-away.
