Listings, Events, Attractions - 4/30 - 5/22/2010

Annual Seed Giveway. State Sen. Mike Knapik is having his annual seed giveaway for constituents. Seeds are purchased from the America the Beautiful Fund in Washington, D.C., with most packets dated from last year's planting season. Those wishing to receive free seeds, send requests to Sen. Knapik, 57 North Main St., Westfield, MA 01085 or call 562-6454. Supplies are limited. April 30, Wine Tasting Event, to benefit St. Anthony Maronite Church, 6-9 p.m. at the Cedar's Banquet Facility, 419 Island Pond Rd. Tickets: $25; includes wines from Bertelli's, food tasting from the Federal, Elegant Affairs, Tony & Penney's, Johnsens Catering and Al Dente's Catering. There will also be a silent auction. To RSVP call Suzanne at 747-0797 or Joanne ta 530-1170. May 1, Downtown Cleanup Day, Westfield. Mayor Dan Knapik is announcing the ninth annual Downtown Spring Cleanup Day from 8 a.m.-noon. There will be a cookout and music at noon. Rain date is May 2 at noon; lunch at 3 p.m. Volunteers should meet at the Thomas Street lot at 8 a.m. Bring: brooms, rakes, work gloves (no powers tools ) and wheel barrows. Volunteers are requested to wear group colors so that group pictures can be taken. Call Pastor Val at 568-5818 or Lisa at 572-1260 for more info. May 1, Low-Maintenance Design with Native Plants, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Nasami Farm Nursery, Whately. Lower your garden maintenance by using native plants and designing carefully. Fee: $33 (member); $39 (nonmember). Co-sponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and Hitchcock Center for the Environment. Pre-registration is necessary. Contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303. May 2, Card and Collectible Show. Hampden Nurseries will host a Cruise Day from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Hampden Nurseries at 16 Somers Rd., Hampden. Prizes will be offered for first, second, and third place. To register your car for this show, contact Mike Sicbaldi at 566-3851 or 566-3242. The Hampden Lions Club will be there cooking hamburgs and hot dogs with soft drinks for those that are a part of the show and those that come to view the cars. There will be a small charge for the refreshments which will be turned over to the Lions Club. May 2, Panache Production "Moon Over Buffalo," Springfield Golden Age Club. Cost: $32, includes lunch at Student Prince at 1 p.m. followed by show at City Stage at 3 p.m. Open to all members and their guests and the general public. Contact Annmarie Pajer at 785-5408 for info and reservations. May 2, Somewhere Under the Rainbow, presented by the Pioneer Valley Chordsmen, 2 p.m. (doors open at 1:15 p.m.), Bellamy Middle School, 314 Pendleton Ave., Chicopee. Tickets: $12; children 12 and under $8. To reserve tickets call Dick Bourbeau at 533-0305. Tickets available at the door. visit www.pvchordsmen.com. May 2, Card and Collectible Show, Chicopee Boys and Girls Club, 580 Meadow St., Chicopee. Any and all collectibles welcome. Forty plus tables of sport and non-sport cards, vintage cards, coins, autographs, card supplies, wax boxes and much more. Come support the Boys and Girls Club. Admission: $1; children under 10 free. All proceeds are for the kids. For table or any info call Joe at 593-6046. May 3, Ladies Wii Golf, at Southwick Senior Center. You do not have to know how to golf; we will teach you. Come and have some fun. May 3, Parkinson's Support Group. On the first Monday of each month, a support group for caregivers and those coping with the disease will meet at the Jewish Community Center at 1160 Dickinson St., at 4 p.m. No registration required. For questions call Joyce at 323-4274 or Bobbie Levin at 536-1895. May 4, "Church Basement Ladies." Join the Chicopee Senior Travel Club for a trip to the Garde Arts Center in Groton, Conn. to see a new musical comedy "Church Basement Ladies," a New England premier opening. Before the show enjoy a delicious lunch at the Groton Inn. Cost is $88 and includes bus, driver tip, lunch and show. Call the club at 534-3698, Mon.-Fri., from noon-3 p.m. May 5-June 2, Half a World Away: Sustainable Printmaking from New Zealand and New England. Non-toxic printmaking emerged in the 1980s out of the need to find safer ways of making fine art prints. Half a World Away will include a print exchange between Wharepuke Print Studio, Kerikeri, New Zealand and Zea Mays Printmaking, Florence, Mass. Gallery reception at A.P.E. at Window (586-5553), 126 Main St., Northampton. In addition to the exhibition, and as part of our mission to share and educate, Half a World Away will include a salon with several of the artists on May 20, 7 p.m. at APE and a demonstration of green printmaking techniques at Zea Mays Printmaking, 221 Pine St., Florence (584-1783) on May 21, 7-9 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours: Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., noon-8 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m.; closed Monday. For further info visit: www.apearts.org and zeamaysprintmaking.com. May 5, Chicopee S.A.L.T. Council Program. The Chicopee S.A.L.T. Council in conjunction with the Springfield Mayor's Office of Consumer Information, working in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General is sponsoring a free, hour long presentation on fraud and identity theft targeting older adults at 10 a.m., Chicopee Senior Center. In this discussion, Milagros Johnson, Director of Consumer Information, will outline some of the scams that continue to affect local older adults, including identity theft. To register call 534-3698. May 6 and 21, Massage Available at COA. Chair massage by Gina Welch of Craniosacral and Massage Center Inc. starting at 9:40 a.m. on May 21 at the Chicopee COA, 7 Valley View Ct. Each session is 15 minutes. Cost is $13 for those over 60 and $15 for those under 60. Appointments are also available on May 6 starting 9 a.m. To schedule your appt. call the center at 534-3698, Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. May 7, Wine Tasting with an Irish Accent, 6-8 p.m., at the Irish Cultural Center in the Dooley Campus Center dining hall. The event is a fundraiser for the Elms Irish Studies Minor program. Tickets: $30 per person. Call the center at 265-2537 or order by e-mailing irishcenter@elms.edu. May 7 and 21, Writing Group, 1 p.m. Chicopee Senior Center, 7 Valley View Court. Bring paper, a pen or pencil and a desire to share your ideas, imagination, life experiences or dream. No extraordinary writing skills are required. The group will have a holiday party on the first Friday. For info call the center at 534-3698, Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. May 8-23, Connecticut Renaissance Faire to Host Robin Hood Springtime. The new interactive springtime festival will feature entertainers, vendors and performers from across New England for three weekends beginning May 8-23 at the Guilford fairgrounds. The festival is open to all. The faire will be held from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Guilford Fairgrounds on Lovers Lane in Guilford, Conn. Costumes not required. The general admission is $14; $7 for children five to 12 and children under five are free. For more info visit:ctfaire.com. May 13, Trip to Cabela's Sporting Goods, 10 a.m., hosted by Southwick Senior Center. Sign up at senior center or call Alice at 569-5498. Cost: $1 for transportation. May 13-16, Washington, D.C. Trip. Join the Chicopee Senior Travel Club on a trip to Washington, D.C. Tour includes bus, hotel, six meals, all taxes and gratuities, trip insurance, guided tour of monuments, a Potomac River cruise, evening Marine Dress Parade, Arlington National Cemetery, Smithsonian, tour the House and Senate (pending approval). Cost is $529; p/p, double. Call the club for further info at 534-3698, Mon.-Fri., noon-3 p.m. May 15-16, Niagara Falls Bus Trip, Gina Daniele presents a bus trip to Niagara Falls featuring a stay in a hotel, continental breakfast, tour and boat ride; no passport required. Bus leaves from Mom & Rico's, 899 Main St., Springfield. For more info call 732-8941. May 15, The uNi Coffeehouse Concert Series celebrates 25 years of concerts with song-finder Ed Trickett, 8 p.m. The concert will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Society Meetinghouse, 245 Porter Lake Dr., Springfield. For info/reservations call 562-3990; website: uNiCoffeehouse.org. Cost is $15 at the door. Trickett travels from his home in Chicago to celebrate the uNi Coffeehouse Concert Series season grand finale of its 25th year of presenting the many faces of folk music, old and new. May 15, New Planting Techniques for Trees and Shrubs, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Nasami Farm Nursery, Whately. This workshop features up-to-date info on the best way to install woody plants. Fee: $28 (member); $33 (nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary. Contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303. May 15, Honor our Military Personnel on Armed Forces Day. On May 15 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Springfield Armory National Historic Site will honor those members of our Armed Forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. The Pioneer Valley/New England Growers Co-Op Winter Crop Southern Exposure together with the Native American Inter-Tribal Council of Western Massachusetts will give the gift of garden produce to military men and women and their families. In the theatre at 2:30 p.m., a special program with archival photos highlights past Armed Forces Day events at the historic Springfield Armory. Free admission. For info visit www.nps.gov/spar or call 734-8551. May 16, Harvard Forest, Petersham, Mass, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Join instructors Aaron Ellison and Elizabeth Farnsworth, Ph.D., for a visit to the Harvard Forest, a research center comprised of 3,000 acres of land, laboratory facilities, and the Fisher Museum, home of the famous New England dioramas illustrating 300 years of land-use change. Pre-registration is necessary. Contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303. May 16, "Producers," Warner Theater, Thomaston Conn., Springfield Golden Age Club. Cost: $62, includes lunch at Bogge's followed by show ($67 for non-members). Reservations deadline April 27. Open to all members and their guests and the general public. Contact Annmarie Pajer at 785-5408 for info and reservations. May 20, Fish Lift, Luncheon Trip. The Southwick Senior Center will sponsor the trip on May 20 at 9:30 a.m. Watch the spawning fish get lifted to the river above. Cost: $2. Lunch is on your own at Bernie's (the Train). Sign up at Senior Center or call Alice at 569-5498. May 22, Natural Pest Control, 10 a.m.-noon, Nasami Farm Nursery, Whately. Instructor James McSweeney explains how to apply natural or "organic" pest control techniques and products in this wide-ranging workshop. The fee for this workshop is: $22 (member); $26 (nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary. Contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.