Queer speed dating
The radio show Queer Yenta Radio Hour, a matchmaking show for the LGBTQ community broadcast on WMUA 91.1 FM, will hold a speed dating event on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Sunderland Town Park, followed by time for mingling from 6 to 7 p.m., then a dance party from 7 to 10 p.m.
The event is for participants ages 25 and up. There will be two speed dating circles at the same time: one for people looking for monogamous connections and one for people looking for non-monogamous connections.
Each episode of the show Queer Yenta Radio Hour, hosted by DJ Bucky Downtown (one of the hosts of this event), features a different guest DJ with an ocean-themed nickname who plays some of their favorite music and chats with DJ Bucky about themselves, their interests, and what they want in a relationship.
“I’ve always loved connecting people,” DJ Bucky told the Gazette last year, “and if I find out that two friends have a crush on each other, I’m always like, ‘How can I meddle? How can I get them to talk to each other?’ But also for other types of connections, too. I love to connect people for friendship, for jobs, for, ‘Oh, you’re moving to a new city. I know someone there.’” Being a yenta, she said, is “kind of like a way of community care, where you’re trying to connect the people that you care about to each other.”
The event will also feature an art raffle.
Admission is free to $15 per round, sliding scale, and funds will be donated to LUCE Immigrant Justice Network. Bring cash for on-site food and drink purchases. To register, and for more information, visit linktr.ee/queeryentaradio.
North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival
The North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival will return this year on Saturday, Sept. 27, and Sunday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Forster Farm in Orange, rain or shine.
The “festival that stinks” includes more than 100 booths (farmers, artisans, community organizations, bodyworkers, etc.); live music, spoken word, and other entertainment; cooking demos; a chef cook-off; free recipes and food samples; presentations about sustainability; activities for kids; a garlic-eating contest; and more.
Bring cash, a bag, and a water bottle. Pets are not allowed.
Tickets are $10 for adults (ages 13 and up); $5 for students, seniors, and EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders; and free for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit garlicandarts.org.
‘Seeing Violet’ play in Ashfield
First Congregational Church of Ashfield will host a production of the play “Seeing Violet” by Peter Snoad on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 27. at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m.
The play is about a New England couple who, in the process of renovating their manse into an apartment, discover human remains and a manumission paper (a document proving that an enslaved person had been freed) for a woman named Violet.
“When a young woman arrives to rent the apartment, the mysteries begin to unfold in unexpected ways,” the show description said. “As clues to Violet’s life are revealed, the lives of the couple begin to intertwine with hers in frightening and surprising ways. They struggle with this new light on their lives and their relationship. Is history simply stories of the past, or is history alive and present in our relationships and choices?”
Playwright Peter Snoad will take part in a post-show discussion with the producers, director, and actors on Friday night and after the two matinees.
Tickets are $20 to $35 (or $10 for youth ages 10 to 21) via theticketing.co/e/seeing-violet, at Ashfield Hardware, or at the door (cash or check).
‘Baby Ballena’ book release events for kids
Children’s entertainer Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) will host a concert at the Eric Carle Museum to celebrate the release of his new book “Baby Ballena” on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 1 to 2 p.m.
The book, written in Spanish and English and illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero, is about a baby whale’s first migration from Mexico to Alaska: “When Juana is born in the warm waters of Mexico, the little gray whale isn’t quite what you’d call little — she’s already as big as a boat, and drinks over fifty gallons of milk a day to keep growing! Soon it’s time to make a long journey with her pod to their summer feeding grounds. They swim north day and night, passing many familiar landmarks and carefully avoiding orcas and fishing nets. After spending the summer eating their fill in Alaskan waters, Juana and her pod return to their beautiful Mexican lagoon, where another baby is about to be born, and the cycle begins again.”
Rivero will host a drawing session the same day from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., and both Rivero and Mister G will sign copies of the book afterwards.
Admission is $15 or $10 for members via carlemuseum.org/visit/events; museum admission is separate.
Family-friendly astronomy celebration
Fans of astronomy can celebrate International Astronomy Day at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 2 to 6:30 p.m.
The event will feature digital planetarium shows, space-themed arts and crafts, space-themed books, stomp rockets, an educational “Space Trailer,” and a large-scale model of the International Space Station built by radio host Jack Frisch.
Frisch told the Gazette in an email that the model involved more than 500 hours of build time to date and was autographed by astronaut Cady Coleman, who lived on the International Space Station for six months.
Food will be available for purchase.
The event is free, family-friendly, and open to the public.
Folk double bill
Singer-songwriter Chris Moyse and folk collective Floyds Row will perform a double bill show at the Academy of Music on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
Moyse, who hails from Nashville, is “hellbent on the truth,” according to his press materials, and “has a knack for drawing people in with his witty banter, revealing lyrics, and beautiful melodies.”
Floyds Row, described on the community radio station WFPW as “a mix of Purcell and Bob Dylan,” features vocals, violin, cello, banjo, bass, mandolin, accordion, piano, and percussion and “explores the connections among early, classical, folk, newgrass, and world genres,” according to a press release. The six-member group formed in Oxford, England and plays original compositions.
Tickets are $20 to $50, not including fees, at aomtheatre.com, at the box office, or by calling 413-584-9032 Tuesday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. Card to Culture tickets are available.
Acting classes for teens
Teens (ages 13 to 18) who want to learn how to act on-camera can take acting classes with casting director Marty Cherrix at 33 Hawley in Northampton on Thursdays from Oct. 2 to Oct. 30 from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
Cherrix’s casting projects have included “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Originals,” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
Each class will be a small group of no more than 10 students. No prior experience is necessary.
The class will be co-taught with actress and theater teacher Christine Stevens.
The five-week series is $249 per person. To register, email cherrixclasses@gmail.com or visit cherrixcasting.com.