YMCA to host Healthy Kids Day

GREENFIELD — Franklin County’s YMCA at 451 Main St. will host its annual Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 20, at 11 a.m. This free event features a variety of family-friendly activities to encourage healthy kids, healthy families and a healthy start to the summer season.

“It is so important for kids to stay active over the summer, both physically and mentally,” YMCA Development Director Maddy Oldenburg said in a statement. “At the Y, we believe in providing resources for families to create healthy habits, no matter the time of year. We are excited to be able to share what the Y has to offer while also being able to showcase our great community businesses and organizations who are joining us for this fun day.”

The Springfield Thunderbirds mascot Boomer, the University of Massachusetts Amherst women’s soccer team, the Eric Carle Museum and the Valley Blue Sox will be in attendance. There will be a performance from the YMCA’s Tumbling Tigers Gymnastics Team and its newly formed Pom Dance Squad, along with a bake sale to benefit the gymnastics team. Caravan Kitchen will be out on Main Street selling lunch items, the Greenfield Kiwanis Club will distribute bicycle and skateboard helmets to all children in need, and the Y will hold a Sporting Goods Free Store for families to shop at no charge.

For a full list of vendors, visit your-y.org/hkd.

April 22: ‘Healthy Soils at Home’

GREENFIELD — “Healthy Soils at Home,” the final free event of Greening Greenfield’s spring series called “Working with Nature to Restore Our Climate,” will be held Monday, April 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Second Congregational Church on Court Square.

After looking at the topics of water and life in previous programs, this Earth Day event turns the focus to soil. Rachel Lindsay, ecologist and lead designer at Regenerative Design Group, will share her wealth of experience in farming, community development and ecological design.

Lindsay will discuss how to improve soil health and increase climate resilience at home and beyond by using practices that reflect new ways of looking at soil. Healthy soils capture and store a tremendous amount of carbon and water. Having more carbon and water in the ground increases the productivity and vibrancy of our landscapes, reduces flooding and drought, and helps overcome poor land management practices that have degraded the soil.

She will also share her excitement about the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan, the first statewide comprehensive plan of its kind that addresses non-agricultural soil management.

“The role of soil in regulating our climate cannot be overstated,” Dorothea Sotiros, a Greening Greenfield member and organizer of the Nature to Restore Our Climate series, said in a statement. “I have seen that embracing a few simple rules when gardening can make a huge difference in soil texture and plant health, and it makes me feel good to know that I’m contributing to restoring our climate.”

For information about Greening Greenfield and the Working with Nature to Restore Our Climate series, go to GreeningGreenfieldMA.org.

From T-shirts to shoulder bags

GREENFIELD — A workshop on repurposing old T-shirts into shoulder bags will be held at the Greenfield Public Library Makerspace on Tuesday, April 23, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Participants are advised to bring their own T-shirt to use as the library will not have any supplies. The program is intended for ages 13 and up.

For more information, email librarian@greenfieldpubliclibrary.org or call 413-772-1544.

LAVA Center launching Open Stage performance series

GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center will present a new performance series, Open Stage, on the fourth Thursday of every month starting April 25. Sign-ups will start at 6:30 p.m. and the show will begin at 7 p.m.

An open stage is similar to an open mic, but more inclusive to all types of the performing arts. Artists are encouraged to sign up to perform theater, dance, music, literature, spoken word, magic, puppetry, circus, sideshow, comedy, improv — any form of art or entertainment that can be staged, in any stage of development.

The Open Stage performance series will have rotating hosts: local artists Nisse Greenberg, Nina Gross, Ezra Prior and Vanessa Query.

There will be a five-minute limit for each act. Artists can plug into The LAVA Center’s sound system if they’d like audio to backup their act. With questions, email info@thelavacenter.org.

There is a $5 suggested donation for this series.

April 26: ‘Picturesque Franklin County’

GREENFIELD — The Baystate Franklin Medical Center gift shop will sponsor “Pride of Place: Picturesque Franklin County” in the hospital’s main lobby on Friday, April 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event will feature photo notecards with packets available for every Franklin County town; theme-based packets featuring subjects such as covered bridges, country roads and the four seasons; 11-by-14-inch scenic prints; and a card rack displaying single notecards.

Cash, credit cards and checks will be accepted, or hospital employees can opt to pay via payroll deduction. Money raised will benefit patient services.

Auditions on horizon for On the Boards ’24

GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center is holding auditions for On the Boards ’24, a festival of new plays by local playwrights, on Sunday, April 28, and Monday, April 29.

No memorization or preparation is required to audition, and experience is welcome but not necessary.

To sign up to audition, visit forms.gle/ecioy17z5t45gUHM9. With questions, email info@thelavacenter.org.

Performances will take place at The LAVA Center on the weekends of June 15, June 22, June 29, July 13, July 20 and July 27.

Musica Franklin welcomes Floyd L. Williams for concert

GREENFIELD — Join Musica Franklin at the First United Methodist Church, located at 25 Church St., on Wednesday, May 1, from 5 to 6 p.m. for a student performance and family-friendly concert with the Rev. Floyd L. Williams, a world-renowned jazz pianist and composer.

Williams has performed around the world, including in Germany, India, Argentina, Russia, Japan and France. A professor of mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he has published more than 100 publications on mathematical physics and has been inducted into the Lincoln University Hall of Fame and as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He has been an ordained minister since 1990.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Greenfield Cultural Council.