NORTHAMPTON — Music has been a part of the city’s downtown for much of the summer so far, with bands and artists playing each week on Strong Avenue and in the Masonic Street parking lot. Now a new wrinkle has been added for July 29, when two small jazz ensembles will play from 4 to 6 p.m. at two downtown locations.
“Sidewalk Jazz” will feature vocalist Ellen Cogen and guitarist Bob Ferrier outside the D.A. Sullivan School building near Main and New South streets, while Latin jazz duo Crimson Canary — guitarist David Chu and vocalist Lonnie Chu — performs outside the Northampton Chamber of Commerce building on Pleasant Street.
The event, sponsored by the Downtown Northampton Association and in partnership with the Northampton Jazz Festival, is designed to help welcome people to the city’s annual Sidewalk Sales event, July 28-31.
Also downtown in the coming week, Salsa in the Park (dancing and DJ music) takes place July 26 at 6 p.m. at Pulaski Park; live music (jazz, pop, and more) at the Masonic Street parking lot will be staged July 22 to 23 and July 29 to 30 at 6 p.m.; and live music (jazz and country) on Strong Avenue is offered July 24 at 3 p.m. and July 27 to 28 at 5 p.m.
HADLEY — The Wednesday Folk Traditions series continues July 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Porter-Phelps when Jose Gonzalez and Criollo Clasico bring a variety of Caribbean music to the sunken garden outside the historic home.
Gonzalez, a composer as well as a guitar and cuatro player, is recognized as one of Puerto Rico’s premier musicians, with many CDs and hundreds of performances to his name; he’s also played with the Hartford and Puerto Rico symphony orchestras, the New Jersey Chamber Music Society, and numerous other groups.
At the Hadley concert, he’ll be joined by his sons, Ahmed Gonzalez (flute/percussion/guitar) and Rene Gonzalez (Latin percussion/bass), both of whom studied music in the area and have carved out significant careers on their own.
More information is available at pphmuseum.org.
An evening of Indian
film, food and culture
AMHERST — A classic title from Indian cinema, “Pyaasa,” will screen July 30 at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Society as part of an evening that’s devoted to a larger discussion of Indian culture and which will also feature Indian food and handicrafts.
The event is co-sponsored by Halcyon Arts New England, an Amherst organization, and Vidhi Salla, a Vermont-based feature journalist and the host of the international radio show “Vidhi’s Bollywood Jukebox.” That’s a program on which Salla, a native of Mumbai, India, “shares factual and anecdotal information about Indian cinema as well as her unique ethnological perspective,” according to program notes.
Salla also curates live events in New England at which she provides a cultural introduction to Indian films, discussing the sociopolitical aspects of the time in which a movie is set and sharing important trivia about the film.
“Pyaasa,” translated as “the one who thirsts,” was released in 1957 and centers on a poet, Vijay, who finds that his work chronicling the lives of marginalized people — the homeless, street hustlers, prostitutes — does not resonate in a world obsessed with materialism and shallow definitions of beauty. He befriends a prostitute, Gulabo, who helps get his work published, but not in circumstances he can control.
The film has been digitally restored from its original edition. For advance tickets and to learn more about the July 30 event, visit hartsne.org.
AMHERST — “To Begin Anew,” an exhibit featuring photographs and stories of five former refugees now resettled in western Massachusetts, will be on display on the North Commons on July 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The exhibit, which profiles former residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Syria, has been put together by Hampshire College graduate Mei Seva, who interviewed the former refugees in recent months. Seva herself was born in Albania and came to the U.S. at age 6, and she says she remains concerned about the struggles many people face in developing countries.
“Anti-immigrant rhetoric remains a dominant theme in U.S. politics following Trump’s presidency,” she said in statement. “That’s why it’s more important than ever to build empathy, community, and awareness of the lives of refugees.”
Seva’s exhibit has been produced in collaboration with Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, the Springfield organization that provides services for immigrants, refugees and elders. The Amherst Arts Council helped fund the exhibit, which will move to Pulaski Park in Northampton on Aug. 6-7.
HUNTINGTON — Maine native Frances Perkins, who graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1902, made history when she became secretary of labor under Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 — the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. She would go on to become one of the key architects of Social Security and other parts of FDR’s New Deal.
On July 31 at 2 p.m. at North Hall in Huntington, Whately resident Jarice Hanson, a former communications professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will present a one-woman play, “Frances Perkins: A Woman’s Work,” that highlights Perkins’ historic role in Washington, D.C. and other aspects of her career in progressive reform, from introducing unemployment insurance to crafting child labor laws.
Hanson has hosted public television programs at WGBY in Springfield and WHYY in Philadeplphia, and she has performed in theaters throughout New England, most recently at Provincetown Theater as Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie” and as Violet in “August: Osage County.”
Admission to the performance is free, with donations accepted. More information is available at northhallhuntington.org.
FLORENCE — Amherst Ballet and the Sattva Center for Archery Training have combined forces for a unique two-day workshop, Ballet + Archery, that looks to demonstrate the similarities between the two disciplines.
“Whether you are aiming for a target or the perfect pirouette,” says Madeleine Bonn, Amherst Ballet’s artistic director, “we will focus on what both art forms share: alignment, focus, mental and physical balance, mindfulness, and of course just having fun!”
The workshop takes place Aug. 4-5, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days, at the Sattva Center for Archery Training, at 221 Pine St., Suite 155, in Florence. The sessions, which will cover the basics of ballet and archery, are aimed at the public, age 12 and up. No previous experience in ballet or with archery is required, through attendees with all levels of experience are welcome.
Amherst Ballet, opened over 50 years ago, is currently launching “an exciting pivot,” as program notes put it, toward “becoming a multi-arts school, partnering with various other companies, artists and nonprofits.” The Sattva Center, meanwhile, aims to help people develop “inner and outer strength through the process of learning archery.”
Tuition for the workshop is $130; you can register by visiting amherstballet.org/balletarchery-workshop/.
— Compiled by Steve Pfarrer