Posted 3/4/2009
Dear Friend of Amherst,
Following are details of the upcoming March 250th anniversary related events. We hope you can join us at some or all of these.
Panel on Women’s Activism, Parade Float-Making Workshop and More Highlight March 250th Anniversary Celebrations for Amherst, Mass.
AMHERST, Mass—The town of Amherst, Mass., continues its celebration of its 250th anniversary with a panel discussion on Friday, March 6, among prominent women residents of what brought them to the area and why they became politically active. The event is one of several planned for the month of March in the town, which is marking its semiquincentennial throughout 2009. Other activities scheduled during the month, themed “War, Peace, and Human Rights,” include a parade float-making workshop, a performance of the “Beauty Stone” opera, a lecture exploring slavery in Amherst, and an interactive science program for fifth and sixth graders. The details are as follows:
* Thursday, March 5, 7 p.m.—Parade float-making workshop at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, 457 Main St.. Committed participants or people considering participating in the 250th celebration parade in September are encouraged to attend this class and learn the nuts and bolts of how to create a float. No advance registration is required.
* Friday, March 6, 4 to 5:30 p.m.—“Amherst Women on the Move, 1959-2000,” a panel discussion at East Lecture Hall, Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College. Featuring Lorna M. Peterson, executive director of Five Colleges, Inc.; State Representative Ellen Story; Lucy Wilson Benson, former national president of the League of Women Voters; Robin Dizard, former professor of English at Keene State College; and Karen Lederer, academic advisor for the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Women’s Studies program, this group of accomplished local women will explore what brought them to Amherst and how and why they became engaged with women’s activism. The panelists will invite the audience to tell their stories as well. Admission is free.
* Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.—“The Beauty Stone,” a Valley Light Opera Benefit at Amherst Regional High School. Tickets, which go on sale at the door an hour prior to the performance, cost $15 for adults and $5 for students. Group discounts and reservations are available for 12 or more people. Call (413) 256-0678 for information.
* Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m.—“Slavery in Colonial Amherst,” a lecture by Robert Romer, emeritus professor in Amherst College’s Department of physics, at Hope Community Church, 20 Gaylord St. Admission is free.
* Thursday, March 19, 6 to 7:30 p.m.—the David Peck Todd Birthday Celebration, an interactive science program for fifth and sixth graders, at the Amherst History Museum, 67 Amity St. Space is limited, so reservations required. Please call (413) 256-0678 or email amhersthistory@yahoo.org for details.
* Friday, March 27, 7:30 p.m. – “Exploring the Battlefields of WWI, Amherst Women Who Were There” Amherst Woman’s Club, Triangle Street. Alice Maud Hills, Katherine D. Morse, and Elizabeth S. Tyler all left some record of their time "over there." Join Libby and Ed Klekowski, Public Television documentary producers as they follow the paths of these Amherst women across the battlefields of 1917-1918.
* The Emily Dickinson museum is offering programming related to the town anniversary too, details of which can be found at http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/events.html
Also on tap during the year are the parade, fireworks, concerts, performances and other activities designed to spotlight the town’s history, culture and economy. Go to http://www.amherst250.org/index.php?id=13 to see the full list of events.