Event Calendar
Upcoming Events from Bloom Local’s Partner Network
Queer & Trans Art Group (QTAG)
Open to anyone who identifies as queer, trans, or gender-expansive, come hang out, make art in community, or just connect with other queer and trans folks in a safer space!
Prenatal Yoga: Love, Joy, Compassion, & Equanimity
This 4-week series is for people carrying and birthing a baby who are looking to connect with their bodies, their breath, and their pregnancy in a supportive environment. Each class will include time for community and connection and an exploration of the ways that yoga can support pregnancy and birth through movement, breath, and meditation. All bodies, sizes, and abilities are welcome and celebrated.
Starting with Softness
Softly start the new year with a gentle Kripalu yoga class and live music savasana to soothe your spirit.
For an auspicious start to the year, this practice is centered around Ganesha, the deity from the Hindu pantheon associated with new beginnings, transitions, and removing obstacles. Connect with Ganesha through yoga, mudra, mantra, and music to center yourself as you move into what this year may bring. Intentions for the New Year that may arise from the practice will be sweetly sealed with a peaceful live music savasana to honor Ganesha.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Sliding-scale pricing: $30 - $50.
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
NCMC Open Rehearsals - Pride Chorus
Under Mara Levi's charismatic leadership, this choir has grown from a kiddie pool to a symphonic ocean of voices. There's truly a place for everyone in this empowering LGBTQIA+ group, whether you sing low, sing high, prefer the background, or want to raise the roof with a solo! The Pride Chorus promises to be a healing choral experience to look forward to week after week.
No experience required. Private lessons offered separately.
Learn more at ncmc.net/pride
Prenatal Yoga: Love, Joy, Compassion, & Equanimity
This 4-week series is for people carrying and birthing a baby who are looking to connect with their bodies, their breath, and their pregnancy in a supportive environment. Each class will include time for community and connection and an exploration of the ways that yoga can support pregnancy and birth through movement, breath, and meditation. All bodies, sizes, and abilities are welcome and celebrated.
Warm Welcome Birth Doula Workshop
October 1st, 2nd & 8th, 9th 2025
Become a confident doula in this full four-day training with a Latine Midwife. All the teachable skills you need to learn to start supporting families for healthier, more positive births. Body-positive, trauma informed, nervous system health orientation.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Partial scholarships for BIPOC since 2015, refresher rate, payment plans available. Early Bird discount through Nov 18.
Interested and want to know more? Email Michelle at michelle@warmwelcomebirth.com and request a 15-minute zoom or call to get answers to all your questions.
Warm Welcome Birth Doula Workshop
October 1st, 2nd & 8th, 9th 2025
Become a confident doula in this full four-day training with a Latine Midwife. All the teachable skills you need to learn to start supporting families for healthier, more positive births. Body-positive, trauma informed, nervous system health orientation.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Partial scholarships for BIPOC since 2015, refresher rate, payment plans available. Early Bird discount through Nov 18.
Interested and want to know more? Email Michelle at michelle@warmwelcomebirth.com and request a 15-minute zoom or call to get answers to all your questions.
Sound Bath for Sensitive Souls
Sound Baths for Sensitive Souls are group sound healing experiences that will assist you in relaxing and restoring in a safe environment. Many highly sensitive people (HSPs) are drawn to sound healing work, but some will leave experiences feeling drained, overstimulated, or even unwell. Trauma survivors, in particular, can benefit greatly from sound healing and can also be prone to vibrational reactivity. Sound Baths for Sensitive Souls are carefully designed to be gentle on the nervous system so that all those in attendance can rest, heal, and restore.
In these monthly gatherings, Jorie will work with a combination of crystal bowls, temple bells, and chimes. These instruments work with the principles of resonance, entrainment, and cellular healing in promoting general relaxation, resetting the nervous system, restoring mental clarity, and aiding in cellular restoration. All sessions will be touch-free and mindful of potential reactivity to dissonance, binaurals, and overplaying.
Each sound bath will have a score built around specific musical intervals known to embrace, release, and call in different emotional and physical states. This musical approach combines seamlessly with the inherent healing capabilities of the instruments.
Jorie is a member of the Survivor Arts Collective and is committed to collaborating with and accompanying fellow sensitives and survivors as we all move towards embodiment and healing.
Sound Healing Contraindications:
Please reach out to Jorie at woollymammothstudio@gmail.com if any of the following apply to you, or if you have any questions.
Pregnancy
Avoid using sound healing instruments on the body during pregnancy, especially during the first 12 weeks.
Heart conditions
Keep a minimum distance of 20 cm from any implanted heart pacemaker, stent, or shunt. You should also consult your doctor before using sound healing if you have carotid stenosis, cardiac pacemakers, artificial heart valves, or cardiac arrhythmias.Epilepsy
Some rare forms of epilepsy may be triggered by sound. You should consult your doctor to ensure you receive the right anti-epileptic medication and are in no danger of seizure from sound vibrations.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Drop-ins are welcome! Sliding-scale pricing: $30 - $50.
By donation. Donation passes range from $5-40 and support Jorie’s work and Sanctuary’s scholarship fund, but absolutely no contribution is required. If you pre-register, Punchpass will prompt you to purchase a donation pass. If you choose not to contribute but still wish to pre-register, please reach out to us at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com so we can reserve your spot. Otherwise, please feel free to just show up!
Cancelation Policy (All Sanctuary Special Programming): If you register for a workshop or event and you do not show up, you forfeit your pass. We require a minimum of 24 hours’ notice for reservation cancelations. Please email us at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com if you cannot make it, so we can offer your spot to someone on the waitlist. We are unable to offer credits or refunds.
NCMC Open Rehearsals - Ujima Singers
*You don't have to sign up or pay for this rehearsal, just show up!
The Ujima Singers are a musical and cultural collective prioritizing the Black and Indigenous (BIPOC) communities here in Western MA!
Director Evelyn Harris, of StompBoxTrio and Sweet Honey In The Rock acclaim, specializes in music as activism, and leads this life-changing group as its members find their voices both musically and spiritually.
No experience required. Private lessons offered separately.
Art of Props: Support and Strengthen Your Yoga Asana Practice
Do you often find yourself unsure how to integrate props into your personal yoga practice? In “The Art of Props,” Fran will guide you through various techniques to enhance your practice using essential props like bolsters, blocks, blankets, and straps.
This 90-minute immersive workshop will help you better understand how to use props for deeper support and stability. Props will be incorporated to help release tightness, and offer a more accessible practice for yogis of all levels. The workshop will be set up like an all-levels yoga asana class, with opportunities for Fran to provide pointers on how to use props, and will end with a lengthy savasana.
This workshop will empower you to make the most of your props – turning them into powerful tools for transformation. Props are not just for beginners; they offer benefits for practitioners of every level, adding an element of ease and exploration to your yoga journey.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Drop-ins are welcome! Sliding-scale pricing: $30 - $50.
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
Warm Welcome Birth Doula Workshop
October 1st, 2nd & 8th, 9th 2025
Become a confident doula in this full four-day training with a Latine Midwife. All the teachable skills you need to learn to start supporting families for healthier, more positive births. Body-positive, trauma informed, nervous system health orientation.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Partial scholarships for BIPOC since 2015, refresher rate, payment plans available. Early Bird discount through Nov 18.
Interested and want to know more? Email Michelle at michelle@warmwelcomebirth.com and request a 15-minute zoom or call to get answers to all your questions.
Warm Welcome Birth Doula Workshop
October 1st, 2nd & 8th, 9th 2025
Become a confident doula in this full four-day training with a Latine Midwife. All the teachable skills you need to learn to start supporting families for healthier, more positive births. Body-positive, trauma informed, nervous system health orientation.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Partial scholarships for BIPOC since 2015, refresher rate, payment plans available. Early Bird discount through Nov 18.
Interested and want to know more? Email Michelle at michelle@warmwelcomebirth.com and request a 15-minute zoom or call to get answers to all your questions.
Creative Movement: Practical Prep for a Positive Birth
Appropriate for any stage of pregnancy. Come solo or with a support person to learn how you and baby can use movement to your advantage during your birth! February 9, 2025 1 PM - 3:30 PM in South Hadley, MA.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Queer & Trans Art Group (QTAG)
Open to anyone who identifies as queer, trans, or gender-expansive, come hang out, make art in community, or just connect with other queer and trans folks in a safer space!
Yoga and Sound
Immerse yourself in this blissful workshop of movement and sound meditation. This 90-minute Yoga & Sound workshop combines a revitalizing yoga practice with the deeply relaxing and restorative benefits of sound meditation.
In the first 45 minutes, you'll flow through a nurturing sequence of yoga asana (postures) designed to release tension and cultivate mind-body awareness. The practice will be accessible for all levels, with many variations to honor your body.
The second half of the workshop will be devoted to a profoundly calming sound meditation/sound bath. As you rest in gentle seated or reclined postures, you'll bathe in the vibrations of singing bowls, chimes, steel drums, and other sound meditation instruments. These resonant tones will help relax your nervous system, reduce stress and anxiety, and transport you into a state of deep relaxation and inner stillness.
You'll leave feeling grounded yet uplifted–your body rejuvenated and your mind at peace.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Drop-ins are welcome! Sliding-scale pricing: $30 - $50.
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
Queer & Trans Art Group (QTAG)
Open to anyone who identifies as queer, trans, or gender-expansive, come hang out, make art in community, or just connect with other queer and trans folks in a safer space!
Yoga and Sound
Immerse yourself in this blissful workshop of movement and sound meditation. This 90-minute Yoga & Sound workshop combines a revitalizing yoga practice with the deeply relaxing and restorative benefits of sound meditation.
In the first 45 minutes, you'll flow through a nurturing sequence of yoga asana (postures) designed to release tension and cultivate mind-body awareness. The practice will be accessible for all levels, with many variations to honor your body.
The second half of the workshop will be devoted to a profoundly calming sound meditation/sound bath. As you rest in gentle seated or reclined postures, you'll bathe in the vibrations of singing bowls, chimes, steel drums, and other sound meditation instruments. These resonant tones will help relax your nervous system, reduce stress and anxiety, and transport you into a state of deep relaxation and inner stillness.
You'll leave feeling grounded yet uplifted–your body rejuvenated and your mind at peace.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Drop-ins are welcome! Sliding-scale pricing: $30 - $50.
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
Warm Welcome Postpartum Doula Training
The next training is taking place:
March 29th, 30th & April 12th, 13th 2025
Do you feel called to help support new parents, babies, and families in the early weeks and months?
While this can be a tender and joyful time, it is also a period of tremendous transition and adjustment for everyone involved.
New parents are often surprised at how much their days and nights overflow with caring for the baby, and support from beyond the family is often called for.
What do they do?
Postpartum Doulas ease the way during the tender early weeks and months, providing infant care, supporting healthy physical and emotional transition, offering baby feeding guidance and practical household support. They are not only for parents dealing with postpartum depression; in fact most families who hire a postpartum doula are not experiencing PPD.
Most Postpartum Doulas are self-employed, and enjoy the flexibility & independence of having their own small business. Hourly rates in Western Mass commonly range between $25 to $50 per hour. Some postpartum doulas offer overnight care, earning $30-$60+/hour.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Warm Welcome Postpartum Doula Training
The next training is taking place:
March 29th, 30th & April 12th, 13th 2025
Do you feel called to help support new parents, babies, and families in the early weeks and months?
While this can be a tender and joyful time, it is also a period of tremendous transition and adjustment for everyone involved.
New parents are often surprised at how much their days and nights overflow with caring for the baby, and support from beyond the family is often called for.
What do they do?
Postpartum Doulas ease the way during the tender early weeks and months, providing infant care, supporting healthy physical and emotional transition, offering baby feeding guidance and practical household support. They are not only for parents dealing with postpartum depression; in fact most families who hire a postpartum doula are not experiencing PPD.
Most Postpartum Doulas are self-employed, and enjoy the flexibility & independence of having their own small business. Hourly rates in Western Mass commonly range between $25 to $50 per hour. Some postpartum doulas offer overnight care, earning $30-$60+/hour.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Yoga and Sound
Immerse yourself in this blissful workshop of movement and sound meditation. This 90-minute Yoga & Sound workshop combines a revitalizing yoga practice with the deeply relaxing and restorative benefits of sound meditation.
In the first 45 minutes, you'll flow through a nurturing sequence of yoga asana (postures) designed to release tension and cultivate mind-body awareness. The practice will be accessible for all levels, with many variations to honor your body.
The second half of the workshop will be devoted to a profoundly calming sound meditation/sound bath. As you rest in gentle seated or reclined postures, you'll bathe in the vibrations of singing bowls, chimes, steel drums, and other sound meditation instruments. These resonant tones will help relax your nervous system, reduce stress and anxiety, and transport you into a state of deep relaxation and inner stillness.
You'll leave feeling grounded yet uplifted–your body rejuvenated and your mind at peace.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to register.
Drop-ins are welcome! Sliding-scale pricing: $30 - $50.
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
Prenatal Yoga: Love, Joy, Compassion, & Equanimity
This 4-week series is for people carrying and birthing a baby who are looking to connect with their bodies, their breath, and their pregnancy in a supportive environment. Each class will include time for community and connection and an exploration of the ways that yoga can support pregnancy and birth through movement, breath, and meditation. All bodies, sizes, and abilities are welcome and celebrated.
Prenatal Yoga: Love, Joy, Compassion, & Equanimity
This 4-week series is for people carrying and birthing a baby who are looking to connect with their bodies, their breath, and their pregnancy in a supportive environment. Each class will include time for community and connection and an exploration of the ways that yoga can support pregnancy and birth through movement, breath, and meditation. All bodies, sizes, and abilities are welcome and celebrated.
New Years Eve Yoga
As we approach the new year, we will gather in the warmth of great company to honor what has been and turn our hearts toward new possibility. Re-align yourself with what matters most to you and receive the power of community to magnify our individual and collective intentions. This workshop will include joyful yoga, meditation, rest, and contemplation.
All experience levels welcome.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering.
Sliding Scale Pricing: $30-$50
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
We Celebrate the Light: A community holiday celebration & storytime for families
Join beloved local authors Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple for this community interfaith holiday celebration. Families are invited to make light-inspired crafts provided by BOMBYX in-house congregations, Beit Ahavah, The Reform Synagogue of Greater Northampton, and Florence Congregational Church.
Jane and Heidi will read their new picture book WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT, and Little Roots will provide musical accompaniment. A community fire will cap off the twinkly evening!
High Five Books will have all of Jane and Heidi's books for sale, and families are welcome to bring their own copies for signing.
Registration
This event is sliding scale, with a $10 suggested donation.
Click/tap button below for more information and to purchase tickets.
Queer & Trans Art Group (QTAG)
Open to anyone who identifies as queer, trans, or gender-expansive, come hang out, make art in community, or just connect with other queer and trans folks in a safer space!
Trans & Gender-Diverse Book Club
Join Transhealth for this in-person book club for the trans and gender-diverse community!
This month’s pick: Detransition, Baby, “A bold exploration of gender, parenthood, love, and trans life” by Torrey Peters. Participants will read sections of the book independently, before meeting together to discuss the novel as a group.
They encourage group members to share their thoughts, reflections, and critiques of the book as it relates to their lived experience or broader relationship to our community.
Reader Discretion Advised, Ages 18 and over. Max of 12 participants. Paperback copies of the book will be provided to those who need them.
Registration
This is a FREE offering!
Click/tap button below for more information and to register.
Kid Creatives: Sewing & Sculpture
Artists in grades 2nd-5th are invited to explore Sewing & Sculpture during this multi-part afterschool session during this 7 week Monday afterschool session.
Click/tap the button below for more information and to register.
Yoga for Digestive Health
Sanctuary welcomes you to a discussion and physical movement workshop of yoga therapy practices aimed at supporting digestive health. The gut and brain are in constant communication and this relationship, with factors like stress, trauma, and our environment, plays a role in digestive health. In this workshop we will discuss this gut-brain axis that is central to yoga therapy practices for digestive health and bring this awareness into a gentle physical yoga practice.
You may opt to bring a notebook. The studio is wheelchair-accessible. Please note: This workshop will be presented in the context of the yoga therapy model, which is aimed at holistic treatment using yogic practices to treat body-mind system related concerns. Safara’s certification is in teaching Yoga for Digestive Health. She is not a licensed yoga therapist.
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering.
Pay-What-You-Can, by donation: $5-$40, Suggested Rate: $30
A note regarding accessibility to all Sanctuary offerings:
Sanctuary has a range of scholarship options available. If the cost of participating is prohibitive, please email them at studio@yoga-sanctuary.com to learn more.
Kids Makers Market
Little Roots, Bombyx, Art Always, & High Five Books are excited to present a Winter Kids' Makers Market featuring kids as the makers, ranging from 6-18 years old!
Come purchase gifts for yourself, your friends, or family - for the holidays, birthdays, fun surprises, or just because. You'll find jewelry, soaps, note cards, art, candles, food and more.
Participants will be able to engage in arts and crafts by Art Always, with music by Little Roots students and teachers, and books by High Five Books. Spread the word! Hope to see you there! Interested in having your child participate?
Register at: bit.ly/kidsmakersmarket2024
Registration
This is a FREE event.
Click/tap button below for more information.
Queer & Trans Art Group (QTAG)
Open to anyone who identifies as queer, trans, or gender-expansive, come hang out, make art in community, or just connect with other queer and trans folks in a safer space!
Kid Creatives: Sewing & Sculpture
Artists in grades 2nd-5th are invited to explore Sewing & Sculpture during this multi-part afterschool session during this 7 week Monday afterschool session.
Click/tap the button below for more information and to register.
Ball for All: Auction & Celebration
Enjoy a spread of local desserts and treats, wine, Progression’s iconic brews, music from local DJ BFG, and event emcee DJ Mapes! Come be part of this vibrant tapestry of shared experiences:
Live & Silent Auctions, with bidding opportunities to spend time with local artists and makers to learn new skills! Hyperlocal featured artists will include ceramicists, photographers, fiber artists, printmakers, jewelry makers, and more
Raffle prizes from local businesses, plus original artworks
Participate in on-site art-making at the Ball to celebrate what makes our artistic valley so special: Resiliency and Inclusion.
Have your photo taken on the RED CARPET!
Dress Code: Come SPARKLE & SHINE in your hand-made fashions! Please wear at least one handmade item, whether crafted by you or a local artist and feel free to incorporate some SPARKLE to dance under the mirrorball! Think dressed up, festive, and uniquely you—glitter, shine, and originality are all encouraged! Let’s make this a night to remember, reflecting the art, resilience, and individuality that make our community so special.
Your participation truly makes a difference!
RCA needs to raise $20,000 by January 1st to continue offering accessible arts programming into 2025 and beyond -- additional tax-deductible donations can be made at Patronicity: Resilient Futures
Registration
Click/tap the button below to learn more about this offering and to purchase tickets.
Ticket prices are sliding scale and start at $25.
Please note: tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Queer & Trans Yoga: Focus on the Chakras (4-Week Series)
This 4-week series is designed especially for members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are looking to connect with their bodies and their breath in a supportive, community-oriented environment. This space aims to create a container where queer and trans folks can cultivate joy, a deeper relationship with their bodies, and a sense of connectedness to their yoga practice. All bodies, sizes, and abilities are welcome and celebrated.
Fiber Art Friends
Fiber Art Friends is an intergenerational space for fiber artists and fiber-curious folks to create in community, learn from one another, and try new things!
Trans & Gender-Diverse Book Club
Join Transhealth for this in-person book club for the trans and gender-diverse community!
This month’s pick: Detransition, Baby, “A bold exploration of gender, parenthood, love, and trans life” by Torrey Peters. Participants will read sections of the book independently, before meeting together to discuss the novel as a group.
They encourage group members to share their thoughts, reflections, and critiques of the book as it relates to their lived experience or broader relationship to our community.
Reader Discretion Advised, Ages 18 and over. Max of 12 participants. Paperback copies of the book will be provided to those who need them.
Registration
This is a FREE offering!
Click/tap button below for more information and to register.
DIY Marketing Basics for QT Artists with Luc Abbott (Copy)
Join Luc Abbott (they/them) for an enriching "Marketing Basics" workshop designed for QT musical artists! We'll dive into creative, innovative, and practical strategies to boost your visibility, and cover accessibility guidelines to ensure your outreach is inclusive and impactful.
Kid Creatives: Sewing & Sculpture
Artists in grades 2nd-5th are invited to explore Sewing & Sculpture during this multi-part afterschool session during this 7 week Monday afterschool session.
Click/tap the button below for more information and to register.