Louise Coombe to perform at the 1794 Meetinghouse
Singer-songwriter Louise Coombe will perform tracks from her new full-band album “Paris” on Friday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the 1794 Meetinghouse in New Salem. The performance highlights her career evolution from rural Tennessee roots to her recent two-year songwriting collaboration with folk legend Tom Paxton. Tickets for the concert are available online via will-call for a suggested price range of $0 to $25, though no audience members will be turned away for lack of funds. Admission is free for children aged 12 and under with advance registration. For tickets, visit 1794meetinghouse.org/product/louisecoombe.
Valley Players celebrates record donation
The all-volunteer nonprofit theater group Valley Players has made its largest single contribution to date, donating over $3,700 to the Center for New Americans following a sold-out June run of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Since its founding in 2024, Valley Players has advanced its community-building mission by donating half of its net ticket revenue from every production to a local nonprofit with themes that align with the performance. “The Tempest” was chosen to support the Center for New Americans due to the play’s focus on cultural contact, language and empathy toward strangers. The funds will aid the center’s nearly 35-year mission of providing free English classes, digital literacy, job search instruction, childcare and low-cost legal services to local immigrant and refugee families ahead of its annual July 4 naturalization ceremony in Northampton.
This latest contribution brings Valley Players’ total fundraising efforts past $10,000 for various regional organizations. The company’s third season will continue this philanthropic model with upcoming productions of “At the Wedding” in October to benefit Out Now, a “Bard in the Bar” reading of “King Lear” in November for local elder services, and a holiday revival of “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” in December to support Valley Community Development. For more details on upcoming shows, auditions or sponsorship opportunities, visit valleyplayers.org.
Free pen and ink sketching class at GPL
The Greenfield Public Library will host a free “Basics of Pen and Ink Sketching” class with local artist Danielle Lucier on Thursday, July 2, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the library’s Makerspace. Open to teens and adults ages 13 and up with no prior experience required, participants will learn to sketch floral arrangements using provided materials. This session is part of the library’s Summer Roundhouse Series, which encourages attendees to use their new skills to create projects for this fall’s Franklin County Fair. Follow-up framing and entry assistance sessions will be held in mid-August, and participants are welcome to utilize the Makerspace and classroom materials throughout the summer. Funded by a grant from the Greenfield Local Cultural Council and the Franklin County Fair, pre-registration is encouraged. For more information on this and other Makerspace programs, contact librarian Francesca Passiglia at francesca.passiglia@greenfield-ma.gov or 413-772-1544, ext. 5120.
Photo exhibit hits the road after being displayed at the State House
The Reading Public Library is the first library in Eastern Massachusetts to host “Quabbin: Yesterday and Today,” a photographic exhibit by Belchertown nature photographer Ed Comeau that pairs historic images of the Quabbin Reservoir’s creation with contemporary landscape and wildlife photography from the region that will be on display through July. His contemporary images document the landscapes, wildlife and natural beauty that now define the reservoir and surrounding watershed.
The exhibit, which was made possible by a grant to the Friends of Quabbin from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, recently concluded a successful run at the Massachusetts State House Senate Gallery and is now touring libraries in communities that receive drinking water from the Quabbin Reservoir. With the state in a significant drought after two years of below-average precipitation, and with the Quabbin 10 feet below capacity, this is a timely exhibit to help bring attention to the importance of the reservoir to the 2.7 million people it serves.
Visit ComeauPhotography.com/QuabbinYesterdayAndToday for an online version of the exhibit.
Double Edge Theatre to present ‘Once A Blue Moon’
Double Edge Theatre has announced its 2026 Summer Spectacle, “Once A Blue Moon – Cada Luna Azul,” directed by founder Stacy Klein and running from July 16 through Aug. 2 at the company’s Farm Center in Ashfield. Based on lead actor Carlos Uriona’s lived experiences with military dictatorship and cultural rebellion in Argentina, the performance follows a traveler returning from exile to his fictional hometown, evoking memories of its colorful inhabitants before they were displaced by a flood. Returning to the work a decade after its original 2015–2016 run, the company has re-imagined the story alongside a new generation of collaborators to reflect modern-day displacement caused by power and progress. The highly immersive production unfolds across both indoor and outdoor rural landscapes, blending live music, large-scale imagery and intimate performance encounters. Audiences can attend a preview performance on July 15, with regular shows scheduled Thursdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m., plus a special Wednesday performance on July 22. Tickets are on sale now at doubleedgetheatre.org.
The LAVA Center to host Writers Read on July 8
The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. in Greenfield will host its next Writers Read event on Wednesday, July 8 at 7 p.m.
This intimate monthly series offers audiences a unique opportunity to hear from local authors and participate in a follow-up discussion facilitated by series designer Lindy Whiton.
This month’s featured presenters include Nisse Greenberg, a personal storyteller, educator and food activist who documents the nuances of societal change; Ernie Brill, a lifelong activist, poet and editor currently working on a novel about the historic 1968 student strike at San Francisco State; and Nina Gross, a musician, poet and playwright whose work has appeared in numerous regional anthologies and the LAVA play reading series. Admission to the event is available for a suggested donation of $1 to $5, and further details are available by emailing lindy@localaccess.org.
Also at The LAVA Center, the local documentary, “Rising River’s Edge,” will be screened on Thursday, July 9, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The film explores how unpredictable climate shifts, extreme weather patterns and major crop losses impact local farms and food systems within Franklin County — the poorest and most rural county in the state, where half the population experiences food insecurity. Produced by filmmakers Hugh Finnerty, Clara Witty, Matthew Barlow and Rebecca Rideout, the documentary details the struggles and resilience of regional agricultural staples like Clark Brothers Orchards, Just Roots and Red Fire Farm, alongside community entities like the pay-what-you-can Stone Soup Cafe. Admission to the event is available for a suggested donation of $1 to $5, and further details are available by emailing clara@thelavacenter.org or calling 413-376-8118.