Click on a number to find UMass Amherst alumni working to make your Massachusetts vacation a memorable one. |
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- MassMoca in North Adams
1. Big Art
John McAlister ’88 is the information technology director at MASS MoCA,
the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in
the United States. “The fusion of industrial architecture with new
gallery space is amazing,” says McAlister of the campus’s 13 acres
and 19th-century factory buildings. “But if I had to pick my favorite,
it’s Building 5.” He helped wire the current show, Jenny Holzer’s
“Projections,” inside its football field–sized gallery. Open through
fall, the exhibit features gigantic streaming poetry stanzas, rendered
in white light, that wash over viewers’ bodies as they lie pillowed
in beanbag chairs as big as cars. McAlister helped configure the
gigantic projection system and launched a Webcam that gives a glimpse
of the gallery. He’s also been working on the Sol LeWitt installation
opening this fall.
MASS MoCA, 413-662-2111; massmoca.org.
2. Float Your Boat
Rock-climbing, rafting, kayaking, fly-fishing—Zoar Outdoor has it all.
If you have time for just one adventure, grab a paddle and take the
Gap Whitewater Raft Trip, says Karen Blom ’81, director of marketing:
“It winds its way down 10 miles of the Deerfield River, bouncing
through rapids, with places to swim, water-fight, and just relax
while taking in the beauty of the valley.” Spring has big, cold whitewater;
on hot summer days, the river refreshes; in fall, rafts float under
a canopy of color. Says Blom: “Each season feels different.” Trips
run April through October and cost $54-$90 per person (ages seven
and up) depending on the season. A hearty homemade lunch is included
at a riverside stop.
Zoar Outdoor, 800-532-7483; zoaroutdoor.com.
3. Trout Scouts
Tom Harrison ’04 and his brother Dan Harrison grew up fishing on the
rivers of the hilltowns. After stints guiding in Montana and Chile,
the siblings returned home, and now offer guided float trips down
the Deerfield and Millers rivers. “We have fly-fished many of the
world’s finest trout streams but we still get a rush every time we
put in on the Deerfield,” says Tom. Whether novice or veteran, anglers
appreciate the soothing scenery and excitement of catching and releasing
gorgeous rainbow, brown, and brook trout from the comfort of Aire fishing
rafts. Half-day $250, full-day (9 hours, with lunch) $350.
Harrison Anglers, 413-222-6207; harrisonanglers.com.
4. Café Cool
Meals at Café Martin, owned by chef Paul St. Martin
’76, are simple
and divine. “Opening the café has been a dream come true,” says St.
Martin, who moved to Shelburne Falls from Provincetown. “When I saw
the space almost six years ago, I made up my mind right then and
there that I wanted to live here.” His casual menu spans continents,
but the flavors are fresh and local—and the Bridge of Flowers is
just around the corner from this cozy eatery.
Café Martin, 413-625-2795; cafemartin.wp.net.
5. Retail Therapy
An anchor of Greenfield’s Main Street for over a century, Wilson’s
is one of America’s last surviving family-owned department stores,
in large part because it’s a great place to shop. A tasteful selection
of national brands such as North Face and Estée Lauder mix with locally
produced fine goods, including Lunt Silver from Greenfield and Lamson
and Goodnow cutlery made in Shelburne Falls. The store’s floors creak
and its elevators ding; Wilson’s attracts people who warm to a retro
retail experience, says its president, Kevin
O’Neil ’78. “Not everyone
likes to shop at the mall.”
Wilson’s Department Store, 800-628-1906.
6. Village Voices
The mile-long main street of Historic Deerfield is home to 13 houses
built between 1730 and 1850. Each gives voice to the stories of the
early New England settlers who lived here. Priscilla
Spencer ’64 has been a guide at the museum since 1980. “Most folks like the hands-on
open-hearth cooking demonstrations,” says Spencer, during which she
and other docents bake bread pudding, biscuits, and cornbread over
wood fires. “Kids especially think that’s pretty cool stuff.” Visitors
of every age enjoy sampling the results.
Historic Deerfield, 413-775-7214; historic-deerfield.org
7. Swell Smells
At Yankee Candle in South Deerfield, visitors can sniff their way through
160 scents, marathon-shop in the 16,000-square-foot home store, and
learn about the history of candlemaking, among myriad other activities
at the company’s flagship store. Jason R. Chateauneuf
’93, ’99G,
director of human resources, recommends candle-dipping (a favorite
with his kids) and the Bavarian Village “where it’s Christmas all
year long.”
Yankee Candle, 877-636-7707; yankeecandle.com.
8. In Search of Suds
Like any college town worth its hops, Amherst has great beer joints.
The Harp, owned by Mike “Harpo” Power ’89, ’93G is
a neighborhood Irish pub north of campus, offering 16 tap beers and
plenty of live music, including a traditional Irish jam seisiún every
Thursday and Friday, with musicians on harps, bohrain, fiddles, and
guitars. Downtown, Amherst Brewing Company (ABC) serves up delicious
microbrews and is the region’s sole brewer of cask beer. According
to master brewer Michael Yates ’92, cask beer is
brewed slightly differently than keg beer, resulting in a smoother,
less gassy product. “I enjoy cask beer,” he says. “It’s guaranteed
fresh.”
The Harp, 413-548-6900; Amherst Brewing Company, 413-253-4400; amherstbrewing.com.
9. Welcome Home
Following the massive student exodus in May, the UMass Amherst campus
becomes positively pastoral. There are shady picnic spots, gourmet
eats, performing arts offerings, galleries, and ample visitor parking.
Shop at the University Store, sample the flavors of chef Jane
Leary ’94 at the venerable University Club & Restaurant, stop by the
Alumni Association, or enjoy a picnic by the campus pond.
Robsham Memorial Center for Visitors, 545-0306; umass.edu/visitorsctr/.
10. Noho Noshing
In Northampton, it’s hard
to find a restaurant that doesn’t have a UMass Amherst connection;
within that category is a range from brunch to burgers to bruschetta,
to cocktails, al fresco, with music, or in a deep, leather armchair.
Drink and dine in a former fire station, train station, hotel, or the
home of the inventor of the graham cracker. At Woodstar Café—the firehouse—proprietors
Rebecca and Dmitri Robbins, both ’97, sell delicious pastries baked
on the premises. “The Woodstar is a very cheerful place,” says Rebecca,
who opened the café in 2003. “There’s a lot of heart that goes into
the food.” Through summer, score a cone from the cheerful ice cream
cart on the patio. Woodstar Café, 413-585-9777.
Mulino’s Trattoria and Bishop’s Lounge (Tony Bishop ’98), 413-586-8900, mulinos.com.
Sylvester’s and Roberto’s (Maureen McGuinness ’87, Peter St. Martin ’76), 413-586-5343 and 413-584-0204, sylvestersrestaurant.com.
Union Station, Spaghetti Freddy’s, and the Tunnel Bar, 586-5366, unionstation.com, and the Toasted Owl and Fitzwilly’s, 413-585-5088 and 413-584-8666, fitzwillys.com. (Matt Pitoniak ’67, ’75G owner/co-owner).
11. Fruit Pursuit
Apples and autumn come to mind at
the mention of Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown, but the farm store
is open year-round, selling—as they ripen and bloom—peaches, pears,
blueberries, sunflowers, and eight varieties of pumpkins, as well as
100-plus varieties of apples from Akane (great for pies) to Winter
Banana (smells like a you-know-what). If you stop in, say hello to
superintendent Joe Sincuk ’70, ’72, who runs the “farm,” also known
as the Horticultural Research Center, where UMass Amherst researchers
develop techniques to aid farmers all over New England. Cold Spring
Orchard, 413-323-6647; coldspringorchard.com.
12. River Song
Take a cruise on the Lady Bea to get up
close and personal with the Connecticut River, that mighty rope of
water that ties the region together. “The river has a lot of different
history, and it’s just a great way to spend the afternoon,” says journalism
major Alex Tillotson ’11, who works at Brunelle’s Marina in South Hadley.
Daily narrated cruises focus on that history as well as on the wildlife
of the river, while music cruises—ranging from country to classical
to crooners—light up the night. Back on dry land, lunch or a nightcap
at the Dockside Lounge is the perfect beginning or ending. Lady Bea,
Brunelle’s, 413-315-6342; brunelles.com.
13. Walls That Talk
Wistariahurst presents the lives
of silk and satin manufacturer William Skinner and his family through
exhibits, workshops, tours, and lectures. “When I got here six years
ago, the institution was in need of a curator—more like a treasure-hunter—to
really find out what these old walls contained,” says Kate
Navarra Thibodeau ’05G. Since then, she has helped interpret and add to the
museum’s holdings of fine and decorative arts as well as the collected
oral histories of Holyoke mill workers and letters and journals of
the Skinner family. “The museum features original leather wall coverings,
columns, elaborate woodwork, and an interesting tale of how two generations
perceived and used the house very differently,” explains Thibodeau.
In the hands of William Skinner’s youngest daughter, Belle, the Victorian
home was transformed into a Beaux Arts show house. Stroll the two-acre
garden, descend the grand staircase, and test the acoustics in Belle’s
cavernous music room. Wistariahurst Museum, 413-322-5660; wistariahurst.org.
14. Hoop Scoop
“The Basketball Hall of Fame has something
for fans of every age,” says John Doleva ’82, president and CEO of
“hoop hall.” When pressed, Doleva admits he is partial to the Game
Gallery, which lays out the founding of the game: “Most folks don’t
know that the original rules called for nine players on a side and
that dribbling was not allowed—it was strictly a game of passing.”
The gallery also traces the invention of the 24-second clock (“we have
the original,” says Doleva), which, by forcing possession changes,
sped up the game and was credited with “saving” the NBA. Inspired by
the tour, visitors take to the Center Court, trying, according to Doleva,
“to master that hook shot like Kareem, the underhanded foul shots of
Rick Barry, or the oft-failed 360 dunk à la Michael Jordan.” Basketball
Hall of Fame, 877-446-6752 or 413-781-6500; hoophall.com.
