Week of June 8 - 14
Queer Joy Fun Fair TODAY | Live Music at NCMC | Summer Playgroups for Northampton Families | Film Screening at Smith College
Announcing: Maestro Melodies Benefitting Northampton Community Music Center on June 14th
Delight in the extraordinary and varied faculty of the Northampton Community Music Center (NCMC) as they perform original songs, jazz standards, rock classics, classical music, and more!
This year will honor cellist Anne Werry (25 years at NCMC) and choir director Evelyn Harris (20 years)! Join us in celebrating this awesome dedication to NCMC's mission to provide high-quality, equitable music education and performances to our community. All ages welcome.
Date: Saturday, June 14, 2025, 2 - 4 PM
Location: Edwards Church, 297 Main St., Northampton, MA
Suggested Donations: $10-$25 for an individual; $30-$75 for a family
Northampton Parents Center Playgroups Begin in July
Northampton Parents Center (NPC) will host Summer Playgroups on Tuesdays from July 1, 2025 - August 12, 2025 at Bridge Street School (2 Parsons St.) in Northampton. Rain or shine with indoor and outdoor locations. Free parking available in the school parking lot, accessible from Union St..
These are FREE drop-in playgroups for kids ages 0-5 and their caregivers. Big siblings are also always welcome! ALL families welcome.
You’re Invited! Rooted Resilience Open Mic and Potluck
Join Co-Directors of the Rooted Resilience project, Luc and M, for a Summer evening of shared song, poetry, and nourishment in celebration of the Solstice. Pepper of Two Mamas Farm in Cummington, MA will be opening up their beautiful barn for the gathering, and Rori of Lemon Bakery will be baking up some treats for all to enjoy.
Bring your own offerings: something to read, something to sing, something to enjoy speaking to the theme of “Rising in Resilience.” We need each other and these moments of connection more than ever.
Date: Friday, June 27, 2025, 6 - 9 PM
Location: Two Mamas Farm, 11 Porter Hill Rd., Cummington, MA, 01026
Tickets: $0 - $20 sliding scale entry *at the door* benefits the Rooted Resilience project
ICYMI
Quick Links to Rad Stuff + Stuff We Covered Last Week
Queer Joy Fun Fair TODAY at Smith Voc with the Queer Joy Collaborative
We welcomed singer-songwriter, Jess Martin, to the Bloom Local Partner Network
High Five Books is bringing a GAYSIANS Book Signing and Karaoke Party with author Mike Curato to BOMBYX later this month
Abolitionist Book Discussion Group at Wistariahurst starts this week
NEW DATE for Easthampton Sanctuary City Resolution → June 18
Shop our latest Gift Guide featuring affirming items and experiences from the Bloom Local Partner Network
🏳️🌈 Explore new additions to our Community Guide and keep supporting LGBTQ+-owned businesses and orgs
Weekly Poll
Curious about the results of last week’s poll?
May you spend many a day outside by the water this Summer, friends. 😎
2025 Annual Holyoke Arts League Exhibition
On View in June | Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, MA
This juried show will include entries in oil and pastel, watercolor, acrylic, tempera, gouache and other non-oil wet media, graphite, charcoal, printmaking and other graphic media, sculpture and ceramics. Exhibition on view Mondays from 10 PM - 2 PM, and Tuesdays from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM in June.
*FREE*
Queer Joy Fun Fair *TODAY*
Sunday, June 8, 3 PM - 6 PM | Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, 80 Locust St., Northampton, MA
The Queer Joy Collaborative invites the community to its first-ever Spring Fun Fair, a vibrant and family-friendly fundraiser celebrating LGBTQ+ joy, art, and connection.
*$5 - $15 SLIDING SCALE*
Echoes of Nature: Hampshire County
Tuesday, June 10, 10 AM | Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA
Experience a unique performance that blends poetry, song, and story inspired by the natural beauty of Hampshire County. Join artists Kim Hoff and Jess Martin for Echoes of Nature, a creative journey that celebrates our local landscapes and shared sense of place through moving words and melodies. All are welcome for this uplifting morning of nature-inspired reflection.
*FREE*
Song Share Sessions for Nonbinary, Trans and Women Singer Songwriters
June 12 and the 2nd Thursday of every month, 7 PM - 9 PM | Drawing Board Brewing, 36 Main St., Florence, MA
Calling all nonbinary, trans, and women singer-songwriters! Want to refine your performance? Get feedback on a new song? Connect with fellow artists? This space is for YOU.
*FREE*
Desire Lines Screening
Tuesday, June 17, Doors open at 6:30 PM, Screening at 7 PM | Weinstein Auditorium, Smith College, 5 Chapin Way, Northampton, MA
Join us for a free screening of Jules Rosskam's Sundance award-winning hybrid documentary, Desire Lines. In this film, past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through an LGBTQ+ archive on a dizzying and erotic quest to unravel his own sexual desires.
*FREE*
GAYSIANS Book Signing & Karaoke Party with Mike Curato
Saturday, June 21, 7 PM - 10 PM | BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity, 130 Pine St., Florence, MA
Grownups, come celebrate the hometown release of GAYSIANS by award-winning Northampton author-illustrator Mike Curato. In his adult book debut, the acclaimed author of the young adult graphic novel FLAMER comes a heartwarming story following four gay Asians navigating love, identity, and friendship—a celebration of queer chosen family.
*$10 TICKETS | $42 TICKETS W/ BOOK*
Yoga and Sound
Saturday, June 28, 12 PM - 1:30 PM | Sanctuary, Thornes Marketplace Level 3, 150 Main St., Northampton, MA
Workshop with Fran Astino. Immerse yourself in this blissful workshop of movement and sound meditation. This 90-minute Yoga & Sound workshop combines a revitalizing yoga practice with the deeply relaxing and restorative benefits of sound meditation.
*SLIDING SCALE $30-$50*
Western MA
Have photos from a recent Pride celebration to share? Send to hello@bloomlocal.live with a caption in the email.
🏳️🌈 Holyoke Pride — Saturday, June 21
🏳️🌈 Queer Artisan Market in North Amherst — Saturday, June 21
🏳️🌈 Amherst Pride — Sunday, June 22
Trans Relocation Support (TRS) Western MA
TRS is committed to helping people move to Western Mass from states with anti-trans legislation. They aim to connect people with networks of mutual aid, resources, and community in this area. The process is a temporary support bridge that facilitates long-term local int(ter)dependence. TRS seeks to grow community care, mutual aid, and alternative systems of care for gender diverse people.
Connect with TRS: Learn & Volunteer | Give Support | Get Support
Access Free Notary Services
Forbes Library (Northampton): (413) 587-1011
Easthampton Public Library: (413) 527-1031
Chicopee Public Library: (413) 594-1800
You can also try (fees may apply): your local town hall, AAA, banks
Legal Aid for Immigrant Families
The Immigrant Defense Hotline (617-988-0606) is staffed by attorneys from Lawyers for Civil Rights’ pro bono network. Callers who leave a message will receive same-day response to questions about immigration enforcement and reports of immigration raids. Please reach out to Hotline@LawyersForCivilRights.org if you would like to get involved.
Request for Mutual Aid
Support Long-Time Community Organizer
Our dear community member, long-time organizer, and trans youth mental health worker, Shai, has suffered a spinal fracture as a result of a fall caused by landlord negligence in their current living situation. They are unable to move around safely by themself or complete daily tasks.
Please answer this urgent call for funds to pay for housing, medical care-takers, medical expenses, and legal expenses. Donate + share the GoFundMe for Shai.
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Seeking community? Join the network.
It’s’s a pivotal time to build and bolster local networks of care — and we remain dedicated to connecting LGBTQ+ and ally entrepreneurs in and beyond our region. If you are an LGBTQ+ creative, healer, educator, or entrepreneur of any focus or an ally business serving communities throughout Western MA, we invite you to join our queer-grown network of community partners.
Partners receive: (1) an active listing in our Community Guide (2) visibility in our weekly newsletters (3) access to partners-only resources and opportunities including monthly Partner Meet-Ups.
*NEW* No-Fee Network Membership for QTBIPOC Entrepreneurs
As one of our commitments to reparative justice, we offer one year of no-fee partnership to QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) small business owners. This initiative is one move we’re making to foster a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in the River Valley.
If you are a QTBIPOC small business owner and you are interested in becoming a partner, we invite you to apply and check where indicated if you would like to access one year of no-fee membership.
Learn more about the program at: BloomLocal.Live/Partner-Program and contact us with questions anytime.
Hosting an upcoming event? Let us spread the word!
Calendar listings and event promotion in this newsletter (5K reads/month) are benefits of Bloom Local’s Partner Program. To submit an event listing without a partner network membership, email your event details to: Hello@BloomLocal.live. A sliding scale fee of $5-$30 applies to each accepted submission.
Keep Connecting
Email Hello@BloomLocal.Live
Learn about the Partner Program