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Header Photo Credits

 

Clockwise from top left: The Collings Foundation, Stow; Battleship Cove, credit Nancy Marshall; Blacksmith Art & Music Festival, Fitchburg; Williamstown Dancers, credit Williamstown Cultural District; Cider Hall Farm in Amesbury, credit MOTT    

 

 

January 2015

 

Greetings! Massachusetts is rich in arts & culture, so it's no surprise that exciting events, exhibits and festivals are held in the state's 16 regions all year long. Find out more!

 

3-Of-A-Kind: Made by Hand

Massachusetts has a treasured tradition of craft making. The Society of Arts & Crafts is America's oldest non-profit craft organization. Its intimate gallery on Boston's Newbury Street currently features Our Cups Runneth Over through January 10th. The retail gallery features works by 300+ artists. The Fuller Craft Museum showcases its recent acquisitions of contemporary crafts in Crafting A Collection. And Barbara Andrus: Fieldwork consists of large-scale installations of natural materials. Snow Farm: the New England Craft Program is the place to try your hand at mosaics, pottery, glass blowing, wood turning, rustic outdoor furniture, and much more. Two- to seven-day programs run January-October. Photo: Snow Farm, the New England Craft Program.

Plan your next getaway to Massachusetts!

 

 

Featured Region: Cape Cod

The arts are alive this January on Cape Cod! From January 10-February 21, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and Cotuit Center for the Arts will collaborate on the winter art exhibit Opposites Attract. The interactive exhibit will feature artists' interpretation of "opposites attract" - literally and figuratively! Keeping younger patrons in mind, artwork will be displayed at children's eye level, and kid-friendly events are scheduled throughout the month at the Cotuit Center for the Arts. Next up, the Cape Symphony Orchestra is crossing the pond to jolly old England with its special "Passport to England" performance January 17-18. Enjoy the silliness of song aboard the HMS Pinafore and develop a penchant for pirates as the symphony performs highlights from the funniest comic operas ever written. Buy tickets now! Cape Symphony photo by Jerome Karter. Find more information on Cape Cod.

 

 

Greater Springfield

This month, the largest railroad hobby show in the northeast takes place at Eastern States Exposition through January 24-25! Origami Interpretations by Gloria Garfinkle featured at George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum (through April) shows twenty-five vibrant paintings, sculptures and prints featuring bold color, energetic patterns, and abstract compositions inspired by Japanese designs and origami forms. For more information on these great events and others, visit www.valleyvisitor.com. Find more information on Greater Springfield.

 

 

Hampshire County

To celebrate the 40th anniversary at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst, the work of 40 artists who had major exhibitions at the museum since 1975 at crucial moments in their careers will be displayed in the 40 Years/40 Artists exhibit. The opening reception is January 21st from 5-7 p.m. and will be on view January 22-March 8. Image: Jenny Holzer, Talking Politics, 2008, Pigment print, 60 x 75 in. Find more information on Hampshire County.

 

 

Johnny Appleseed Country

Warm up to winter with music! There's something for every taste at venues throughout Johnny Appleseed Country. Love jazz or blues? Visit the Gardner Ale House. Or relax next to the fireplace with acoustical music on Fridays and Saturdays at The King Phillip Restaurant. Check out the extensive concert schedule at The Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, featuring blasts from the past and new recording artists. And tap your toes to Irish music in the pub at the Old Mill Restaurant. Take a musical tour this month through Johnny's backyard! Find more information on Johnny Appleseed Country.

 

 

Martha's Vineyard 

Come celebrate nearly three decades of the hottest of the hot at the 29th Annual mvyradio Big Chili Contest on Saturday, January 24th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Portuguese American Club in Oak Bluffs! Warm up on a chilly January day...get out that recipe or just come to sample all the many different kinds of chili. Free bus service between the Steamship Authority ferry terminal and the event. Performers for this year's event will include the Mariachi Mexico Lindo Band.   Snow date is Sunday, January 25. Enter the photo contest on MVY.com for a chance to win event tickets & and a 2-night stay for 2! Find more information on Martha's Vineyard.

 

 

Mohawk Trail Region

Steve Earle is in concert at MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday, February 7th at 8 p.m.  A trailblazer of alt-country, a protest singer of fiery commitment and a songwriter of towering ability, Steve Earle is an artist of expansive talents...a legendary musical presence! He's here, a sack full of Grammy Awards and his gravelly, impassioned voice in tow, for a solo show 10 days before the release of Terraplane, a new album of swamp, southern stomp blues. Visit massmoca.org for details and tickets.  Find more information on the Mohawk Trail Region

 

 

MetroWest

There's a lot brewing in MetroWest, as more visitors and residents learn about the art of making and tasting craft beers. Jack's Abby Brewing in Framingham offers brewery tours and tastings of the many lagers that they brew onsite. At Julio's Liquors in Westborough, and at the three locations of The Vin Bin, enjoy weekly craft beer tastings.  If you'd like to master this art yourself, get quality supplies and advice from Strange Brew, New England's largest retail home-brew store. Find more information on MetroWest

 

 

Nantucket Island

Theatre Workshop and Nantucket Atheneum present the 5th annual Staged Reading Series. These four FREE readings begin January 16th with SEMINAR, a provocative Broadway comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck. Four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. Join us in the Atheneum's Great Hall! Find more information on Nantucket Island.  

 

 

North of Boston

"Always look on the bright side" with the Village Theatre Company's newest production! Featuring King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, killer rabbits, and a bevy of showgirls, Monty Python's Spamalot is not to be missed! The hilarious Tony Award-winning musical is "(lovingly) ripped off" from the classic, quotable comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."  Join the Village Theatre Company for nonstop laughs January 23-February 1.  Did we mention the bevy of show girls? Find more information on North of Boston.

 

 

Plymouth County

The Duxbury Rural & Historical Society's Book & Collections Clubs will feature Michael Blanding's The Map Thief at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 31st at the Nathaniel Winsor, Jr. House in Duxbury. This gripping books tells the story of an esteemed rare-map dealer who made millions stealing priceless maps. The Duxbury Rural and Historical Society (DRHS) pairs books of historic interest with objects from the museum collections that illustrate the reading. Free for DRHS Members; $5 a session for non-members. Find more information on Plymouth County.

 

 

Southeastern Massachusetts

Beat the winter blues at the 2nd Annual Narrows Winter Blues Festival, January 16th and 17th at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River. Musical guests include, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Mark T. Small, Mike Zito & the Wheel, plus more. Beyond the coast, Arts in the Village continues on January 24th at Goff Memorial Hall in Rehoboth, as Russian Duo celebrates cross-cultural creativity, exploring the range of possibilities offered by balalaika, voice, and piano. Click here for more January events info. Find more information on Southeastern Massachusetts.

 

 

The Berkshires

The 4th Annual 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival in Downtown Pittsfield promises to be the biggest and best fest yet!  The Festival takes place February 12-22 and features music, art, theatre, dance, comedy, film, and more. There is something for the entire family from Barrington Stage's 10x10 New Play Festival to 10 days of play at the Berkshire Museum to a bonfire and fireworks extravaganza at the newly renovated Pittsfield Common to a closing Academy Awards party at the Beacon Cinema. Find more information on the Berkshires

 

 

Greater Merrimack Valley

The American Textile History Museum presents Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol, an extraordinary exhibition of art on fabric with rare pieces, many never before seen on public display, from the masters of modern art, including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, and Raoul Dufy. Organized by the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. On view at ATHM now through March 29, 2015. Photo Credit: Salvador Dali, Number Please. Find more information on Greater Merrimack Valley.

 

 

Central Massachusetts

Two stand-out cultural events are coming to the Worcester area this January! On January 13th, Mechanics Hall hosts the St. Petersburg Symphony, featuring award-winning pianist Andrei Gavrilov. On January 18th, learn about New England's civil rights legacy as costumed historians portray important 19th-century abolitionist leaders at Old Sturbridge Village. Tammy Denease Richardson will portray Elizabeth Freeman sharing the story of how this one-time slave won her freedom. Find more information on Central Massachusetts.

 

 

Franklin County

Greenfield Winter Carnival will be held February 6-8, with events happening all over Greenfield! Be a part of a tradition that began over 90 years ago. Ice sculpture contests, fireworks, fire dancers, Breakfast with Frosty, Family Fun Day, Sleigh Bell Run, Cardboard Sled Race, K9 Keg Pull, sledding, ice skating, and so much more!  Most events are free. Find more information on Franklin County. 

 

 

Greater Boston

This January, theatre marquees light up for the Mark Morris Dance Company, Motown the Musical and the ever versatile jazz artist, Bradford Marsalis.The BSO performs weekly, while Garth Brooks entertains for four nights at the TD Garden. The seminal work of the celebrated African American artist, Gordon Parks is on view at the MFA, while Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals is the inaugural exhibition at the newly renovated Harvard Art Museums. You can be educated and satiated at the Boston Wine Festival through March 27th. Find more information on Greater Boston

 

Regional Tourism Councils  

The Berkshires  Cape Cod  Central Massachusetts  Franklin County  
Greater Boston  Greater Merrimack Valley  Greater Springfield  
Hampshire County  Johnny Appleseed Country  Martha's Vineyard  
MetroWest  Mohawk Trail  Nantucket Island  North of Boston  
Plymouth County  Southeastern Massachusetts