Fireworks Season Kicks Off Friday in Holyoke
By Neal Quesnel ·
Fireworks season kicks off Friday at Holyoke Community College, the first of many Pioneer Valley displays between June 26 and July 5. The final weekend of FIFA World Cup group play wraps this weekend with outdoor watch parties three nights at Easthampton's Millside Park and three more at The Student Prince in Springfield. Ohana School of Performing Arts in Chicopee marked ten years with an anniversary showcase. Wake the Dead Donuts is featured. Northampton schools approved a bell-to-bell cell phone ban for next year. Here's the week.
This Weekend
§ 01- № 01
Holyoke's Annual Fireworks Celebration
Fri Jun 26 · 6pm · Holyoke Community College, HolyokeHolyoke's annual fireworks celebration runs Friday night on the grounds of Holyoke Community College at 303 Homestead Avenue. Gates at 6pm, rain date Saturday June 27. The first big Pioneer Valley fireworks night of the season.
- № 02
The 413s at Downtown Live
Fri Jun 26 · 7pm to 9pm · 48 Elm Street, WestfieldThe 413s headline the Friday Night Summer Concert Series on Elm Street in downtown Westfield, 7 to 9pm. Free, outdoor, bring a chair.
- № 03
Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers at The Drake
Fri Jun 26 · 8pm · The Drake, AmherstVictor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers play The Drake on North Pleasant Street Friday night, a family funk fusion bill from the bassist who has spent three decades reshaping what the instrument can do.
- № 04
Holyoke Preservation Trust Garden Tour
Sat Jun 27 · 8:30am to 2:30pm · Masonic Temple, HolyokeThe Holyoke Preservation Trust Garden Tour, now in its sixth year, runs Saturday with check-in at the Masonic Temple, 235 Chestnut Street. $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
- № 05
Worthy BrewFest at the MassMutual Center
Sat Jun 27 · 12pm to 4pm · The Landing at MassMutual Center, SpringfieldWorthy BrewFest returns to The Landing at the MassMutual Center on Main Street Saturday, noon to 4pm. The downtown Springfield craft beer event has run since 2010.
Restaurant Watch
§ 02For years, Easthampton's funkiest donut makers were a pop-up, frying hot minis under a tent at fairs and festivals around the Valley. Tim and Steve, two Deadheads who named their travelling donut shop after a Grateful Dead song, had been chasing something more permanent for a while.
Now they've got it: their own food truck, parked at THCC at 1 Northampton Street in Easthampton.
It did not come easy. The truck they tracked down had to be rebuilt from the inside out, but after a road a bit longer than they anticipated, they persevered and Wake the Dead opened their food truck for business.
Go for the donuts (we ended up ordering seconds). Tiny vanilla cake minis, cooked fresh and tossed in hot cinnamon or apple cider sugar, crisp at the edges and warm all the way through. The trip is worth it on a weekend morning, alone or with the family.
Their food truck will be at THCC Thursday and Sunday, 8am to noon. Or catch them at the Millside Summer Series in Easthampton, Friday gates open 1:30pm, Saturday 3:30pm. Can't make it this weekend? Check their hours on their website.
Kids Corner
§ 03- № 01
Flashing Fireflies at Arcadia
Wed Jun 24 · 7:30 to 9pm · Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, EasthamptonAges · Ages 5 and upCost · $15 nonmembers · $12 membersMass Audubon's Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary runs an after-dark summer light show in the meadows behind the visitor center. Bring bug spray and a flashlight; kids old enough to walk a meadow path at twilight will love it.
- № 02
Mr. Vinny the Bubble Guy at Forbes
Wed Jun 24 · 10:30am · Forbes Library, NorthamptonAges · All agesCost · FreeForbes Library's outdoor summer reading kickoff brings Mr. Vinny the Bubble Guy to the lawn. Giant bubbles, smaller bubbles, bubbles with kids inside. Bring a blanket; rain moves it indoors to the Coolidge Museum.
- № 03
Chinese Acrobat Li Liu
Thu Jun 25 · 3pm · South Hadley Public LibraryAges · All agesCost · FreeLi Liu performs traditional Chinese acrobatics in the South Hadley Public Library's community room as the library's summer reading kickoff. Plate spinning, balance work, and her signature ribbon dance.
- № 04
Family Jam with BenAnna Band at the Carle
Fri Jun 26 · 10:30am · Eric Carle Museum, AmherstAges · Toddlers and upCost · Museum admissionThe Eric Carle Museum hosts BenAnna Band for a Family Jam. The duo hands out shaker eggs and pulls families up to dance; afterward the museum's galleries are open with the usual Carle staples.
- № 05
Touch A Truck at Clapp Memorial
Sat Jun 27 · 10am to 12pm · Clapp Memorial Library, BelchertownAges · All agesCost · FreeBelchertown's Clapp Memorial Library opens summer with Touch A Truck: fire trucks, police cruisers, and DPW rigs in the parking lot for kids to climb on, honk, and ask the drivers questions. Summer reading sign-ups happen at the same event.
- № 06
Crow River Farm Tour
Sat Jun 27 · 10:30am · 171 Porter Rd, East LongmeadowAges · All agesCost · FreeCrow River Farm opens its gates for an East Longmeadow Public Library family tour. Goats, chickens, vegetable beds, and a walk through the rows; the farmer answers kid questions until the snacks run out.
- № 07
Leave it to Beavers in Belchertown
Sat Jun 27 · 1pm to 3pm · Belchertown Recreation DepartmentAges · 6 and upCost · FreeThe Beaver Institute gives a presentation at the Belchertown Recreation Department, then walks the group to the Lake Wallace spillway to see a beaver deceiver in action. Two hours, free, the actual pond and the actual critters.
World Cup Watch Parties
§ 04- № 01
The Student Prince
Tue Jun 23 · Thu Jun 25 · 8 Fort St, SpringfieldSpringfield's 1935-vintage German restaurant on Fort Street is running three watch parties this week:
- Tue Jun 23 at 4pm · England vs Ghana
- Tue Jun 23 at 6pm · Portugal vs Uzbekistan
- Thu Jun 25 at 4pm · Germany vs Ecuador (the German restaurant for the Germany game)
The Café room is the one with the big screen and the schnitzel.
- № 02
Millside Park
Fri Jun 26 · Sun Jun 28 · Mon Jun 29 · Millside Park, EasthamptonMayor Salem Derby's Millside Summer Series continues with three more state-grant-funded watch parties this week:
- Fri Jun 26 (final group stage)
- Sun Jun 28 (Round of 16 opens)
- Mon Jun 29 (Round of 16)
Gates 2pm each night. DJ, food trucks, lawn games, kids' soccer, matches on the LED screen, free park-and-ride trolley. Free with online RSVP.
- № 03
Watch parties around the Valley
Local bars and restaurants · all weekMany Valley bars and restaurants are running World Cup watch parties through the tournament. Check your local spot for timing. The final group stage games go Friday and Saturday; the Round of 16 starts Sunday Jun 28 and runs through Tuesday Jul 1.
Real Estate Pulse
§ 05The 30-year held at 6.47% for a second straight week. For a Valley buyer who's been circling a house in the mid-fives, the monthly payment math hasn't moved since early June, which is the closest thing to a green light the spring market has offered.
Monthly payment · 20% down
| $300k home | $1,512/mo | −$48/mo vs last May |
| $500k home | $2,520/mo | −$80/mo vs last May |
| $750k home | $3,781/mo | −$119/mo vs last May |
* Estimated principal & interest only. Excludes property tax and homeowner's insurance.
The 15-year also held at 5.81%, basically where it was a year ago. If you're refinancing into a shorter term to knock years off the loan, the math this week is the same math as last week.
Monthly payment · 20% down
| $300k home | $2,001/mo | −$10/mo vs last May |
| $500k home | $3,335/mo | −$17/mo vs last May |
| $750k home | $5,002/mo | −$26/mo vs last May |
* Estimated principal & interest only. Excludes property tax and homeowner's insurance.
The 10-year drifted three basis points lower. Mortgage rates usually follow the 10-year within a week or two, so a small move down here is what's keeping the 30-year from drifting back up.
Around Town
§ 06- · Town
Easthampton will hold a recount of the June override vote after petitioners gathered enough signatures. The $6.9M Proposition 2½ override passed 3,312 to 3,073, a margin of 239. Recount date to be set by the city clerk.
- · Town
The South Hadley Select Board voted to back a $3.5M Proposition 2½ override, sending the question to a townwide ballot. The override would fund the FY27 town and school budgets through new recurring revenue rather than one-time free cash. Ballot date forthcoming from the town clerk.
- · Hiring
The Academy of Music Theatre named Raymond Dumont as its next executive director, starting July 1. He succeeds Debra J'Anthony, who is stepping down after 18 years running the Northampton venue.
- · Opening
Haven Hot Chicken, the Nashville-style chain out of Connecticut, signed franchise agreements to open three locations in Western Mass: Springfield, West Springfield, and Chicopee. The first restaurant is expected to open by the end of 2026.
- · Opening
Target opens July 26 at Springfield Crossing as part of an 11-store national rollout across 10 states. It's the chain's first Springfield-proper location.
- · Town
Northampton Public Schools approved a bell-to-bell student cell phone ban, joining a growing list of Massachusetts districts restricting phone use through the school day. The policy follows months of school committee hearings with students, parents, and teachers. State Senate bill S 2581, which would make the restriction statewide, has already passed.
Local Wins
§ 07Ohana School of Performing Arts in Chicopee just marked ten years with an anniversary showcase. Ashley Kohl, the former Mass Appeal co-host, runs the studio at 41 Sheridan Street; over the decade it has grown into a fixture for dance instruction with classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, acrobat, hip hop, contemporary, musical theater, and creative movement, plus a Parent & Pookie class for toddlers.
Most small studios don't make ten. Worth a nod to a Chicopee small business that did, and to the Valley families who kept it going.