Time again for May and its flowers, when the sheds get cleaned out and the summer clothes return to the closet. Thoughts turn to leisure activities and the Valley is apparently ready — you’ll find no lack of things to do in these parts.
This Saturday, you can get a look at the birds who’ve returned to Easthampton with the warm weather. It’s early — a 7 a.m. start — but these are, of course, early birds.
Your guide for the trek is David Peake-Jones, a board member of Hampshire Bird Club. After you’ve taken in the avian delights, you can enjoy breakfast at a home in the Lathrop Community. The cost is $25, and space is limited. Register at kestreltrust.org.
In Amherst, the season is in swing at the Yiddish Book Center, which hosts its free spring Community Open House Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The literarily minded can enjoy a 2 p.m. talk by literary critic and poet Adam Kirsch about defining the term “Jewish literature,” and at 11 a.m., Christa Whitney, who directs the Center’s Wexler Oral History Project, screens and discusses two short films produced by the project.
The center’s exhibits, both permanent and visiting, will be open, and guided tours will be available at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Visit yiddishbookcenter.org/calendar for more info.
Also in Amherst on Sunday, you can catch the UMass Fine Arts Center’s 40th anniversary shindig, billed as a free community party. Participants can enjoy live entertainment and food from 1 till 4 p.m. on the FAC plaza, aka Haigis Mall, rain or shine.
Entertainment includes taiko drumming, yo-yoing, a belly dance/Bollywood show and a Mary Poppins sing-along.
The Expandable Brass Band hits the stage at 2:20 p.m. and at 3:50 p.m., Primate Fiasco plays. Expect lawn games galore, and calories via UMass food trucks.
Yes, it’s a fine season for music. Things get off to a good, if tangled, start Friday at 8 p.m., when the Amherst College Concert Choir offers the free show Tangled Hands, which includes Liebeslieder Waltzes for choir and four-hand piano.
You also can enjoy ancient Irish airs and Paul Hindemith’s Six Chansons. It happens at Buckley Recital Hall at Amherst College.
On May 6 at 7:30 p.m. Sweeney Concert Hall at Smith College will host a massive conglomeration of strings when the HVGO (Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra) throws a party to celebrate the release of “Unknown Album.”
The song choices are eclectic, and include works by Beethoven, Philip Glass, Wilco and guitarist extraordinaire Leo Kottke. The show includes unannounced guests and CD giveaways.
For a more minimalist approach to six-string glory, you can check out Li’l BeeDee & the Doo-Rites, who are also releasing a new CD, on May 21 at the Florence VFW. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $10. BeeDee — Betsy-Dawn Williams — is newly re-signed to Spain’s rockabilly label El Toro, and offers a modern version of hepcat ’50s rock and roll.
Then there’s the even more traditional — at least, sort of. Brooklyn’s Sandaraa brings the Pakistani styles of Dari, Pashto, and Baluchi to life in exceptionally danceable fashion.
That danceable fashion, however, isn’t just the product of Pakistani tradition. The players hail from klezmer, Turkish music, and jazz as well. The group plays the Parlor Room in Northampton on May 9. For more, check out signaturesoundspresents.com.
On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Common School in Amherst offers — at Eric Carle Museum — a free talk by education expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige called “Taking Back Childhood.”
Paige looks at the problem of countering social forces like high-pressure education and media violence.
In the old-school childhood department, you’ll find a classic theme on exhibit at Historic Northampton in Robert Aller’s “Children of the Game: Northampton Little League Baseball Portraits,” on display through May 8. Aller began documenting Northampton’s Little Leaguers in 1986, when his son played.
And lastly, two cultural forces get their due at the Sunderland library. First up, on Monday, is a celebration of the international Harry Potter Day. At 5 p.m., teens and tweens are invited to participate in mug (not muggle) decoration.
On May 4 at 5 p.m., things get galactic for “Star Wars” Day (“May the 4th be with you”). Kids ages 10 to18 are invited to decorate a flower pot, transforming said pot into a “Star Wars” character.
To sign up for either, call 665-2642.
— James Heflin