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.

ARHS Varsity Athletics at Home – Monday-Friday

Catch ARHS varsity athletes in action at home this week! Girls Field Hockey vs. Smith Academy, Tuesday at 4:15 PM and vs. Hampshire Regional on Thursday at 4:00 PM.. Boys Soccer vs. Pittsfield, Tuesday at 4:15 PM and vs. Minnechaug, Wednesday at 5:00 PM. Girls Volleyball vs. Longmeadow, Tuesday at 6:00 PM and vs. Wahconah Regional on Saturday, 4:00 PM. Boys Golf vs. Hampshire Regional, Thursday at 3:30 PM. Girls Soccer vs. Frontier Regional, Thursday at 4:30 PM. MORE

Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee — Monday

The committee will receive a Superintendent’s update and Chair’s report, discuss student advisory committee representation, school councils and improvement plans, and SY26–27 student handbooks, review the 4Q FY26 budget and capital planning timeline, and prepare for the September 26 Four Towns Meeting. Monday, 6:30 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Tell It Slant Poetry Festival – Monday through Sunday

Join the Emily Dickinson Museum this week for its annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, an event with international reach that celebrates Emily Dickinson’s poetic legacy and the contemporary creativity she and her work continues to inspire from the place she called home.

This year’s line-up features a talented group of poets from around the world including a headliner reading from acclaimed poets Victoria Chang and Samyak Shertok, generative writing workshops, poetry panels, an open mic, and more. The cornerstone of the Festival, the Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon, is an epic reading of all 1,789 of Emily Dickinson’s poems across the Festival week. Registration required. MORE

Amherst Recreation Commission — Monday

The commission will receive reports on Mill River Pickleball, the Community Preservation Act Committee, and the Cherry Hill Working Group, and will confirm its chair. Monday, 7:00–9:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Transportation and Parking Commission — Tuesday

The commission will discuss parking on North Pleasant Street at Kendrick Park, a proposal to convert the intersection of Bay Road, South East Street, and Canterbury Lane into a four-way stop, and a proposal to upgrade the crosswalk at South Pleasant Street and Memorial Drive, and will confirm that its public request portal is ready for use. Tuesday, 4:00–6:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Hampshire Campus Zoning Study Community Input Sessions – Tuesday & Thursday

The Town of Amherst invites the community to attend a series of two upcoming events about the Hampshire Campus Zoning Study on Tuesday and Thursday. These events are an opportunity to learn more and provide input as the Town works to develop new zoning for the Hampshire campus. Participation in both sessions is encouraged. 

Tuesday–Hampshire Campus Zoning Study: Listening Session. A short presentation and conversation about zoning options for the Hampshire Campus property. This listening session is an opportunity for community members to learn more and share their input on future Hampshire Campus zoning.

Thursday–Hampshire Campus Zoning Study: Design Workshop. A design workshop featuring a series of fun, interactive activities. These activities will help us refine ideas for how new zoning of the Hampshire Campus can support Amherst’s housing, economic, and community goals. This design workshop is an opportunity for community members to explore zoning scenarios and provide direct input on future Hampshire Campus zoning. No previous knowledge of zoning is necessary!

All are welcome! Space is limited so please register to secure a spot. Tuesday, September 22, 6:00-8:00 PM and Thursday, September 24, 5:30-8:30 PM. Both events take place at the Eric Carle Museum. Learn more and register HERE.

Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee — Tuesday

The committee will go into executive session to discuss strategy related to bargaining and litigation, specifically a grievance and an unfair labor practice charge, both from the APEA (the union representing teachers, paraeducators, and clerical staff), as well as litigation against the district from four former and current staff. The committee will return to open session for approval of minutes, warrants, gifts and donations, and liaison and subcommittee reports, then discuss and possibly vote on a revised ARMS/Chestnut Street Academy calendar and new positions and supplemental pay, review Superintendent evaluation goals with possible votes, hold an initial discussion of FY28 budget guidelines and priorities, and follow up on the September 19 retreat and RSC goals with a possible vote. Tuesday, 6:30 PM, in person at the Library at Amherst Regional High School and on Amherst Media. MORE

Energy and Climate Action Committee — Wednesday

The committee will discuss a membership recommendation to the Town Manager, review a draft letter to the editor regarding UMass Decarbonization Subcommittee events, plan a retreat, and discuss the landlord heat pump initiative, coordination with local groups, the Education Series, the UMass Climate Plan, transportation, and regional and state policy updates. Wednesday, 5:30–7:30 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Amherst Conservation Commission — Wednesday

The commission will hold a hearing on a Notice of Intent submitted by Berkshire Design Group on behalf of Kestrel Land Trust for trail improvements, bog bridging, and resource area restoration at 495 Flat Hills Road, and a continued hearing on an amended Notice of Intent from PureSky Energy for a change to the transformer containment system at the solar facility at 191 West Pomeroy Lane, and will review the final draft of the Conservation Land Management Policy and take up compliance updates for Canton Ave and Olympia Drive and a request to amend an Order of Conditions for 30 Wildflower Drive. Wednesday, 7:00–10:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

Zoning Board of Appeals — Thursday

The board will hold a public meeting to determine whether Way Finders, Inc.’s proposal to convert 10 market rate units to affordable units at their development at 31 South East Street and 70 Belchertown Road constitutes an insubstantial change to their existing comprehensive permit, and will hold a public hearing on a request at 28 Shays Street to amend an existing special permit to remove an owner-occupancy condition and renting restrictions on Unit B, with modifications to site parking, landscaping, and the building. Thursday, 6:00–9:00 PM, via Zoom. MORE

El Ten Eleven at The Drake – Friday

Los Angeles instrumental duo El Ten Eleven — bassist/guitarist Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty — come to The Drake on Friday in support of Nowhere Faster, their 11th album and 16th release overall on Joyful Noise Recordings. Known for Dunn’s real-time loop-layering on double-neck bass and guitar and Fogarty’s propulsive drumming, the band has been a fixture of the post-rock and math-rock worlds for over two decades. Nowhere Faster marks a first for the duo, weaving real strings and piano throughout. Friday, 8:00 PM at The Drake. MORE

Blue Wave Boogie: Dance for Democracy – Friday

Time to pull out your dancing shoes and join the Movement Voter Project for the Blue Wave Boogie: Dance for Democracy on Friday. Dance the night away to the great rhythms of the No-No’s. The dance is a fundraiser for the Movement Voter Project PAC. Friday, 7:00-10:00 PM at Munson Library. MORE

Community Safety and Social Justice Committee Retreat — Saturday

The committee will hold an in-person retreat focused on identifying specific action steps, timelines, and leaders for its current top priorities: the Resident Oversight Board, the Youth Empowerment Center, and CRESS, and will discuss strategies for working with the Town Council and Town Manager. Saturday, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM, in person at Bangs Community Center, Large Activity Room, 70 Boltwood Walk. MORE

Restorations & Rediscoveries: I Shot Andy Warhol – Sunday

Amherst Cinema’s Restorations & Rediscoveries series lets you experience great films, rescued from the past and made new again through recent restorations. This week: I Shot Andy Warhol. The scintillating feature debut of Mary Harron (American Psycho) and one of the most controversial independent films of the 1990s, I Shot Andy Warhol stars an electric Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas, a militant feminist whose attempted murder of Andy Warhol brought instant fame to her radically anti-male SCUM Manifesto. New 4K restoration. Sunday, 1:30 PM at Amherst Cinema. MORE

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Want more? Check out our Community Calendars page to find even more upcoming events.

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.