Fall Happenings! Sept 30-Oct 2
Full Slate of Hilltown Arts Activities Set for September 30 - October 2
Hilltown Arts Alliance Open Studio Tour;
Local Wine, Beer & Harvest Tastings Highlight
Weekend Events
Cummington, MA – The Hilltown Community Development Corporation has announced a full slate of art activities that run throughout the weekend of September 30 - October 2nd in and around the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. The events are complemented with opportunities to taste the best of local farm and beverage producers at the height of harvest season.
The weekend begins Friday with an arts salon at the Cummington Community House featuring five local artists and continues with the 4th annual Hilltown Arts Alliance Open Studio Tour through Sunday. The self-guided tour that takes visitors to see the work and studios of 23 Hilltowns artists who have chosen the region for its unique rural character and space to create.
Local food makers and growers are participating with seasonal offerings. There will be a wine tasting of the new vintages of Sauvignon Blanc and Rose at Glendale Ridge Vineyard. Sena Farm Brewery is producing a special raspberry-infused beer to commemorate the weekend. Labels for the limited edition beer have been designed by artist Elena Allee, whose studio is on the tour. The Old Creamery Coop, which sells the goods of local farmers, is celebrating its 10th year with food and music in Cummington on Saturday evening.
The full schedule of activities includes:
The Art Salon: Friday, September 30, 6PM, Cummington Community House, Cummington. Engaging conversations with five unique and talented Valley-based artists.
The Hilltown Arts Alliance Open Studio Tour: Saturday October 1 - Sunday, October 2, 11AM - 5PM; 19 locations, 23 artists. Pick up tour maps and view a representative show of the artists’ work at the tour hub in the Commington Community House. Interactive map: https://hilltownartsalliance.org/tour-map/
Sena Farm Brewery Artist’s Palate Beer Tastings: Friday, September 30, 2- 7PM, Saturday, September 1, 1 - 7PM, Sunday, October 2, 1 - 6PM, Worthington. Vibrant Lithuanian style beer with local raspberries introduced in celebration of our Hilltown artists: ask for the Benevolent Host. Farmer’s Daughters food truck on site.
Old Creamery Co-Op 10th Anniversary Celebration. Saturday, October 1, 5 - 7:30PM, Pettingill Memorial Park, Cummington. Come enjoy food and drink from local establishments and farms that do business with the Creamery, a hub of the Hilltown economy.
Glendale Ridge Vineyard Wine Tasting: Sunday, October 2, 4 - 6PM, Southampton. Experience the vineyard at harvest with views of Mt. Tom. Special pricing for those who show their Open Studio brochures.
Artists on the Open Studio tour who are doing in studio demonstrations include: Jeanne Johns (11:30AM Saturday, Portrait conversations); Valerie Claff (1:30PM Saturday, Making a watercolor painting, start to finish); Mark Shapiro (3:30PM Saturday, Throwing, assembling & decorating a teapot in under an hour); Kathy Ford (11:30AM Sunday, The first block: character in quiltmaking); Leni Fried (1:30PM Sunday, Printmaking).
“The rural Hilltowns are undergoing something of a renaissance among artists and food producers,” says Community Development Director Dave Christopolis. “Cummington is going to receive Massachusetts Cultural District Designation this year and is planning additional arts and culture programming annually. Grants from that program and the Hilltown CDC are helping breathe new life into historic buildings where artists can live and create. Each year more artists move to the HIlltowns for the beauty but also the community they become a part of. We have also just had two new restaurants reopen in historic spaces in Worthington: The Goldenrod Country Inn and Liston’s Bar & Grill.”
“The Hilltowns are a fascinating mix of artists and agriculture, and always have been,” says Hilltown Arts Alliance president, and fabric artist, Kathy Ford. “Artists like Helen Frankenthaler, Willem de Kooning, Diane Arbus and Marianne Moore trained here. Now, we are home to internationally renowned artists like Sergei Isupov, Mara Superior, Mark Shapiro, Olwen O’Herlihy Dowling, and Andrew DeVries. This is a weekend to celebrate our past and that today the Hilltowns are alive with so much creativity.”
Attendees of the tour will wander Massachusetts Scenic Byways 112 and 143, plus many backroads, at the height of leaf peeping season. Visitors can stop at as many arts locations and events as they prefer with Cummington as the tour hub.
The artists included in the Open Studio Tour are painters, sculptors, fabric artists, artisan jewelry makers, printmakers and ceramicists. The complete list of artists participating is: Gloria Conwell, Kathy Ford, Mark Shapiro, Jen Parrish-Hill. Elena Allee, Michael Falcone, John Walker, Ana Busto, Sergei Isupov, Kadri Pärnamets, Jeanne Johns, Leni Fried, Chris Bagg, Susanna White, Laura Bundesen, Olwen O’Herlihy Dowling, Susan Flores, Laurie Israel, Guy Matsuda, Pleun Bouricius, Cyndy Sperry, David Marshall, Valerianna Claff.
The Open Studio Tour is made possible with support from the Hilltown Community Development Corporation, primary sponsors ArtsAngels, Community Foundation of Western Mass; Mass. Cultural Council, Hilltown Community Health Center. Secondary sponsors: Florence Bank, Mr. Tire, Cummington Supply, Hilltown Hybrids and The Hilltown Land Trust.
For the most updated information on artists, events and food opportunities throughout the Open Studio Tour weekend, go to hilltownartsalliance.org/open-studio-tour.
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About the Hilltown Community Development Corporation. Hilltown Community Development is a registered 501(c)(3) that seeks to improve the quality of life for Hilltown residents by addressing economic, housing, education, social and community needs while preserving the rural character of the area.
About the Hilltown Arts Alliance. The Hilltown Arts Alliance is a registered 501(c)(3), volunteer-run nonprofit arts organization serving the beautiful hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. These lush rolling hills are home to an impressive number of accomplished artists. Our mission is to spread the word! The Hilltown Arts Alliance seeks to connect and support local Hilltown artists and makers in their creative endeavors