Grab a coffee and join the Springfield Community Connections Coalition for weekly community conversations centered on building stronger connections and sharing resources: Weekly speakers share around housing, mental health, family advocacy, employment opportunities, food security, health & wellness, education and youth services.

July 26: Paint & Sip with artist Kaleighia Green

The Art on Market Street family-friendly summer activity series is designed for kids, bringing creative energy to Market Street downtown in Metro Center.

Movies in the Park is Springfield’s beloved annual tradition of free outdoor movie nights held in neighborhood parks throughout the city. Family-friendly screenings are shown on a giant inflatable screen—perfect for a relaxing evening under the stars. Free!

On Wed., July 23, The Wild Robot will be shown in Metro Center’s Riverfront Park at 8:30.

Bring a blanket, your favorite movie snacks, and the whole family for a fun night out. No tickets needed—just come and enjoy!

Every Wednesday night in July, check out Family Game Night in Central Library’s community room! Join the Library’s Big Game or pick your own game to play. Snacks will be provided. Recommended for 6+ but all ages are welcome to have fun.

Four serene wellness gatherings will blend therapeutic sound healing, gentle body awareness practices and spiritual connection to guide participants back to their center. Through crystal bowl sound vibrations, mindful movement and breathing, stagnant energy will be eliminated and you will reconnect with your inner self.

Dates: July 6, July 20, Aug. 17, and Aug. 30

Sessions are fee

It’s all FREE for Springfield teens! Youth can learn new arts skills, make new friends and have fun at the Hope Center for the Arts througout July. Daily programs offer playing instruments, singing, dancing, acting, creative writing, drawing & painting, and photography. All with free breakfast and lunch!

Middle schooler programs 8 a.m.-1 p.m. High schooler programs 12-4 p.m.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

For questions call: 413-285-8586 or 413-221-4324

Join the friendly Metro Center neighborhood council to explore the Hope Center for the Arts, the transformed former City Stage venue. This 39,500-square-foot space is now a creative community hub for youth and families that provides learning, rehearsal, and performance spaces with state of the art equipment. Hope for Youth and Families Foundation founder Bob Bolduc will lead the tour.

Free parking vounchers. Park in Hope Center Garage connected to the Hope Center building. Entrances on Bridge and Worthington streets, clearly marked. Take garage elevator to floor G to reach Hope Center building. Meet in main lobby off the Center’s elevator.

It’s all FREE for Springfield teens! Youth can learn new arts skills, make new friends and have fun at the Hope Center for the Arts througout July. Daily programs offer playing instruments, singing, dancing, acting, creative writing, drawing & painting, and photography. All with free breakfast and lunch!

Middle schooler programs 8 a.m.-1 p.m. High schooler programs 12-4 p.m.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

For questions call: 413-285-8586 or 413-221-4324

A full day of performances at Stearns Square, Tower Square Park and Hope Center for the Arts.

Browse the day’s line-up!

A couple notes:

At the HOPE Center for the Arts, experience a multimedia performance with Water Seed's "Journey to Funkstar."

Merging Roots will perform on the main stage in Stearns Square. The offering is a collaboration between acclaimed Afro-Caribbean jazz artists William Cepeda and Elio Villafranca, celebrating the shared African roots connecting Cuba, Puerto Rico, and New Orleans. This event will kick off with a one-hour discussion (at the HOPE Center) as part of the festival’s Jazz & Justice Series, where the artists will share their cultural influences and musical journeys.

Friday, July 11 at the Hope Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Jazz & Roots presents Springfield’s very own Jo Sallins Experience, a high-energy set of originals and inspired takes on classics by Nina Simone, Erykah Badu, Hubert Laws, Marcus Miller, and Bill Withers. The Experience will be followed by a tribute, "Celebrating Joe Cocker," featuring Mitch Chakour and members of Joe Cocker’s touring band.

Together, these performances will bring unmatched energy and depth to one of the festival's first performances in the Hope Center for the Arts, Metro Center’s new state-of-the-art facility.

The Jazz & Roots Fesitval is a bountiful, free annual celebration of music and arts in the heart of Metro Center presented by the creative community-based organization Blues to Green. The Festival presents evening peformances on July 10 and 11, followed by a full day of performances on July 12.

Opening Night: Thursday, July 10, 7 p.m.

Gabby Moreno, a Grammy Award winning Guatemalan singer-songwriter and guitarist will launch the the festival at the newly renovated Hope Center for the Arts (formerly City Stage) at 1 Columbus Center, 150 Bridge St. Springfield on Thursday, July 10 at 7 pm.

Four serene wellness gatherings will blend therapeutic sound healing, gentle body awareness practices and spiritual connection to guide participants back to their center. Through crystal bowl sound vibrations, mindful movement and breathing, stagnant energy will be eliminated and you will reconnect with your inner self.

Dates: July 6, July 20, Aug. 17, and Aug. 30

Sessions are fee

Star Spangled Springfield celebrates Independence Day with free family-friendly entertainment and a dazzling fireworks display.  The activities are held in Riverfront Park.  The fireworks are displayed from the Memorial Bridge and can been seen for miles.

See activities and vendors

7 p.m. - Welcoming remarks

7:30 p.m. - Maxxtone rock band performance

9:30pm - Fireworks with musical simulcast on Mix 93.1 FM

Presented by Spririt of Springfield and sponsored by Mass Mutual.

To encourage people to explore and work on creative projects, Make-It Springfield provides space, tools, programs and vision, especially for low- and moderate-income individuals and families.

The Collage & Craft Club invites you to stop by to de-stress, express and process through a meditative collage and craft process, led by Make-It Staff. All you need is your imagination to explore your thoughts and creativity with papers of all kinds, other interesting materials and supplies, scissors, and glue. No experience is necessary, only your interest in exploring your creative side in real time.

Three ticket types, per month:
General Admission – $10 per person or per parent/child team
Free If Needed – $0 to use if cost is an obstacle
Supporter – $20, a little extra to support others

REGISTER HERE

If needed, text 413-455-0663 with the name of the workshop and a request for a discount code to use when registering.

Readers of all ages are invited to join the Summer Reading Challenge gloriously hosted by the Springfield Libraries. The kick-off party at the Central Library in the Metro Center neighborhood will be held on Sat., June 21, 1-3 p.m. An afternoon of outdoor fun! There will be games, crafts, bubbles, and an ice cream bar. Children, teens, and adults welcome to attend and sign-up.

Click here to see full details for the Summer Reading Challenge, including other ways to sign up.

Conductor Kevin Scott returns to lead the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in a free concert with powerful themes of freedom, hope, and unity. The SSO’s afternoon of celebration, inspiration, and pure musical joy will feature the premiere of jazz great Avery Sharpe’s ‘400 Project’.

At 2pm, leading up to the concert, a flag-raising ceremony will be held outside Symphony Hall to set the tone for a day of commemoration and celebration.

Inside, in the historic Mahogany Room, local vendors will be showcase their unique offerings, including limited edition Juneteenth T-shirts.

If you would like to attend the concert, please to reserve tickets here. Donations accepted, too.

The Worthy Brewfest pays homage to craft and home brewing. More than home brewers are signing up to put their creations out for a tasting competition. At this event you’ll find some of your favorite go-to’s but you’ll also be sure to see some experimental, extreme, firkins, casks, and concept beers! With a ticket you’ll get a Brewfest sampling glass and to tokens to become a home brew judge. After you’ve circled around and sampled the homebrews, you can drop your choice tokens into your favorite’s collection buckets (one or two).

Tokens will be deposited until 2:30 p.m. and then tallied to determine the winners. The triumpher will be announced at 4 p.m. The winner will collaborate with a commercial brewery to brew the official Brewfest beer, “The Worthy.”

Music will be part of the festivities.

All families are encourage to come and celebrate Father’s Day weekend with a bike ride and a party. The ride will begin at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame parking lot and end with a block party at Tower Square Park on Main Street sponsored by White Lion with DJ WHYNOT. Enjoy live entertainment, face painting, balloonmaking and free food for kids.

The lively, family-friendly Pride Parade Block Party event is free and open to the public. Highlights feature a DJ, live music, dance performances, food and drink vendors, and retail vendor booths.

Pride Parade participants will begin their journey from the Springfield Technical College campus at noon, walking down State Street onto Main Street and to Stearns Square to launch the block party.

Downtown Springfield Farmers Market returns for the summer on June 6 and runs through September 26. The market’s Fresh Fridays offer farm-fresh produce, flowers, locally made handmade goods, and community vibes! That’s our local flavor and connection in the Metro Center neighborhood.

Tower Square Park, Downtown Springfield, corner of Main and Bridge Streets 

Every Friday, June 6 – September 26

11 AM to 3PM

“Empowering Minds Through the Arts” is the theme of this afternoon event hosted by the Hispanic American Library. Keynote speakers: Springfield Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Cauton Harris and Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi. Sponsored by the Springfield Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Metro Center Association is building community. This month on May 22, our "Welcome Home" ​team ​is collaborating with the Springfield Museums to host a docent-led tour of the compellingly interactive "Van Gogh for All" exhibit​ at the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts on the Quadrangle at 21 Edwards Street.

Neighborhood residents, including Friends of the Homeless guests, are invited to join in. ​Admission to the museum is free for Springfield residents.

Please let us know if you will join this fun group: RSVP at this link bit.ly/MCAplaydate

The World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast is a great way to meet neighbors and friends throught the city as the community sits down at Springfield’s Metro Center neighborhood breakfast table in celebration of the city’s May 14, 1636 founding. The menu includes hot, hearty pancakes, bacon, coffee, juice and milk, and entertainment by lots of local talent.

General admission is free.

Breakfast Tickets: Adults - $3 per person; Children - $1

Entertainment schedule here

Beginners eager to learn and experienced crafter working on a project are welcome to join Make-It Springfield’s community-led Crochet Club. Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere, meet fellow crochet enthusiasts, and get guidance on stitches and techniques. Show up as you are and when you can. Bring your own materials or use Make-It's needles and yarns.

Choose your own registration type: FREE, DONATION or SUPPORTER

REGISTER HERE

The Metro Center neighborhood will be impacted by the potential relocation of the state's Roderick Ireland Courthouse from the center of Springfield's downtown and the transfer of the building's ownership to a private developer.

Concerned that few people have weighed in on the state's partnership plan, City Councilor Tim Allen has arranged for a public meeting of the state's Department of Capital Assets Management & Management (DCAMM) with council's Finance Committee. DCAMM will answer questions from the public at this meeting.

The public is invited. to attend the meeting on Wednesday, April 30
6 p.m. in the City Council chamber in City Hall.

Attend in person: April 30 at 6 p.m. City Council chambers are on the second floor in City Hall. Enter through back entrance.

Ask Questions: Call the City Council Office at (413) 787-6170 no later than 12 PM on April 30, to sign up to speak and/or submit questions in advance. Each speaker will be granted 3 minutes.

Watch and Learn: The meeting will be broadcast live on the Focus Springfield website and on Channel 9 (cable). There will be no remote participation available for those viewing from home.

On the Quadrangle Green: An annual celebration of clean air, land, and water featuring a wide array of eco-friendly demonstrations and special exhibits, environmental programs and activities that will get you thinking locally and globally about conservationism. And, fun - recreational ways to enjoy the outdoors and learning about the beautiful natural world around us.

Boys of the Landfill Bluegrass Band performs at 11:30 am & 1 pm.

Free and open to the public!
The Festival will take place in the Science Museum in case of rain; museum admission will apply.

In recognition of Public Health Month, the second annual Community Health Fair will spotlight local health organizations and services available to Springfield residents. The provider organizations in attendance will feature free, local resources to improve residents’ health and well-being. All visitors will receive a prize for visiting the Community Health Fair (while supplies last). Fair is sponsored by the Springfield City Library and the Office of Health and Racial Equity at the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services.

Springfield Symphony Orchestra offers exciting sound and sight!

Celebrating musical friendships, guest conductor JoAnn Falleta leads the world premiere of Grammy Award-winning American composer Kenneth Fuchs’ “Eventide,” featuring alto saxophonist Tim McAllister, for whom he wrote the piece.

And, wow, there’s also a live-orchestrated journey through Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition enhanced by visual storytelling choreographed by Adrian Wyard. This is more than a concert — it's an immersive experience! ou’ll both hear and see the “Pictures at an Exhibition,” inspired by the artwork of the Mussorgsky’s friend Viktor Hartmann.

Also renowned violinist Nikki Chooi will presentsMendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a romantic masterpiece composed for Mendelssohn’s close friend Ferdinand David.

TICKETS

FREE CONCERT! The Spirit of Springfield presents the U. S. Air Force Academy Concert Band at Springfield Symphony Hall on Sunday, April 13, at 2 p.m. Doors open at 1 p.m.

More details to come!

The Lower Liberty Heights Neighborhood Council is hosting a community Easter Egg Hunt in Emily Bill Park, an asset shared with the Metro Center neighborhood. Crafts and snacks will be on offer.

Schedule of fun:

1 p.m. Egg painting

2 p.m.: Movie

3 p.m. Egg Hunt