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Area Institutions Ready Programs, Exhibits to Mark the 250th

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Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

A Milestone Celebration

It’s a big word that’s hard to pronounce: semiquincentennial.

It’s a lot easier to say ‘250th birthday,’ and that’s what the nation will be celebrating this summer. Only, in many ways, the celebration has already begun, especially in this region, which is eager to showcase the many ways in which Western Mass. played a vital role in the nation’s fight for independence.

Indeed, whether it’s stops along the Knox Trail, the so-called Noble Train of Artillery that Col. Henry Knox brought from Fort Ticonderoga in New York to Dorchester Heights in Boston; or programs at the Springfield Armory, the region is already commemorating its strong role in the formation of a new nation.

And the celebrations will continue — with everything from special exhibits at area museums to lectures to an Independence Day celebration featuring fireworks viewing from the Armory grounds.

Area museums and other institutions are expecting an influx of visitors, from this region and well beyond, and they’re hoping the many 250th anniversary celebrations can bring opportunities to introduce, or reintroduce, people to all that they offer.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with three area institutions — Springfield Museums, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the Springfield Armory — about what they have planned for the semiquincentennial, the planning that went into these exhibits and programs, and what they expect visitors will take home from these experiences.

To read more about the three institutions click here:

Springfield Museums

Norman Rockwell Museum

Springfield Armory

 

Events Will Capture the Landmark’s Place in Country’s Development

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Alan Amelinckx stands by a map tracing the path of Col. Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery.
Tourism & Hospitality

Springfield Armory

Alan Amelinckx stands by a map tracing the path of Col. Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery.

Alan Amelinckx stands by a map tracing the path of Col. Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery.

Alan Amelinckx says there is one overriding goal for the Springfield Armory National Historic Site and its many programs and events to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday — to educate the public about the importance of that location, and this region, to the birth and development of the country.

Many people know the story of the Armory, which was closed in 1968, with many of its buildings becoming home to Springfield Technical Community College, said Amelinckx, program manager for Interpretation and Education at the Armory, adding quickly that too many do not. And a year’s worth of exhibits and programs will address that reality.

“We really wanted to focus on this site and its role in the American Revolution,” Amelinckx said, adding that not only was the site chosen for what became known as the Continental Arsenal of Springfield, and later the Springfield Armory, but it was also known for innovation and manufacturing milestones, such as the first real assembly line. It was a site through which Col. Henry Knox passed with his Noble Train of Artillery — it was Knox who suggested to Gen. George Washington that the property on a hill overlooking the growing city of Springfield would be the ideal site for an arsenal — and it was the site of Shays’s Rebellion in 1786.

“This site was on a hill, it was easily defensible, and Knox liked the fact that, while it was on the Connecticut River, British warships could not attack the site,” Amelinckx noted, citing the dam in Enfield as a barrier to those ships. “It was on the Boston Post Road, so that made it a convenient spot.

“Meanwhile, Shays’s Rebellion was one of the big turning points in American history,” he went on. “The founding fathers realized that the Articles of the Confederation weren’t working, and they needed a stronger central government.”

To educate and entertain the public about all this and more, the Armory, as noted, has a full year of exhibits and programs on tap for the 250th.

“We really wanted to focus on this site and its role in the American Revolution.”

These include a temporary exhibit at the Armory Museum which includes a map tracing the Knox Trail as well as information about how and why the Springfield site was chosen for the arsenal, said Amelinckx, adding that there is also a French cannon within the exhibit that is on display for the first time.

They also include programs late last year and earlier this year commemorating the Knox Trail, including a recreation of the trek through Springfield that drew more than 1,000 onlookers, as well as a lecture on the Battle of Saratoga and a discussion earlier this month titled “The Most Proper Spot in America.” Led by Armory Curator Alex MacKenzie, it focused on the Continental Arsenal, why the site in Springfield was chosen, and the arsenal’s contributions to American independence.

Other events include everything from an Independence Day celebration — visitors can watch the Springfield fireworks from the Armory grounds — to a Heritage Pops Concert on July 25 featuring a big band performance in front of the Springfield Armory Commandant’s House, to Forging Freedom on Aug. 29, a day of re-enactments and demonstrations celebrating American manufacturing.

Based on the strong turnouts for the Knox Trail recreation and program on the Battle of Saratoga, Amelinckx said there is keen interest on the events of the Revolutionary War period, and he expects this to translate into stronger visitation numbers for the Armory throughout the year and solid attendance at those upcoming events.

“The interest is palpable,” he told BusinessWest. “Our events are drawing people from across the region, but they’re also attracting people who live in the area and have never been to the Armory. There’s definitely a lot of interest in celebrating the 250th in this area.”

—George O’Brien

Exhibit Tells the Nation’s Story Through Illustration

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Tourism & Hospitality

Norman Rockwell Museum

“American Stories, from Revolution to Rockwell” includes James Montgomery Flagg’s “I Want You for U.S. Army” (1917, chromolithograph on paper, private collection).

“American Stories, from Revolution to Rockwell” includes James Montgomery Flagg’s “I Want You for U.S. Army” (1917, chromolithograph on paper, private collection).

 

Russell Lord says planning for the nation’s 250th birthday at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge began several years ago, and kicked into a higher gear when he arrived as chief of Curatorial Affairs in late 2024. Eventually, a mission emerged.

“As a museum devoted to not only Norman Rockwell, but also the history of illustration, we felt like we had something unique to offer at this moment in time,” Lord said. “Also, we understood that it might be somewhat expected of us to do something because Norman Rockwell is so closely associated with American identity and this vision of America.

“We wanted to both embrace what people expected of us and also add a little bit of the unexpected,” he went on, adding that both will come together in “American Stories, from Revolution to Rockwell,” which explores how artists from the Revolutionary era to the present “shared the ideals and evolving story of the United States in pictures and captured the American imagination in the process.”

Organized around a series of thematic chapters — including industry and innovation, immigration, the Civil Rights Movement, and civic life — that cut across time periods, the special exhibit, which runs from June 6 to Oct. 26, will bring together a wide range of works. These include illustrations, textiles, ceramics, paintings, prints, drawings, books, posters, advertisements, and digital media, from the nation’s founding to the present day, with each object telling a story.

“The United States is young enough to have its entire history extensively illustrated,” Lord said, noting that early works by engravers such as Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin issue calls for unity against, and independence from, an oppressive monarchy.

“In the 19th century, artists served as visual journalists, entertainers, and advocates for reform,” he went on. “In the 20th century, illustrators captivated the public with idyllic scenes of American life, while also confronting the realities of racial injustice and political division. Today, in the 21st century, artists continue the legacy — engaging critically with the past and imagining possible futures — circulating images faster and more widely than ever through digital platforms.”

Among the items assembled from the museum’s extensive holdings (some 30,000 works representing 350 illustrators), as well as loans from institutions and private collections worldwide, are James Montgomery Flagg’s “Uncle Sam Wants You for the U.S. Army” and Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!” posters, as well as Rockwell’s portrayals of American presidents and politicans such as Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, said Lord, adding that the goal is to blend some familiar works with others that visitors have likely not seen before.

“Two of the things I wanted to explore with this exhibit are history and myth, which is to say pictures that tell us about the actual history, and then pictures that are so famous — like ‘Uncle Sam Wants You’ — that they’ve taken on this kind of mythical status, and in some ways, that often means we don’t think about them as deeply as we might; we see them, and we say, ‘we’ve seen that, we recognize that.’”

Russell Lord

Russell Lord

“As a museum devoted to not only Norman Rockwell, but also the history of illustration, we felt like we had something unique to offer at this moment in time.”

And while the exhibit, which will occupy nearly all of the museum’s exhibition space, was created to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, there is another purpose as well, said Lord, adding that the times call for a collection of works that show that this complicated era in the nation’s history is not without precedent.

“American Stories, from Revolution to Rockwell”

“American Stories, from Revolution to Rockwell” includes, above, Norman Rockwell’s “Ben Franklin’s Sesquicentennial” (cover illustration for the Saturday Evening Post, May 29, 1926),

“When I put together an exhibit, I like to ask the question, ‘why this exhibit now?’” he told BusinessWest. “Obviously, there’s an anniversary, but that’s not the only reason for this to have relevance right now.

“No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, I think everyone would agree that this is a very complicated moment for our own identity in the world,” he went on. “I always like to think that it can be somewhat unsettling to think that this is an unprecedented moment, and I also like to think about how there might be a precedent for this. A lot of the conversations we have today about our own identity in the world — about how other countries view us and how we view ourselves — are not new discussions.”

Image makers have wrestled with many of these identity crises from the very beginning, he continued, adding that this is one of many things he expects visitors will take away from an exhibit that offers both a visual journey through American history and a timely reflection on the enduring power of pictures to shape national identity.

—George O’Brien

Exhibit Will Focus on How Revolutionary Ideas Come About

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Elizabeth Kapp says the Springfield Museums’
Tourism & Hospitality

Springfield Museums

Elizabeth Kapp says the Springfield Museums’

Elizabeth Kapp says the Springfield Museums’ exhibits will focus as much on revolutionary ideas as the Revolutionary War period itself.

Elizabeth Kapp says she’s long had a passion for history.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the stories of the past and how many of them seem so improbable because things have gone wrong so many times along the way,” Kapp, curator of History for Springfield Museums, told BusinessWest. “It was the determination and innovation of the people on the ground that opened up so many doors for us today.”

She would put the birth of this nation firmly in that category, and determination and innovation are just two of the qualities that will be celebrated with exhibits and programs as the Museums mark the Semiquincentennial.

Kapp joined Springfield Museums two years ago and immediately made the 250th celebration a priority for the institution. Such occasions are rare, she went on, noting that, while she was born well after the Bicentennial in 1976, she has studied that event and what it meant for history museums, house museums, and similar facilities.

“There was truly a boom of opportunity and interest in 1976, and it actually helped shape the modern museum world in a professional sense,” she said, adding that she is anticipating something similar this year.

And as Kapp talked about what the Museums have planned, she said she and other organizers began with a purpose, or mission. “It’s an opportunity to collectively visit the past,” she said of the 250th. “And see how the decisions and actions of groups and individuals in the past led us to where we are today.”

“I thought it was important to give our visitors an opportunity to see how revolutionary thinking can come in a lot of different ways, shapes, and forms.”

With that in mind, the Museums — specifically, the Wood Museum of Springfield History — are planning exhibits that will focus not so much on the Revolutionary War, as other institutions are, but rather on “revolutionary ideas.”

“I thought it was important to give our visitors an opportunity to see how revolutionary thinking can come in a lot of different ways, shapes, and forms,” she told BusinessWest. “If we look at the past, time and time again we see that anyone can be revolutionary.”

Elaborating, Kapp said the Museums’ exhibit for the 250th, slated to open May 16, will have three historic themes, or time periods, with one centered on what Springfield was like at the time of the Revolution, but with a focus on what she called the “domestic side” — an approximate interior of a typical home from the 1770s.

“There will be slight inspiration from a Colonial-era coffeehouse,” she said, “because, historically, that’s where a lot of these discussions of revolutionary ideas took place.”

A second component on the exhibit will be called “Defining the Dictionary,” and it will focus on the revolutionary (there’s that word again) Merriam-Webster dictionary, the work of Noah Webster and the Merriam brothers, George and Charles. The company they founded is still creating dictionaries today.

“As a young man, Noah Webster was one of the few who were in a position to influence and help the new nation figure itself out,” Kapp explained, adding that this section of the exhibit will focus on the dictionary and the “power of words.”

“Revolutionary ideas often come with revolutionary words and phrases that need to be recorded,” she went on, adding that the exhibit will enable visitors to explore the words of early America and see how the work of Webster and the Merriam brothers helped establish the American language.

Visitors will have the opportunity to guess the definition of words like ‘macaroni’ (which was much different 250 years ago than it is today), ‘unalienable,’ and ‘patriot.’

The third segment of the exhibit will focus on the Industrial Revolution and how Springfield came to be the home to countless innovations and inventions that have had a profound impact worldwide, she said, listing everything from the development of interchangeable parts and the assembly line to ‘firsts’ that include the Duryea automobile, the motorcycle, and the GB aircraft.

And, like the other segments of the exhibit, this one will be interactive, Kapp said, adding that visitors will get an opportunity to work on a mini-assembly line and handle interchangeable parts used in the production of some of the vehicles on display at the museum.

“Again, the foundation that we built off is that anyone can be revolutionary,” she said. “And my goal is that people walk away with an understanding that these ideas and actions that we historians call revolutionary were people thinking outside the box — and we want to encourage them to do the same.”

—George O’Brien

Region Woos Events with Affordability, Accessibility, Attractions

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Co-hosted by David Fontaine Jr. and Sarah Fontaine, along with Chris and Deb Connelly, the event raised funds to directly support ongoing research and initiatives to find a cure for T1D.
Tourism & Hospitality

Meeting Expectations

It’s called the Assoc. of Rural and Small Libraries, or the ARSL.

As that name suggests, its mission is to “build strong communities through advocacy, professional development, and elevating the impact of rural and small libraries.”

Its members were in Albuquerque last week for the group’s annual conference. But a year ago, they were in Springfield, some 1,400 of them.

This is a national association that takes that annual conference to every corner of the country, said Alicia Szenda, vice president of Sales for the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, now doing business as Explore Western Mass, adding that it will likely be several years before it returns to the Northeast and maybe several more before it comes back to the City of Homes.

But there’s a decent chance it will — because the group liked what it saw, everything from a library with some architectural significance to an attraction that can’t be found in New Mexico or anywhere else.

“They couldn’t have been more thrilled with the fact that Dr. Seuss was from Springfield and there’s a Seuss museum here,” said Szenda, adding that ARSL typifies the type of group this region is trying to attract, and its reasons for coming here point to why the past fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) was a good one for the 413 when it came to both hosting meetings and conventions, and, even more importantly, putting events on the books for the next several years.

Alicia Szenda

Alicia Szenda

“They couldn’t have been more thrilled with the fact that Dr. Seuss was from Springfield and there’s a Seuss museum here.”

Indeed, just five years after COVID devastated the conventions sector, it has made a nearly full recovery, said Mary Kay Wydra, longtime president of Explore Western Mass, adding that, by and large, meetings and conventions have returned to in-person affairs.

And this region is more than holding its own in the increasingly competitive climate for gatherings large and small, with the main competition for those eyeing the Northeast coming from Hartford, Conn. and Providence, R.I., but also Boston for some shows, as well as Worcester, Lowell, Manchester, N.H., and other cities. For national groups, there is obviously much more competition, said Wydra, adding that this region bumps up often against such cities as Des Moines, Iowa and Harrisburg, Pa.

As it has for years now, the region continues to try to sell event planners on what Szenda and Wydra call the ‘3 A’s’ — affordability, accessibility, and attractions.

Affordability comes in many forms, but especially a $169 hotel room rate, on average, for groups, which is far less than Boston and competitive with those other cities listed above. Accessibility refers to the region’s proximity to several major highways (for groups that will drive to their meetings), but also a location that makes it convenient for residents of all six New England states and New York. As for attractions, the Seuss Museum and MGM Springfield now give the region more selling points in addition to the Basketball Hall of Fame, Six Flags, and other destinations.

For this issue and its focus on travel and tourism, we talked with Szenda and Wydra about the region’s ongoing efforts to attract meetings and conventions and the dollars they bring to several different sectors of the local economy.

 

Staying Power

The state’s Democrats staged their annual convention in Springfield earlier this month.

Most business was conducted over a Saturday, but still, more than 300 hotel rooms were booked for the gathering, said Wydra, adding that the Democrats meet in different Bay State cities on a rotating basis.

Such return business — and this region sees a good amount of it — is one of the keys to long-term success in this business, she said, adding that another is getting in front of groups and making a pitch for the 413.

Mary Kay Wydra

Mary Kay Wydra

“When we saw it, we said, ‘we know we can do an amazing job of hosting this event,’ and we started working then and there to push the Commonwealth to come west.”

And the team at Explore Western Mass has been making more of these pitches, which is indicative of the aggressive nature of its pursuit of convention business, but also stronger interest in this region and those 3 A’s.

“In fiscal ’25, we had more site visits than we did the year before,” Szenda said. “And those are so important to us because we find that, once meeting planners and event right holders come to the area and see what we have to offer and meet the teams everywhere, we have a really good conversion rate.”

In fact, she noted, 75% of those groups who came to this region for a site visit wound up booking their event here.

“That’s a great number,” she said, adding that it can be attributed to several factors, from the region’s affordable character to the strong customer service provided by the team at Explore Western Mass, to the fact that the Convention Center Carpark was nearing completion and is now open, making downtown Springfield much easier to navigate.

“Opening the parking garage is huge,” she said, adding that the carpark and the new space next to it called the Landing gives the city and this region another strong selling point.

Szenda was pushing these points at the recent Destination East trade show in Providence, attended by groups looking to meet in the eastern part of the country.

“We had planners from Florida up to Maine, all the way up the coast,” she explained. “I’ve already had several conversations since I left Providence with some meeting planners and have received some opportunities for business specific to Western Mass.”

And there is already a solid number of meetings and conventions on the books for the next few months and years, a mix of new and repeat business that includes the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, the Massachusetts Health Officers Assoc., Yankee Security’s annual trade show (coming in October), the New England Grooming Show (a dog grooming competition coming back for a third year in Springfield), the Steubenville East Youth Conference, New England Regional Volleyball (slated for next February), a variety of regional dance and cheer events, the Ironman triathlon, and more.

Putting more events in the pipeline, the goal of every city and region, often comes down to making a strong case, and then, when an event comes here, helping to make sure things run smoothly, said Wydra, adding that communication is key, as is working with groups on issues such as the closed parking garage.

Both ends of the equation were on display with a gathering of the Governors Conference on Travel and Tourism, an event that was resurrected by the Healey administration after not being held for several years.

The first conference was staged in Boston, said Wydra, and while attending that gathering, those at Explore Western Mass became determined to bring it here — and they did.

“When we saw it, we said, ‘we know we can do an amazing job of hosting this event,’ and we started working then and there to push the Commonwealth to come west,” she told BusinessWest. “Alicia put together a great response to their request for proposals, and we did a lot of hospitality. We wanted to showcase to the Office and Travel and Tourism and all the people in our industry how we service visitors. The amenities we offer when a pet groomer comes or the rural librarians come, we did for the guests of the governor’s conference.

“And we got high marks on the survey after the conference for all those extra steps,” she went on, adding that these good scores are common and help explain why the region often stands out in the crowded field for meetings and conventions, and why there is so much repeat business. “We’re competing with other destinations all the time, so the little stuff really matters.”

 

Drawing Conclusions

As noted earlier, the rural librarians may not return to Springfield and the Seuss Museum for several years, given the many areas of the country it will visit for its annual conference.

But they liked what they saw, and they gave the 413 high marks for its hospitality. This is all a region can hope to do as it brings groups in for their gatherings — make a solid impression that will bring them back.

This formula has helped Western Mass. make a full recovery from the pandemic when it comes to meetings and conventions — and create some real optimism for the years to come.

Western Mass. Offers Plenty of Autumn Fun

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Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Cool Happenings

 

Western Mass. is known for its wide range of tourist destinations and attractions, but the fun doesn’t have to end once the weather cools down. In fact, thanks to the perennial popularity of Halloween with families, October is one of the most lively months on the calendar for fun in the 413. Here are eight ways to enjoy the season.

 

 

The Great Halloween Drive-Thru

1911 Poquonock Ave., Windsor, CT

thegreathalloweendrivethru.com

The Great Halloween Drive-Thru is a unique family- and kid-friendly attraction, conveniently located next to Brown’s Harvest Farm in Windsor, Conn., just 15 minutes from Hartford and 25 minutes from Springfield. Visitors stay in their vehicles for a 45-minute journey through a farm full of spooky holograms, projections, and special effects. The Great Halloween Drive-Thru is not scary. There are no live actors and no jump scares, making this an ideal attraction for families with children. Spooky fun without the scare, the attraction draws visitors from all over Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. The Great Halloween Drive-Thru is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with the last ticket sold at 9 p.m. Admission is $30 per carload.

 

Hancock Shaker Village

1843 West Housatonic St., Pittsfield, MA

hancockshakervillage.org

With 20 historic buildings and a working farm and garden, Hancock Shaker Village is open April through December for self-guided tours, demonstrations, talks, and programs. Admission is $8 to $20, with children under 12 free. On Oct. 17, 18, 23, 25, and 30, the village offers the Haunted Hancock Tour at 7 p.m. ($30 additional cost). Guests can walk the dark halls of the Brick Dwelling and hear about all the haunted stories of this old building. For the younger set, Haunted Hancock for Kids (Oct. 18 and 25, 5 p.m.) is a tour of Shaker ghosts and mystery especially designed for kids ages 8-12 (and at least one adult companion). The 45-minute walking tour ($10-$15) includes a spooky walk through the Village and a visit to the Brick Dwelling. Finally, included in the Hancock admission is the Halloween Pumpkin Extravaganza at the Village on Oct. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guests are invited to wear a costume, trick or treat through the Village, meet Valerian the Garden Witch, and decorate a pumpkin.

 

A family enjoys pumpkin picking at McCray’s Farm.

McCray’s Farm

55 Alvord St., South Hadley, MA

mccrays-farm.com

McCray’s always gets its terror on in the fall, and this year’s Fear on the Farm spectacle includes the Monster Mash Haunted Hayride, Massacre Manor, and the Diagnostic, Operations, Nexus Genetic Research Facility (DONGRF). The farm is open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in October. The ticket box office opens at 6:30 p.m., and the haunted attractions open at 7 p.m. General admission is $30, and the fast pass option (to skip to the front of the line) costs $55, available online only. McCray’s also offers pumpkin hayrides every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ride to the pumpkin patch costs $5, and the pumpkins range in price depending on size.

 

Mike’s Maze at Warner Farm

23 South Main St., Sunderland, MA

mikesmaze.com

Visitors to Mike’s Maze, now celebrating its 25th year as one of the country’s most recognized corn mazes, will encounter activities, games, and amusements to entertain the entire family. Every year, the farm concocts a new maze, along with themed games that will challenge guests to solve puzzles and problems and guide their exploration through the corn. Outside the maze, the attractions include a horse-drawn wagon ride, potato cannons, pumpkin picking, and lunch at the Corn Café. Young kids will enjoy a playground featuring a giant double drain-tube slide, a jump pad, a tractor tire jungle gym, and giant games. Older kids and adults can race around the track in pedal carts at Dave’s Derby. And folks love to check out the view of the maze from the perspective of a giant walk-in camera obscura. General admission ranges from $10 to $14 and is free for kids 4 and under. The site is open through Nov. 2, Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, and Columbus Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home

2 Plunkett St., Lenox, MA

edithwharton.org

The Mount is a turn-of-the-century home, designed and built by Edith Wharton in 1902. Today, this historic landmark is a cultural center with a robust year-round calendar of events. On the Ghost Tour of the Mount (selected Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in October; see edithwharton.org/visit/ghost-tours for a full schedule and reservations), guides lead guests through the darkened halls of the Mount, sharing tales of the many eerie encounters that have been reported there for years. Ghost Tours last approximately two hours and include a half-mile walk — rain or shine — between buildings on the Mount’s campus. This tour contains adult content that is not appropriate for young audiences, and children under 12 will not be admitted. Fortunately, families may also choose a Ghost Tour for Kids on Oct. 3, 24, or 30.

 

One of the performers lurking in a scare zone at Six Flags New England.

Six Flags New England

1623 Main St., Agawam, MA

sixflags.com/newengland

On weekends and select days through Nov. 9, the annual Fright Fest promises plenty of thrills and scares on weekends and select days through Nov. 2. Fright Fest features more than 20 attractions, including five haunted mazes: Nightmares, Terror Tales, Slasher Circus 3D, Midnight Mansion, and Camp Killamore. Guests will also encounter seven immersive scare zones located throughout the park, where creatures lurk in the fog and sinister performers emerge from the shadows. Each zone delivers its own brand of fear, from a toxic wasteland to a city overrun by demons, and even a carnival of sinister clowns. Live shows include Midnight Uprising, The Awakening, Mort’s Used Coffins, and Love at First Fright. Park admission is $39, and entry into the five haunted mazes is an additional $24.

 

Sonny’s Place

349 Main St., Somers, CT

sonnysplace.com

Halloween at Sonny’s takes place throughout October. In addition to more than a dozen year-round attractions, Sonny’s offers a pair of seasonal highlights. Haunted Mini Golf costs $18 per person and features terrifying themes and live scare actors roaming the course from sundown to 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Nov. 1. In addition, the Trick-or-Treat Trail is a chance for kids to trick-or-treat at Sonny’s. Kids can purchase a bag and punch card ($6) and visit highlighted attractions to collect a prize or candy at each one. The trail is open Friday through Sunday during operating hours.

 

An illustration used in the “Witch Panic!” exhibit at the Springfield Museums.

Springfield Museums

21 Edwards St., Springfield, MA

springfieldmuseums.org

Through Nov. 2, the Wood Museum of Springfield History is showcasing an exhibit called “Witch Panic! Massachusetts Before Salem.” Forty years before the infamous trials in Salem, fear gripped the small settlement of Springfield. Neighbors whispered about Mary and Hugh Parsons as rumors simmered for years, exploding into hysteria that eventually consumed the town. “Witch Panic!” dives into the daily lives of the couple, examining the circumstances that led to their 1651 accusation and arrest for witchcraft. Guests can learn about the folklore surrounding witches, like their association with broomsticks, black cats, and cauldrons; design their own ghoulish familiar, a small creature believed to help witches; and review the evidence of the Parsons’ witchcraft as a member of the jury and determine their innocence or guilt. Admission to all five Springfield Museums ranges from $13 to $25, with children under 3 free.

 

Wistariahurst Museum

238 Cabot St., Holyoke, MA

wistariahurst.org

The 19th-century mansion and gardens at Wistariahurst comprise a cultural center that engages with the community and hosts exhibitions, performances, and private events throughout the year. October offers two seasonally appropriate events. Cemetery Tours at Forestdale Cemetery will take place on Oct. 11. Guests will discover all there is to know about living and dying in Holyoke from narratives of the people who now find solace in these hallowed grounds. Four tours kick off between 3 and 4 p.m., and the cost is $15. Then, on Oct. 15, the Darkened Hallways Tour (5:30 p.m., also $15) is a chance to get to know Wistariahurst Museum after dark as guests are led through its halls by candlelight.

Wistariahurst Is a Center for Culture, Education

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Tourism & Hospitality

 

They plan to call it the “Immigration Experience Room.”

And that’s exactly what it will relate, said Megan Seiler, director of the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke, adding that this permanent new exhibit, set to open this summer, will give participants a glimpse into everything from the questions asked immigrants arriving at Ellis Island — thousands of whom found their way to Holyoke — to what they would pack in the one suitcase they would bring to this country.

“You come in, and you’ll take the steps that someone immigrating to this country would have taken, from the medical exam to other questions they would be asked,” she said, adding that this will be a hands-on family activity, complete with a passport that can be stamped and a map so visitors can pinpoint where they’re from.

The Immigration Experience is just one example of how Wistariahurst, the estate built by silk magnate William Skinner, is much more than a house museum; indeed, provides educational experiences involving all of Holyoke and much more. One upcoming exhibit is called “Prison Reimagined,” featuring visual art and poetry created by people who are currently incarcerated.

Meanwhile, it has become an event venue, hosting everything from weddings and retirement parties to art exhibits and book discussions.

The home, like Skinner’s silk mill, was originally in Williamsburg, and moved to Holyoke after the great flood of 1874. The buildings and grounds were owned continually by the Skinner family until 1859, when Katherine Skinner Kilbourne, the youngest child of William and Sarah Skinner, and her heirs gave Wistariahurst to the city of Holyoke.

It has become what Katherine Skinner intended it to be — a center for cultural and educational purposes.

Its grounds are open to the public dawn to dusk, Seiler noted. “We get people coming throughout the day, especially when things are in bloom. We get people doing yoga on their lunch break, we get the YMCA preschool … people love the grounds.”

There are also house tours and, as noted, a wide variety of programs, many of them focused on Holyoke and the people who have come here since it became a planned industrial city in 1873. In addition to “The Immigrant Experience,” there’s also a planned permanent exhibit on migrants who came to Holyoke from the South, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere.

In short, while the landmark tells the story of the Skinners, it really tells the story of Holyoke and all who have called it home. Learn more at www.wistariahurst.org.

—George O’Brien

Westfield Starfires Elevate the Old Ballgame

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Tourism & Hospitality

 

Students. Star Wars fans. Dog lovers (both kinds).

There’s something for just about everyone this year as the Westfield Starfires open up their seventh season of play in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

“We’re actually opening the season with a few games that are baseball and education day games,” team co-owner Chris Thompson said, noting that these are school field trips, with first pitch at 10:30 a.m., that blend game action with lessons about the regions the players hail from, statistics, and sabermetrics.

Other promotions include a Star Wars night to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, fireworks presented by Westfield Gas & Electric, Mental Health Awareness Day, team poster and baseball card giveaways, a dollar dog night, and — speaking of dogs — a Bark in the Park night, where patrons can take in a game with their furry friends.

But the biggest draw is still the team itself, which lost in the league championship game last year and returns a solid group from Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisiana Tech, Ohio, and a host of other schools, including UConn, Boston College, and others from around New England. Prior to last season, the Starfires extended their lease with the city to keep playing at Bullens Field at least until 2034.

“Mayor [Michael] McCabe sees it as an attraction, with people coming to visit from outside of Westfield, and we also have a ton of local partners,” Thompson said. For example, North Elm Butcher Block, a 90-year staple in downtown Westfield, will be dishing out barbecue fare like pulled pork sandwiches, brisket, burnt ends, and mac and cheese balls, while Amherst Brewing Co. is returning for the seventh year with its Starfire IPA.

And for the third year, the team will present the Starfires Summer Classic in June at Forest Park in Springfield. “We go out and do some brand building, build some awareness of who we are, and hopefully the families will come back to the ballpark at Bullens Field. We partner with a lot of regional schools, too, and hope they also might come back with their family.”

There’s also a Father’s Day promotion that culminates with a game of catch between fathers and sons on the field after the game.

“It’s a great family day at the ballpark,” Thompson said. “The goal for us is to try to increase our in-game fan experience, including the between-innings portion. We’re really thrilled by what we’ve been able to do over the last couple years.”

The 2025 season runs from May 28 to Aug. 9. Learn more at www.westfieldstarfires.com.

—Joseph Bednar

Springfield Armory Marks Milestones with a Bang

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Tourism & Hospitality

 

It was just over a half-century ago that the Springfield Armory — the facility that gave the community its heritage of precision manufacturing and even its legacy as the City of Homes — was designated as a national historic site.

And those at the Armory, which now shares its home with Springfield Technical Community College, are celebrating that milestone in many different ways — from merchandise including clothing, pins, and a commemorative passport stamp to a celebration weekend slated for this fall.

But the 50th anniversary is just part of a loaded schedule of programs at the armory this year. There are also events to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, as well as programming that speaks to Springfield’s designation as an American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service, the only one in the Commonwealth, said Susan Ashman, lead park ranger and historic weapons supervisor at the Armory.

It was during World War II that production at the Armory was at its peak, with more than 14,000 people working there producing weapons such as the legendary M1 Garand, said Ashman, adding that this indelible impact on the war, and the region, are big reasons why the Armory, the site for which was chosen by George Washington, was designated as a national historic site.

Today, as throughout its 50-year history, the Armory is a museum, visited by people from across the region and around the world, where visitors can see displays featuring everything from the Blanchard lathe — a turning point, literally and figuratively, when it comes to mass production — to weapons from several eras, to images of the men and women who worked there.

But it’s also the site of special programs, from recreations of historic battles to public talks, like the ones slated for later this year by several World War II-focused writers, including Alex Kershaw, author of The Bedford Boys, First Wave, and Liberator.

Then there’s the annual big-band show, slated this year for Saturday, July 19, which commemorates Benny Goodman’s band’s performance at the Armory in 1943.

As for that weekend celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Armory becoming a national historic site, it’s slated for Aug. 16-17, said Ashman, adding that there will be bands, presentations, hands-on demonstrations, and much more. In short, it will celebrate all that the Armory has meant to Springfield, the region, and the country.

The Springfield Armory is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more at www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm.

—George O’Brien

Robert E. Barrett Fishway Highlights Nature, Ingenuity

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Tourism & Hospitality

Kate Craven says the 2025 season amounts to a “rebirth” for the Robert E. Barrett Fishway.

Indeed, it’s been a strange and difficult stretch for the Holyoke attraction, which did not open in 2020, 2021, or 2022 because of COVID, reopened in 2023, and then closed again to the public last year as the Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E), which operates the facility, undertook extensive upgrades to one of the hydroelectric units at the Hadley Falls station.

So this spring will bring a return to normalcy, if you will, meaning another 500,000 fish covering dozens of different species will be carried over HG&E’s Holyoke Dam by two large elevators — and some 10,000 visitors (that’s the annual average) will be able to take it all in.

That spectrum includes schoolchildren — third- and fourth-graders comprise the sweet spot — on field trips, college students, area families, and visitors to Western Mass. looking for a different kind of getaway.

“People can see where hydropower production, environmental stewardship, and fish passage all come together in a very powerful way,” said Craven, the HG&E’s director of Marketing and Communications, noting that, aside from 2023, many traditions have unfortunately been paused at the fishway, named after Robert Barrett, the former director of the Holyoke Water Power Co., who became consumed with finding a way to help fish — returning to freshwater steams to spawn — find their way over the dam.

They will resume starting May 7 with the opening of the fishway, said Craven, noting that one such tradition comes on Mother’s Day (May 11), when mothers visiting the facility — and many do — are given a carnation.

As noted earlier, visitors to the fishway can see many different species carried over the dam, from American shad, the most populous species, to blueback herring, sea lamprey, and the occasional shortnose sturgeon, a species protected by the federal government.

“We’re hoping to get a lot of school groups and visitors to the fishway this spring,” said Craven, adding that there will be some pent-up demand as well as the usual fascination with seeing ingenuity assist these species of fish with their annual migration to spawn.

The fishway will be open from May 7 to June 15, Wednesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can enjoy a guided tour with a fishway guide or explore the facility at their own pace with a self-guided walk-through. Learn more at www.hged.com/community-environment/barrett-fishway/default.aspx.

—George O’Brien

Engineering to Wildlife, Quabbin Reservoir Has It All

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Tourism & Hospitality

The Quabbin Reservoir is the main drinking water supply for more than 3 million people in the Commonwealth.

It is also an engineering marvel, home to wildlife ranging from eagles to mountain lions to porcupines, the site of dozens of hiking trails, and sits on the site of four small towns that were taken by the state, later disincorporated, and now covered by some 412 billion gallons of water more than 50 feet deep in places.

So there’s history, engineering, nature, recreation, fishing, and education into how this water supply was created and how it operates today. And all of that and more can be taken in with a visit to the reservoir and the Les and Terry Campbell Quabbin Visitor Center in Belchertown, said Maria Beiter-Tucker, Interpretive Services supervisor for the Quabbin.

She handles public programing and educational programming, and quite a bit falls into those two categories.

Starting with the visitor center, located on the first floor of the Quabbin Administration Building at 100 Windsor Dam Road in Belchertown. There, visitors can learn about the history of the Swift River Valley and those aforementioned towns — Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott — and also about why and how the reservoir was constructed and how it is managed today, she said.

There’s also a considerable amount of information about the wildlife that calls the Quabbin home, she said, adding that there are educational programs for visitors and groups, including many school field trips, as well as self-guided tours of the area.

These public programs include hikes of Quabbin Park and Quabbin Reservation, including hikes focused on various habitats. There’s also a hike to Dana Common, where some of the foundations to buildings in that community can still be seen.

Overall, there are dozens of hiking trails, including the Bald Mountain Hill Trail, the Goodnough Dike Vista Trail, the Old Stone Trail, and the Quabbin Park Cemetery tour, which takes visitors to the cemetery created for the relocation of graves from the Swift River Valley.

No dogs are allowed at the Quabbin to keep that drinking supply safe from contamination, but two-legged visitors are more than welcome, and, as mentioned earlier, there is much to see, learn, and experience at this regional gem.

The Quabbin Visitor Center is open every day except Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Learn more at www.mass.gov/locations/quabbin-reservoir.

—George O’Brien

Norman Rockwell Museum Celebrates Illustration

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Tourism & Hospitality

It’s called “Illustrators of Light.”

One of the current exhibititions at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, it’s a collection of advertisements created by Rockwell, and several of his notable peers in the world of 1920s illustration, for Edison Mazda Lamps, a division of General Electric.

“These amazing, large-scale paintings were done as advertisements, and now they’re being put on view to the public for the first time,” said Stephanie Plunkett, the museum’s chief curator, adding that “we constantly change our collections to highlight the influence that illustration has had across time and how Rockwell is a part of that great tradition that continues today.”

While the museum houses the world’s largest collection of art by Rockwell (998 original paintings and drawings in all), many other exhibitions rotate through, including, currently, “All for Laughs: the Artists of the Famous Cartoonist Course,” which was a popular 1950s correspondence course designed to teach artists to be funny; and “Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage,” a series of portraits by Anita Kunz that honor the contributions of history-making women.

Starting in June is “I Spy! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders,” showcasing Wick’s iconic photographic creations, and opening in November is “Jazz Age Illustration,” which explores popular illustration during the 1920s and 1930s and the cultural impact of that work,

Many visitors are surprised at the variety of exhibitions, Plunkett said.

“It’s a very mixed audience. Some people grew up with Rockwell’s illustrations; their families may have received the Saturday Evening Post or the Ladies’ Home Journal, and they have a real familiarity with his work. But we’re getting people across the age spectrum, lots of families with children and young adults. We had a Mad magazine exhibition that brought in an audience interested in comics and cartoons and satire. In addition, we have people who are travelers, people who may view us as a destination location.”

During the warm months, visitors can also visit the actual studio where Rockwell — who lived in Stockbridge for the last 25 years of his life — worked. The building was originally located in the backyard of his home on South Street and moved to the museum grounds in 1986. “It’s fun for people to experience Rockwell’s workspace,” Plunkett said.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is open every day except Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Learn more at www.nrm.org.

—Joseph Bednar

New England Air Museum Soars with History

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Tourism & Hospitality

 

It’s called “Through the Eyes of Igor Sikorsky.”

It’s one of several new exhibits at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Conn., and, like the others, it’s designed to be interactive and take visitors beyond static displays of aircraft — although those are still quite popular.

Sikorsky, the Russian-American aviation pioneer, is known for developing the first American helicopter, although he also developed several fixed-wing aircraft, including ocean-crossing flying boats. His story is a fascinating one, said Stephanie Abrams, president and CEO of the museum, noting that the new exhibit, like the others, is designed to take visitors beyond the aircraft themselves and tell the stories of the people who designed and built them, flew them, and made history in them.

“Every aircraft in this museum, and it’s the seventh-largest of its kind in the country, has a story — a story of human genius, of courage, of innovation,” she said. “Instead of just looking at an aircraft, we want visitors to understand the story of the men and women behind them.”

This same philosophy guided the creation of new exhibits on the Tuskegee Airmen, New England women in aviation, and the famed Kosciuszko Squadron, the Polish squadron, formed with the help of American volunteers, that fought against Russia in 1919 and against the Germans in the Battle of Britain.

Abrams explained that her father was a crew chief on a B-29 Superfortress during World War II and transferred his passion for aircraft and the people behind him to his daughter. Abrams was in the media and later produced documentary films before making a significant and rewarding career change, taking the helm at the air museum.

Since arriving four years ago, she has made significant strides in efforts to “modernize the museum, making it more interactive, creating activation, using flight simulators so people experience flight, and using augmented reality to bring history, or the future, to light.”

Her team’s efforts have helped boost visitorship at the museum, which is now averaging roughly 50,000 a year.

Those who discover this somewhat hidden gem will find these new exhibits, as well as aircraft such as the B-29, a B-25, the A-10 Thunderbolt, one of Sikorsky’s flying boats, the Lockheed Electra, the plane flown by Amelia Earhart, several helicopters, and more, as well as engines and other displays.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more at www.neam.org.

—George O’Brien

Eric Carle Museum Delights All Ages

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Tourism & Hospitality

You’re never too old for the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

“I tell everyone who’s been here before, when their kids were little, to bring them back when they’re older because there’s always something new to see,” said Rebecca Miller Goggins, director of Development. “Our ever-changing art galleries are sophisticated, beautiful, and inspirational for everyone. Our mission is to elevate the art of the picture book.”

The museum features a hallway dedicated to the life of Carle and the iconic children’s books he created (most notably The Very Hungry Caterpillar), but there are three other galleries of works by other artists that change twice yearly, a daily film in the auditorium, regular story times in the reading library, and hands-on activities in the art studio that change every six weeks or so.

“We may coordinate with something going on in the galleries; like, if there’s a watercolor artist, we’ll do watercolors in the art studio,” Goggins explained. “It’s an incredible creative space, and it’s a great place for families with young kids who don’t want to make a mess in their own house — they can come to the Carle and make a mess in our studio. And adults really enjoy making art in the studio as well.”

The museum’s expansive, award-winning bookshop typically carries every book in print by any author featured in a current exhibition, and authors and artists often come in for readings, lectures, and book signings.

Current exhibitions include Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion & the Mouse, featuring the cover art and more than 32 pieces from that book; a 50-year commemoration of Free to Be You and Me; “Created in Color: The Picture Book Art of Raúl Colón”; and an exhibit of work by Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon, and artists she has inspired.

There are also plenty of activities pitched at adults, from lectures and gallery tours to art-making programs, Goggins said, and plenty of reasons to come back, between the rotating exhibits and more than 10,000 pieces in the permanent collection.

And people do come back; the museum attracts more than 40,000 visitors annually and has welcomed more than 1 million since its opening in 2002.

“It’s a remarkable place,” she added. “Picture book art is not just for children; it’s for everyone. It’s ageless and evergreen. So come visit again, and be newly inspired.”

The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Learn more at www.carlemuseum.org.

—Joseph Bednar

The Past Rolls On at Connecticut Trolley Museum

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Tourism & Hospitality

Many museums tout themselves as a chance to go back time, but few actually ‘go’ anywhere. For that, one might consider taking a ride at the Connecticut Trolley Museum.

“We’re a historic trolley and transportation museum, and we mostly see families with young children, but we get everyone, including a lot of visitors who are interested in railroad history,” Executive Director Gina Alimberti said.

“We have a large visitor center packed with trolleys. You can go on and view them and take in our exhibits and history,” she added. “We also have some trolleys outside. We have a full fire-truck museum on the same property, with 20 to 30 old trucks you can view.”

In all, the museum houses more than 70 pieces of rail equipment dating as far back as 1869, not only from Connecticut, but from cities across the U.S. and around the world. But the highlight of the visit for most is taking a ride on an historic streetcar.

“You feel like you’re riding back in time because you would never see yourself riding on these cars,” Alimberti said. “It’s a cool experience, and we try to keep it alive. We don’t want that history to go away. A lot of seniors remember from back in the day, whether it was downtown Springfield or downtown Hartford; they remember it, and they get to experience it again, which is really cool.”

Meanwhile, she added, kids tend to know very little about trolleys, so the museum teaches them that slice of history, and hopefully gains clientele who will keep coming back when they’re older.

Speaking of kids, many events at the Connecticut Trolley Museum are geared toward the younger set and their families, from the current season’s Easter Eggspress days, featuring Easter-themed crafts, exhibits, and movies, as well as a visit from the Easter bunny; the Dino Trolley in July, with dinosaur-themed activities; the Pumpkin Patch Trolley in the fall; and the evening Winterfest and Tunnel of Lights between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The events are a big draw, and they’re critical to museum operations, Alimberti said. “We’re a nonprofit, and the only way we stay afloat are our events. It’s a big revenue maker for us to keep the museum and trolleys maintained.”

The Connecticut Trolley Museum is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in April, May, June, and September; every day except Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in July and August; and for special events later in the year. Learn more at www.ct-trolley.org.

—Joseph Bednar

Berkshire East, Zoar Outdoor Offer Plenty of Thrills

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Tourism & Hospitality

 

When the weather warms up each spring, Berkshire East and Zoar Outdoor — two neighboring outdoor recreation facilities in Charlemont owned by the same company — roll out a raft (pun intended) of activities, from whitewater rafting and kayaking to ziplining and mountain biking.

Take the Thunder Mountain Bike Park at Berkshire East, where bikers take a lift to the top and can access downhill trails of all skill levels.

“We’ve got quite an assortment of summer racing for families, friends, even school groups. We get folks from all over New England and as far as away as Canada,” said Nathan Marr, director of Marketing. “If you’ve never done downhill mountain biking before, we have clinics and a rental bike shop. It also attracts professionals and experts from all over the world.”

The popular Eastern States Cup racing series comes to the mountain twice a year, in the summer and fall, and over the past three seasons, an event called Thunderstruck has drawn a host of women professional mountain bikers. “It’s not competitive, really,” Marr said. “It’s just a show of what they can do, to show the sport to young women and girls and say, ‘hey, you can compete with the boys, too.’”

Both Berkshire East and Zoar Outdoor also offer rafting trips along the Deerfield River for all ages and skill levels.

“We have a family float trip for kids as young as 5. It’s gentle, fun, and a pretty way to see the river and get outside. Young kids with families can gently float down the river,” Marr said.
“Then, our mid-level trip is class 1 and 2 whitewater, with one class 3 rapid. That’s good for kids who are a little bit older, or someone who may have never been whitewater rafting before.”

An advanced whitewater rafting trip, with a minimum age of 14, features class 3 and 4 rapids along the way, he added. “We see a lot of college students, a lot of adventure camps, bachelor parties, things like that.”

Then there’s the famous Thunderbolt mountain coaster at Berkshire East, which pulls riders up the mountain, and they can enjoy the scenic descent at whatever speed they choose.

“There’s a whole range of things to do,” Marr said. “For folks with a tighter budget, we’ll see families do the mountain coaster and pack a picnic lunch, spread out on the lawn under a tree, and just enjoy being outside the house at a low cost, which is nice.”

Visit www.berkshireeast.com and www.zoaroutdoor.com for updated activities and schedules.

—Joseph Bednar

Retiring CAA Director Reflects on Growth, Potential at Bradley

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Kevin Dillon says Bradley has made great strides over the past decade
Tourism & Hospitality

Final Approach

Kevin Dillon says Bradley has made great strides over the past decade

Kevin Dillon says Bradley has made great strides over the past decade and has the potential to eventually welcome 10 million passengers per year.

Kevin Dillon will be retiring from his position as executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) in January, after 12 years in that job and a half-century in the aviation industry.

As he talked with BusinessWest late last month for what will likely be the last time in his tenure, he listed a number of accomplishments and milestones during his stint — everything from sharp increases in the number of carriers and non-stop flights at Bradley International Airport (12 and 47 are the current numbers) to the addition of trans-continental and trans-Atlantic flights; from the completion of the airport’s $210 million ground transportation center to the recent kickoff of $250 million worth of additional improvements to BDL.

“We’ve accomplished most of the goals we set down when we established the airport authority,” Dillon said. “Certainly the re-establishment of trans-Atlantic and trans-continental service was a very high priority for us, and we’ve been able to accomplish that with our Aer Lingus service and our LAX and other California service that we’ve had over the years.”

But he spent far more time with what has become his favorite subject — where this airport, the second-largest in New England, can go from here, building on the momentum gained over the past dozen years and the solid foundation that’s been built.

Indeed, Dillon has talked often over the years about Bradley reaching 10 million passengers per year (the current number is about 7 million) and what it will take to get there.

Specifically, it will take more of what the roughly 2.8 million people living and working in Bradley’s catchment area (mostly those within an hour’s drive from Windsor Locks) are looking for — more carriers, more flights, and especially more non-stop flights to more places, in this country and beyond.

Kevin Dillon

Kevin Dillon

“Business travel hasn’t come back to the level it was pre-pandemic. And that’s a question mark across the country; will the business ever get back to that level?”

Bradley was making considerable progress in these efforts, increasing passenger volume from just under 6 million to 7 million, before significant headwinds, in the form of the pandemic and its after-effects, set things back, as they did at airports across the country.

But slowly but surely, as air travel has recovered in dramatic fashion and Bradley has added more non-stops via carriers such as Breeze and, most recently, Avelo, the airport is back to roughly where it was before the pandemic, Dillon told BusinessWest.

“We’re turning over an airport that still has tremendous opportunity and potential in front of it,” he said. “Right now, we’re back to where we were before the pandemic, and we’re back on that growth mode. I certainly believe that the next person coming in has a real opportunity to bring that airport passenger count to that 10 million level.”

As it looks to make continued progress, the airport, as it eyes nonstops to London and other popular destinations, is facing enormous competition from every other airport looking to grow its numbers, he went on. Meanwhile, the carriers have only so many planes.

“We’re in competition with every other airport in the country for the airline assets,” he said. “Every airport is trying to convince airlines to put flights into their airport; we compete with every airport in the region for passengers, but we compete with every airport in the country for airline assets.”

Then there’s the still-sluggish business-travel market, which is an important part of the equation at Bradley, where, before the pandemic, roughly half the passenger volume was business-oriented — a high percentage for an airport of this size — and now, it’s closer to 40%.

“Business travel hasn’t come back to the level it was pre-pandemic,” he said. “And that’s a question mark across the country; will the business ever get back to that level?”

Overall, Dillon is bullish on Bradley and believes it has all the ingredients to become an even more popular alternative to Logan in Boston and the airports in and around New York. For this issue’s focus on travel and tourism, he talked about how to, well, get there from here.

 

Plane Speaking

Dillon became the first executive director of the CAA after its formation by state officials more than a dozen years ago in an effort to help Connecticut’s airports, and especially Bradley, reach their full potential.

“We’ve demonstrated time and time again that, if we have non-stop service to a location, we will capture at least 80% of everyone in our core area that’s looking to travel to that location.”

Prior to that, he had worked at several different airports and in various capacities, starting with more than 20 years with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with his last assignment as acting general manager of LaGuardia Airport. Later, he served the Massachusetts Port Authority as director of Aviation Operations before working in Manchester, N.H. as director of its airport, in Orlando, and then as president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corp., before taking the helm at the CAA in 2012.

As noted earlier, his time at Bradley has been marked by a number of accomplishments, including a doubling of non-stop flight destinations, the addition of several new carriers, an economic impact to the region of just under $4 billion, and several capital improvements.

These include upgrades to the terminal building, including $250 million in ongoing work, including an in-line baggage-check system that will also bring two additional gates to the airport, which are sorely needed as it continues to grow.

There’s also a vertical-circulation project that will change the way travelers move through the building, allowing the airport to expand its security checkpoint, Dillon explained, adding that these improvements will effectively extend the useful life of the terminal building.

Some of the biggest steps forward, though, have come with the adding of new carriers, especially those in the “ultra-low-cost” category, as he called it, which are in demand among consumers.

Such carriers include Breeze (which has made Bradley a hub), Frontier, Spirit, and, most recently, Houston-based Avelo, which will start service from Bradley to Cancun; Montego Bay; Jamaica; Charlotte/Concord, N.C.; Daytona Beach and Orlando, Fla.; Houston; and other destinations starting in November.

“That’s a level of carrier that didn’t really exist when the CAA was first created,” he noted, adding that, at the time, Bradley had most of the mainstream carriers — Delta, United, Southwest, and others — and has since has put a hard focus on the lower-cost carriers, “because we saw that’s what the marketplace was looking for, and it has really fueled a lot of the growth here at Bradley as well.”

Another key is the addition of more non-stop flights, which are also in demand among consumers, Dillon said, adding that the total is now at 47 and certain to climb higher. Many of them are to Florida, courtesy of Breeze, JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit, he said, adding that such flights are popular and integral to the overall success of any airport in the Northeast.

“We know where people in our catchment area are flying to and what airport they’re using to do that — so it’s a matter of aggregating that data and then presenting it to an airline and making the business case for why an airline should start that level of service at Bradley.”

“We’re thrilled to see this level of coverage down into the Florida market,” he said. “It’s what allows us to continue to keep people in our market home instead of seeing them travel to a New York airport or Boston.”

 

Non-stop Action

These initiatives and others have positioned Bradley for continued growth, Dillon believes, adding that the priorities moving forward are to stress Bradley’s many assets while continuing to add more services to the mix.

Doing so will enable the airport to draw more customers from within that 60-minute-drive circle, while also perhaps expanding that radius, making Bradley an attractive alternative for people in various regions.

That includes Western Mass., the source of perhaps 20% of Bradley’s overall passenger volume, he said, adding that the 413 is definitely a potential source of additional growth, as is the area just east and south of Worcester — and Connecticut, for that matter, he said.

One of the priorities — and opportunities — moving forward is adding non-stop service to London, a key destination and part of the success quotient for any large airport.

“Far and away, I think London would be the most successful trans-Atlantic service for us, simply because of the high level of demand into London itself, but also all of the connectivity opportunities that exist,” he said, adding that Bradley has been in discussions with British Airways and other carriers about such service.

It would come with a certain amount of risk at mid-size airports such as Bradley, he went on, adding that, because of this, airlines look for revenue guarantees and/or business-community commitments that will guarantee a certain amount of revenue on the flight.

“There’s always risk when you start a service like that,” Dillon said. “But I do believe, based on the numbers we’re generating every day in the market area that we serve, of people who are traveling to London, that it would be a very successful service.”

Other priorities include additional non-stop flights to spots in the Caribbean and this country, including Seattle, an increasingly popular destination.

With more non-stops, the airport can, as he noted earlier, attract more people in its main catchment area.

“We’ve demonstrated time and time again that, if we have non-stop service to a location, we will capture at least 80% of everyone in our core area that’s looking to travel to that location,” Dillon said, adding that this bodes well for carriers looking to accept the risk of bringing more of these flights to Bradley.

“If we can bring Seattle service to Bradley, people are going to stay home and utilize Bradley for that service,” he went on. “Today, if you want a non-stop service into Seattle, you have to go to either Boston or New York. We have a lot of data available to us; we know where people in our catchment area are flying to and what airport they’re using to do that — so it’s a matter of aggregating that data and then presenting it to an airline and making the business case for why an airline should start that level of service at Bradley.”

Strong levels of business travel always help an airport make its case, he continued, adding that Bradley has historically been blessed with that quality. Thus, the future of business travel will be one of the factors determining the overall trajectory of its growth pattern.

Overall, many factors will ultimately decide where Bradley goes from here. And as Dillon prepares to step into retirement, he believes he’s helped put the airport on the proper flight path.

Springfield Museums Ride Wave of Momentum, Innovation, Entrepreneurship

By
Kay Simpson, left, and Cynthia Campbell
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

The Seuss Effect

Kay Simpson, left, and Cynthia Campbell

Kay Simpson, left, and Cynthia Campbell at the soon-to-open Chestnut Street Café and Bakery.

 

‘Bold.’

That’s the word Kay Simpson used as she talked about the Springfield Museums’ decision back in 2018 to acquire what she called a “somewhat blighted” property on Chestnut Street, adjacent to its Wood Museum of Springfield History, with the intention of repurposing it into something else.

The property wasn’t actually for sale, she said, but the Museums essentially made it for sale with an offer that ultimately wasn’t refused, with the intention of improving the landscape and creating a far more positive impression of the Quadrangle. And six years later — a timespan lengthened by COVID, rising construction prices, and other factors — that something else is turning into a nod to Dr. Seuss, or his grandparents, to be more precise.

Indeed, Ted Geisel’s grandparents operated a bakery on Howard Street, a site now part of the MGM Springfield footprint. The two former storefronts on Chestnut Street, a liquor store and convenience store, will become a bakery and café, with the latter featuring plant-based foods (more on that later). The venue has been outfitted with a replica of the kind of delivery truck the children’s author’s grandparents might have used.

This latest initiative at the Museums is innovative, entrepreneurial, and, yes, bold, operating traits that have been inspired by, or amplified by, the runaway success that is the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the importance of which to the Springfield Museums, from the bottom line to exposure nationally and globally, simply cannot be overstated, Simpson said.

“We’ve been using the experience of opening the Dr. Seuss museum and the kind of family engagement that it engendered, and spreading it out all over the Quadrangle.”

“It’s been … monumental,” she told BusinessWest, noting that, before the facility opened in 2017, the Museums had logged operating deficits for several years running. In the one month it was open before the end of FY 2017, it helped balance that year’s budget, she went on, adding that there have been balanced budgets and even surpluses since, at a time when many museums have struggled to come back from COVID.

As for exposure, stories about the RMV offering a new license plate honoring Dr. Seuss and featuring the Cat in the Hat have appeared in news outlets across the country.

But the Seuss museum has done more than enhance visitorship, revenues, and the profile of the Springfield Museums, she went on. It has also helped to inspire a number of new programs to make the Museums more interactive, immersive, accessible, and family-friendly.

“We’ve been using the experience of opening the Dr. Seuss museum and the kind of family engagement that it engendered, and spreading it out all over the Quadrangle,” Simpson said, adding that this has always been the case with the Springfield Science Museum (for which there are some intriguing new initiatives in various stages of development), but now extends to all corners of the museum complex.

“When we look at any of our museums, the work that we’re trying to do now is really about making them interactive, making them more participatory, and using the points of accessibility,” she went on, adding that Dr. Seuss has helped make the museums more accessible because he is a worldwide brand associated with fun. “People feel like there’s something to see and do when they’re here at the Museums.”

The Grinch’s Grotto

The Grinch’s Grotto is just one example of how leadership at the Museums is bringing more family-oriented, immersive experiences to its spaces.

Cynthia Campbell, chair of the Museums’ board of directors and a 10-year member, agreed.

“The impact of opening the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum really marked a transformative point for the Museums,” she explained, noting that it has not only doubled overall attendance and led to other Seuss-related opportunities, from the license plate to to a growing Grinchmas celebration, but it has inspired efforts for more innovative and immersive exhibits and programs, including the ambitious upgrades to Dinosaur Hall, including an animatronic T-rex.

Dr. Mark Keroack, the recently retired president and CEO of Baystate Health and longtime Museums board member, concurred.

“The board embarked on the first strategic plan in recent memory about three years ago, and one of the key things we did was to pivot the mission of the Museums and pivot it away from being just a sanctuary for beautiful things to defining its success by the experience of the people who come there,” he said. “There’s an interest in making sure we’re contemporary and relevant, and that we’re appealing to more diverse audiences, particularly in the city of Springfield but also beyond.”

For this issue and its focus on tourism, we take an in-depth look at how the Springfield Museums have caught a Seuss-inspired wave of momentum, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and how those traits are taking the complex to new places — and new heights.

 

Entrepreneurship on Display

They’re called Free First Wednesdays, or FFWs for short. The name tells you all you need to know.

Admission to the Museums is free the first Wednesday of every month, said Simpson, noting that the FFW on Aug. 7, which drew 1,723 visitors, was the best-attended since the program was launched in January with the help of a three-year, $800,000 grant from the Art Bridges Foundation, founded by Alice Walton, an heiress to the Walmart fortune.

“There’s an interest in making sure we’re contemporary and relevant, and that we’re appealing to more diverse audiences, particularly in the city of Springfield but also beyond.”

Those visitors were treated to Olympics-themed activities, as well as exhibitions and permanent displays, Simpson explained, adding that the Zip code capture in the Welcome Center confirmed that, in addition to strong participation from Connecticut and Massachusetts, visitors also came California, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and other states.

The Free First Wednesdays are just one example of how the Museums have become … let’s say even more innovative and entrepreneurial. Others include initiatives like the Grinch’s Grotto in the SIS Hall of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History for the months of November, December, and early January. Featuring an array of thematic, interactive displays, it “adds another layer to the Seuss experience at the Museums,” Simpson noted.

SIS Hall

SIS Hall has become site for many family-friendly exhibitions, like Big Games Big Fun.

“After opening the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum we started thinking of ways to use some of the other spaces in our buildings for large, immersive exhibitions that have broad appeal,” she said, adding that a good example of this is the SIS Hall in the history museum, which has played host to not only Grinch’s Grotto, but other programs and family-friendly exhibitions as well, including a Big Games Big Fun event and a Barbie Day, which capitalized on the excitement of the 2023 movie.

Currently, the space is hosting “Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum,” an exhibit that brings to life the acclaimed PBS KIDS TV series, which follows the adventures of Xavier and his little sister Yadina and best friend Brad as they tackle everyday problems by traveling back in time to learn from real-life inspirational figures.

“We’ve witnessed many museums struggling and, in fact, closing their doors. Thankfully, we were able to survive that and not only survive — we’re thriving.”

There’s also the Live Animal Center in the Science Museum. With more than $500,000 in funding from a federal earmark and other sources, the tanks in the center have been completely renovated, and new interactive displays are being installed.

Then there’s the new Chestnut Street Café and Bakery, to be operated by the owners of Pulse Café, the 100% plant-based eatery in Hadley, with a soft opening planned for early September.

Funded in part by Leagrey Dimond, Geisel’s stepdaughter, the bakery and café, created at a cost of more than $1 million, will reactivate that space in a way that will bring another dining option to not only Museum visitors, but those who work downtown and the growing numbers of people living there as well.

“I think it’s really exciting that we’re bringing this to downtown Springfield,” she said, adding that the café will be a solid addition to the menu of downtown dining options — and something decidedly different.

It’s also just another example of the Museums being entrepreneurial, innovative, inclusive, and willing to take on new initiatives (and the accompanying risks) at a time when many museums are still struggling in the wake of COVID and doing more hanging on than being bold.

Supporters gather for a celebration in March for meeting the goal for the Dr. Seuss license plate program

Supporters gather for a celebration in March for meeting the goal for the Dr. Seuss license plate program, which is expected to bring more exposure to the Museums and the city.

Campbell agreed. She said the Quadrangle’s deep portfolio of museums — it’s been called a mini-Smithsonian because of the variety — not to mention the huge boost from the Seuss museum, provide it with advantages that most museums simply don’t have.

“We’ve witnessed many museums struggling and, in fact, closing their doors,” she told BusinessWest. “Thankfully, we were able to survive that and not only survive — we’re thriving.”

 

Exhibiting Boldness

There are many other examples of innovation, interactivity, and inclusion, said those we spoke with, including efforts in the history museum to move beyond the displays of cars, motorcycles, and firearms manufactured in Springfield and use the facility not only for more family-friendly exhibits and programs like Grinch’s Grotto and Hasbro Game Land, but also telling the stories of the people who have lived here and do now.

“We want to do more to tell the story of Springfield and its people,” Simpson said, adding that these efforts are very much a work in process, with grants to be pursued for various initiatives. “Previously, we focused on industry and objects, but I think it’s really important, especially as the city changes, and as part of the work we’re doing with inclusion, to tell all of the stories, starting with Indigenous people, but also historic Black Springfield, the Latino population and the growth of that community, as well as other communities.

“It’s a reinterpretation of the history that is told in the Wood museum,” she went on. “People relate to people, so we need to integrate that into what is being presented in that museum.”

Meanwhile, and as noted earlier, one of the key focal points of the current strategic plan is the Science Museum, said Keroack, noting there have been many improvements and more on the way.

Keroack grew up in Springfield, and in his youth, he was a frequent visitor to the Museums and especially the Science Museum.

“I was a bit of a nerd,” he recalled, adding that he was drawn to the fish tanks, dioramas, and physical exhibits. That museum remains a real draw for young people, he said, but it has been in need of a refresh, as he called it, and it is getting one.

The planetarium has been completely renovated, noted Simpson, adding that while the Korkosz projector — the oldest operating American-made projector in the world — is still used in the planetarium presentation, the facility now boasts a full-dome video system, creating immersive experiences in astronomy and earth science.

Meanwhile, the Museums were recently granted the long-term loan of a large, touch-screen, interactive virtual tour of the International Space Station.

“The second floor of the Science Museum has been progressively transformed,” said Simpson, adding that there are plans for a reimagined dinosaur experience that has many moving parts, literally and figuratively.

The experience will start before visitors enter the front door of the Welcome Center, she noted, adding that a large T-rex will appear to burst out of the exterior wall of the building, setting the tone for play and learning. Two smaller juveniles will appear to congregate near the doors, inviting visitor engagement.

Once inside the Welcome Center, visitors will hear the dinosaurs even as they get their admission tickets, she went on, adding that visitors will enter a completely renovated Dinosaur Hall, which will feature a new, animatronic T-rex that moves and roars. It will be surrounded by hatching baby dinosaurs hidden behind simulated reeds, which visitors can discover as they move through the hall.

Meanwhile, important fossils will be showcased in the renovated space to help tell stories of local paleontology. An elevated observation deck will enable visitors to walk around the T-rex as well as to look down on the exhibitions, allowing for a high level of interactivity.

From Dinosaur Hall, visitors will enter an immersive display that explores archosaurs, the animal group from which dinosaurs evolved. The exhibit will feature flying dinosaurs, erupting volcanoes, and interactive games that connect dinosaurs to current life on earth.

“The overarching goal of the new, reimagined dinosaur experience is to establish the Science Museum as home to the flagship dinosaur destination in New England, as well as the regional center for STEM education,” Simpson explained. “We anticipate that we will increase our annual attendance by 25% with our enhanced dinosaur experience.”

Campbell agreed, noting that the Science Museum is the second-most popular attraction at the Quadrangle behind the Seuss museum, and the planned improvements could generate another significant boost in visitorship.

And another way to tell prospective visitors, “oh, the places you’ll go.”

 

Black Birch Vineyard Continues to Branch Out

By
Ian Modestow and Michelle Kersberger
Tourism & Hospitality

Vine Tuned

Ian Modestow and Michelle Kersberger

Ian Modestow and Michelle Kersberger have orchestrated steady growth at Black Birch Vineyard since launching the Hatfield operation in 2017.

 

 

There are not many companies that can say that the pandemic was “probably the best thing that could have happened to us.”

But that’s the phrase Michelle Kersberger summoned as she talked about those unprecedented times. And this was not hyperbole.

Indeed, while the start of the pandemic was a difficult, scary time, to say the least — Kersberger would load up her car and make deliveries to wine-club members just to bring in some much-needed revenue — by late in that summer of 2020, COVID-19 had played a major role in putting the hidden gem that was Black Birch Vineyard on the proverbial map.

“By the time August came around, we had to stop people from coming in,” she said, adding that the winery moved all its operations outdoors, and area residents starved for things to do found several at Black Birch.

“The pandemic was pandemonium. It was crazy here … people were coming from everywhere,” said Ian Modestow, Kersberger’s husband and business partner in this venture, recalling that there were COVID-related restrictions on how many people could be seated outdoors at the winery at any given time, and on more than a few occasions, he had to park his tractor at the top of the long driveway off Straits Road in Hatfield to keep more vehicles from venturing down that gravel path.

“We worked our butts off, our staff worked their butts off … we had too many people coming in, and we had to turn some away.”

Looking back on those days, Ian and Michelle said they were essentially rolling with the punches and making the very best of the opportunities that presented themselves, an MO that has defined Black Birch since they settled into this former onion farm in 2017 after selling off their share of a similar venture in Southampton.

Those opportunities range from the staging of concerts during the summer months — a tradition born from COVID, in many respects — to hosting a wide variety of events in the tasting room, to selling wool and meat generated from the 40 or so sheep that now populate this beautiful real estate.

Things have settled down a little from those crazy days of the pandemic, but business remains steady at Black Birch, and, increasingly, it is now year-round, as we’ll see.

The main businesses are growing grapes and making wine, and Black Birch now produces several different labels, from its Epic White, made from Vidal Blanc grapes, to Eloquent Red, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Blaufrankisch, and Marquette. They come in two distinct labels, white for the ‘heritage’ wines made with grapes purchased from outside growers, and black for the estate wines made with grapes grown on site in Hatfield.

This theme of rolling with the punches continues in 2023, a difficult year due to different types of extreme weather — first a killing frost that destroyed 80% of the grapes planted in May, and then incessant summer rains that will certainly impact the 20% that survived, said Modestow, noting that grapes like it dry and hot, and there simply hasn’t been a lot of that lately.

Fortunately, 2021 and 2022 were boom years for this venture, Kersberger said, adding that they have provided a cushion of sorts from the problems of this spring and summer, although the damage done by Mother Nature will certainly take a toll.

Black Birch now offers a wide array of wines

Black Birch now offers a wide array of wines featuring both its ‘heritage’ and ‘estate’ labels.

Overall, the business plan calls for moving toward producing all wines with grapes produced on site, said Modestow, adding that they’re roughly halfway to that goal, while also growing each of the various operations within this venture, from the events to the sheep’s wool.

For this issue and its focus on wineries and breweries, BusinessWest paid a visit to Black Birch to learn about how a hobby turned into a business … and a passion.

 

Grape Expectations

As they talked about their venture, Modestow and Kersberger were joined first by sibling cats Chardonnay, or ‘Chard’ for short, and Pinot, and later by Burmese mountain dogs Yogi and Simka, who have become part of the team, if you will, at Black Birch, a vision that first started coming into focus when the two business owners met while attending UMass Amherst in the mid-’90s.

Later, during their college journey, they traveled to the Netherlands to visit some of Kersberger’s family and took a side trip to the Loire Valley in France, famous for its wine production.

“We have a lot of repeat customers, and those customers bring new customers, and it grows from there; there’s a lot of word-of-mouth advertising.”

“Being poor college students, we had to camp, and we would camp at farms, and many of them were vineyards — mom-and-pop operations,” she explained. “It sparked our interest, and any time we traveled after that, we always made sure we visited any vineyards or wineries in the region, and our love of the culture grew from there. Everything about wine and winemaking and the community and the social aspect of it … it was always a draw for us.”

Modestow concurred. “When we traveled, we went to wine-growing areas — Burgundy, Champagne, California, Washington, Spain, even Canada and Texas.”

This interest, and burgeoning passion for wine and making wine, stayed with them as they lived in Amsterdam for a year while Ian attended school there for archaeology, and later, as they started their professional careers, with Modestow launching a dental practice in Northampton and Kersberger essentially managing that practice.

In 2011, this interest in wine started morphing into a business, with Modestow and Kersberger partnering with Mary and Ed Hamel in a venture that would become Black Birch Vineyard in Southampton. In the spring of 2017, they would take that name and their experience, equipment, and burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit to a former onion farm in Hatfield and put down some roots — figuratively, but also quite literally.

Indeed, they would move twice in two months, first to a storage facility and then to the farm in Hatfield, and eventually plant more than 12 acres with roughly 19,000 vines of several different cool-climate varietals, from Chardonnay to Riesling; Pinot Noir to Trominette. They also opened a tasting room (a transformed former onion barn) and launched a wine club.

Black Birch Vineyard

Black Birch Vineyard

Over time, Modestow would ease out of his dental practice — he is now all but officially retired from that profession — and he and Kersberger would make wine and winemaking a full-time pursuit.

They were gradually gaining some traction, and a following, for their wines, when the pandemic put them on a faster, more vibrant track. As noted earlier, it didn’t happen overnight; the first few months of the pandemic were quite scary indeed as both Black Birch and the dental practice shut down, leaving no revenue coming in.

But as area residents starting looking for things they could do, the Black Birch team saw opportunities as they moved many functions outside and kicked off their summer music series with artists who were looking for, and desperate for, places to play their music.

“We were able to open up, pivot what we were doing, and make everything work,” Kersberger recalled. “We worked our butts off, our staff worked their butts off … we had too many people coming in, and we had to turn some away.”

Those who did manage to get down that long driveway apparently enjoyed their experience, she went on, noting that there have been large numbers of repeat customers coming to Black Birch, enough to make 2021 and 2022 “banner years” for the operation.

“People have been coming back,” she said. “Maybe not as often, but they’re coming back; we really got our name out there.”

Indeed, Black Birch has settled into a groove, if you will, with its recently concluded summer concert series routinely drawing more than 200 visitors; the tasting room seeing business year-round; the facility hosting a wide array of events, from birthday parties to wedding-rehearsal parties; and the sheep generating various forms of business while also grazing the spaces between the rows of vines and providing fertilizer for the vineyard.

And what used to a two- or three-season business is now a year-round venture.

“Things have changed over the past two or three years,” Modestow said. “We’ve gone from winters being dead to winters actually being quite steady.”

Kersberger agreed, noting that the vineyard and winery now draw visitors from up and down the I-91 corridor and beyond, including Connecticut, Vermont, New York, and all across Western Mass., while also welcoming students from UMass and the other Five Colleges institutions — who are more into wine those of a generation or two ago — as well as their parents and friends.

“A huge portion of our customers are from this area,” Kersberger said. “We have a lot of repeat customers, and those customers bring new customers, and it grows from there; there’s a lot of word-of-mouth advertising.”

 

Bottom Line

Getting back to the business plan and the broad goal of producing only wines with those black ‘estate’ labels, Modestow said the extreme weather of 2023 has certainly set those plans back.

On one fateful night in May, the temperature dropped to 25 degrees, killing 80% of the crop at Black Birch.

The full impact of this setback won’t be known for some time, he said, but given the growing demand for Black Birch wines, the damages will certainly increase both dependence on grapes grown elsewhere and reliance on what remains in inventory from previous years.

Meanwhile, after those banner years of 2021 and 2022, when growth was “off the charts,” Kersberger said, projections are for steady, if not as spectacular, growth moving forward.

In short, those at Black Birch will do more rolling with the punches — and the weather.

That has been standard operating procedure since the first vines were planted back in May 2017, and this mindset has enabled a business — and a passion — to take root and bear fruit, both literally and figuratively.

Summer Happenings 2023

By
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

Let’s Have a Ball

Summertime is a great time to get away, but in Western Mass., it’s also a great time to stick around and enjoy the many events on the calendar. Whether you’re craving fair food or craft beer, live music or arts and crafts, historical experiences or small-town pride, the region boasts plenty of ways to celebrate the summer months. Let’s start with Hooplandia — a major basketball tournament that’s been a long time coming, as you’ll find out starting on the next page, but one that promises to grow even bigger as it returns year after year. After that, we detail 20 more recreational and cultural events to fill in those summer days. Admittedly, they only scratch the surface, so we encourage you to get out and explore everything else that makes summer in Western Mass. a memorable time.

Tipping Off a Tradition

After Delays, Hooplandia Finally Gets a Chance to Shine >>Read More

Fun in the Sun

There’s Plenty to Do in Western Mass. This Summer >> Read More

 

After Delays, Hooplandia Finally Gets a Chance to Shine

By
John Doleva (left) and Gene Cassidy
Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

Tipping Off a Tradition

John Doleva (left) and Gene Cassidy

John Doleva (left) and Gene Cassidy didn’t think, when Hooplandia was announced in early 2020, that it would take three more years to tip off, but they say it will be worth the wait.

 

It’s been a long road from Hooplandia’s conception to its tipoff on June 23.

Even longer than the road — that would be Interstate 90 — from Springfield to Spokane, Wash., the home of Hoopfest, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament established 33 years ago that now draws 7,000 teams per year.

When he first visited Spokane, Gene Cassidy saw an enormous highway sign calling that city ‘Hooptown USA.’ And he had two initial thoughts, the first being that, if anyone should call themselves Hooptown, it’s Springfield, not Spokane. The second thought was that this type of event could be huge in the birthplace of basketball.

At the sight of the Hooptown USA sign, “I was shaking my head, asking, ‘how in the world does this region, this city, get that moniker?’” recalled Cassidy, president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition. “They’re on the right street, but that’s the wrong end of the country, right?”

So he brought that idea back to the right end of I-90. And by 2019, Cassidy and John Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, were busy planning to unveil Hooplandia the following June.

And then the pandemic shut the whole world down. Tourism and events were shuttered and canceled.

Or, in the case of Hooplandia, postponed. It was clear right away there would be no such event in 2020, but as the pandemic persisted and subsequent surges continued to hit the nation and the region, the tournament was scrapped for 2021 as well. And while the situation improved somewhat that year, there were too many uncertainties and not enough time to put a tournament in place for 2022.

Which brings us to 2023, and the inaugural Hooplandia event finally set to descend on the region for three days on June 23-25. Most games will be played at the Big E fairgrounds, while championship matches in numerous divisions — which include children, first responders, active military, veterans, high school and college students at various skill levels, adult teams at various age ranges, even Special Olympics and wheelchair teams — will get the spotlight of being hosted at the Hall of Fame itself.

“With three weeks left to go before the event takes place, we’ve got about 350 teams registered,” Cassidy said last week, adding that he hopes to reach 500 by tip-off. “And the growth potential is really unlimited. In Spokane, they’ve been doing it for 33 years. They’ve got 7,000 teams. And we’re prepared at Eastern States to beat them.”

Doleva agrees. He knows it will take time to ramp up to that level — but believes it’s possible.

“We’re at the beginning stages of this. And I think we’re in a really good position to launch this. Having the number of teams that Gene’s talking about and getting some momentum here is very important. This first year and the second year are going to be very important to position this tournament as a premier tournament for the future.”

He compared the progression of the tournament to a concentric circle that expands farther out each year.

“Spokane draws from all 48 states consistently. They have international teams,” he said. But after the first year or two in Springfield and West Springfield, “with B-roll to show and as we recruit teams and share through social media, all those things will build as we go further and further out. So I think Gene is right. We’ll go beyond New England this year, and we’ll go beyond that to Philadelphia and down to the Washington, D.C. area. And if we’re able to accomplish that, then we really are in kind of a national march with this by years three to five.”

Besides signing Dunkin’ on as presenting sponsor, Hooplandia has attracted many other big-name sponsors and supporters, including Baystate Health, Ford Dealers of New England, local Boys and Girls Clubs, PeoplesBank, Westfield Bank, and Bulkley Richardson, to name just a few.

“We are thrilled to support the inaugural Hooplandia event,” said Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, adding that its Western Massachusetts Sports Commission division is committed to supporting athletic events that bring visitors into the region and contribute to the economic vitality of Western Mass. “Hooplandia is a great collaboration between the Eastern States Exposition and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame — two important attractions that have joined together to provide even more opportunities for increased visitation to the region.”

All that is gratifying to Cassidy. “Getting the community to buy in is really important,” he said. “In the end, we’re going to have a signature event for Greater Springfield that’s going to generate business for a lot of people and a lot of regional businesses, not the least of which will be hotels and restaurants. But it’s also going to raise awareness about basketball.”

As well it should, he and Doleva agree — especially in the rightful Hooptown USA, the one thousands of miles east on I-90 from Spokane.

—Joseph Bednar

There’s Plenty to Do in Western Mass. This Summer

By
Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

Fun in the Sun

Beyond Hooplandia, the region offers a wide variety of cultural and recreational happenings for the whole family, from baseball to beer tastings; fireworks to festivals; jazz to jubilees. Here are 20 such upcoming events, and where to find out more about them. Enjoy!

 

Valley Blue Sox

MacKenzie Stadium, 500 Beech St., Holyoke

valleybluesox.pointstreaksites.com/view/valleybluesox

Admission: $5-$7; flex packs, $59-$99

Now through July 29: Western Mass. residents don’t have to trek to Boston to catch quality baseball. The Valley Blue Sox, two-time champions of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, play the home half of their 44-game schedule close to home at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke. Frequent promotional events like postgame fireworks and giveaways help make every game a fun, affordable event for the whole family.

 

Westfield Starfires

Bullens Field, 181 Notre Dame St., Westfield

www.westfieldstarfires.com

Admission: $10; flex packs, $99

Now through Aug. 6: Still can’t get enough baseball? Celebrating their fifth season of action, the Starfires, a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, play a slightly longer schedule (56 games) than the Blue Sox. The team plays at Bullens Field in a city with a rich baseball history, and peppers its games with plenty of local flavor and fan experiences.

 

IRONMAN 70.3 Western Massachusetts Triathlon

Downtown Springfield

www.ironman.com/im703-western-massachusetts

Admission (for spectators): Free

June 11: Springfield will host the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Western Mass. triathlon, which consists of a 70.3-mile journey as athletes will take on a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and 13.1-mile run. Athletes will start with a downriver swim in the Connecticut River. Once out of the water, athletes will transition to the bike at Riverfront Park in downtown Springfield for the 56-mile ride around the region’s biking areas. Once back in Riverfront Park, the race will conclude with a run using the riverwalks and downtown streets of Springfield.

 

Juneteenth Jubilee

Downtown Springfield

facebook.com/juneteenthspfldma2023

Admission: Free

June 16-18: Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the U.S. two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Juneteenth in Springfield will celebrate this holiday with three days of activities, including a flag raising at the Black Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Mason Square and an adult block party at Level 5 restaurant on June 16; a family fun day featuring music, kids’ activities, youth and business award presentationsl, complimentary food from Black-owned restaurants, and more on June 17; and a Father’s Day brunch at the Dunbar Center on June 18.

 

Worthy Craft Beer Showcase

201 Worthington St., Springfield

www.theworthybrewfest.com

Admission: $35-$50

June 17: Smith’s Billiards and Theodores’ Booze, Blues & BBQ, both in the city’s entertainment district, will host more than two dozen breweries at an event that also features live music from the General Gist and others, and plenty of food. The event will also feature a home-brew contest; Amherst Brewing will make the winner’s beer and serve it at next year’s Brew Fest. Designated drivers pay reduced admission of $10.

 

Green River Festival

One College Dr., Greenfield

www.greenriverfestival.com

Admission: Weekend, $169.99; Friday, $59.99; Saturday, $74.99; Sunday, $74.99

June 23-25: For one weekend every summer, Franklin County Fairgrounds hosts a high-energy celebration of music; local food, beer, and wine; handmade crafts; and games and activities for families and children — all topped off with hot-air-balloon launches and a Saturday-evening ‘balloon glow.’ The music is continuous on three stages, with more than 35 bands slated to perform.

 

Municipal Fireworks

Admission: Free

June and July: Western Mass. communities will host numerous fireworks events around the Fourth of July this year. Sites include Szot Park, Chicopee, June 24; Quarry Hill School, Monson, June 24; Look Memorial Park, Northampton, June 24; Westfield Middle School, June 25; Holyoke Community College, June 30; UMass Amherst McGuirk Stadium, July 1; Beacon Field, Greenfield, July 1; Smith Middle School, South Hadley, July 1; Six Flags New England, Agawam, July 1-3; and Riverfront Park, Springfield, July 4.

 

Berkshires Arts Festival

380 State Road, Great Barrington

www.americanartmarketing.com

Admission: $7-$15; ages 9 and under free

July 1-3: Ski Butternut plays host to the Berkshires Arts Festival, a regional tradition for more than two decades. Thousands of art lovers and collectors are expected to stop by to check out and purchase the creations of 155 jury-selected artists and designers from across the country, in both outdoor and air-conditioned indoor exhibition spaces. The family-friendly event also features demonstrations, food, and live music.

 

Monson Summerfest

Main Street, Monson

www.monsonsummerfestinc.com

Admission: Free

July 4: In 1979, a group of parishioners from the town’s Methodist church wanted to start an Independence Day celebration focused on family and community, The first Summerfest featured food, games, and fun activities. With the addition of a parade, along with booths, bands, rides, and activities, the event has evolved into an attraction drawing more than 10,000 people every year. This year’s parade steps off at 10 a.m. on Main Street, followed by activities, music, and a beer garden later in the day.

 

Southwick Pro Motocross National

The Wick 338, 46 Powder Mill Road, Southwick

www.thewick338.com

Admission: $30-$395

July 8: The Southwick National is back on the schedule at the Wick 338. This historic racetrack makes its return to the circuit on July 8 and will serve as the sixth round of the 2023 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Gates open at 7 a.m., and ticket prices span a wide range of viewing opportunities, including preferred and VIP options.

 

Brimfield Outdoor Antiques Show

Route 20, Brimfield

www.brimfieldantiquefleamarket.com

Admission: Free

July 11-16, Sept. 5-10: After expanding steadily through the decades, the Brimfield Antique Show now encompasses six miles of Route 20 and has become a nationally known destination for people to value antiques, collectibles, and flea-market finds. Some 6,000 dealers and close to 1 million total visitors show up at the three annual, week-long events; the first was in May.

 

Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival

300 North Main St., Florence

www.glasgowlands.org

Admission: $5-$22; age 5 and under free

July 15: Held at Look Memorial Park, this 28nd annual festival celebrating all things Scottish features bagpipes, heavy athletics, Celtic dance, drumming, vendors, historical demonstrations, musical guests, children’s events, and much more. For the second straight year, guests can also attend a whiskey-tasting master class ($30) where they can sample and learn the differences and complexities of single-malt scotch whiskey, as well as learning the history of the spirit and how it is made.

 

Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival

Stearns Square, Springfield

www.springfieldjazzfest.com

Admission: Free

July 21-22: The annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival descends upon Stearns Square and surrounding streets this summer, offering a festive atmosphere featuring locally and internationally acclaimed musical artists. More than 10,000 people are expected to attend. The musical lineup will be announced soon on the website.

 

Springfield Dragon Boat Festival

121 West St., Springfield, MA

www.pvriverfront.org

Admission (for spectators): Free

July 29: The sixth annual Springfield Dragon Boat Festival returns to North Riverfront Park. Hosted by the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, this family-friendly festival features the exciting sport of dragon-boat racing and will include music, performances, food, vendors, kids’ activities, and more. The festival is an ideal event for businesses and organizations looking for a team-building opportunity, and provides financial support for the Riverfront Club.

 

Brew at the Zoo

The Zoo in Forest Park, Springfield

forestparkzoo.org/brew

Admission: $50-$75; designated drivers $25-$35

Aug. 5: Brew at The Zoo is a fundraiser at the Zoo in Forest Park, featuring unlimited craft-beer samples from local breweries, a home-brew competition, live music, food trucks, games, and, of course, animal interactions. The fundraiser supports the general operating costs of the more than 225 animals that call the zoo home, many of which have been deemed non-releasable by a wildlife rehabilitator for reasons relating to injury, illness, permanent disability, habituation to humans, and other factors.

 

Agricultural Fairs

Admission: Varies; check websites

August and September: As regional fairs go, the Big E (thebige.com), slated for Sept 15 to Oct. 1, is still the region’s main draw, and there’s something for everyone, whether it’s the copious fair food, livestock shows, Avenue of States houses, parades, local vendors and crafters, or live music. But the Big E isn’t the only agricultural fair on the block. The Middlefield Fair (middlefieldfair.org) kicks off the fair season on Aug. 11-13, followed by the Westfield Fair (thewestfieldfair.com) on Aug. 18-20, the Cummington Fair (cummingtonfair.com) on Aug. 24-27; the Three County Fair in Northampton (3countyfair.com) on Sept. 1-4, the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield (fcas.com) on Sept. 7-10, and the Belchertown Fair (belchertownfair.com) on Sept. 22-24, to name some of the larger gatherings.

 

Glendi

22 St. George Road, Springfield

www.stgeorgecath.org/glendi

Admission: Free

Sept. 8-10: Every year, St. George Cathedral offers thousands of visitors the best in traditional Greek foods, pastries, music, dancing, and old-fashioned Greek hospitality. In addition, the festival offers activities for children, tours of the historic St. George Cathedral and Byzantine Chapel, vendors from across the East Coast, icon workshops, movies in the Glendi Theatre, cooking demonstrations, and more.

 

Mattoon Street Arts Festival

Mattoon Street, Springfield

www.mattoonfestival.org

Admission: Free

Sept. 9-10: Now celebrating its 50th year, the Mattoon Street Arts Festival is the longest-running arts festival in the Pioneer Valley, featuring about 100 exhibitors, including artists that work in ceramics, fibers, glass, jewelry, painting and printmaking, photography, wood, metal, and mixed media. Food vendors and strolling musicians help to make the event a true late-summer destination.

 

FreshGrass Festival

1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams

www.freshgrass.com

Admission: three-day pass, $64-$184; age 6 and under free

Sept. 22-24: The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is known for its musical events, and the FreshGrass festival is among the highlights, showcasing dozens of bluegrass artists and bands on four stages over three days. This year, the lineup includes Dropkick Murphys Acoustic, Lukas Nelson + POTR, Sierra Ferrell, Rhiannon Giddens, the Devil Makes Three, and many more.

 

Old Deerfield Craft Fair

8 Memorial St., Deerfield

www.deerfield-craft.org

Admission: $7, age 12 and under free

Sep. 23-24: This award-winning show that closes out the summer tourism season has been recognized for its traditional crafts and fine-arts categories and offers a great variety of items, from furniture to pottery. And while in town, check out all of Historic Deerfield, featuring restored, 18th-century museum houses with period furnishings, demonstrations of Colonial-era trades, and a collection of Early American crafts, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and metalwork.

 

The Big E Announces New Food Options for 2022

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Daily News Events Luxury Living Restaurants Sports & Leisure STUFF Made in Western Mass Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism Work/Life Balance

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Big E announced Thursday that its food lineup for 2022 includes a number of new offering, including flame-grilled vegan options, sweet apple fries, bubble tea, noodle bowls, brunch options and more.

The line-up of new options includes:

 

New Locations

SoulFully, on New England Avenue: 100% vegan, flame grilled burgers, grilled hot dogs, loaded fries, and milkshakes;

Cha Feo, Young Building: various milk teas, boba teas and Thai teas;

Riceballs Arancini, East Road: beef, veggie, big mac, Philly, Italiano riceballs, Arancini;

Ferrindino Maple Farm, Better Living Center: maple cotton candy and maple cream;

Bakery on Brewer, New England Ave.: apple, apple bacon, blueberry and pumpkin fritters;

Sassys Sweet Potatoes, East Road: roasted root veggies, sweet potato tacos, sweet potato bread, sweet potato pie and Southwest sweet potatoes;

The Happy Dough Co., West Road: apple fries and apple fry sundaes;

Villa of Lebanon, Young Building: baba ganoush, baklava, kofta kabobs, falafel, hummus, kataif, kunapa, meat pies, spinach pie and tabouli

BoardWok Noodles, The Front Porch (Inside Gate 5): yakisoba noodles and rice bowls

The Place 2 Be, The Front Porch: breakfast all day: mini fruity pebble/berries and cream pancakes, Mini Nutella and coconut pancakes and milkshakes topped with waffles and pancakes;

Las Kangris Food Truck, Young Building: yellow rice with pigeon peas, baked pork, baked chicken, green bananas “al mojo,” and seafood salad;

Kulfi Ice Cream Taste of Persia, Food Court: Kulfi, a traditional Indian ice cream;

Frankie’s Famous Italian Frozen Lemonade, Young Building: Springfield’s iconic lemon Italian ice;

  

Chick-Fil-A, Springfield Road: chicken sandwiches, wraps and more

The West Side Grille Cider Garden, sponsored by Downeast Cider – Outside the Young Building: a selection of Downeast craft ciders Original Blend and Cider Donut in cans and on draft brewed in Boston; and

Ann Maries Candies, West Road: old fashioned candies, fudge and nuts.

Oldies with New Offerings

The Big E Bakery: For 2022, it introduces an exciting new flavor cream puff, chocolate;

Harpoon Beer Hall, located on New England Avenue will be debuting a completely revamped menu of pretzels including the Oh that’s Sweet pretzel coated in cinnamon sugar crust served with warm caramel dipping sauce;

Chompers on New England Avenue will feature a new chicken pot pie chomper, crunchy balls with chicken, potatoes, veggies, mozzarella and cheddar cheese with a roasted chicken gravy dipping sauce.

Visit TheBigE.com to see a complete list of new food offerings.

MOSSO Brass Quintet to Perform Free Concert on Sept. 4

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Daily News Events Sports & Leisure Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

SPRINGFIELD — MOSSO Brass Quintet will perform a free concert on September 4, at 3 p.m. at the historic White Church in Blandford. The performance is sponsored by the Recording Industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund.

The MOSSO Brass Quintet features Gerald Serfass and John Charles Thomas on trumpet, Lauren Winter on horn, Scott Cranston on trombone, and Stephen Perry on tuba. According to Perry, the program, which will be announced from the stage, will include classics by Bach, Brahms and Copland; pops and jazz by Ellington, Strayhorn and Lennon/McCartney. Perry added that the program is family-friendly and will last approximately 75 minutes.

MOSSO, which recently named Maestro Kevin Rhodes as its artistic advisor, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and is not a subsidiary of nor affiliated with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Inc. MOSSO has presented four orchestral concerts at Springfield Symphony Hall, a series of chamber ensemble concerts in Springfield, Longmeadow and at the Westfield Athenaeum, and participated in the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival.

9th Annual Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival Expands to Two Days

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Daily News Events Sports & Leisure STUFF Made in Western Mass Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival will this year be staged over two days, August 12 and 13, with a broad mix of music, arts activities, talks on arts, culture, and social justice, local pop-up craft, food and beverages.

The internationally heralded festival is the city’s premier annual event, featuring national stars and local talent playing jazz, blues, funk, Latin, and African music. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. This year’s full musical line-up can be found at springfieldjazzfest.com.

The festival will also offer a sneak peek (or an unveiling depending on its progress) of the iconic Worthington Street Mural project celebrating Springfield history. The mural is being painstakingly restored by Springfield artist John Simpson who has studied old photographs of the building’s wall in an effort to accurately recreate as much of the original mural as possible.

Musical performances on August 12 feature Shor’ty Billups, a soul and R&B living legend who played with Ruth Brown, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Jackie Wilson, and Wilson Pickett among others. Also performing are valley legends FAT with Peter Newland and their special guest Scott Murawski from Max Creek, Valley blues/rock icon Mitch Chakour (who was Joe Cocker’s music director) and friends, popular Valley blues rockers The Buddy McEarns Band, and soulful blues belter Janet Ryan and her band.

The festivities on August 13 commence at 12:30 at the Springfield Museum with a parade led by the New Orleans celebrated second-line ensemble The New Breed Brass Band starting from the Wood Museum of Springfield History, where attendees will have free access to the ‘Horn Man: The Life and Musical Legacy of Charles Neville’ exhibit. The parade will end at the stage for the kick-off performance. The complete Saturday performer line-up can be seen at springfieldjazzfest.com.

In addition to the musical performances, the multi-faceted festival will feature various arts activities and presentations and workshops. Puerto Rican jazz trombonist William Cepeda will lead a workshop about traditional Afro-Puerto Rican music on August 12 at 5 p.m., at the Hispanic American Library. Cuban jazz vocalist, Dayme Arocena, will lead a workshop about traditional Afro-Cuban music at the festival on August 13. Attendees can also participate in a mural paint party (separate mural project from the one on Friday) and a presentation by Puerto Rican mural artist Betsy Casanas, and conversations connecting arts with food and climate justice.

The annual festival is presented by Blues To Green, a nonprofit, using music and art to center the cultures of the African diaspora within American culture, nurture personal freedom, strengthen multicultural community, and catalyze action for racial and climate justice. Inspired by famed musician Charles Neville and founded by his wife, B2G is led by Black Springfield community leaders. Learn more about Blues to Green and how the festival helps achieve social change at bluestogreen.org.

This festival is made possible by a grant from Springfield’s Neighborhood Economic Recovery and Relief Fund, other grant funders and local business sponsors, and donors.

 

In addition to the musical performances, the multi-faceted festival will feature various arts activities and presentations and workshops. Puerto Rican jazz trombonist William Cepeda will lead a workshop about traditional Afro-Puerto Rican music on August 12 at 5 p.m., at the Hispanic American Library. Cuban jazz vocalist, Dayme Arocena, will lead a workshop about traditional Afro-Cuban music at the festival on August 13. Attendees can also participate in a mural paint party (separate mural project from the one on Friday) and a presentation by Puerto Rican mural artist Betsy Casanas, and conversations connecting arts with food and climate justice.

T-Birds Earn Award for #WeAre413 Campaign

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Conventions & Meetings Daily News Events Meetings & Conventions News Sports & Leisure Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Thunderbirds were recognized for their business excellence in a variety of departments at last month’s AHL Team Business Meetings.

For their season-long #WeAre413 campaign, the Thunderbirds organization took home the league award for Marketing Campaign of the Year. The Thunderbirds returned to the ice in 2021 after opting out of the 2020-21 shortened season. This campaign messaging’s goal was to speak to the pride felt by each and every resident of the greater Western Mass region, as well as the longstanding hockey history of the city.

This marks the second time the Thunderbirds have been recognized for having the Marketing Campaign of the Year. The club also received the award following the 2018-19 season for its #RiseUp campaign.

#WeAre413 got underway with the team’s return to the ice on Oct. 16, with legendary NHL broadcast voice Mike “Doc” Emrick narrating the journey the Thunderbirds and the Springfield community experienced to get back on the ice. The full video can be viewed here.

“We wanted to establish a campaign that would speak to the rallying of our community for our triumphant return to play in 2021-22,” said Thunderbirds President Nathan Costa. “#WeAre413 showcased our fans’ passion for hockey and our players’ shared goal of bringing the Calder Cup back to Springfield. By the time the Calder Cup Finals arrived, Springfield was the center of the AHL world thanks to the unwavering support of this community. This award further validates our belief that Springfield is one of the best hockey cities in this league.”

In addition to the Marketing Campaign of the Year, the Thunderbirds achieved a pair of milestones in both the ticket sales and corporate sales departments. As part of the award recognition at the Team Business Meetings, AHL member clubs that hit benchmarks pertaining to tickets sold and corporate sponsorship revenue were honored.

The ticket sales team received honors for reaching 600 new full season equivalents (FSEs) during the 2021-22 season, where one FSE equates to one

BFAIR’s Summer Kick Off Festival Brought the Heat

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Berkshire County Daily News Elder Care Events Sports & Leisure Tourism & Hospitality

NORTH ADAMS — Last month, BFAIR staged its First Annual Summer Kick-Off Festival, which that raised more than $31,000. With support from 34 sponsors and 28 in-kind donations from local businesses, the agency able to offer a fun-filled day full of the musical stylings of Code Blue Duo, food from Adams Mason Food Truck, two mini-golf courses as part of the BFAIR-Way Mini Golf Tournament, and 15 games and activities. In total, more than $3,000 in prizes and raffles were distributed.

“Our first Summer Kick-Off Festival was an amazing way to get back into in-person events and further share the BFAIRmission with the greater community,” said Tara Jacobsen, Fundraising & Grants Manager. “Support that we receive through events like the Summer Kick-Off Festival and with other fundraising activities, helps us to provide essential and individualized care to persons with developmental disabilities, autism, and acquired brain injury. We are so grateful to all our generous sponsors for making this event possible, the volunteers who donated their time, and to all the guests who came out to the event. We are already gearing up for next year.”

Since 1994, BFAIR has been providing AFC, residential, in-home clinical services, employment and day services for adults and children with developmental disabilities, acquired brain injury and autism.

Tighe & Bond Earns 2 Awards for Coonamessett River Restoration Project

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Construction Daily News Environment and Engineering Landscape Design Meetings & Conventions News Tourism & Hospitality

WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond, Inter-Fluve, the Town of Falmouth (MA), and project partners have been recognized with two awards for the Coonamessett River Restoration and John Parker Road Bridge project.

The project team received the Bronze Engineering Excellence Award from The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) and the Nicholas Humber Outstanding Collaboration Award from the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC).

The awards recognize the successful transformation of 56 acres of abandoned cranberry bogs, which established a thriving, self-sustaining ecosystem supporting wildlife, increasing coastal resiliency, and providing educational opportunities. Numerous barriers to fish passage were removed including a dam, water control structures, a series of undersized culverts that were replaced with the new John Parker Road Bridge, and 5,560 feet of the river were reestablished to closely match the historic natural flow of the river. A river overlook is a gateway to miles of trail with interpretive signs about the natural history placed along the river that is protected by town and land trust conservation lands.

“The Coonamessett River restoration achieved its goals to be a nature-based solution to increase resiliency to climate change and community resiliency,” said Elizabeth Gladfelter, Falmouth Conservation Commission Member. “This project has increased awareness and stewardship of natural resources in Falmouth and both formal and informal educational programs.”

Project partners spanning local, state, and federal organizations collaborated with the technical engineering and construction teams to successfully complete this project. The restoration is serving as an example for other Cape Cod communities transforming former cranberry bogs across the region into thriving wildlife habitats and educational and recreational opportunities for all.

Brew at The Zoo returns to Forest Park Zoo on Aug. 6

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Creative Economy Daily News Events Luxury Living Sports & Leisure Tourism & Hospitality Work/Life Balance

SPRINGFIELD — After a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, The Zoo in Forest Park is bringing back its popular Brew at The Zoo, presented by PDC Inc., on Aug. 6 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The 21+ event features beer samples from local craft breweries, a home brew competition, food trucks, live music, games, a raffle, and animal interactions.

“We haven’t been able to host Brew at the Zoo since 2019, and we’ve really missed it,” said Sarah Tsitso, executive director at The Zoo in Forest Park. “This event brings together our incredible craft beer community, who all come out to support the 225 animals that call our zoo their home.”

Attendees can choose from four ticket types: VIP, VIP Designated Driver, General Admission and Designated Driver. Attendees with a VIP ticket will enjoy an extra hour of sampling beginning at 12 p.m., the opportunity to participate in up-close animal encounters, and grain to feed the animals. All attendees must be 21+.

The current list of breweries attending the event include Loophole Brewing, One Way Brewing, Vanished Valley Brewing Co., Broad Brook Brewing Company, Connecticut Valley Brewing Company, Berkshire Brewing Company, Rustic Brewing Company, Iron Duke Brewing, Two Weeks Notice Brewing Company, Brew Practitioners and New City Brewery, in addition to nine home brewers.

The Zoo will be closed to the public on Aug. 6. Advanced tickets are required to attend this event and IDs will be checked at the door. Tickets are limited and on sale now at www.forestparkzoo.org/brew.

For more information, contact Gabry Tyson at (413) 733-2251 ext. 5 or [email protected].

Jazz and Blues Concert Slated at Springfield Armory NHS for July 16 

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Creative Economy Daily News Events Sports & Leisure Tourism & Hospitality Work/Life Balance

SPRINGFIELD — The historic grounds of Springfield Armory National Historic Site is once again the stage this summer for live music.
On July 16 at 6 p.m., the Bad News Jazz and Blues Orchestra, led by Jeff Gavioli,  will perform. The Bad News Jazz and Blues Orchestra is a 19-piece orchestra that has been performing since 2012, playing swing music from the 1930s and 1940s.

The Mount’s 2022 Summer Lecture Series Kicks Off on July 11

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Berkshire County Daily News Education Events Tourism & Hospitality Travel and Tourism Work/Life Balance

LENOX — The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home, announced its 2022 Summer Lecture Series line-up. Now in its 29th year, the Summer Lecture series brings leading biographers and historians to the Berkshires. This year’s series includes journalist and New York Times bestselling author Kati Marton, Pushcart prize-winning poet Ravi Shankar, and Syrian/Jordanian thought leader Luma Mufleh, among other notable speakers. 

Lectures will be held outdoors under an open-air tent on Mondays at 4 p.m. and Tuesdays at 11 a.m., beginning July 11 through August 30. To view the full line-up and purchase tickets, visit EdithWharton.org.

“We have a fascinating mix of narratives about historical figures and contemporary underrepresented voices in this year’s lineup,” said Patricia Pin, The Mount’s Public Program Director. “We are looking forward to welcoming our community back to The Mount for what promises to be an engaging season of meaningful storytelling.” 

  • July 11 and 12: Grace M. Cho, author of Tastes Like War; 
  • July 18 and 19: Victoria Kastner, author of Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect 
  • July 25 and 26: Luma Mufleh, author of Learning America: One Woman’s Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children.
  • August 1 and 2: Ravi Shankar, author of Correctional: A Memoir;
  • August 8 and 9: Susan Branson, author of Scientific Americans;
  • August 15 and 16: Chad Williams on “The Voice of W.E.B Du Bois”
  • August 22 and 23: Ann McCutchan, author of The Life She Wished to Live;
  • August 29 and 30: Kati Marton, author of Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel.

For more information, visit EdithWharton.org

Kevin Rhodes Returns for Celebration of John Williams

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SPRINGFIELD — MOSSO, the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, will celebrate the film music of John Williams on July 21, at 7:30 PM in Springfield Symphony Hall. MOSSO will perform excerpts from Williams’ scores to ET, Schindler’s List, Superman, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and more. Some popular classics, including Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, Massenet’s Meditation from Thaïs, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite open the program.

Maestro Kevin Rhodes was music director and conductor of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra for 20 seasons before the pandemic. He returned to Springfield to conduct his musicians last October in front of a packed house at Symphony Hall, featuring many musical highlights from his tenure as their music director.

Rhodes was recently appointed Chief Conductor of the Slovak National Opera and Ballet in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. In this role he will have a leading artistic position in a European city noted for its cultural diversity, while he continues to serve as music director for the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, and as principal conductor of Boston’s Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra.

Rhodes has been a presence in the major musical capitals of Europe for over 25 years, with credits including The Paris Opera, The Vienna State Opera, The Berlin State Opera, La Scala of Milan, The Dutch National Ballet, The Verona Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, and many others.

Tickets for the concert, a MOSSO benefit, are priced at $60, $45, $25, and $10, and are on sale at: SpringfieldSymphonyMusicians.com. MOSSO sponsors include BusinessWest and Healthcare News, the Republican/MassLive, WWLP-22News & the CW Springfield, the Sheraton Springfield at Monarch Place, New England Public Media, and the Bolduc Schuster Foundation.

MOSSO is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which is not a subsidiary of nor affiliated with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Inc.

Amherst BID Announces 2022 Friday Summer Music on The Common

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Daily News Events News Sports & Leisure Tourism & Hospitality

AMHERST — The Amherst Business Improvement District has announced the lineup for the second annual Friday Night Summer Concert Series on the South Common. The series is sponsored by Encharter Insurance.

On July 22, the BID presents local artists Dawn Lepere and Jeff Starns opening for blues singer-songwriter Eric Lee (LINK). On July 29, UMass will return to the Common for the second year of Jazz in July in downtown Amherst, an event featuring UMass staff, students, and a couple of ‘ringers.’ On August 5, the Grammy-winning Children’s performer MISTER G will take the stage before The Soul Magnets appear. Wrapping up the series on August 12 will be the classic country act the Rosie Porter Trio, followed by the pop-rock Maxxtones.

These events will be free for all, starting at 6 p.m. These evenings will also host local brewery White Lion Brewing, local cider makers Artifact, and Black Birch Vineyards wine for the over-21 guests. Crème Bru.LA will be joining the fun, and there will have a charcuterie station.

Our Annual Guide to Summer Activities in Western Mass.

By
Green River Festival
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Things Are Heating Up

It’s really happening. After a 2020 summer season in which most recreational and cultural venues were shuttered, and a 2021 that made halting progress toward normalcy, with a mix of in-person and virtual offerings, most area attractions are planning a 2022 summer season with few, if any, restrictions, worrying less about COVID this year than the gas prices tourists will be paying to visit them. For those willing to brave the pump, Western Mass. offers a whole lot to do, from live music to theater and dance; from sporting events to Fourth of July festivities; from agricultural fairs to multiple ways to enjoy the Connecticut River. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

 

Adventure East

11 Bridge St., Sunderland

www.adventureeast.com

Admission: Varies

Year-round: People enjoy being out in nature, but planning an outdoor adventure can be time-consuming and challenging. So Adventure East handles the logistics of outings involving hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, shoeshoeing, and more — as well as the equipment — so participants can take in the region’s natural beauty without the hassle of figuring out the details. Its activities take place throughout the region’s forests, mountains, and waterways, with guided tours geared at a wide range of skill and experience levels.

The Big E

The Big E

The Big E

1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield

www.easternstatesexposition.com

Admission: $10-$15; age 5 and under, free; 17-day pass, $20-$40

Sept. 16 to Oct. 2: As regional fairs go, it’s still the big one, and there’s something for everyone, whether it’s the copious fair food or the livestock shows, the Avenue of States houses or the parades, the local vendors and crafters or the live music, which in 2022 includes Nelly and the Dropkick Murphys. But the Big E isn’t the only agricultural fair on the block. The Westfield Fair kicks off the fair season on Aug. 19-21, followed by the Blandford Fair and the Three County Fair in Northampton on Sept. 2-5, the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield on Sept. 8-11, and the Belchertown Fair on Sept. 23-25, to name some of the larger gatherings.

 

Bridge of Flowers

Shelburne Falls

www.bridgeofflowersmass.org

Admission: Free

Through Oct. 31: The Bridge of Flowers connects the towns of Shelburne and Buckland. The seasonal footbridge, once a trolley bridge, has a garden of flowers covering it, which has long drawn visitors from both near and far. While admission is free, visitors may express their appreciation by offering donations in the kiosks located at both entrances. The Bridge of Flowers was recognized as a Franklin Favorite tourist attraction four years in a row (2018-2021) in a contest sponsored by the Greenfield Recorder.

 

 

Brimfield Antique Flea Market

Route 20, Brimfield

www.brimfieldantiquefleamarket.com

Admission: Free

July 12-17, Sept. 6-11: After expanding steadily through the decades, the Brimfield Antique Flea Market now encompasses six miles of Route 20 and has become a nationally known destination for people who value antiques, collectibles, and flea-market finds. Some 6,000 dealers and close to 1 million total visitors show up at the three annual, week-long events; the first was in May.

 

Concerts at the Drake

44 North Pleasant St., Amherst

www.thedrakeamherst.org

Admission: Varies

Year-round: For decades, the Amherst community has clamored for a space for a live performance and music venue. The Amherst Business Improvement District and the Downtown Amherst Foundation listened, and the result is the Drake, a recently opened performing-arts venue in the heart of downtown Amherst, with a planned lineup of both legendary and emerging musical artists from Western Mass. and across the globe, as well as workshops and open-mic nights. Check out the website for a full lineup.

 

FreshGrass Festival

1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams

www.freshgrass.com

Admission: three-day pass, $54-$174; ages 6 and under, free

Sept. 23-25: The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is known for its musical events, and the FreshGrass festival is among the highlights, showcasing dozens of bluegrass artists and bands on four stages over three days. This year, the lineup includes Gary Clark Jr., Old Crow Medicine Show, Tanya Tucker, Trampled by Turtles, the Del McCoury Band, Taj Mahal, and many more.

 

Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival

300 North Main St., Florence

www.glasgowlands.org

Admission: $22; ages 6-12, $5; age 5 and under, free

July 16: Celebrating its 27th anniversary, the largest Scottish festival in Massachusetts, held at Look Park, features Highland dancers, pipe bands, a pipe and drum competition, animals, spinners, weavers, harpists, Celtic music, athletic contests, activities for children, and the authentically dressed Historic Highlanders recreating everyday life in that society from the 14th through 18th centuries. Featured performers this year include Enter the Haggis, Albannach, Sarah the Fiddler, and Charlie Zahm.

 

Green River Festival

Green River Festival

Green River Festival

One College Dr., Greenfield

www.greenriverfestival.com

Admission: Weekend, $170; Friday, $55; Saturday, $75; Sunday, $75

June 24-26: For one weekend every summer, Greenfield Community College hosts a high-energy celebration of music; local food, beer, and wine; handmade crafts; and games and activities for families and children — all topped off with hot-air-balloon launches and evening ‘balloon glows.’ The music is continuous on three stages, with more than 30 artists and bands — from Father John Misty to Waxahatchee to Asleep at the Wheel — slated to perform this year.

 

Independence Day Weekend at Old Sturbridge Village

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge

www.osv.org

Admission: $14-$28

July 2-4: Old Sturbridge Village will celebrate Independence Day weekend with a citizens’ parade, fife and drum music, cannon demonstrations, and more. Attendees can join in a game of old-fashioned baseball, watch a toy hot-air balloon flight, listen to a stirring reading of the Declaration of Independence, and hear excerpts from Frederick Douglass’s 1852 address “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July.” On July 4, a citizen naturalization ceremony will take place on the Village Common.

 

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

358 George Carter Road, Becket

www.jacobspillow.org

Admission: Prices vary

June 18 to Aug. 28: Jacob’s Pillow has become one of the country’s premier showcases for dance. This season begins with the 90th anniversary gala on June 18, which precedes dozens of events, including “Eastern Woodland Dances” on June 22, Ted Shawn’s “Dance of the Ages” on June 23, Ronald K. Brown’s “Evidence” from June 29 to July 3, Caleb Teicher’s “Sw!ng Out” on July 6-10, Ballet Nepantla’s “Valentina” on July 13, and much, much more; check out the website for a full listing.

 

Lady Bea Cruise Boat

1 Alvord St., South Hadley, MA

www.brunelles.com

Admission: $18-$25; kids 3 and under, free

All summer: Interstate 91 is not the only direct thoroughfare from South Hadley to Northampton. The Lady Bea, a 53-foot, 49-passenger, climate-controlled boat operated by Brunelle’s Marina, will take boarders up and back on daily cruises along the Valley’s other major highway: the Connecticut River. If you don’t feel like sharing the 75-minute narrated voyage with others, rent the boat out for a private excursion. Amenties include a PA system, video monitors, a full bar, and seating indoors and on the sun deck.

 

Monson Summerfest

Main Street, Monson

www.monsonsummerfestinc.com

Admission: Free

July 4: In 1979, a group of parishioners from the town’s Methodist church wanted to start an Independence Day celebration focused on family and community. The first Summerfest featured food, games, and fun activities. With the addition of a parade, booths, bands, rides, and activities, the event — now in its 23rd year — has evolved into an attraction drawing between 10,000 and 13,000 people every July 4.

 

Shakespeare & Company

70 Kemble St., Lenox

www.shakespeare.org

Admission: Varies

This year marks Shakespeare & Company’s 45th season of performances, actor training, and education, taking place at two indoor venues and two outdoor spaces, including the 500-seat Spruce Theater, an amphitheater built just last summer. The two Shakespeare productions planned for 2022 include Much Ado About Nothing (July 2 to Aug. 14) and Measure for Measure (Aug. 19 to Sept. 18), while visitors can also take in plenty of contemporary plays, as well as comedy and other events.

 

Six Flags New England

Six Flags New England

Six Flags New England

1623 Main St., Agawam

www.sixflags.com/newengland

Admission: $34.99 and up; season passes, $59.99 and up

All summer: Unlike most seasons, Six Flags has not announced a new ride for 2022, but is touting an improved visitor experience, adding single-rider lines on some of its most popular rides, including Batman the Dark Knight, Harley Quinn Spinsanity, Supergirl Sky Flyer, and more; as well as upgrading its Flash Pass system to a mobile app, offering mobile food ordering, and unveiling new dining options. The main park and the Hurricane Harbor water park are both open now.

 

Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival

Stearns Square, Springfield

www.springfieldjazzfest.com

Admission: Free

Aug. 12-13: This year, Springfield’s biggest music festival moves to the Stearns Square neighborhood, and Worthington and Bridge streets will be closed to vehicles to create a pedestrian area. The Charles Neville Main Stage will be located near Stearns Square, and the Urban Roots Stage will be located near Tower Square Park. The music lineup will include Bomba de Aqui, Albino Mbie, Curtis Haywood, Dayme Arocena, and the Haneef Nelson Quintet, with more announcements to come.

 

Star Spangled Springfield

Downtown Springfield

www.spiritofspringfield.org

Admission: Free

July 4: What’s a better end to an Independence Day filled with food, family, and outdoor fun than taking in a spectacle of the skies? Springfield’s annual event will feature family-friendly entertainment, a flyover by the 104th Fighter Wing, and a dazzling fireworks display from the Memorial Bridge. But that’s hardly the only display on tap. Among the Western Mass. communities that have announced fireworks events are Holyoke (June 24); Chicopee and Northampton (June 25); Greenfield (July 1); South Hadley (July 2); Agawam (July 2-4); East Longmeadow (July 3); Amherst, North Adams, and Pittsfield (July 4); and Otis (July 9).

 

Summer Stage at Ski Butternut

380 State Road, Great Barrington

www.etix.com/ticket/v/23194/ski-butternut

Admission: $24 to $28

July 16, Aug. 27. Sept. 17: For the first time this summer, Ski Butternut will present a family-friendly concert series. The cover bands span a range of rock styles and time periods and include Dean Ford and the Beautiful Ones: A Tribute to Prince (July 16), The Machine: Dark Side of the Moon and Greatest Hits of Pink Floyd (Aug. 27), and The Breakers: A Tribute to Tom Petty (Sept. 17). A variety of food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase.

 

Tanglewood

Tanglewood

Tanglewood

297 West St., Lenox

www.bso.org

Admission: Varies

June 17 to Sept. 4: This summer, for the first time since 2019, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will offer a full season of concerts and events. With Ozawa Hall and the Linde Center for Music and Learning reopening to the public alongside the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood will present a wide range of programs, including eight world and American premieres and 28 works by living composers, as well as 21 artists making their Tanglewood or BSO debuts. See the website for a full listing.

 

Valley Blue Sox

MacKenzie Stadium, 500 Beech St., Holyoke

www.valleybluesox.com

Admission: $5-$7; flex packs, $59-$99

Through July 30: Western Mass. residents don’t have to trek to Boston to catch quality baseball. The Valley Blue Sox, two-time champions of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, play the home half of their 44-game schedule close to home at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke. Frequent promotional events like postgame fireworks and giveaways help make every game a fun, affordable event for the whole family.

 

Westfield Starfires

Bullens Field, Westfield, MA

www.westfieldstarfires.com

Admission: $10; flex packs, $99

Through Aug. 6: Still can’t get enough baseball? The newest baseball club to land in Western Mass., the Starfires, a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, play a slightly longer schedule (56 games) than the Blue Sox. Now in its fourth season, the team plays at Bullens Field in a city with a rich baseball history, and peppers its games with plenty of local flavor and fan experiences.

 

The Zoo in Forest Park

The Zoo in Forest Park

The Zoo in Forest Park

293 Sumner Ave., Springfield, MA

www.forestparkzoo.org

Admission: $5-$10; children under 1, free

Through Oct. 10: The Zoo in Forest Park, located inside Springfield’s Forest Park, is home to a wide variety of species found throughout the world and North America. Meanwhile, the zoo maintains a focus on conservation, wildlife education, and rehabilitations. The Zoo is open seven days a week, weather permitting, and, unlike 2020 and 2021, guests no longer need a timed ticket to visit. u

Region’s Cultural, Recreational Destinations Anticipate a Strong 2022

By
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Time to Shine

For the region’s large and very important tourism and hospitality sector, the past 24 months have been a long, grueling slog marked by COVID-forced restrictions, new variants impacting attendance, a workforce crisis, and large doses of uncertainty about what will come next. Pivoting has been the order of the day, and normalcy has been an elusive goal. But as winter turns to spring, with summer right on its heels, leaders of area attractions are talking optimistically about a year that seems loaded with promise. For this issue’s focus on tourism, we spoke with four of them — a casino, two cultural destinations, and an enterprise focused on the great outdoors — about why 2022 will be different, and why that matters for this region’s tourism economy.

Read the stories below:

Chris Kelly

• Amid Challenges, MGM Springfield Takes Strides Toward Normalcy

• Springfield Museums Moves Toward a Full Slate of Activities

• Shakespeare & Company Looks to ‘Sigh No More’ in 2022

•Adventure East Connects Locals with the Great Outdoors

 

 

 

Shakespeare & Company Looks to ‘Sigh No More’ in 2022

By
Tourism & Hospitality

Staging Ground

Actors in last year’s production of King Lear, starring Christopher Lloyd (center), rehearse in costume on The New Spruce Theatre stage.

 

“Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more / Men were deceivers ever / One foot in sea, and one on shore / To one thing constant never.”

That’s a line from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Three words in particular — ‘Sigh no more’ — have been adopted by Shakespeare & Company as its theme for 2022, and for good reason.

“We’ve chosen to signify we’re walking out of hard times, but they’re not far behind us,” said Jaclyn Stevenson, director of Marketing & Communications at the Lenox-based theater organization. “‘One foot at sea and another on shore’ — we’re moving on to greater things, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Cultural destinations across Western Mass. and the U.S. can certainly relate to that sentiment, navigating plenty of woods as COVID-19 shut down almost all live performances in 2020 and continued to hamper the craft in 2021. But Shakespeare & Company has one foot firmly planted on the shore of a post-pandemic world, and hoping it stays there.

“It’s been very challenging,” Stevenson told BusinessWest. “We went from having no performances at all to having outdoor performances last year — and it was a great benefit to have that option. Then, as things started to reopen, there’s that constant challenge of monitoring what the COVID-19 protocols for the public are, and on top of that, the protocols for actors are often different, so we’re looking at the safety of the patrons as well as the safety of our actors.”

Part of that process was creating a second outdoor space, the 500-seat New Spruce Theater, an amphitheater that went up in only 90 days last summer.

As the company’s two indoor venues reopened as well, changes ranged from an entirely new HVAC system, ensuring the best air quality, to ‘safety seating,’ which puts empty seats between each party. That means less tickets sold, but safety was paramount, Stevenson noted.

“This summer, we’re going to have performances on four stages, two outdoor and two indoor. Some people like the air-conditioned performance experience, and some people like to be outside. But the summer season will continue to be challenging because things are ever-changing.”

The two Shakespeare productions planned for 2022 include Much Ado About Nothing — “a lot of companies are doing it this year because it’s so celebratory; everyone’s happy to be back,” Stevenson said — and Measure for Measure, which involves “war and a madman and depression, so it’s very timely.”

This year marks Shakespeare & Company’s 45th season of performances, actor training, and education, Stevenson said, and while the shows are well-known, not as many people are aware of the other two pillars.

The actor training takes several forms: month-long intensive programs, weekend intensive programs, and a Summer Shakespeare Intensive modeled after the month-long program, which provides young actors — undergraduate theater students, recent graduates, and early-career acting professionals — the opportunity to immerse themselves in Shakespeare six days a week for four weeks during the summer performance season.

In addition, the Center for Actor Training offers a variety of specialized workshops throughout the year, exploring a full range of disciplines, including rhetoric, wit, clown, fight, voice, movement, public speaking, and more. The Center for Actor Training now offers many of its workshops and classes online, providing the opportunity for theater professionals around the world to study with its faculty.

The education side of the ledger is highlighted by the annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare, which brings more than 500 students from 10 high schools together each year for a nine-week, collaborative, non-competitive, celebratory exploration and production of multiple Shakespeare plays. “Our faculty members are working, professional actors,” Stevenson noted.

The program — which culminates in full-scale productions at their own schools and then on the main stage at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse — is the subject of Speak What We Feel, a 2021 documentary by Patrick J. Toole that won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at the 2021 Berkshire International Film Festival.

“The Fall Festival has persevered and continues to grow,” Stevenson said, though it was much scaled back in 2021. “Hopefully, this fall, we can go back to a typical setup.”

While Shakespeare’s plays are the heart of the organization’s mission, Stevenson was quick to point out that visitors can take in plenty of contemporary plays as well throughout the year, as well as comedy and other events.

Meanwhile, she noted, the campus itself is a recreational — or at least relaxing — spot. “We have a 33-acre campus and walkable, accessible grounds that include a full array of modern sculpture peppered in with buildings of many eras. It’s a beautiful campus — you can come here, park your car, walk around, and have a picnic.”

It’s all located in the heart of Lenox, which is why the company has collaborated with local restaurants, which have created Shakespeare-inspired cocktails and desserts.

“The idea is, you can order an ice-cream cone and be reminded that, right down the street, we’re offering productions during the day and evenings in a full array of modern and contemporary titles.”

Bridging the gap between classic and modern — that’s Shakespeare & Company, which hopes 2022 is the year it finally steps out from the sea of a pandemic and moves confidently up the shore, sighing no more.

 

— Joseph Bednar

Hall of Fame Looks to Be a Bigger Player in Events Market

By
John Doleva stands in Center Court at the Hall of Fame
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Taking Its Game to a New Level

Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva

Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva

John Doleva says that, when it comes to bar mitzvahs — and probably bat mitzvahs, for that matter — there has always been an informal type of competition among those young people (and their families).

“From what I understand, each bar mitzvah has to outdo the last one that your kid went to,” said Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “And we think we have the right venue to outdo that last one.”

This phenomenon is just one of many factors working in the favor of the Hall as it tries to up its game when it comes to an always-important part of the business plan but one that has never really lived up to all its promise — events. Others include location, the popularity of basketball, and the lure of being in that sport’s shrine.

The biggest of these factors, though, is the refurbished Hall itself. Indeed, as the leadership team at the shrine blueprinted a massive, far-reaching, $25 million renovation of the facility, they did so with the goal of making it a more attractive venue for everything from those bar and bat mitzvahs to weddings; from corporate meetings to memorial services.

“When we the redid the museum, we designed it first to be a great museum experience, but we also looked at every gallery, every presentation, and every interactive with the opportunity to integrate it with someone coming in and doing a corporate fundraiser, a corporate meeting, a wedding, a bar mitzvah, you name it,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s a very important part of our business, and we want to see it grow.”

“You can really be different — it’s a fun environment. We can alter the lighting and do lots of different things. Rather than just the four walls of an institution, you have a special theme here.”

And while COVID-19 is certainly limiting the pace of progress when it comes to this all-important revenue stream in some obvious ways, especially with the emergence of the Delta variant, the early returns on the Hall’s status as an event venue are quite positive, and the outlook for the future — when COVID is far less of a hindrance — is quite bright.

“The facility lends itself to just about any kind of event,” Doleva said. “We’re in a great position to be ‘that place’ when we come out of all this and nonprofits need to have that all-important fundraising dinner or awards ceremony or celebration. I think the Hall of Fame is poised to be a very special place to do that.”

For this issue and its focus on tourism and hospitality, BusinessWest talked with Doleva about the Hall’s efforts to build this side of its business and how it is working to court many different kinds of event planners — literally and figuratively.

 

Points of Interest

Perhaps the best evidence of the Hall’s emergence as an event venue and its promise moving forward, Doleva said, came at the recent induction ceremonies for the class of 2021.

The actual enshrinement festivities took place at the MassMutual Center, but before that, there was a party for roughly 1,000 people at the Hall, one that became a sort of proving ground when it comes to the many steps taken to bring more events to the facilities on West Columbus Avenue.

John Doleva stands in Center Court at the Hall of Fame

John Doleva stands in Center Court at the Hall of Fame, outfitted with a new 14-by-40-foot video screen.

“We consciously forced people up into the museum rather than being in the lobby and on Center Court, where typically people would be,” he explained. “We wanted to show it off, so we expanded our food and drink offerings up into the museum, and it was a smash hit. It was so great to see everyone in the basketball community enjoying the Hall of Fame, enjoying the technology, the exhibits — just having a great time.

“We actually had a tough time getting people out of here and over to the MassMutual Center for the ceremonies — we had a couple of late buses leaving here,” he went on. “That just underscored the opportunity that we have ahead of us.”

Indeed, the game plan — yes, that’s another sports term — moving forward is to use all the facilities at the Hall, including a new Kobe Bryant exhibit and another new exhibit that enables visitors to virtually become part of TNT’s NBA broadcast crew, to attract a broad array of events.

That list of amenities includes a renovated theater, Center Court with its new 14-by-40-foot screen, the exhibits, catering from Max’s Tavern, and the full package that is now available to businesses, nonprofits, and wedding parties alike.

This is what the leadership team at the Hall had in mind as it blueprinted its renovations — a facility that would be a museum, first and foremost, but also a different kind of event venue.

“We saw the business develop with the old Hall of Fame, before our renovations,” Doleva said. “And we knew, with the redesign and the technology we had, that we could expand that business; with this iteration, it’s by design to be a function venue as well as a great sports-history museum.”

Doleva told BusinessWest that bookings have been solid over the past several months, but COVID has forced some event planners to pause and put some gatherings on hold. He mentioned a local healthcare provider that has rescheduled an event planned for this fall as one example.

Center Court at the Hall has hosted many types of events

Center Court at the Hall has hosted many types of events, including weddings, and with the recent renovations, the goal is to draw more of these receptions.

But, overall, the outlook is positive as event planners continue their quest for something new and different, even during COVID.

“I see smaller organizations wanting to bring people together, and do it in a different kind of venue that’s uplifting and exciting,” he said. “The Hall of Fame, being all brand-new, is very entertaining for people.”

That goes for wedding parties, he noted, adding that, while the Hall has hosted such receptions for years now — his niece was married there well before the renovations — there is now potential to handle more of them.

“You can really be different — it’s a fun environment,” he noted, adding that wedding parties can be, and often are, introduced in the same manner that NBA players are. “We can alter the lighting and do lots of different things. Rather than just the four walls of an institution, you have a special theme here.”

 

Net Results

It’s a theme that resonates with sports fans of all ages and especially young people, he went on, circling back to those bar mitzvahs, which the Hall is booking in ever-growing numbers.

“It’s a wonderful place to have a bar mitzvah because it’s sports-oriented, it’s very friendly for the kids, and there’s lots to do,” Doleva noted. “There’s lots of energy.”

That energy is projected to translate into more bookings, more business, and an overall improved game for what has always been part of the business plan at the Hall, but can now be a much bigger player.

 

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Optimistic for 2021

By
Gillian Amaral (left) and Stacey Warren
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Get Back Here

It’s called ‘revenge spending,’ or ‘vacation retaliation’ — the idea that people who were unable able to spend money on travel last year will go all-out this year. Surveys say it’s a palpable sentiment among Americans right now; the question is whether they will actually follow through on those plans, and how safe they’ll feel doing so. When they’re ready, area tourism and hospitality leaders say, Western Mass. will be an ideal destination, boasting the variety of indoor and outdoor experiences and affordability that travelers seek — an ideal answer to all that pent-up demand.

Gillian Amaral (left) and Stacey Warren

Gillian Amaral (left) and Stacey Warren, co-founders of Three Chics Hospitality.

Mary Kay Wydra learned a couple new phrases over the past few months.

“The buzz term is ‘revenge spending,’” the president of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) said. “That is, ‘I’ll spend more on things I was denied because of COVID.’ Things like in-person entertainment, eating at restaurants next to people, and travel.”

The other buzzword making its way around the tourism industry is ‘vacation retaliation,’ and it means roughly the same thing.

She likes those phrases — or, more accurately, what those sentiments portend. “That bodes well for us as a region,” she told BusinessWest. “We are affordable and easily accessible — a destination with a lot to offer.”

Indeed, while COVID-19 has been far from a positive for the region, it did open many people’s eyes to what Western Mass. has to offer, particularly those who migrated here to escape New York City or Boston at the height of the pandemic. That’s evident in the surging real-estate market, but also in the optimism many in the tourism and hospitality sector are beginning to feel about what lies ahead.

It can be detected in Hampden County’s hotel occupancy, which was 39% in January — down from the 49% recorded a year earlier, but significantly higher than the statewide figure of 29%, and on par with national numbers.

“A great number of people are planning to travel, and Western Mass. is well-positioned to get summer travelers. We have that combination of indoor and outdoor attractions and all this green space for recreation.”

It’s also impacting surveys, like a recent ‘sentiment study’ conducted by American Express that found that 84% of Americans have travel plans in the next six months, the highest figure since the earliest days of the pandemic. And 69% of those intend to take advantage of ‘second-city’ destinations, Wydra noted — in other words, those outside of big cities and top tourist spots.

Places, she said, like Western Mass.

“A great number of people are planning to travel, and Western Mass. is well-positioned to get summer travelers,” she added. “We have that combination of indoor and outdoor attractions and all this green space for recreation.”

One more statistic from the survey: 61% of travelers intend to spend more than normal because they couldn’t go anywhere last year.

That’s music to the ears of Stacey Warren and Gillian Amaral, two veterans of the hospitality industry who recently launched their own enterprise, Three Chics Hospitality, which seeks to market its clients to group-tour operators.

“Our clients are group-friendly restaurants and attractions interested in having motorcoach groups come to their establishments or attractions; we offer consulting and marketing for them,” said Warren, who has worked in the hotel field for 17 years.

She called such connections “vital” to the region. “Every single bus that comes in may need 20 or 25 overnight rooms, then you have 20 to 25 dinners at different restaurants, attraction tickets … one bus is really a big impact on the economy.”

Amaral agreed. “Based on multiple tours we can bring in, the economic impact to the region will be huge,” she said. “And just based on conversations I’ve had with people, they’re ready to travel, they’re ready to get out, but they’re also ready to have someone else do that for them. People are like, ‘I just want to go on a tour; tell me where to go, make it easy for me, and take me there.’ That’s our business model. It just makes sense to be ready when the environment is ready for us.”

That moment isn’t far away, Warren added. “People are ready, and we want to be here to help the restaurants and attractions capture that business while they’re here.”

Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of 1Berkshire, noted in a message to that organization’s members last week that sentiment around travel is starting to turn in a way that promises to benefit Western Mass.

“A year ago at this time, we were headed into two or three months of lockdown where nearly all economic activity ceased. A year later, we’re mostly headed in the other direction,” he said. “Vaccinations are finally beginning to add up, public-health metrics have improved, and statewide capacity and operating restrictions continue to be eased on an almost-weekly basis. Out-of-state travelers from neighboring states are now only subject to travel advisories, and within the next couple weeks, even those should continue to be relaxed.”

Sensing a changing tide, Butler noted, organizations like Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow (see story on page 39) both recently announced a return to live performances for the upcoming season, and will be joined by other institutions like Barrington Stage Co., Berkshire Theatre Group, and Shakespeare and Co. in bringing performing arts — and, in turn, visitors — back to the region.

“When you combine this exciting news with the continued momentum of the outdoor recreation economy, and our other major cultural properties operating closer to full capacity — now having a year under their belt in learning how to best operate during this pandemic — 2021 starts to feel far more exciting than a year ago.”

 

Taking the Long View

As director of Sales for Hampton Inn Chicopee/Springfield, as well as president of Hampton Inns of New England, Warren has her finger on the pulse of hospitality in the region, as does Amaral, an assistant professor of Management at Bay Path University who also runs Events by Gillian LLC, specializing in event management and consulting, and whose past event experience includes stints at the Eastern States Exposition, MassMutual Financial Group, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and the Basketball Hall of Fame.

The third ‘chic’ in their new enterprise’s name is, well, hospitality itself, represented by the image of a pineapple. And they feel like Western Mass. has become more of a household name in tourism and hospitality — with the potential for an even broader reach.

Mary Kay Wydra says Western Mass. is well-positioned

Mary Kay Wydra says Western Mass. is well-positioned to raise its profile in the tourism world.

“A lot of the tour operators that have been bringing groups here would just use this as a stopover because they’re from all over the country, and a lot of them just think of Boston and the Cape,” Warren said. “But they’re starting to think of Western Mass., too, and wanting to do things to add on, to offer new and fun ideas for their clients and keep them coming back.

“There are so many great things they can do right here,” she went on. “We can keep them here for a couple of days and reap the rewards, and have their clients leave here happy and wanting to come back.”

Amaral said the two of them have talked about building a business around this concept for years, and felt like this was the right time — even during a pandemic.

“We felt like there was a need. People would come to the Massachusetts area and always go straight to Boston, but what about us here in Western Mass.?” she asked. “Fast-forward to a pandemic we’re almost out of, and we thought, this is the time for us to be positioned for the influx of travel that will come with group tours.”

With their deep knowledge of the region’s tourism industry, she added, they’re able to craft itineraries tour operators can sell to clients, and it’s not too soon to start making those connections, even when the economy isn’t fully opened up.

“Every single bus that comes in may need 20 or 25 overnight rooms, then you have 20 to 25 dinners at different restaurants, attraction tickets … one bus is really a big impact on the economy.”

“Everyone is poised and ready at this point to just go — let’s hit the switch and move forward,” Amaral said. “That’s why now is the time to launch, versus in July, when things are opening up and people are feeling comfortable. At that point, you’re behind.”

Wydra agreed, noting that statistic about 84% of Americans with travel plans in the near future. “People are creating destination wish lists, and simply having a future trip planned makes people happy. We’re optimistic people are going to visit this year. We pushed pause on marketing last year, but hope to start spending again.”

She said the meeting and convention business will be slower to return, simply because large events are often planned years in advance, and an organization that cancels an event here may not be able to return for a few years. Last year, 164 groups canceled or postponed events in the region, with an estimated economic impact of $97 million going unrealized. However, about half those who canceled plan to come back in a future year, she added.

In the meantime, the GSCVB is engaging in some creative sales pitches for the region by planning virtual site visits at destinations like the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, MGM Springfield, and the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“We’re showcasing the attractions because these attractions set us apart,” she said, adding that the bureau is equally intent on highlighting the many different meeting spaces available. “We want to make sure Western Mass., as a brand, stays out there in front of meeting planners.”

Lindsey Schmid, vice president of Tourism & Marketing for 1Berkshire, recently told Berkshire Magazine about a multi-pronged marketing approach, promoting all there is to do virtually in the Berkshires, as well as continuing to feed travelers ideas and imagery that will inspire them to plan a Berkshire getaway now and more extensive travel later. Part of that message is the outdoor recreation opportunities that helped the region’s tourism sector stay afloat last summer.

It’s a widely understood selling point; U.S. News & World Report’s recent “Best States” feature ranked Massachusetts the ninth-best state in which to live, based on eight factors ranging from healthcare and education to public safely. In the category of natural environment, the Commonwealth ranked fourth.

“Our region leans on the combination of natural beauty and cultural offerings that serve as anchors to drive economic activity; right now, those anchors are preparing for big things in the summer of 2021,” Butler noted.

He added that “the pandemic has tempted us all to lean on pessimism when thinking about the future, but the progressing conditions around us truly call for more cautious optimism. We shouldn’t be so naïve as to think that the summer of 2021 will mark a return to pre-pandemic activity, but we should absolutely be preparing ourselves for a far more robust season than a year ago.”

 

Up in the Air

Certainly, optimism is in the air, although it’s still mixed with some uncertainty. Gathering limits are still a thing, most live performances remain firmly lodged in the future, and some attractions have given no definitive answers on when they’ll open, and to what extent.

For instance, Six Flags New England held a large hiring event last month to fill 3,000 seasonal positions, but the company has issued no definite opening date yet — though it is expected to decide soon, looking to state guidance and the realities of its own business model.

It will do so with heavily publicized safety protocols, like every other tourist destination — an element of the sector Wydra is particularly proud of.

“We’re climbing out of this with precautions still in place,” she said. “I’m very proud of our attractions, with all the protocols put in place, the cleaning and everything else they’re doing to keep visitors safe. You’ll see a lot of that continue.”

Warren said visitors will want to feel safe before the sector really opens up. “There are still some people who are nervous, but we’re able to show them what we can do — what plans the restaurants and attractions have in place to keep them safe when they come — and that’s making them feel very comfortable and ready to visit.”

Amaral cited research showing that people are more comfortable and apt to travel when adequate protocols are in place.

“Being knowledgeable about what to expect ahead of time puts them at ease,” she added. “And, of course, so many people being vaccinated is helping as well. The apprehension, even from six months ago, is much different than it is now. People are just ready to go — with caution, but nonetheless, they’re saying, ‘let’s go.’”

Wydra agreed. “There’s definitely some optimism as we move forward with the vaccines. We’re always hearing about new ones being introduced, and the government keeps making people eligible for it — that’s great news.”

Butler tempered that optimism with the other side of pandemic reality — which is, we’re not out of it yet, and people shouldn’t just abandon the common-sense behaviors that keep case counts down.

“Any increase in business needs to be done with public health and safety as the foremost consideration,” he said. “But all of the larger-picture conditions that have fueled growing visitor and economic activity throughout the past two decades are aligning well.”

Warren has been in the hospitality field long enough to ride a few economic cycles, but she’s never witnessed anything like last year — “and I never want to see it again,” she said. “I’ve never had to cancel so many groups and lose literally millions of dollars in revenue. So I’m looking forward to coming back strong this year and help everyone to bounce back.”

She’s heard from tour operators that they do, indeed, want to come back. But they’ll be returning to a changed tourist economy, and change isn’t always a bad thing, Amaral said.

“This has been a wake-up call to most businesses to think differently, which is exciting to me. Let’s not wait for a pandemic or tragedy to happen to think about a different way to do business or attract a target market or a different product line. If there’s anything we can take from this, it’s don’t get into the same rut. Think about different ways to improve your business.”

Amid the changes, of course, some normalcy is more than welcome.

“Who would have thought, a year ago, that we couldn’t go into a bar and have a drink?” Wydra said. “I want to meet friends after work for drinks. And I’m excited, because I think we’ve got some positive stuff happening in the future.”

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Jacob’s Pillow Looks to Rebound from a Horrific 2020

By
The productions at Jacob’s Pillow
Tourism & Hospitality

Big Steps Forward

The productions at Jacob’s Pillow

The productions at Jacob’s Pillow for the 2021 season will all be outdoors, many at the Inside/Out stage, seen here.

For Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, the nation’s largest and longest running dance festival, 2020 was a lost year in almost every respect.

That’s almost, and we’ll get to that silver lining, if it can be called that, shortly. First, all those losses.

Jacob’s Pillow lost an entire season of live performances and all the revenue that comes with it, forcing a 50% reduction in the budget, layoffs, and other cutbacks. It also lost some momentum when it comes to fundraising, especially for a much-needed renovation of its main stage, the Ted Shawn Theatre, or the ‘Shawn,’ as it’s known. Then, in November, the company lost its smaller, more intimate performance space, the Doris Duke Theatre, or the ‘Duke,’ to a fast-moving fire, the cause of which has still not been determined.

But from the ashes, figuratively but also quite literally, Jacob’s Pillow has plans to roar back in 2021, said Pam Tatge, executive and artistic director. It will be a different kind of year, one with performances in outdoor settings only and to limited audiences, but one in which the company plans to lay a solid foundation for its 90th birthday in 2022, and for the decades to come.

Indeed, ambitious plans are in place to modernize the Ted Shawn Theatre, add air conditioning and new ventilation, and enlarge and improve the stage. Meanwhile, plans are expected to emerge for a new Duke, one that will be conceptualized and designed with input gathered from audiences and artists alike.

“We’ve embarked on a research study to really understand what audiences and artists loved about the Doris Duke Theatre, what they want to retain, and also what artists need for works being made in the 21st century,” Tatge noted. “We’re building a space, hopefully, for the next 90 years.”

While doing that, Jacob’s Pillow will also put on a season of live performances, the pieces of which are still coming together. It will run from June 30 to Aug. 29 and, for logistical reasons and lingering restrictions on travel, feature mostly performers based within driving distance of the 220-acre campus.

Audiences will be smaller and spaced apart for safety reasons, severely limiting in-person attendance. Which brings us to what would be considered the one bright spot for 2020, a schedule of 38 performances from years past — with new pre- and post-performance talks — presented virtually and to huge, global audiences, a development that made it possible for people who could never before get to Becket to take in a performance at the ‘Pillow.’

“We realized an audience for our virtual festival that had thousands more people than we could ever accommodate on the Pillow campus,” Tatge explained. “And 80% of those people were new to us — they had not been on our list before, and that was a great revelation; people know of Jacob’s Pillow, but they haven’t been able to make their way here. So in terms of accessibility and reaching people of different economic means and physical abilities, this was an amazing way to have the magic and joy that we experience on campus at the Pillow shared far more widely.”

For the 2021 season, most performances will again have virtual access internationally, a step to broaden audiences that Tatge called a “a big experiment.”

“We’ll want to see if the audience engagement is as great — it’s summertime, and things are opening again, so we’re going to see,” she said. “But I know a virtual platform has been in Jacob’s Pillow’s mission delivery, and it will continue to be a way that we deliver our mission into the future.”

 

Staging a Comeback

Tatge was at her residence in Connecticut when she got the phone call early in the afternoon on Nov. 16, delivering the terrible news that the Duke was on fire. She raced north as fast as she could and arrived in Becket just as the last remaining portions of the wooden structure were being consumed by the flames.

The loss of the beloved theater that hosted smaller productions seemed to provide a surreal ending to a terrible year that was all too real, and all too painful.

Looking back on it, Tatge said the Pillow, like every other live performing-arts venue, was severely tested by all the pandemic bought with it.

“With the cancellation of the season, we lost all of our earned-income potential — 40% of our budget is ticket income,” she explained. “We had to lay off 35% of our staff. Ultimately, we ended the year OK because we received a PPP grant. Without that grant, we would not have made it through as successfully.”

For 2021, there will be a new, very tight budget, hopes for a second round of PPP, and some high fundraising goals, Tatge went on, adding that there are many unknowns and considerable challenges ahead even as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic draws closer.

Ted Shawn Theatre

At right, the Ted Shawn Theatre, which will undergo an $8 million renovation this year. At left, the Doris Duke Theatre, which was gutted by fire in November. Input is being sought on a replacement, and an architect is likely to be chosen later this year.

“Because our performances are going to be shorter, we won’t have the earned-income potential to bridge the gap between expenses and revenues,” she explained. “So we really need a subsidy, and we really need our community’s support to invest in putting artists back to work — who must get back to work if our field is going to survive this — and bring audiences back together.”

Overall, though, there is considerable optimism moving forward, and Tatge said that, for her, it’s fueled by the tremendous response she’s seen from the community, a broad term she uses to describe constituencies ranging from performers to patrons who take in their work.

“What has been impressive to me is the range of people who have contributed to Jacob’s Pillow so far, from artists themselves, who don’t have much but want to share something with Jacob’s Pillow, to alumni, to our board members and our members,” she said. “Jacob’s Pillow members are a devoted bunch, and they have stepped up, and we’re going to need that to continue until we get to 2022.”

“Our first priority is to bring people back together safely, so we have rigorous protocols that are in place — for audiences, performers, and staff.”

Optimism also abounds concerning the 2021 season of performances, which, as Tatge noted, will take place outdoors — at the Inside/Out stage and other settings around the sprawling campus.

“Our first priority is to bring people back together safely, so we have rigorous protocols that are in place — for audiences, performers, and staff,” she explained, adding that these protocols are being developed in conjunction with — and will be shared by — other performing-arts institutions in the Berkshires, such as Barrington Stage, Tanglewood, and other venues.

This collaboration is in many ways unprecedented, but also quite necessary, she went on, if the the tourism-dependent Berkshires region is to battle back from an incredibly difficult 2020.

The schedule calls for all activities — performances, workshops, and pre-performance talks — to take place outdoors or under a tent, said Tatge, adding that, in addition to the Inside/Out stage, the Pillow boasts a number of other ‘natural stages’ around the campus that will enable visiting companies to stretch their collective imaginations.

“There are so many parts of our campus that we’re going to be inviting audiences to discover,” she told BusinessWest. “And artists are crafting works particularly for our site, and that’s exciting.”

These performances will also be filmed, as most have been over the years, and presented virtually — an opportunity, as she noted earlier, to greatly expand audiences.

While the shows will go on in 2021, the Pillow is also looking to make huge strides with efforts to modernize and renovate the Shawn, opened during the 1940s, and replace the Duke.

The former, an $8 million project, has been in the works for several years, she said, adding that the pandemic has only reinforced the need for air-conditioning and improved ventilation. And this simple reality helped convince the board of directors that, despite the difficult and uncertain times, the Pillow needs to push ahead with a capital campaign conceived to raise the remaining $2 million needed for the project.

Pam Tatge says the ‘Pillow’ has put a horrendous 2020 behind it, but stern challenges remain for this Berkshires institution.

“We quickly realized that the Ted Shawn Theatre will not be viable as a theater in a post-COVID world without a ventilation system and air conditioning,” Tatge said. “It’s not a viable space at present, and we made the decision to take the Shawn offline this summer so we could move ahead with the renovation, which actually began in January, with pre-planning.”

Ultimately, the plan is to have the renovated theater ready for that 90th-anniversary year in 2022.

As for the 30-year-old Duke, that research study she mentioned has been completed, with the next steps in the process being to research architects and ultimately select one, determine the full scope of the project, and pinpoint just how much money will have to be raised beyond what is covered by insurance.

 

The Next Act

Moving forward, Tatge is focused on 2021, obviously, and bouncing back in a big way from a dismal 2020.

But she’s also focused on the future — not just the 90th-anniversary celebrations that will dominate 2022, but the years and decades to come.

The Pillow is a National Historic Landmark and a tradition in Western Mass., and the ultimate mission for staff and board members is to make sure it can serve future generations.

The pandemic severely tested the mettle of this institution, in every conceivable manner. But it has been made stronger by that test and, hopefully, even more resilient.

In short, the Pillow is ready to take big steps forward in 2021 — on stage and in every way.

 

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Coming Together

By Kayla Ebner
Tourism & Hospitality

Gene Cassidy stands in front of what will soon be the midway sign that Big E visitors know very well.

Production of the Big E Takes a Village, and We’re Not Talking About Storrowton

As the clock ticks down the start of another Big E, an elaborate and well-choreographed effort is underway to get everything set for opening night. As it turns out, this is just one of the myriad traditions synonymous with this annual celebration of New England.

Eugene Cassidy likens the process of getting the Big E ready for opening day to choreographing a dance number. In short, a large number of people have to work in sync and in cooperation with one another to get the desired result.

Preparations for the 17-day long fair, which starts Sept. 13, begin 18 months before it happens, and there are countless moving parts that need to come together — properly and on time — to not only have the fair ready for prime time, but to ensure that each day of The Big E is a success.

“Even though we’re now just a month away from the 2019 fair, we’re well into planning for 2020,” said Cassidy, president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition, while explaining how the jig-saw puzzle that is the 2019 fair comes together.

“Everybody is probably on pins and needles as we get ready,” he went on. “Coordinating the fairgrounds is really like being a dance instructor. There are so many little things that need to be considered, like what gets placed first. The choreography that’s required is very important.”

And this year, there is more to be choreographed than merely the tents, displays, rides, and flower gardens.

Indeed, while managing the traffic to and from the fair has always been a matter of import (and a stern test) this year there is a much higher degree of difficulty to those maneuvers.

That’s because the Morgan-Sullivan Bridge, which connects Agawam with West Springfield and borders the western end of the fairgrounds, is roughly one third of the way through a three-year renovation project.
The four-lane bridge is down to two, and as anyone who has ever tried to cross the bridge during Big E time knows, four lanes are not nearly enough.

Strategies are being developed to address the matter, said Agawam Mayor William Sapelli, adding that he is working with both the Big E and the town of West Springfield to devise ways to mitigate tieups.

“We discussed the traffic concerns and how we’re going to mitigate some of those issues,” he said. “The Big E has been very, very cooperative. There’s going to be a lot of coordination between the two police departments… it’s kind of like an orchestrated dance; we have our side and they have theirs.”

So it seems there will be a lot of dancing going on, figuratively, before and during this edition of the Big E, which will look to top last year’s record attendance mark of 1,543,470 people.

Organizers believe they have the lineup to do just that, as we’ll see, and, as always, are keeping their fingers crossed on the weather, which is one puzzle piece that can’t be choreographed.

For this issue and its focus on tourism and hospitality, BusinessWest talked at length with Cassidy and others at the fair to gain some perspective on this year’s edition and also how these fairs come to life.

Gene Cassidy says the carnival rides and games, brought in by the North American Midway Entertainment right after Labor Day, all go up in a matter of days.

Parts of the Whole

Cassidy has been coming to the Big E since his youth, and he has many vivid memories from his visits. Among them is his first view of an elephant when he was 7.

Today, it’s his job — and his mission — to make lasting memories for others. He’s been doing this for eight years as president and CEO, and 26 years of working for the exposition in various capacities.

These memory-making duties are rewarding, but also quite challenging at this time, said Cassidy, listing everything from new and different hurdles being faced by agriculture fairs, especially from animal-rights groups, to mounting competition for the time and attention of families — competition that certainly didn’t exist when the fair was launched, to the aging infrastructure of the Big E itself, with many buildings approaching 100 years in age.

These facilities are “capital intensive,” according to Cassidy, who said donations to the fair are modest because some people do not recognize the Eastern States as something that is worthy of making charitable contributions to.

“Because the fair is so successful, we’re sort of a victim of our own success,” he said. “We produce tremendous agricultural events that draw interest across North America, and we make enough income in order to support those events, but we do not have enough income to recapitalize the facility.”

This makes things difficult when updating the older buildings that hold some of the fair’s most beloved traditions. Over the past seven years, Cassidy said, the corporation has spent about $30 million fixing up the buildings.

“My goal is to raise awareness of the importance of the Eastern States in order to stimulate the interest of our region’s businesses in order to raise money to help recapitalize the facilities,” he said, adding that this awareness-raising process comes down to many factors, including the task of putting on a good show each year.

Brynn Cartelli, Longmeadow native and winner of season 14 of The Voice, is set to perform at The Big E on Sept. 13-15 on the Court of Honor stage.

 

And this involves choreography, but also a blending of the traditional and the new in ways that will draw audiences of all ages. And Noreen Tassinari, director of marketing at the Eastern States Exposition, believes this has been accomplished with the 2019 edition of the fair.

“The Big E is, across generations, a tradition here in Western Mass., Connecticut, and throughout New England — people come for many reasons, and some of the reasons are their favorite family traditions,” she said, adding that for many, the fair is a yearly stop in their calendar, which is why it’s so important to keep adding new items to the extensive list of things to do at the fair.

“We like to have a fresh approach each year, so we like to introduce new entertainment and features and certainly new foods so people are buzzing about what’s going on at the Big E this year,” she said. “We want people thinking ‘we can’t miss the fair.’”

Among the new additions for 2019 are a star-studded entertainment lineup with three stages featuring big-name stars like Loverboy, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Brynn Cartelli, as well as other local artists. Other entertainment includes everything from Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula Showcase, a cultural, educational, trade and tourism showcase featuring products from the Emerald Isle, to the Avenue of States, a unique display of buildings representing each New England state.

John Lebeaux Commissioner of the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources, believes that The Big E might not have as significant of an impact as it does today without the unique representation from all New England states.

“It’s one of the top 10 biggest agricultural fairs in the United States,” he said. “I don’t think we would have been able to achieve that were it not for this regional aspect.”

This extended reach and regional flavor makes the Big E more than a fair and a tradition, said Cassidy, adding that it also a force within the local economy.

“A lot of our mission is to create and build a local economy,” he said, adding that the lastest economic-impact study, conducted in 2014, showed that the annual impact regionally totaled $479 million.

In Cassidy’s seven years as CEO, five have set new records for attendance. If the record is broken again, that will be a good problem to have, in most respects, because of what promises to be a trying year traffic-wise.

As a result of the bridge-construction work, left turns from River Road onto Memorial Ave. are “no longer allowed,” according to The Big E website, and fair-goers are being asked to use Baldwin Street to get to the Eastern States instead.

This will no doubt create lengthier travel times for many people traveling to and from the area, but both Agawam and West Springfield are doing what they can to minimize the inconvenience.

Sapelli said The Big E is making sure that any larger vehicles, including horse trailers and delivery trucks, are using a specific route with better access rather than coming through Agawam and having to make a tight turn onto the bridge. In addition, the fair partnered with King Ward Coach Lines, which will be shuttling people from various locations, including the Enfield Mall, to cut down on the number of vehicles that need to come in for parking.

With realistically only two ways to get to Memorial Avenue, and one of them under serious construction, West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt says delays are, unfortunately, inevitable.

“We’re working with each other and then the state to make sure there are enough resources,” he said. “I think, unfortunately, there’s just going to be traffic going that way because we went from four down to two lanes.”

Sapelli agrees and asks that people be patient while waiting to get into the fair.

“We’ll all get through this, it’s a wonderful fair,” he said. “They do a lot for the economy and the surrounding communities.”

Fair Game

Despite the likely traffic jams, the fair is likely to draw record-breaking crowds. Again, that has been the trend. For now, it’s crunch-time for the Big E staff who have to choreograph another major production.

Between the entertainment artists, the Avenue of States, the seemingly-endless food vendors, and everything in between, it’s easy to see why this fair has become a tradition for families across the Northeast and even beyond.

“You almost need more than one visit to do it justice,” said Tassinari. “We really have the New England flavor and feel, and that’s part of our mission.”