The Valley WeeklyWelcome, The Plan customers.
The Plan is one of our favorite salons in the Valley. If they sent you here, they thought you'd like what we do. We think they're right.
Tuesday delivery · free · no spam
Get every issue in your inbox.
One letter every Tuesday morning. Edited down so you don't have to.
Below: this week's issue, free to read. Subscribe and you'll get next Tuesday's in your inbox.
America Turns 250
Happy birthday, America! A heat wave kicks off the 250 year celebrations across the Valley with temperatures in the lower hundreds. Check on the elderly. Walk the dogs early. Drink a lot of water and check out our list of local Splash Pads to cool down. 250th Celebrations start Friday and run all weekend throughout Western Mass; one of the biggest is Star Spangled Springfield. Chicopee's Rumbleseat got the green light for a 3am closing through July, the first Western Mass bar in the new state pilot. Cooley Dickinson closed a successful Emergency Department fundraising campaign. Easthampton's dog park has its $135,000 in hand, construction this fall. Happy 250th, America.
This Weekend
§ 01- № 01
Fireworks Displays All Weekend
Fri Jul 3 through Sun Jul 5 · across the Pioneer ValleyOur full curated list of every Pioneer Valley fireworks display, parade, and 250th celebration across the four-day weekend. Find one near you. The non-fireworks standouts below.
- № 02
Annual Bonfire at Montague Center
Fri Jul 3 · 6:30pm · Montague Center Ballfield, corner of School & Station St, Montague CenterThe Montague Center Firefighters Association builds a community pallet bonfire on the village ballfield every July 3, a tradition going back to the 1950s. Free food cooked by the firefighters, live music, bring a chair or a blanket and stay until the stack burns down.
- № 03
Oakland Stroke at Downtown Live, Westfield
Fri Jul 3 · 7pm to 9pm · 48 Elm Street, WestfieldOakland Stroke headlines this week's Downtown Live Friday Night concert at 48 Elm Street in Westfield, 7 to 9pm. Outdoor, bring chairs. Going to be a hot one.
- № 04
Tlacuache Porch Orchestra at Luthiers Co-op
Fri Jul 3 · 8pm to 9:30pm · Luthiers Co-op BackStage Bar, EasthamptonTlacuache Porch Orchestra plays the BackStage Bar at Luthiers Co-op in Easthampton from 8 to 9:30pm Friday, with Take 800 following at 9:30.
- № 05
East Longmeadow Fourth of July Parade
Sat Jul 4 · 10am step-off · East Longmeadow High School, runs Maple to North Main to Mapleshade and ElmOne of the oldest continuously held July 4 parades in the commonwealth. About 1,500 marchers step off from the high school at 10am and run through the center, ending at Hanward Hill.
- № 06
Communal Reading of the Declaration · the 250th
Sat Jul 4 · 12pm · Amherst Town Hall steps, 4 Boltwood AveAmherst Historical Society marks the 250th with town bells, a conch-shell summons, Rep. Mindy Domb reading the Preamble, a gospel choir set, and a panel of youth and elders. Free, on the Town Hall steps.
- № 07
Whately Firefighters Annual 4th of July BBQ
Sat Jul 4 · noon pickup · Whately Fire StationWhately Firefighters host their annual pickup BBQ: half chicken, sweet corn, baked potato, roll, and a sweet treat. $5 50/50 raffle drawn at the end of pickup, winner does not need to be present. Limited delivery available for town residents with mobility constraints.
- № 08
Westmoreland Town Band · 4th of July Concert
Sat Jul 4 · 3pm · Blue & White Room, 10 Memorial Street, Old DeerfieldWestmoreland Town Band plays a 250th-themed chamber program in the Blue & White Room at the PVMA campus, Old Deerfield. Indoors, free, the early-afternoon counterweight to the evening fireworks bills.
- № 09
Star Spangled Springfield · the 250th
Sat Jul 4 · symphony 7pm, fireworks 9:30pm · Riverfront Park, SpringfieldSpringfield leans into the 250th. The Springfield Symphony Orchestra plays a 62-piece patriotic program at 7pm, fireworks burst over the Memorial Bridge at 9:30pm with 250-themed effects baked in. Free, $10 parking.
- № 10
Baird Souls at the Boathouse
Sat Jul 4 · 7pm · The Boathouse, South HadleyBaird Souls plays The Boathouse in South Hadley on Saturday at 7pm, the second of three nights in the venue's JUST ONE MOOR series this weekend.
Kids Corner
§ 02- № 01
Caravan Puppets at Chicopee Public Library
Wed Jul 1 · 2pm · Bazan Community Room, Chicopee Public LibraryAges · All agesCost · FreeCaravan Puppets brings a set of seed-themed puppet tales to the Bazan Community Room, billed for all ages and supported by the Chicopee Cultural Council. A short, sit-down show in the middle of a Wednesday is a low-effort way to keep little kids occupied with something that isn't a screen.
- № 02
Word Play with The Center Dance Studio at the Eric Carle
Fri Jul 3 · 11am · Eric Carle Museum, AmherstAges · Ages 3 to 7Cost · Included with admissionWord Play at the Eric Carle Museum pairs picture books with creative movement led by teachers from The Center Dance Studio. It runs in the museum's gallery space, which is built for kids who would rather move than sit still during a read-aloud.
- № 03
Turtle Time with Peeta the Box Turtle
Sat Jul 4 · 10am · Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, EasthamptonAges · Ages 5 to 12Cost · $12 to $15 per personTurtle Time at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary is an hour and a half with Peeta, the resident eastern box turtle, plus a walk through turtle habitat on the trails. A good antidote to a holiday weekend that otherwise involves a lot of standing around waiting for fireworks.
- № 04
Tea and Revolution at Historic Deerfield
Sat Jul 4 + Sun Jul 5 · 12pm to 4:30pm · Discovery Center, 110 Old Main Street, DeerfieldAges · All agesCost · Included with Historic Deerfield admissionHistoric Deerfield's hands-on 250th program: taste the herbal teas the colonists drank in protest, blend your own to take home, design paper teapots. Open both days of the holiday weekend.
- № 05
The Butterfly Guy at East Longmeadow Public Library
Tue Jul 7 · 6pm · Community Room, East Longmeadow Public LibraryAges · Ages 5 and upCost · FreeThe Butterfly Guy, presenter Jerry Schneider, runs a slideshow on butterfly life cycles followed by the Butterfly Game, where kids answer questions about migration, camouflage, and which species winter over. A solid pick for a kid who has been chasing things around the backyard all week.
Real Estate Pulse
§ 03The 30-year held at 6.49% for a second week. Two weeks at the same number is the steadiest reading this rate has posted in months, which makes it a workable window to lock if you have an accepted offer in hand.
Monthly payment · 20% down
| $300k home | $1,515/mo | −$29/mo vs last May |
| $500k home | $2,526/mo | −$47/mo vs last May |
| $750k home | $3,788/mo | −$72/mo vs last May |
* Estimated principal & interest only. Excludes property tax and homeowner's insurance.
The 15-year also sat still at 5.84%. For Valley owners weighing a refinance to shorten the term, the gap to the 30-year is now 0.65 points, wide enough to matter on a typical Northampton or Easthampton balance.
Monthly payment · 20% down
| $300k home | $2,005/mo | +$6/mo vs last May |
| $500k home | $3,341/mo | +$9/mo vs last May |
| $750k home | $5,011/mo | +$12/mo vs last May |
* Estimated principal & interest only. Excludes property tax and homeowner's insurance.
The 10-year Treasury fell to 4.40% after sitting at 4.50% the week before. Mortgage rates usually follow this number with a lag, so if the Treasury stays at this level, next week's Freddie Mac reading could tick down slightly.
Around Town
§ 04- · At the Big E· Through Thursday
The American Dairy Goat Association's National Show is at the Eastern States Exposition this week, the first time the largest dairy goat event in North America has been held at the Big E. About 3,000 goats from 39 states are in the Mallary Complex through Thursday. Free to watch, $10 parking. A real win for ESE's agriculture program.
- · Late hours· Pilot
Rumbleseat Bar & Grille in Chicopee is the first Western Mass bar approved for late hours under a new state pilot. Owner Billy Stetson made the case to the Chicopee License Commission: World Cup viewership is up 10 to 20% on a normal day and double during US games, and the late-night second-shift crowd around 24-hour facilities is real. Last drink at 2:30am, doors close at 3am. Pilot runs through July 31.
- · Town
Easthampton Dog Park cleared its final funding hurdle when City Council approved $135,000 in CPA money at the June 17 meeting. Construction begins this fall.
- · Opening
Schermerhorn's, the 114-year-old Holyoke seafood institution at 224 Westfield Road, plans to reopen in July as a sit-down full-service restaurant after nearly two years of renovations. Michael "Mick" Corduff takes over as executive chef and co-owner.
- · Expansion
Rick's Place in Wilbraham cut the ribbon on its expanded home at 35 Post Office Park, Suite 3501D. The nonprofit provides grief and mental health support and now has room for more participants.
- · New tenant
Human Scale Art Space, the Northampton community art nonprofit, has secured a permanent home for its workshops and exhibitions after years of moving between spaces.
- · Town
East Longmeadow Town Council unanimously approved a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $100,000 on donations to the Veterans Memorial Committee. The match runs through October and is meant to close out funding for the memorial.
- · Opening
Hampden and Franklin County Cardiovascular Associates opened its first Hampshire County office last Friday. The practice brings advanced cardiac care closer for patients who had been driving to Springfield or Greenfield for it.
Local Wins
§ 05Cooley Dickinson Hospital announced last week that its Emergency Department fundraising campaign is officially closed, with the renovation complete. Hospital officials credited a major late gift for getting it across the line.
The renovated department is open and operating in Northampton. If you've been through the ED in the last few years, the donor wall is worth a look on your way out; it carries the names that funded the room you were just treated in.
Valley Fact
Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett)
No one from Western Mass signed the Declaration. The Valley's 250-year contribution to the words "all men are created equal" came five years later, in Sheffield. In the spring of 1781, an enslaved woman called Mum Bett walked off Colonel John Ashley's estate after his wife struck her with a heated kitchen shovel, and asked a young Stockbridge lawyer named Theodore Sedgwick to sue for her freedom. On August 21, 1781, the Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington heard Brom and Bett v. Ashley; the jury sided with her the next day, awarded thirty shillings in damages, and set the precedent that helped end legal slavery in Massachusetts by 1783. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.
One more thing
Liked this? The Plan readers get the good stuff every Tuesday.
Free. One letter. A handful of sections. We have edited it down so you don't have to.