It’s Monday and we’re back with our roundup of the week’s events. Here are this week’s town government meetings, and cultural and recreational events that caught our eye.

Pride Month Proclamation & Flag Raising – Monday

Join Amherst Town Councilors at the steps of Town Hall as they read their Proclamation recognizing June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer + (LGBTQ+) Pride Month. This proclamation will then be recognized by the raising of the Progress Pride flag on the UN flagpole on the North Common from June 1 to June 30, 2025. Monday, 5:30-6:00 PM at the steps of Town Hall. MORE

Public Forum on the Capital Improvement Program — Monday 

The Town Council and Finance Committee will hold a public forum under Charter §5.7(d) on the Capital Improvement Program, with more than half the meeting time devoted to public comment. Monday, 6:30–7:00 PM, in person at Town Hall, Town Room, 4 Boltwood Ave., and via Zoom. MORE

Town Council — Monday 

The council will take action on a land use planning update for Hampshire College and authorize the Town Manager to enter agreements with MassDevelopment, consider the Human Rights Commission Charge and Bylaw on second read, and hold a first read and special public comment period on proposed FY27 water and sewer rates and regulation amendments; consent agenda items include a long-term use of the public way for the Amherst Mobile Market, sidewalk improvements on West Street and North Pleasant Street, an intergovernmental agreement with Pelham for Treasurer/Collector services, and acceptance of a 54-acre watershed land parcel in Pelham, along with a slate of Town Manager and Town Council appointments to boards and commissions. Monday, 6:35–10:30 PM, in person at Town Hall, Town Room, 4 Boltwood Ave., and via Zoom. MORE

Amherst Recreation Commission — Monday 

The commission will discuss the state of Amherst Recreation, receive an update from the Cherry Hill Working Group, hear about the Community Heart & Soul Grant, and plan for the Independence Day Celebration. Monday, 7:00–9:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Rainbow Coffee Hour – Tuesday

The Rainbow Coffee Hour is an LGBTQIA+ social coffee group that meets at the Amherst Senior Center for ages 50 and above. There is no format, no agenda—just a welcoming space to get together, socialize, and make connections. All people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies are invited to drop in. Tuesday, 9:30-11:00 AM at the Amherst Senior Center in the Bangs Community Center. MORE

Finance Committee of the Town Council — Tuesday 

The committee will finalize its FY27 budget recommendations to Town Council, including the FY27 operating budget and Capital Improvement Program, and present its final report. Tuesday, 1:00–3:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Amherst School Committee — Tuesday 

The committee will enter executive session to discuss collective bargaining strategy with APEA regarding a new policy related to physical restraint and behavior support for students (Policy JKAA) and to consider the lease of Chestnut Street Academy with the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, with no return to open session. Tuesday, 5:30–7:30 PM, via Google Meet. MORE

Cherry Hill Working Group — Tuesday 

The group will receive an update from the Recreation Director and discuss future management structure for golf operations, potential community partners, and follow-up on the Friends Group. Tuesday, 7:30–9:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Board of Health — Wednesday 

The board will review its response to the SAPHE 2.0 Performance Standards Survey and receive a director’s update on ticks and mosquitoes, intern projects, and upcoming events. Wednesday, 5:00–7:00 PM, in person at Room 101, Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk. MORE

Energy and Climate Action Committee — Wednesday 

The committee will discuss the landlord heat pump initiative, coordination with local groups, the Education Series, the UMass Climate Plan, the Clean Energy Bylaw, transportation, the Climate Bank, and regional and state policy updates. Wednesday, 5:30–6:30 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Planning Board and Community Resources Committee Public Hearing — Wednesday 

The boards will receive staff updates on Planning Department staffing, Hampshire College, and ADU implementation, then hold a continued joint public hearing on the proposed Clean Energy Infrastructure Zoning Bylaw amendment (Article 18), and will also discuss potential zoning amendments to allow housing in the Professional and Research Park district and conduct a final review of the Open Space and Recreation Plan. Wednesday, 6:30–9:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Bellwether Film Series: Seeds – Thursday

Head to Amherst Cinema on Thursday for a screening of Seeds, with a post-film discussion with Director Brittany Shyne. As both director and cinematographer, debut filmmaker Shyne immerses the viewer in the absorbing rhythms and intimate materiality of African-American farm life in Georgia.

Shyne’s patient, poetic eye and ear attune to one farmer’s tender attention to his great granddaughter, alongside the sights and sounds of a community’s honest day’s work—repurposing spent corn cobs for feed, shelling pecans for market, the profound rumble of a massive cotton harvester.

As the story of dwindling government support for Black farmers unfolds, exquisite black-and-white imagery lovingly captures the rough-worn hands, faces, and tools-of-trade of octogenarian patriarchs fighting to preserve their family legacies and century-old homesteads.

Winner of the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Thursday, 7:00 PM at Amherst Cinema. MORE

Veterans Breakfast for All – Friday

Join the Town of Amherst for our Veterans Breakfast for All! At each breakfast, a veteran or veteran ally will tell their story regarding military service or a related topic. All are welcome. Friday, 8:00-9:00 AM in the Bangs Community Center. MORE

Amherst Church of the Nazarene / Amherst North Church 200th Anniversary Celebration – Saturday

The Amherst North Congregational Church was opened in 1826, when 59 farmers came together to build a Protestant church in North Amherst. The NCC was in operation until 2010 when it closed after the Christmas Eve service at the end of that year. Two years later in 2012 the church was purchased by the Amherst Church of the Nazarene, an evangelical Korean community that has made the church its home. 

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the church, and in appreciation for the support the church has received from the town, the congregation is inviting the wider community to join them on Saturday for a secular celebration of the church’s long history. Historian Margaret Orelup will give an overview of the church’s 200 years with vignettes about its storied past. UMass Music Department faculty Chris White will bring the historic organ back to life with a lively variety of organ music. 

After the celebration the Amherst Church of the Nazarene congregation will serve a Korean lunch with food made by church members and from the House of Teriyaki. Saturday, 11:00 AM at the Amherst Church of the Nazarene in North Amherst. (No online event information.)

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Have an event you’d like us to spotlight? Email us TheAmherstCurrent@gmail.com. We publish the Amherst Week Ahead on Mondays; events that are submitted by Friday at midnight will be considered for the following Monday’s post. If your event is on a weekend, please submit it at least 10 days before the event.