Living Building Tour at the Hitchcock Center

September 18, 2019, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM @ Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Come meet our newest educator – our Certified Living Building! It is designed to model systems in nature, it is net zero energy, net zero water, has composting toilets, and has been made with responsibly sourced non-toxic materials. We're the 23rd Certified Living Building in the world and the 4th in Massachusetts. Come check us out at one of our bi-monthly tours. Tours typically last from 1-1.5 hours. Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-building-tour-registration-32964376337 Note: We are pleased to be able to offer Spanish language translators for our building tours. If you or someone you know could benefit from translation, know could benefit from translation, please let us know in advance, so that we may schedule a translator for your tour date.

Women of Cancer Alley Film & Conversation: Short Films by Women Living Alongside the Petrochemical Industry & Conversation with Frontline Activists from Louisiana

September 18, 2019, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM @ Hitchcock Center for the Environment

The Women of Cancer Alley, is a first-ever collection of films made by women who live adjacent to chemical plants, tank farms and refineries along the Mississippi River in south Louisiana. Seven 2-minute films depict the lives, concerns and activism of eight women working to stop build out of plastics plants, including a proposed Formosa complex of 14 facilities that will produce single use plastics and an estimated 26 million tons of greenhouse gases in the already-burdened St. James Parish. Nearby St. John Parish has the highest cancer risk in the nation due to unregulated emissions from Denka’s neoprene plant. Come talk with two of the grassroots leaders mobilizing to keep families from the harm of additional toxic emissions, while protecting the global climate from more greenhouse gases. The program will feature the film shorts and a discussion. Join Anne Rolfes Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Sharon Lavigne Founder & Director of RISE St. James in conversation.

District 3 Office Hours with Councilor Dorothy Pam @ the Jones Library Amherst Room

September 19, 2019, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM @ Amherst Room

District 3 Office Hours with Councilor Dorothy Pam @ the Jones Library Amherst Room

Monarch Tagging

September 19, 2019, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM @ Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Help with this ongoing citizen science project and get up close and personal with Monarch butterflies. Learn how to tag monarchs, keep track of them and contribute to a growing body of data that helps us understand monarch migration. The last 2 years have been good for Monarchs! Fun for all ages.

Celebrate Amherst Block Party

September 19, 2019, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM @ Downtown Amherst

Mark your calendars for this years Celebrate Amherst Block Party in Downtown Amherst, presented by the Amherst Business Improvement District. The Amherst BID’s Annual Celebrate Amherst Block Party celebrates the businesses, culture & community of Downtown Amherst. *Be sure to stop by the tables in front of the Central Fire Station to visit with Town of Amherst Community Participation Team, Amherst Fire Department and Police Department.* Music & Entertainment Music at the Futurliner Stage with WRSI’s DJ Kaliis and at The River Stage/Realignment Park: Buddy McEarns Band 5 – 6 pm (60 min) Masala Jazz 6:20-7:30 pm (70 min) The Losers – Tom Petty Tribute Band 7:50-9 (70 min) Food & Drink Our restaurants, cafes and eateries are getting together great food for the event. Samosas, momos, lassi, burgers, bubble tea, ice cream, curries, pad thai, chicken wings, eggrolls, tacos, quesadillas and cotton candy will be on the menu! Special Alert: Judie’s is back with pies

District 1 Office Hours with Councilor Sarah Swartz @ Jake's at the Mill

September 20, 2019, 7:00 AM - 8:30 AM @ Jake's at the Mill

Office hours for residents and business owners of District 1.

Author Event: Dr. Andrew Lam

September 21, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM @ Woodbury Room

Dr. Andrew Lam reads from and talks about his new novel, Repentance, where one family’s catastrophic past comes to light just as the foundation of their present lives begins to crack. Drawn from the heroic true story of a Japanese American regiment that fought in World War II and became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history, this poignant family drama also shows the sorrows of the internment camps where American citizens of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned solely because of their race. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Monarch Tagging

September 22, 2019, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM @ Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Help with this ongoing citizen science project and get up close and personal with Monarch butterflies. Learn how to tag monarchs, keep track of them and contribute to a growing body of data that helps us understand monarch migration. The last 2 years have been good for Monarchs! Fun for all ages. Registration appreciated: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monarch-tagging-registration-70160605259

jubilat/Jones Poetry Reading

September 22, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM @ Jones Library

Join us for the 2019-20 jubilat / Jones Poetry Series, which showcases established and emerging poets in a number of readings each year. Today's reading features poets Melanie Maria Goodreaux & Alicia Mountain An informal Q & A session will follow the reading. All events are free and open to the public.

Puerto Rico Day Celebration

September 23, 2019, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM @ Town Hall

Amherst Regional Public Schools will host a Puerto Rico Day Celebration on Monday, September 23rd from 12:30 – 1:30 PM at the Amherst Town Hall. The ceremony will include the raising of the Puerto Rican flag, a reading of the town proclamation, and performances by students and staff. The entire community is invited to come and celebrate.

Community Conversation: Census 2020

September 23, 2019, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM @ Community Room at Amherst Police Department (Main Entrance)

Ensuring that every resident is counted in the 2020 Census has long-term implications for our community and the Commonwealth. Come and learn about the census, why it's important, and the plan for it in 2020. We’ll discuss what we can do as a community to make sure that the Census is safe to complete and that everyone is counted. Hosted by Your Representative Mindy Domb, 3rd Hampshire District

District 1 Office Hours with Councilor Sarah Swartz @ the North Amherst Library

September 24, 2019, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM @ North Amherst Library

Competitive Electric Supplier Information Session

September 24, 2019, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM @ Crocker Farm Elementary School Cafeteria

The Town of Amherst Community Participation Officers will host a presentation made by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office regarding Competitive Electric Suppliers. The presentation will go over what a competitive supplier is, tips for residential consumers and explain how to file a complaint regarding these suppliers. The session will take place on Tuesday, September 24th at 6:30 PM at the Crocker Farm Elementary School Cafeteria and is expected to last under one hour. “This is a pocketbook issue for many in our town. By organizing this educational forum, the Community Participation Team hopes to provide information, resources and assistance to community members who might be vulnerable to this practice” said Brianna Sunryd, one of the Amherst Community Participation Officers, along with Angela Mills and Jennifer Moyston.

Opening of: Disruptions & Continuities: Recent Work by George Wardlaw

September 25, 2019, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM @ Herter Art Gallery

The Herter Art Gallery celebrates its 50th year with Disruptions & Continuities: Recent Work by George Wardlaw. While also tracing back to work made in the last six years, it presents Wardlaw's final series, Disruptions. Made primarily on an iPad due to his increasingly failing health, this body of work was painted on canvas by his studio assistant, Kelsi Giguere. A practicing artist and a recent graduate from the Department of Art at the University, Giguere quickly assumed the role of a collaborator. Wardlaw, who passed away on July 26th while preparing for this exhibition, was a distinguished member of the avant-garde art scene in New York City during the 1950’s and ‘60’s. From 1968 until 1990, Wardlaw served in various capacities in the art department at UMass Amherst, including seventeen years as department chair.

District 1 Office Hours with Councilor Sarah Swartz @ Jake's at the Mill

September 27, 2019, 7:00 AM - 8:30 AM @ Jake's at the Mill

Office hours for residents and business owners of District 1.

River Cleanup and Festival

September 28, 2019, 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM @ Groff Park

9:30 AM - Noon: Help clean up the Fort River Watershed Noon - 2:00 PM: Celebrate our wonderful river with food, games and displays Anyone interested in joining us can meet at 9:30 AM at Groff Park. All ages and abilities are welcome. Bring your boots, long pants, and a water bottle. Everything else will be provided! Brought to you by the Fort River Water Shed Association and Town of Amherst: The Fort River watershed falls within the towns of Hadley, Amherst, Pelham, Belchertown, and Shutesbury in Massachusetts. It is an amazing resource to this region, home to endangered species and fish that migrate up from the Atlantic Ocean.

Global Warming: A Problem for Penguins

September 28, 2019, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM @ Woodbury Room

Penguins are an indicator species, and they are alerting us to the health of the environment in which they live. In fact, climate change is the top threat to penguin populations today. In this eye-opening presentation by Dyan deNapoli, the various ways in which global warming is affecting all 18 penguin species will be discussed. Action steps that individuals can take to help penguins and the environment will also be part of the conversation.