Riding into the new year on the coattails of the success of the Smithsonian “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” exhibit, the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls has announced a year of programming centered around the theme “Food, Farms and Factories.”

“We had so many ideas last year, we couldn’t do them all,” said Janel Nockleby, visitor services supervisor at the Discovery Center. “These programs are the culmination of our community being better able to reflect on the sense of place and the core elements that make this place special.”

Organizers described this year’s programming theme as a “Season 2” of the work done during the six weeks when the traveling Smithsonian exhibit came to Turners Falls.

Funded by Mass Humanities through Massachusetts Cultural Council and National Endowment for the Humanities, all six communities that participated in last year’s Smithsonian program received another grant of $10,000 to continue to provide programs for people in their separate rural areas, all around the idea of changes in rural America. The Discovery Center partnered with RiverCulture, Montague Public Libraries, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, the Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center and other organizations for the year’s events lineup.

“We create programming that makes people want to live and work and stay here,” said RiverCulture Director Suzanne LoManto. “We are proud of the area around Turners Falls. This brings people to town.”

One goal of the Smithsonian exhibit was to create or strengthen partnerships between organizations. With “Season 2” having a similar cast of well-connected doers in the county at work, this year of “Food, Farms and Factories” programming continues to get organizations working together, explained Sheila Damkoehler, head of community outreach at PVMA.

Programming will include a Sunday matinee movie series where four local documentaries about food, farms and factories will be shown. Films include “A Long Row in Fertile Ground,” “The Genesis of the Turners Falls Community,” “The Franklin County Fair,” “Root, Hog or Die” and “Food for Change.” All films will be followed by discussions with the people who were involved in creating the films. Hot chocolate and snacks will be provided.

“We tried to keep it as local as possible so programming is relevant,” LoManto noted

Programming will kick off on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. with the screening of “A Long Row in Fertile Ground” by WGBY, with comments by Rus Peotter.

Also in the winter rollout of “Food, Farms and Factories” programming is the Discovery Center’s ongoing walking program. The walks are 1- to 2-mile guided treks that are geared toward seniors, but are open to participants of all ages. Each walk is led by a Department of Conservation and Recreation park interpreter. The fourth Friday of each month includes a walk directly related to the theme. For example, walk topics include discussion of local factories and the shad fish migration.

The rest of the programming for 2024 is yet to be announced, but future activities include history talks with experts; performances and related talks with local artist group Exploded View; gardening workshops; family programming at the Great Falls Farmers Market; programming with the Nolumbeka Project, the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage and the Montague Historical Society; panel discussions on the future of food and farming; a contra dance; a live music series; and an oral history project focused on climate change and food in the area.

Also featured this year will be an exhibit in the Discovery Center’s Great Hall created by PVMA that shares two stories of Eastern European immigrant families coming to the area, one about farming and one about factories. This exhibit was made possible with additional grant funding.

All this programming, Damkoehler explained, is designed to appeal to people in a variety of age groups and with varying interests.

More information about already announced programming and dates for future events can be found at greatfallsdiscoverycenter.org.

Reach Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.