Happy birthday, America! A heat wave kicks off the 250 year celebrations across the Valley with temperatures in the lower hundreds. Check on the elderly. Walk the dogs early. Drink a lot of water and check out our list of local [Splash Pads](https://thevalleyweekly.com/splash-pads) to cool down. 250th Celebrations start Friday and run all weekend throughout Western Mass; one of the biggest is Star Spangled Springfield. Chicopee's Rumbleseat got the green light for a 3am closing through July, the first Western Mass bar in the new state pilot. Cooley Dickinson closed a successful Emergency Department fundraising campaign. Easthampton's dog park has its $135,000 in hand, construction this fall.
Or read this week's issue first →One letter, every Tuesday. No clickbait, no twelve-tab newsletter sprawl. Just what's worth your weekend.
Fireworks season kicks off Friday at Holyoke Community College, the first of many Pioneer Valley displays between June 26 and July 5. The final weekend of FIFA World Cup group play wraps this weekend with outdoor watch parties three nights at Easthampton's Millside Park and three more at The Student Prince in Springfield. Ohana School of Performing Arts in Chicopee marked ten years with an anniversary showcase. Wake the Dead Donuts is featured. Northampton schools approved a bell-to-bell cell phone ban for next year.
Mid-June, many Western Mass schools let out for summer this week, and Sunday brings the longest day of the year, as the summer solstice arrives at 4:24am. Friday at 3pm the US returns to action in the World Cup against Australia, with watch parties across Western Mass. Friday afternoon the 17th Annual Juneteenth Jubilee anchors 43 North Prospect Street in Amherst. Easthampton voters approved a $6.9M Proposition 2½ override on June 9 by 239 votes; opponents have requested a hand recount but no formal petition has been filed.
PVTA is adding a Southwick route, finally closing one of the longest-standing gaps in the regional bus map between the Valley and points southwest. Longmeadow marks the country's 250th on the Town Green this Saturday. The Springfield farmers' market returns to The Landing at the MassMutual Center on Friday, and Westfield's skate park rebuild has a July 1 start date with Platform Group on the contract.
Springfield City Council approved a $1.04 billion FY27 budget last Wednesday on a 10-to-3 vote, balanced without an override or new recurring revenue. Saturday, the Quaboag Relay and Craft Fair takes over the Belchertown Town Common from 10am to 10pm. Easthampton voters decide a $6.9 million Proposition 2½ override on June 9. Mortgage rates held at 6.53%. Holyoke named a street for Ronnie Collamore.
Holyoke's Kmart Plaza on Northampton Street is coming down after the City Council signed off on the developer's plan. True Jackie plays the Drake on Friday at 8pm, a Jackie Wilson tribute worth the trip to Amherst. Kids can shape polymer clay at the Agawam Public Library on Wednesday at 6pm. Downtown Sounds, the Northampton record shop, hits fifty and throws a party at the Iron Horse on Monday. Mortgage rates ticked up to 6.51%.
Bunnies, Wet Tuna, and Sunburned Hand of the Man share a bill at The Drake on Friday night, which is the kind of three-act psych lineup Amherst doesn't get often. Wednesday at 6, The Lost Gem comes to South Hadley Public Library for the kids. Westfield cut the ribbon on the new pavilion and arboretum at Chauncey Allen Park. South Hadley Town Meeting moved through most of its warrant on May 13, including a $1.2M departmental appropriation. The 30-year fixed sits at 6.36%, flat on the week.
Lilacs are coming in along the bike path and the river is finally warm enough to look at without flinching. This week: Bill Callahan plays the Iron Horse Friday, the Mass Kids Lit Fest sets up at the South Hadley library Saturday, and Bombyx breaks ground on the Little Dig in Florence. Mortgage rates held flat. Northampton has a new superintendent. We drove to Hyde Park for a sandwich.
The river is up, the dogwoods are open, and the patios are back. This week: a quiet new wine bar in Easthampton, a $14k cut on Maple Street worth paying attention to, and three weekends' worth of music starting Friday.
The Valley Weekly is five sections, read end-to-end in about four minutes. We have edited it down so you don't have to.
Updated continuously
Public records
Every Proposition 2½ override and underride vote in Western Mass, sourced from the Mass DOR DLS report. Refreshed weekly with results, vote margins, and dollar amounts.
Local directory
Every farmers market across the Pioneer Valley and the 60-minute radius the letter covers, organized by day of the week. Addresses, hours, and seasons.
Summer directory
Every free splash pad across the Valley, verified for the 2026 season. Holyoke, South Hadley, Northampton, Easthampton. Hours, ages, parking.
Civic resource
Every food pantry and upcoming food drive across the Valley. Verified hours, addresses, and how to donate. Updated nightly from local feeds and the Food Bank of Western Mass.
Newsletter
Every issue of The Valley Weekly, going back to issue one. Search by keyword or filter by month.
The Valley Weekly began as the email I wanted to read on Tuesday mornings, and could not find anywhere. Something that respected my time. Something that knew the difference between a good Thai place and a great one. Something that did not try to sell me a course.
So I made it. Every Tuesday, we pull together what is worth knowing in the Valley this week: the events we would go to ourselves, the restaurants we would send a friend to, the houses on the market that have a story. Some weeks the letter is 800 words. Some weeks it is 1,200. Always a handful of sections. Always Tuesday.
If this is your first Tuesday with us, welcome. If you have been here a while, thanks for sticking around.