The basketball world will be focused on Springfield this weekend, as the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 is enshrined. This year’s class of 16 honorees includes four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, and three-time WNBA champion and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsay Whalen, among others.
To prepare for the busy fall tourism season, the City has redesigned the VisitGreenfieldMA website. New features of the site include improved functionality and a refreshed design to showcase entertainment, attractions, and dining and retail listings. “VisitGreenfieldMA has established itself as the most comprehensive source of information on events in Greenfield,” said Community and Economic Development Director MJ Adams. “This new website will make it even easier for visitors and residents alike to connect with entertainment, shops and restaurants that define Greenfield as a cultural destination.”
Thousands are looking forward to the Labor Day weekend when the Stone Soul Festival returns to Springfield’s Blunt Park. Festival Founder and Program Chairman Jay Griffin is confident of a vibrant post pandemic return to the neighborhood festival he helped create 34 years ago. Stone Soul Festival has always had a special place in his heart. “You want me to start crying? You know, it’s a joy, it’s part of a mission that started over 30 years ago by the community, not Jay Griffin,” said Griffin.
Mark Rivers acknowledged that a lot of things have changed since he and officials at the Big E and the Naismith Memorial Basketball of Fame first announced that the region would host a giant three-on-three basketball tournament to be called Hooplandia. Indeed, that announcement came late in 2019, just a few months before the arrival of COVID-19, which would eventually cancel large-scale events of all kinds and put plans for Hooplandia on ice — for 2020, 2021, and then 2022. But what hasn’t changed, said Rivers, a marketing and programming consultant to the Eastern States Exposition who has also worked ...
The American Hockey League (AHL) announced the Springfield Thunderbirds as the winner of the President’s Award for the 2021-22 season during the Board of Governors’ annual meeting in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Bestowed upon the team that demonstrates overall excellence both on and off the ice, the Thunderbirds captured Team of the Year honors following a historic season that set team records across a wide range of business categories, including average attendance (5,375), season tickets sold, overall ticket revenue, and corporate sales revenue. The T-Birds achieved these milestones while winning the AHL’s Eastern Conference Championship. This ...
The 9th Annual Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival is expanding to two days for 2022 beginning Friday, August 12th at 5:00 p.m. with a who’s who of local music veterans and a sneak peek (or an unveiling depending on its progress) of the iconic Worthington Street Mural project celebrating Springfield history. The mural is meticulously restored by Springfield artist John Simpson. He has studied old photographs of the building’s wall to accurately recreate as much of the original mural as possible. The festival brings thousands of people together in the heart of Springfield, MA ...
The city of Springfield is still buzzing from the Thunderbirds’ big win Wednesday night! 22News caught up with the team on Thursday to see what is coming next. Although the mass mutual center was a lot quieter than it was Wednesday night, you could still feel the excitement! The Springfield Thunderbirds shut out the Laval Rocket in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 4-0. Now the T-birds are advancing to the AHL Calder Cup finals for the first time since 1991.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has announced a 2022-23 season that will include six classical performances and two “pops” concerts. The first concert in the new season will be presented on Saturday, October 22 featuring world-renowned conductor JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. “We are extremely pleased to announce this compelling and dynamic season that will include a remarkable series of conductors who we know will bring joy and beautiful music to concert lovers with a combination of six classical concerts and two pops concerts,” said Interim SSO Director Paul Lambert. “We are pleased and excited by ...
The Big E announced Tuesday that Lynyrd Skynyrd is coming to The Big E Arena this October as part of their Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’ Tour! The iconic band will perform October 2nd at The Big E Arena, the last day of the state fair. Lynyrd Skynyrd is best known for the RIAA Platinum-certified “Sweet Home Alabama” and self-proclaimed signature song, “Free Bird,” that Rolling Stone said was “easily the most requested live song in existence.” Other largely known songs include, “Simple Man,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “What’s Your Name,” “Call Me The Breeze,” “You Got that Right,” and ...
It’s really happening. After a 2020 summer season in which most recreational and cultural venues were shuttered, and a 2021 that made halting progress toward normalcy, with a mix of in-person and virtual offerings, most area attractions are planning a 2022 summer season with few, if any, restrictions, worrying less about COVID this year than the gas prices tourists will be paying to visit them. For those willing to brave the pump, Western Mass. offers a whole lot to do, from live music to theater and dance; from sporting events to Fourth of July festivities; from agricultural fairs to ...
The Springfield Museums and Springfield Cultural Partnership announced a celebration of public outdoor art created by local artists in the newly renovated Pynchon Plaza on June 4 from 2-4 p.m. According to a news release sent to 22News by Springfield Cultural Partnership, the SPark! Igniting Our Community initiative adds civic engagement space with art installations by ten artists. The 2020 call open to all gave special consideration to installations that included Springfield artists, artists of color, LGBTQ+, and female artists. The art is now in place for the public to view.
Paradise City Arts is back again with its festival “Springtime in Paradise” on Memorial Day weekend. A collection of 220 artists and creators from 15 different states will be present at the three-day festival to show and sell original works in ceramics, painting, furniture, jewelry, and more.
The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted their 25th annual Howdy Awards. Monday night’s event was the first in-person award ceremony GSCVB has had since the beginning of the pandemic, and they honored 10 different awardees in hospitality in western Mass. “We have close to 350 people here tonight we were ready to come back and we were ready to honor these folks,” said Michael Hurwit, Chairman of the Howdy Committee.
Main Street in Springfield will be closed to traffic beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday as crews prepare for the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast event held Saturday morning. The World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast returns to Main Street in Springfield on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. marking the City’s 386th birthday. Main Street from State Street to Bridge Street will be closed to line the streets with tables, chairs, and vendors beginning Friday.
The World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast returns to Main Street in Springfield on Saturday, May 14 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. marking the City’s 386th birthday. Main Street from State Street to Bridge Street will be closed to line the streets with tables, chairs, and vendors. The event includes pancakes, bacon, milk, orange juice, and coffee for $3, $1 for children under 12, and free to 70,000 public school students that have advance tickets. It is prepared by hundreds of volunteers.
The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) has announced 50 Finalists for the upcoming 2022 Howdy Awards for Hospitality Excellence. The Howdy Awards, as they are also known, celebrate workers in visitor-facing roles across Western Mass who deliver outstanding guest service, create loyal customers for their businesses and help make a positive impact upon the region’s hospitality economy. “Every guest interaction is a chance to create quality customer service impressions, which reflect back on Western Mass as a region,” said Howdy Committee Chair Michael Hurwitz from Uno’s Pizzeria & Grill. “We’re tremendously proud to have so many ...
A unique event that combines a horse show and the symphony is slated for this Friday at the Big E fairgrounds The Symphony of Horses is celebrating 40 years. Some 30 world-class horses and ponies will perform with the 35-piece Best of Boston Orchestra. The horses will perform 20 different arrangements, ranging from Classical to Rock, Pop, and Broadway.
Bright Nights at Forest Park celebrated another successful season this winter, but it took the efforts of many people to make it happen. Some 200,000 people pass through the gates at Forest Park during the holidays every year to catch a glimpse of the beautiful displays that make up Bright Nights. It takes a lot of work to put together the holiday lighting experience which has been a Springfield tradition since 1995. “I mean, from the Sheriff’s Department to the police to the DPW, to so many people that are behind the scenes. It is a huge effort ...
The home-improvement industry has gone through a dramatic increase in demand over the past few years, which has been challenging to fulfill at times due to product and labor shortages. Businesses and consumers alike have felt the resulting stress. The Western Mass Home & Garden Show on March 24-27, produced by the Home Builders & Remodelers Assoc. of Western Massachusetts, offers a solution — a diverse array of reputable vendors and a crowd of eager customers, all in the same building.
After a two-year delay caused by the pandemic, the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) announced that the 2022 Howdy Awards for Hospitality Excellence will be held on Monday, May 16 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. “We are both thrilled and confident that our event will go off smoothly in May,” GSCVB President Mary Kay Wydra said. “After all the adversity our industry has endured and overcome since March 2020, we’re very eager and excited to salute the most welcoming, professional, and guest-friendly people in this region’s hospitality sector, as nominated by the very people they ...
The Russian Ballet Theatre will present a new production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” at the Academy of Music on Fri., Feb. 11 as part of a tour that includes performances in 52 cities across the U.S., including Minneapolis, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. This performance of “Swan Lake” includes all of the splendor that has mesmerized ballet audiences for over a century, plus a bit more. It delights with new, as well as time-honored, Russian traditions. Detailed, hand-painted sets and added choreography accent the production, and the costumes follow designs originally envisioned ...
The familiar sounds of model railroading filled no fewer than the exhibition halls of four buildings on the Eastern States Fairgrounds Sunday. The 54th annual Amherst Railway Society Hobby Show attracted model railroading enthusiasts from throughout the area. There were hundreds of displays to dazzle even the most finicky enthusiast. “We have about 410 from all over the world,” said John Sacredote, the Director of the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show. “We have several from the United Kingdom, we’re maybe down a couple because of COVID and the storm.”
One of the country’s biggest showcases of elite high school basketball gets underway in Springfield Thursday afternoon. The 20th annual Spalding Hoophall Classic tips-off at 4:00 P.M. at Springfield College, the birthplace of basketball. Thursday’s games, and most of Friday’s games, will feature local high schools, but the games this holiday weekend will feature teams from as far away as Florida, Kansas, and Arizona.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) board announced the hiring of Paul Lambert, former vice president of Enshrinement Services & Community Engagement at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as interim executive director of the SSO. Lambert succeeds interim Executive Director John Anz, who left the SSO to take a position at another organization. Lambert will start in the position immediately.