SOUTH HADLEY — Showcase South Hadley will host a two-day celebration across the town to highlight local music, arts and culture on Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27.
The festival takes place across multiple venues over the course of the weekend and will feature live music, dance, art exhibitions, presentations and workshops.
The events on April 26 run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and feature yoga, petting zoos, puppetry shows, as well as musical, dance and theatrical performances.
One of the big headline events will be the performance of 2025 Grammy-award winner Ruthie Foster performing at 8 p.m. on April 26 at Abbey Chapel at Mt. Holyoke College, 50 College St.
Although it is a free event, the organization is recommending that people reserve seats in advance on the website.
The events on April 27 will begin at 10 a.m. with a South Hadley canal history tour. The entire schedule of events includes an artisan/craft/business fair, face painting, arts and crafts tables, and more performances throughout the day from multiple artists.
For the full schedule with times and locations, readers can visit southhadleyarts.org.
Readers will find pop-up events in schools, churches, concert halls, outdoors and other gathering spaces.
Showcase South Hadley is a rain or shine event, so guests are encouraged to bring a small handheld umbrella or a poncho if it looks gloomy.
While some outdoor events could be affected by a rainy day, most of the weekend’s programming is indoors and will not be impacted.
Due to a significant number of grants, sponsors, donations and support from the town, the entire event will feature no admission charges for the public to attend.
The only event on the schedule that will cost money is Gospel Brunch at noon on April 27 at Morning Star Baptist Church, 11 N. Main St.
Tickets are $35 and are available on the website.
Showcase South Hadley Treasurer and Music and Arts South Hadley President Ira Brezinsky talked about the idea for the upcoming Showcase South Hadley.
He said, “The idea behind it is to showcase local talent as well as bring in regional and national talent for people in South Hadley and the surrounding area to be able to enjoy.”
When talking about the performances across both days, Brezinsky said, “We think we’ve got a really nice mix and variety of performances.
Everything from cover bands to artists performing original music, many, many genres of music are being covered from pop, jazz, indie, classical. There’s really a diverse mix of genres of music and arts that are going to be presented.”
This is the second time that Showcase South Hadley will be hosted after running for the first time in October 2023.
Brezinsky stated, “The last one was very successful. We learned what went well and we learned what we needed to improve on, and we think we’ve done that this time around.”
There is ample parking within a five to 10 minute walk of all venues on both Saturday and Sunday. Parking in parking lots on the Mount Holyoke Campus on Saturday will be allowed. Parking on campus streets is prohibited.
Showcase South Hadley is organized by a dedicated group of volunteers who believe in the power of the arts to uplift the human spirit.
Brezinsky said although most of events are free, “donations are graciously accepted.”
