There was a warm, flickering glow Friday when lab technicians dimmed the lights in a burn room at the new Yankee Candle research and development laboratory. After all, there were about 1,000 candles burning, all lined up on stainless-steel lab benches under the latest in climate-control and fire-suppression technology.
Visitors to Springfield and the rest of Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties are more likely to be millennials, wealthier and spending more than they did three years ago, before MGM Springfield and the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum opened.The latest Western Mass Visitor Profile survey results, released Wednesday by the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, showed the share of visitors to the region ages 18-24 climbed from 10% in 2013 to 19% in 2019. Visitors ages 25-34 years old increased from 25% in 2013 to 28% in 2019.
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Hooplandia, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament coming to The Big E and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in June, could mean $12 million in local spending. To put that number in perspective, the 2019 American Hockey League All-Star Classic Game at the MassMutual Center in January pumped $2.8 million through the local economy, said Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Big E plan to welcome 6,000 basketball players on 1,500 teams to the region next year for a 3-on-3 tournament called Hooplandia.
The Dream Destinations Fall & Winter Travel Show took place at MGM Springfield on Sunday. Co-sponsored by AAA Travel and The Republican, the show was a one-stop-shop for the thousands of Massachusetts and Connecticut residents looking at all the unique places to visit throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, and beyond during the spring and summer months.
Following a $1.1 million restoration, Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) will celebrate the opening of the Thaddeus Clapp House at 74 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, on Thursday, Oct. 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. This celebration follows a record-breaking summer theater season, with ticket sales up 25% and an additional 5,000 patrons recorded over the 2018 season. In 2013, BTG bought the Thaddeus Clapp House to serve as actor housing, and now, BTG celebrates the realization of that goal and more. Major funding for the restoration of the Thaddeus Clapp House has been provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities ...
A blossoming partnership between the Springfield Garden Club and Forest Park took root Friday as the club opened a two-day horticulture specialty flower show in the “Old Monkey House” building near the Trafton Road entrance to the park.
When the Springfield Thunderbirds hit the ice for the first time three years ago, its management team heard plenty of skepticism about whether hockey could truly thrive and grow beyond a certain ceiling in the city. While there’s still plenty of room for growth in ticket sales, attendance surged last season to a two-decade high, with Saturday nights in particular routinely selling out. In short, there’s a lot of optimism inside the Thunderbirds offices — and a refusal to get complacent.
A record number of visitors attended the 2019 Big E, breaking the Fair’s all-time high attendance figure, with a final tally of 1,629,527. The previous record, of 1,543,470, was set in 2018.
MGM Springfield has lost nearly 200 full-time employees who were recruited by Encore Boston Harbor before it opened in July, according to MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis.Mathis and his administrative team met with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Thursday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield to discuss second-quarter revenue and employment numbers.
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The Outdoor Amusement Business Association — the mobile amusement industry’s trade association — has relocated its Florida office to the grounds of Eastern States Exposition. The Outdoor Amusement Business Association was organized in 1965 and is the largest trade association representing carnivals, circuses, concessionaires, independent ride owners and others who serve fairs, festivals and community events.
For those who want loud, eardrum splitting rock 'n' roll music delivered with a blinding, stroke-inducing light show, veteran rockers Aerosmith delivered on Wednesday night and showed they have not lost their mojo. It’s been nearly 30 years since the Bad Boys of Boston “walked this way” to downtown Springfield. Their appearance at the MassMutual Center — the first of four booked by MGM Springfield to celebrate the casino’s first year anniversary — was a sellout before a crowd of 5,128.
As the clock ticks down the start of another Big E, an elaborate and well-choreographed effort is underway to get everything set for opening night. As it turns out, this is just one of the myriad traditions synonymous with this annual celebration of New England.
Vocalist. Multi-instrumentalist. Actor. Photographer. Humanitarian. But at the end of the day, Uganda-born artist Samite just wants to show the world how music can be used to help people of all different backgrounds overcome the obstacles in their life. Samite will play an important role at this year’s Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival on Saturday, Aug. 10 as both performer and speaker, appearing on the Court Square music festival’s main stage as well as the city’s Community Music School the night before to participate in a special discussion.
West Springfield - Eastern States Exposition announces that Maureen Freniere, of Westfield, Mass., has joined ESE and will serve as one of the organization’s Event Sales coordinators. Freniere comes to ESE from her position at FarmTek in South Windsor, Conn., where she served as a Commercial Trust Specialist.
CityStage, closed since December, will reopen with four jazz concerts from September to December while the Springfield Parking Authority, which owns the building, comes up with a long-term plan for the venue. “We don’t want the space to be dark,” Thomas D. Moore, interim executive director of the Springfield Parking Authority, said Tuesday.
They’re calling it a “pairing party.” And, as that name suggests, this is a party at which the pairings for the MGM Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame Golf Classic Hosted by Ray Allen!, will be announced. Most golf tournaments in this region, and there are a great many of them, don’t have a pairing party. This one does, and for a good reason — players are being paired with Hall of Famers and legends of the game. The list of those signed on to participate include players such as Allen, Dominique Wilkins, Gary Payton, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry, Bernard ...
The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) is staging its national convention in Western Mass – 39 years after its last New England convention. The convention, which started Thursday, takes place at the Eastern States Exposition, and runs through Sunday. “The convention is unique to New England because the first clock and watches were produced in New England in the 1700s,” said Alicia Szenda, GSCVB director of Sales. “This convention is all about clocks, watches, the tools used in making and repairing them, sun dials, barometers and ephemera. Members of the group share a common interest in collecting, buying ...
Summertime is a great time to get away, but in Western Mass., it’s also a great time to stick around and enjoy the many events on the calendar. Whether you’re craving live music or arts and crafts, historical experiences or small-town pride, the region boasts plenty of ways to celebrate the summer months. Here are a few dozen ideas to get you started.
Evan Plotkin has always been a firm believer in the arts as an economic-development strategy and vehicle for “changing the conversation about Springfield,” as he likes to say. And this belief has manifested itself in a number of ways, from the manner in which he has turned 1350 Main St. (the downtown Springfield office building he co-owns) into a type of art gallery to the sculptures he has helped bring to the central business district, to his long-time support of the Springfield Museums and other institutions.
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