Event Calendar
Upcoming Events from Bloom Local’s Partner Network
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.
Affirmations Book Club (Ages 8-12) - High Five Books & Translate Gender
A casual monthly book club for trans, nonbinary, & gender-creative youth, ages 8 - 12! Next month they're reading spooky graphic novel, THE WITCH BOY by Molly Knox Ostertag!
Affirmations book club is held in person at High Five Books (at 141 N. Main Street in Florence, MA) monthly on 3rd Wednesdays.
To join the in-person group (or if you have questions for the High Five team) email kinsey@highfivebooks.org.
These groups will be co-facilitated by the awesome folks at High Five and Translate Gender.
Registration
Click/tap button below for more infomation.
Feed the Movement: Community Celebration & Book Launch
This open-to-the-public event and market will be an activation point for celebrating community over capitalism! Corrie Locke-Hardy (she/they) of The Tiny Activist has authored a cookbook titled THE REVOLUTION WILL BE WELL FED and is hosting an official book launch reception in tandem with a curated outdoor popup market hosted by Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market.
Big Feelings Stuffy Sleepovers (Ages 6-9)
New fall experiences and changes in routine can feel tricky for young kiddos, to say the very least. High Five Book’s expert-guided Big Feelings Stuffy Sleepovers can help with those back-to-school transitions!
Join them and expressive arts-trained educator Gina Krosoczka, MA, CAGS, for an interactive, play-based workshop that addresses separation anxiety, coping skills, and resilience-building for preschoolers (August 30) and elementary-schoolers (September 6), in a sweet and engaging way.
Admission is $15/child.
Click/tap the button below for more information and to register!
Big Feelings Stuffy Sleepovers (Ages 3-5)
New fall experiences and changes in routine can feel tricky for young kiddos, to say the very least. High Five Book’s expert-guided Big Feelings Stuffy Sleepovers can help with those back-to-school transitions!
Join them and expressive arts-trained educator Gina Krosoczka, MA, CAGS, for an interactive, play-based workshop that addresses separation anxiety, coping skills, and resilience-building for preschoolers (August 30) and elementary-schoolers (September 6), in a sweet and engaging way.
Admission is $15/child.
Click/tap the button below for more information and to register!
Concert for Community
Join Northampton Community Music Center at The Pines Theater on Sunday August 25th to bid farewell to summer with a day of live music, food, family fun, and community! Gates open at 12pm.
Kids parade led by the Expandable Brass Band at 1pm.
Music all day until 7pm!
There will be food trucks, a kids zone with face painting and performances by Talking Hands Theater, a beer tent, and a full lineup of amazing music featuring:
Jamie Kent
Roger Salloom
The Gaslight Tinkers
Poor Monroe
StompBox Trio
FrannyO Show
Expandable Brass Band
This event is free and all ages. Look Park parking will cost $10 for non season ticket pass holders. Money will be raised for the Northampton Community Music Center through the generous sponsorship of local businesses.
Summer Pride Pop-Up: Nimona Movie Night @ High Five Books
Summer Pride Pop-Ups: Nimona Movie Screening!
Wed Aug 21st 6:00pm - 7:30pm
High Five Books Patio, 141 N Main St, Florence, MA 01062, USA
Mister G Concert to Benefit Grow Food Northampton
Come celebrate two local Pioneer Valley institutions on Sunday, July 21: Incredible local food and farming nonprofit Grow Food Northampton AND Grammy-award winning artist MISTER G, all at the Pines Theater at Look Park!
Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market
The goal of "Yet Another Queer Pop-Up Market” has always been to support newcomers. Lead by M Rudder and Jey Weisgerber, YAQPUM is a fledgling pop-up market centering LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and emerging artisans and makers exploring their craft. They believe there is always room for more spaces in our community to support the financial success of BIPOC, queer, and trans makers, artists, crafters, creators, and entrepreneurs. Their hope is to provide the additional support they have been looking for in preparing for a craft or maker market as a newcomer.
Registration
Click/tap the link below for more information on this event.
This is a FREE to attend event.
Doodles & Donuts with Cece Bell
Registration
Join High Five Books and award-winning author, illustrator and graphic novelist Cece Bell for an early evening family art and music extravaganza—with hot, fresh donuts!
The beloved creator of #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning El Deafo (now an animated show on Apple TV+) and many other books that young people adore (Sock Monkey; Chick and Brain; Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover) will lead artists and readers through the process of creating her latest all-ages alphabet book Animal Albums from A to Z, a hand-wrought, high-fidelity, hilariously tongue-in-cheek homage to the golden days of album cover art.
Cece will spin original tunes from Animal Albums, lead drawing demonstrations (and maybe a dance-a-thon!), discuss the new book and its connection to El Deafo, and answer all her fans’ questions.
Readers are welcome to bring their own book copies for signing; all titles will be also available for purchase. Wake the Dead Donuts will have fresh mini donuts and donut sundaes for sale.
Tickets are available via Bombyx.live on a sliding scale. No one will be turned away for lack of funds!
Bloomfest: A Springtime Gathering for Creative Minds
Join us for an afternoon of professional and creative networking curated by and for the local LGBTQIA+ and queer-allied community!
Come prepared to make new connections, get creative with The Color Collaborative, and enjoy a delicious taco bar from Crave Holyoke! Lower lighting and sound area and “ice-breaker” conversation tables will be available.
Sharona Color of The Color Collaborative will lead a community collage centering the idea, “Change is coming. What do we need to imagine?” inspired by the song “Change is Coming” by local Jewish Queer musician Molly Bajgot.
Bloomfest is hosted by Bloom Local with support from these Q/T-run and -allied orgs and small businesses:
Access Details
Accessible Parking & Entry Ramp
Lower lighting & sound area
Masks required when not consuming food & beverage
Registration
$0-$40 suggested sliding scale entry in advance & at door.
Contact hello@bloomlocal.live with any questions or access needs.
About the Artist
Sharona Color is an Easthampton, MA based artist and community activator. She uses mesmerizing colors to capture fleeting moments of awe from life. In her work, she seeks to bring people from vastly different life experiences together by playfully acknowledging the deep, sometimes hidden, inner thoughts and feelings that we all share. Sharona’s work ranges from small paintings to large-scale murals. All of her work begins with experimentation and play! From there, she lets color lead the way. She believes that all people are creative and she has a knack for guiding people and organizations towards finding their own creative voice, whether it be through creating murals or hands-on educational experiences. Sharona runs The Color Collaborative, a collective studio space in Easthampton.
LGBTQ+ & Allies Trivia Night with Ivy of Skye Trivia in the Pioneer Valley
In this special edition of trivia, Ivy will share a wide range of trivia questions about the LGBTQ+ community, their allies, and the J.S. Bryant School and team. You’re guaranteed to laugh, to enjoy the company of those around you, to be humbled, to celebrate, and to learn. The perfect way to spend your evening whether you bring your family, your partner, or someone from your chosen family. Join us as we find our way through the last of the cold and gray days of March into the Spring!
A suggested donation of $10 - $50 helps us to open our doors in 2025; everyone is welcome regardless of donation. RSVPs are required for this event.
Registration
Spring Equinox at Sulis Studio
Registration
Hosted by Elayna Sturm (they/them)
Coming out of Winter, a state of rest and dreaming, we enter into the freshness of Spring! We shed our winter layers of insulation and protection as we grow anew into the world. Sewing hopeful seeds, we embrace intentional action and create the world(s) we want to live in. In this spring equinox event, we will come together to reflect on winter and set our intentions for spring through a communal altar, planting seeds (literal and metaphorical) and collaging/vision boarding. If you’re curious but not sure if this is your jam, you are invited to come anyways with any craft you want to work on and bask in the cozy creative space of Sulis Studio with us!
Planting/potting supplies will be provided, as well as some collaging supplies. If you want to bring something to add to the communal altar (a small trinket, candle, note, drawing, flower, leaf, etc.) or bring your own crafting supplies, you are welcome to.
This event has a cap of 20 people. Pre-registration is recommended, though I will do my best to update the website/my instagram story with information about how many spaces we have left the day of.
If you have any questions/inquires about the event, please don’t hesitate to email me at thefantasiesofyouth@gmail.com or dm me on instagram at @thefantasiesofyouth
Sulis Studio Accessibility info: Sulis Studio is on the second floor, #253, and can be accessed via stairs or ramp plus elevator. If you plan to use the elevator, please contact Elayna (thefantasiesofyouth@gmail.com or insta: @thefantasiesofyouth) to assist in operating it. The studio has lots of open space for moving around in, and a variety of seating/standing options. There are stalled and wheelchair accessible bathrooms on the first floor of the building.
*Masks are required for this event*
Spring Equinox at BOMBYX
DEEPENING INTO SPIRIT AND THE ENERGIES OF THE SPRING EQUINOX THROUGH CREATION, COMMUNITY, AND RITUAL, WITH M RUDDER
EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT RACISM I LEARNED IN SCHOOL by Tiffany Jewell - Book Launch Party
Come meet and celebrate local author, educator, and truth-teller Tiffany Jewell and the launch of her new book EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT RACISM I LEARNED IN SCHOOL.
(Yes, there will be tiers of '80s and '90s snack cakes.)
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THIS BOOK IS ANTIRACIST and THE ANTIRACIST KID, comes this young adult non-fiction book, highlighting inequities Black and Brown students face from preschool through college. It is the most important, empowering read this year.
Registration
No registration required! Click the button below for more details on the event.
Learn more about High Five Books.
Affirmations Book Club (Ages 8-12) - High Five Books & Translate Gender
Trans, non-binary, and gender-creative youth are invited to join us each month for a casual, super-fun book club.
These groups will be co-facilitated by the awesome folks at High Five and Translate Gender.
Book choices to be announced soon!
Registration
Sign up in advance to receive log-in information to join - click/tap button below.
To learn more about Translate Gender or High Five Books.
Affirmations Book Club (Ages 12-18) - High Five Books & Translate Gender
Trans, non-binary, and gender-creative youth are invited to join us each month for a casual, super-fun book club.
These groups will be co-facilitated by the awesome folks at High Five and Translate Gender.
Registration
Sign up in advance to receive log-in information to join - click/tap button below.
Family Lunar New Year Celebration - High Five Books
Come celebrate the Year of the Dragon! Families are invited to join High Five Books at this all-ages Lunar New Year celebration as New York Times-bestselling author/illustrator Grace Lin reads from her latest book "Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods." Students will help enact a Reader's Theater performance from the book!
Grace will be joined by fellow author/illustrator Jannie Ho, who will read her book "Happy Chinese New Year!: A Festive Counting Story." Kids are invited to stay and craft, browse both creators' books, and have copies signed.
Presented in collaboration with High Five Books and the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School.
Tickets & Registration
Pay what you will in advance (NOTAFLOF)