324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United States
Gyuri Képes: “Viscera” opening reception
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesJoin local artist Gyuri Képes for an opening reception of his exhibit, "Viscera." biography: As progenitor of a Potter and namesake to Hungarian Artist-Educator, György Képes, I was introduced to a diverse visual vocabulary at a young age. Drawing from this early introduction to a language of vision, and later through formal studies in communication and the fine arts, I have developed a practice in mixed media that allows me to creatively render an elaborate artistic imagination. I am a longtime resident of Western Massachusetts, product of the Amherst public school system, and UMass graduate. Since 2019, I have worked at Landmark College in Vermont, where I teach courses in communication and multimedia production. Click here for an artist statement and more details.
Puppetry Percolator
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesLAVA's Puppetry Percolator, on the 4th Thursday of each month, is an informal exploration of the worldwide art of puppetry. Drop in to examine puppetry's history and evolution as an art, play with different forms, and workshop simple puppets and performance. Appropriate for teens and adults. Let's have some fun! Facilitated by Jovonna Van Pelt, former director of Puppet Showplace Theatre.
Live music with Beetle 7
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesLive music at LAVA! Our house band, led by local musician Steve Koziol, with special guests, plays every 3rd Thursday. This is a coffeehouse-style concert during our gallery/cafe hours, for you to drop in, hang out, draw, write, make art, make friends, and come and go as you please! Beetle 7 is an ambient space music experience with Leo Hwang (theremin, guitar), Steve Koziol (alto sax, Baglama saz), Joel Paxton (guitar), and Kevin Smith (tuba). $5-10 suggested donation
Third Tuesday Greenfield Word
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesPaul Richmond and Human Error Publishing's long-running literary series. Doors at 7, open mic at 7:30, and featured authors 8:30. If you would like to be on the mailing list or put your name in to be a feature author, contact Paul Richmond at paul@humanerrorpublishing.com.
Local Filmmaker Series: Vanessa Query
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesJoin The LAVA Center for four evenings of local film screenings and discussions with the filmmakers! Leading up to the 3rd annual LAVA Film Festival, we have invited Valley filmmakers to share and discuss their work. The LAVA Film Festival is open to all Massachusetts filmmakers, but this series is even more locally focused on Valley filmmakers! $5 suggested donation goes to support the filmmakers and LAVA. Vanessa Query is a director, writer, performer, and organizer based in Greenfield. She started making short films in Yellow Springs, Ohio over 10 years ago and has more recently made a few in this area. Vanessa will screen and discuss these short films: “Alienation” (2019, Greenfield MA) “The Mythical Monster” (2018, Turners Falls MA) “Local Woman Still Missing” (2010, Yellow Springs OH) “Awkward Hugs: An Investigative Report” (2010, Yellow Springs OH) “Love Conquers All” (2009, Yellow Springs OH) Learn more about Vanessa and her work at vanessaquery.com.
Writers Read ft Amie Hyson, Dennis Finnell, and Erika Higgins Ross
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesThe LAVA Center hosts a monthly series, Writers Read, on the second Wednesday every month. Coordinated by Lindy Whiton, the series brings in local writers and a couple of outside surprises. $5 suggested donation. Amie Hyson lives in Western Massachusetts where, thanks to the encouragement of the vibrant & wonderfully welcoming poetry community, she has been writing since 2016. She began facilitating creative writing workshops for incarcerated, previously incarcerated & women in recovery in 2017 and has led numerous workshops since. During the pandemic she began offering weekly online co-ed “Writing Your Recovery” workshops, which continue to meet weekly; she has recently begun co-facilitating “Free Write of Franklin County,” a workshop for women at the Franklin County Re-entry Center & is working on her first book of poetry. Dennis Finnell has published six books of poems, the most recent his Selected Poems from FutureCycle Press. He's taught at the University of Tennessee, Mount Holyoke College, and Wesleyan University, and served as Co-Director of Financial Aid at GCC for a decade. He has made his home in Greenfield for over twenty years. Erika Higgins Ross is a writer and therapist living in the Pioneer Valley after decades in Los Angeles and New York.…
“Every Moment of Every Day” by Lindy Whiton staged reading
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesCome to a reading of the updated version of Lindy Whiton’s play reading, Every Moment of Every Day. First read at The LAVA Center in April 2022, Every Moment of Every Day tells the story of women who gave their babies up for adoption. The play explores the story of adoption from the rarely seen side of the original mother. This year’s adaptation includes Whiton’s story. Mass. Cultural Council provided Whiton with funds to create a video of the reading to be used to take to conferences and other events. This will provide a way to increase the public’s understanding of the original mothers’ stories and bring this perspective or lens to the adoption triad narrative. Every Moment of Every Day will be performed Penney Hulten, Patricia Williams, Rebecca Hicks, Jovonna Van Pelt, Christy Grecsek, Trouble Mandeson, Rebecca Mandel, and Candace Curran; directed by Lindy Whiton; with videography by Elias Neijens. Illustration by EJ Worth. $5 suggested donation
Black Families of Greenfield opening reception
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesThe LAVA Center is excited to present a new humanities gallery exhibit, “Black Families of Greenfield: A Brief Historical Snapshot.” The exhibit has been researched and designed by Carol Aleman, president of the Board of the Historical Society of Greenfield, and will serve as an introduction to some of the history of African-American families in Greenfield as it points to contributions in such areas as music, sports, business and military service. The show will open at The LAVA Center on Friday, July 7, 6–8 p.m. and build slowly throughout the month. It will be on display until September. Developed from both public and private sources, it will showcase the faces, energy and achievements that helped to shape the town’s identity and creative pulse. The LAVA Center is dedicated to drawing attention to voices rarely heard in our histories and exploring them further, strengthening and expanding our understanding of their fabric and function. Please come and view our humanities wall during gallery hours.
‘As We Were: Nine Days in October’ by Jan Maher
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesClick here for more details. Click here for tickets. For the past few months, LAVA has hosted a theater incubation series, during which six local playwrights have workshopped and developed new plays. Now they’re ready for an audience! Join The LAVA Center and the playwrights (Christine Benvenuto, P. H. Crosby, Nina Gross, Jan Maher, Silvia Martinez-Howard, and John McDonnell Tierney) for a festival of staged readings in June. 'An Interview with Archie' by John McDonnell Tierney Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, 7pm 'Time in Tatters' by Silvia Martinez-Howard 'Inheritance' by Nina Gross Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10, 7pm '750%' by Christine Benvenuto Melville’s 'Bartleby the Scrivener' adapted by P. H. Crosby Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, 7pm 'As We Were: Nine Days in October' by Jan Maher Friday and Saturday, June 23 and 24, 7pm All plays are also viewable online for two weeks. *** On the Boards is made possible by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the local cultural councils of Greenfield, Bernardston, Gill, Leyden, and Northfield.
Penny Whistle Workshop with Dane Donato
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesThis 2-hour, hands-on workshop will give participants a solid musical and practical grounding for the penny whistle. Of ancient origins, the penny or tin whistle as we know it today was mass produced in England as far back as 1840, and was a cheap, easily obtained musical instrument popular not only in Ireland, England and Continental Europe, but in the early United States, where it remains today a viable and easily played folk instrument Dane Donato is a musician with years of experience on the penny whistle and other folk musical instruments. He has played the whistle since the 1980s. A trained oboist, he is an alumni of Berklee College of Music in Boston, and is currently penny whistler and instrumental accompanist for the Old Sturbridge Village Singers, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. This workshop is open to the public and is free of charge; donations will be accepted. Please register in advance by contacting Dane: danemitchell@comcast.net, 413-773-9032 (home), or 413-522-5969 (cell). It is NOT a requirement to have a whistle to take the workshop. If you want a whistle, Dane will bring a limited number of Irish-made, Walton brass whistles in the key of D, available first come, first serve, at…
‘As We Were: Nine Days in October’ by Jan Maher
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesClick here for more details. Click here for tickets. For the past few months, LAVA has hosted a theater incubation series, during which six local playwrights have workshopped and developed new plays. Now they’re ready for an audience! Join The LAVA Center and the playwrights (Christine Benvenuto, P. H. Crosby, Nina Gross, Jan Maher, Silvia Martinez-Howard, and John McDonnell Tierney) for a festival of staged readings in June. 'An Interview with Archie' by John McDonnell Tierney Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, 7pm 'Time in Tatters' by Silvia Martinez-Howard 'Inheritance' by Nina Gross Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10, 7pm '750%' by Christine Benvenuto Melville’s 'Bartleby the Scrivener' adapted by P. H. Crosby Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, 7pm 'As We Were: Nine Days in October' by Jan Maher Friday and Saturday, June 23 and 24, 7pm All plays are also viewable online for two weeks. *** On the Boards is made possible by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the local cultural councils of Greenfield, Bernardston, Gill, Leyden, and Northfield.
Puppetry Percolator
324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 324 Main Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United StatesLAVA's Puppetry Percolator, on the 4th Thursday of each month, is an informal exploration of the worldwide art of puppetry. Drop in to examine puppetry's history and evolution as an art, play with different forms, and workshop simple puppets and performance. Appropriate for teens and adults. Let's have some fun! Facilitated by Jovonna Van Pelt, former director of Puppet Showplace Theatre. Donations welcome.