Speed dating event in North Hatfield
Black Birch Vineyard in North Hatfield will host a speed dating event for daters age 25 to 39 on Friday, Aug. 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The event, presented with organizers Sips & Sparks, will feature multiple rounds of speed dating with icebreaker questions, snacks and drinks for purchase, and time to mingle with other guests. (Note: the event description says that the age range is “only a suggestion rather than a strict requirement. If you’re slightly outside this range but feel you’d connect well with this group, you’re welcome to join! Our goal is to create well-balanced events where everyone can meet compatible matches.”)
Tickets are $43.86 via Eventbrite.
Design a t-shirt for Easthampton Film Festival
Easthampton Film Festival is looking for a local artist (ages 18 or older) to design their summer 2025 T-shirt. The winning artist will get a free silkscreen t-shirt with their design printed by Printed Mass in Eastworks, plus an all-access pass to next year’s festival.
Contestants may submit up to three designs each. Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, appeal, and overall impact.
To submit your design(s), email contest@easthamptonfilmfestival.com or via a Google Form linked on the contest page. All entries must be submitted by Sunday, Aug. 31, and the winner will be announced by Monday, Sept. 15.
For more information, visit easthamptonfilmfestival.com/contest.
One-actor play in Chester
Chester Theatre Company will present the second weekend of its production of Daniel Koa Beaty’s play “Mr. Joy,” a one-man show (starring actor Godfrey Simmons) about race, class, and community, on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 15, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 16, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Aug. 17, at 2 p.m.
According to the show description: “What happened to Mr. Joy? A Harlem community takes stock when a Chinese immigrant’s shoe repair shop mysteriously doesn’t open one morning, causing an array of customers to realize what the shop owner has meant in their lives. In a tour-de-force performance, one actor plays all of Mr. Joy’s customers, from the bubbly eleven-year-old Clarissa to the sincere and savvy Bessie, leader of the ‘Gansta [sic] Grannies.’ From them we learn about the profound impact the shop owner had on each of their lives, and the invisible ties that bind us all.”
Tickets are $58 via chestertheatre.org.
Audition for ‘The Wizard of Oz’
Amherst Community Theater will hold auditions for its January 2026 production of “The Wizard of Oz” at Amherst Regional Middle School Friday, Sept. 12 through Monday, Sept. 15, at various times.
The show is open to actors, singers, and dancers “ages 7 to 107,” according to the casting call, but child actors must be in second grade or higher. (The casting call also notes, “We hope to create a cast of the best performers possible. We will cast based on skills and chemistry with other actors, not on look, gender, age, race, body type, or anything else. Audition for a part you can perform and do not self-select out because of any preconceived notion of who the part might be for.”)
Some roles (including Dorothy and the Wicked Witch) will fly, though the maximum weight for a flying performer is 150 lbs.
Rehearsals will begin in early October, and the show will run Thursday, Jan. 15, through Sunday, Jan. 25.
To sign up for an audition appointment or for more information about the characters, music, and audition process, visit amherstacts.org/auditions.
Cat videos at Amherst Cinema
Amherst Cinema will hold a screening of “CatVideoFest,” a 74-minute, theater-only curated compilation reel of “the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses,” on Monday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m.
The event (described as “A triumph! A spectacle! A fuzzy wuzzy cuddle puddle!”) will also benefit the Dakin Humane Society.
If you miss this screening, there will be another on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 1:30 p.m. (The previous screening on Aug. 9 sold out.)
Tickets are $11.75 for adults and $10.75 for students and seniors (65+) via amherstcinema.org/films-and-events/catvideofest-2025.
