Agenda Departments

Agenda

Warm Up the Night

Oct. 22: The Family Outreach of Amherst will host its fourth annual Warm Up the Night event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. The tent at Lord Jeffery Inn will be transformed into a strolling culinary extravaganza. Enjoy delicious small bites, sips, and tastes from an eclectic mix of local food vendors, including 30Boltwood, Bistro 63 at the Monkey Bar, the Blue Heron, Bread and Butter, Carr’s Ciderhouse, the Alvah Stone, Jasper Hill Farm, Sun Kim Bop Food Truck, and more. Features this year include a pig roast, live music by musicians the Winterpills and Roger Salloom, and a special appearance by local guitar legend J Mascis. Tickets are $45 per person. Visit www.chd/familyoutreach for more information or to register, or contact Rachel Condry at (413) 548-1272 or [email protected].

Survivor Journeys Halloween Gala

Oct. 30: Survivor Journeys invites the community to its first annual Halloween Gala at 6 p.m. at Storrowton Tavern Carriage House. The cost of the gala is $50 per person and includes dinner, music, and dancing. A cash bar will be available. Entertainment includes psychic mediums Nicky Taylor and Drianna Buonaducci, as well as practitioners from the Feeding Hills Wellness Center. Costumes are optional. Survivor Journeys provides social and emotional support services to cancer survivors, families, and caregivers. Services are built on collaboration with local providers and cancer survivors, along with regional and nationally recognized cancer organizations. Survivor Journeys, which serves adults, young adults, and pediatric cancer survivors, was co-founded by Dr. Jay Burton, founder and medical director of the Primary Care Cancer Survivorship Program of Western New England, and Maryann Palealogoupolus, a licensed independent clinical social worker. Survivor Journeys also announced that the organization will benefit from the generosity of S. Prestley and Helen Blake, who have offered a $25,000 matching grant challenge to the organization. The Blakes will match all funds raised by the end of year, up to $25,000. Visit survivorjourneys.org to register for the gala or for more information about support groups and developing programs.

Western Mass.Business Expo

Nov. 4: Comcast Business will present the fifth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, produced by BusinessWest and the Healthcare News in partnership with Go Graphix and Rider Productions. The business-to-business show will feature more than 100 booths, seminars and Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and a day-capping Expo Social (see the special section in this issue for details). Current sponsors include Comcast Business, presenting sponsor; Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, MGM Springfield, and Wild Apple Design, director-level sponsors; the Isenberg School of Business at UMass Amherst, education sponsor; 94.7 WMAS, media sponsor; and Peerless Precision, robotics and manufacturing sponsor . Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Exhibitor spaces are also available; booth prices start at $750. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.

Spirit of Skiing Award

Nov. 7: Cal Conniff will be honored by the New England Ski Museum (NESM) at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The event is open to the public. NESM’s Spirit of Skiing Award is given to honor a skiing notable who manifests the motto, “skiing is not just a sport, it is a way of life,” attributed to ski pioneer Otto Schniebs. Previous winners include Olympic medalists Stein Eriksen and Penny Pitou, U.S. Olympians Tom Corcoran and Tyler Palmer, Killington Ski Resort founder Preston Smith, renowned ski instructor Herbert Schneider, and ski-show impresario Bernie Weichsel. Conniff spent his professional life working for the betterment of the ski-area industry, managing the Mt. Tom Ski Area from 1968 to 1973. He put the small facility on the national map by developing extensive night skiing and one of the earliest snow-making systems in the country in the 1960s, two innovations that were soon emulated throughout the resort industry. During his tenure at Mt. Tom, Conniff targeted the youth market, introducing thousands to the thrill of downhill skiing through numerous school programs. Conniff took over leadership of the National Ski Areas Assoc. in 1973, moving its offices from New York City to West Hartford, Conn. and ultimately downtown Springfield in 1978, where it remained until his retirement in 1990. He was inducted into AIC’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, and to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1990. Tickets to the Nov. 7 event, which starts at 5 p.m., cost $75 and are available by calling the NESM at (603) 823-7177 or visiting www.skimuseum.com/events.