Three County Fair tickets go on sale Friday

NORTHAMPTON — Advanced discounted tickets for the Three County Fair from Sept. 1-4 in Northampton go on sale Friday. The 2023 fair will be the 206th consecutive edition.

Adult admission is $12 when purchased in advance online, or $15 at the gate. There are also discounts available at the gate for seniors and veterans. For a limited time, people can purchase a four-day pass for $30 on the fair’s website up until the day before the fair.

Fairgoers are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance at 3countyfair.com to save money and time. Parking at the fair is free and general admission is free for children ages 11 and under.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit the Fair’s official website 3countyfair.com

Off Book Antics makes debut in this weekend

NORTHAMPTON — Off Book Antics, a new theatre company founded and led by teen actors from Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School, announces its debut show, “The Bald Soprano,” a one-act, absurdist comedy, written by Eugène Ionesco and translated by Donald M. Allen.

The show runs Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St. Tickets are $15 and are available at thebaldsoprano.rsvpify.com or at the door.

Caraline Casey, director and founder of Off Book Antics, states that she chose “The Bald Soprano” as the ensemble’s debut show “because Eugène Ionesco’s writing is so open for playful interpretation,” and one of her goals in founding Off Book Antics was to “create a safe place for truthful, playful expression. Since the play is an absurdist comedy, anything is on the table, meaning it is the perfect script to help actors learn how to be big and take up space with their energy.”

First-time director Caraline Casey is a rising senior from Hatfield, concentrating in theatre at PVPA.

Niko Reilly from South Hadley plays Mrs. Smith in the production. The 11th grader majors in visual arts and technical theater at PVPA.

Clayton Conklin, a rising PVPA senior with a concentration of visual arts and technical theater, plays Mr. Martin.

Also performing in the production are PVPA students Theo Balkema from Conway (grade 12, visual arts/tech theatre) as the fire chief; Arianna Jiminez-Laurent from Chicopee (grade 11, theatre/music) as Mrs. Martin; Will Ladley from South Hadley (grade 12, film/theatre) as Mr. Smith, and Edy Savage (grade 12, theatre) as Mary. There are teens from PVPA and Northampton schools assisting as ushers as well.

Residents graduate fire academy

BRIDGEWATER — Hollie Mullane of the Granby Fire Department and Matthew Morin of the Sunderland Fire Department were among 23 firefighters to graduate from the MFA Call/Volunteer Recruit Firefighter Training Program this week. The graduates received certificates of completion at a ceremony held at Department of Fire Services’ Springfield campus.

The graduating firefighters represent the 14 fire departments in western Massachusetts. The Call/Volunteer Firefighter training program is unique in that it delivers a standard recruit training curriculum, meeting national standards, on nights and weekends to accommodate the schedule of firefighters in suburban and rural areas. Making the training more accessible means more firefighters can participate and allows them more time to practice training skills with instructors.

Bloodmobile at Cooley Dickinson Hospital July 20

NORTHAMPTON — A bloodmobile will arrive outside of Cooley Dickinson Hospital on Thursday, July 20. The mobile will be set up in the parking lot in front of the hospital’s North Building from 8 AM to 4 PM. Cooley Dickinson Hospital is partnering with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and the Family Blood Donor Center to make this happen.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide this opportunity and bring the bloodmobile back to the Pioneer Valley,” said Catherine Reed, administrative director for clinical Services at Cooley Dickinson.

All of the donors will receive a $10 gift card, and people of all blood types are encouraged to donate. A photo ID card is required to donate, and participants are encouraged to drink water and eat before they donate blood.

To make an appointment, visit the portal at: https://donor.kraftfamilyblooddonorcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/3275

Blood collections will help support patients within the Mass General Brigham system.

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