STUFF Made in Western Mass Archives

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.

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

By BusinessWest Staff July 8, 2022

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.

Springfield’s Union Station to Host Music Videos on July 4th

By BusinessWest Staff June 29, 2022

Daily News Events Sports & Leisure STUFF Made in Western Mass Women in Businesss

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Union Station is again hosting a music video of The Star-Spangled Banner sung by local talent Vanessa Ford, who is known as “The Songstress of Springfield.” Also this 4^th of July, is a music video by Kayla Staley, a student at the Springfield Conservatory of the Arts.

Staley performs America the Beautiful in her video, which also includes interior drone video of historic Springfield Union Station.

The videos were planned, recorded and produced by Darcy Young and Mary Cate Mannion, both of whom are producers at New England Corporate Video, a division of GCAi Digital PR and Marketing. GCAi will run both videos for Springfield Union Station on its Social Media channels starting on July 1, and they will run through July 4.

“The 4^th of July is very special for all of us in Springfield, and Union Station wanted to add to the celebration,” said Nicole Sweeney, property manager for Springfield Union Station. “Vanessa and Kayla are local treasures.”

Ford began singing in the church choir at the age of seven, and she loves every genre of music. She is an aficionado of classical music, jazz, pop, traditional hymns, and contemporary gospel music. She has performed the National Anthem for many local college sporting events, at Springfield Police Academy Graduations, and for a multitude of high-profile local and national events.

Staley is a 2022 graduate of Springfield’s Conservatory of the Arts and has been singing since she was 12. She enjoys singing at retirement communities and other public venues.

Cool STUFF Made in Western Massachusetts

By BusinessWest Staff January 8, 2019

Features STUFF Made in Western Mass

Introducing a new publication aimed at the workforce of tomorrow

>> Go to the FLIPbook HERE

Manufacturing jobs have been hard to fill and qualified employees difficult to find –

While the manufacturing sector represents a robust 160,000 jobs in the state, the industry has a PR problem, especially with younger workers. The message of GOOD JOBS AT GOOD WAGES and a future career offering advancement in a growing company is just not getting through. And even with the state’s unemployment rate at 4.4% the industry struggles with recruiting, and needs potential workers to take a fresh look at manufacturing.

Introducing a new publication aimed at the workforce of tomorrow – A Guide to Cool STUFF Made in Western Massachusetts. STUFF is a cool, interactive publication and website profiling area manufacturers, showcasing what they make, who uses it, and what kinds of jobs/careers there are in each company. This special publication is an awareness and recruitment tool for western Mass. manufacturers like no other before it.

Print Distribution:

Students:
Copies went to trade and technical high schools, with additional distribution to all area
high schools through career fairs, guidance counselors.
Community Colleges, as well as career counseling offices in all the state’s colleges.
Through regional workforce groups, employment offices and other targeted workforce
development programs

Manufacturers & MA Business Leaders:
STUFF was mailed to top manufacturers – CEO’s and Sr. executives at the top firms across Western Mass.
Mailed to non-manufacturing employers in Western Mass.
To BusinessWest subscribers
Through manufacturing industry partners and at key manufacturing events throughout the year

For more information contact:
Kate Campiti 413.781.8600 (ext. 104) [email protected]
Kathleen Plante 413.781.8600 (ext. 108) [email protected]

This specialty publication is presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), MassDevelopment, MassMEP, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and The Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association (WMNTMA)

STUFF Made in Western Massachusetts

By Bevinp August 23, 2018

Special Publications STUFF Made in Western Mass

A Guide to STUFF Made in Western Massachusetts

Manufacturing jobs have been hard to fill and qualified employees difficult to find –

While the manufacturing sector represents a robust 160,000 jobs in the state, the industry has a PR problem, especially with younger workers. The message of GOOD JOBS AT GOOD WAGES and a future career offering advancement in a growing company is just not getting through. And even with the state’s unemployment rate at 4.4% the industry struggles with recruiting, and needs potential workers to take a fresh look at manufacturing.

Introducing a new publication aimed at the workforce of tomorrow – A Guide to STUFF Made in Western Massachusetts. STUFF will be a cool, interactive publication and website profiling area manufacturers, showcasing what they make, who uses it, and what kinds of jobs/careers there are in each company. This special publication will be an awareness and recruitment tool for western Mass. manufacturers like no other before it.

If you are manufacturing in Western Mass. and have workforce development as a top priority, make sure your company has a profile in STUFF! Read about how this publication will become part of the efforts to expand the manufacturing workforce and area supporters.

Print Distribution:

Students:
Copies will go to all trade and technical high schools, with additional distribution to all area
high schools through career fairs, guidance counselors.
Community Colleges, as well as career counseling offices in all the state’s colleges.
Through regional workforce groups, employment offices and other targeted workforce
development programs

Manufacturers & MA Business Leaders:
STUFF will be direct mailed to top manufacturers – CEO’s and Sr. executives at the top firms across Western Mass.
Mailed to non-manufacturing employers in Western Mass.
To BusinessWest subscribers
Through manufacturing industry partners and at key manufacturing events throughout the year

Click for Publication Specifics & Pricing
Click for Order Form
Click for Manufacturing Questionnaire

SPACE DEADLINE: OCTOBER 18, 2018.

For more information contact:
Kate Campiti 413.781.8600 (ext. 104) [email protected]
Kathleen Plante 413.781.8600 (ext. 108) [email protected]

This specialty publication is presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), MassDevelopment, MassMEP, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and The Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association (WMNTMA)