Page 20 - BusinessWest May 26, 2020
P. 20

Play Ball!
KBlue Sox, Starfires Ready to Kick Off Their Summer Seasons
Kate Avard says the Blue Sox have maintained strong relationships with programs that have delivered key players in its past few successful seasons.
 ate Avard first discovered the Valley Blue Sox as a summer intern with the club in 2016, while working toward
degrees in sport management and kinesiol- ogy at UMass Amherst, and she was excited to return to the franchise as its general manager in 2020.
It wasn’t the experience she had hoped for, to say the least. But she’s happy to see the team
“It’s an opportunity for kids
to come together and kind of celebrate the social gathering once again.”
finally taking the field in 2021.
“We didn’t get to play last year, and I think
everyone across the league — players, staff, and interns — are all very excited to be able to play this season,” Avard told BusinessWest.
Last year’s lull particularly smarted for the Blue Sox, who were coming off three outstand- ing seasons — New England Collegiate Baseball League championships in 2017 and 2018 and a nailbiter loss in the division finals in 2019.
Summer Happenings
Continued from page 19
experience last year. The co-founder of the West- field Starfires was grateful that the Futures Col- legiate Baseball League actually went through with a season, albeit one with strict pandemic protocols and lim-
    “We’ve gotten tons of interest from players wanting to get back out there for us,” she said. “The same thing with interns — we pull interns from across the U.S. Everyone wants to get back out on the field, and that goes for all the organi- zations in our league.”
Chris Thompson had a different pandemic
Historic Deerfield
84B Old Main St.,
Deerfield, MA
www.historic-deerfield.org
Admission: $5-$18; free for children
under 6
All summer: This outdoor museum
interprets the history and culture of
early New England and the Connecticut
River Valley. Visitors can tour 12
carefully preserved antique houses
dating from 1730 to 1850 and explore
world-class collections of regional
furniture, silver, textiles, and other
decorative arts. Summer activities
include educational lectures, cooking demonstrations, and exhibitions of period items and art. Due to COVID- 19, access to the historic house museums is still restricted, but at least one historic house will open for touring each day, with wider access possible later on. Visitors should inquire on the day of their visit which house is open for touring that day.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
358 George Carter Road, Becket
www.jacobspillow.org
Admission: Prices vary
June 30 to Aug. 29: Jacob’s Pillow has become one of the country’s premier showcases for dance, and this
ited fans. He, too, is looking forward to a
Baseball
Continued on page 56
    of the community to paint at COVID-safe outdoor paint parties during the festival. New this year, the Community Mural Apprentice program will pair 10 local artists with established muralists to learn how to independently engage with the community in designing and painting large, professional murals.
 year’s festival returns with live, in-person events, but much more as well. “We will share the restorative and uplifting power of dance in person at our campus in the Berkshire Hills, on the road in our communities, as well as through live and on-demand events online to reach audiences across the world,” its directors say. “Our offerings will include commissions, premieres, Pillow debuts, talks, and workshops that take into account COVID-compliant protocols to ensure the health and safety of our community. The festival will put artists back to work after the devastation of the pandemic and remind us all of the power of dance to positively impact communities.”
Summer Happenings
Continued on page 22
  20 MAY 26, 2021
SUMMER HAPPENINGS
Staff Photo
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