The Lehrer Report: April 9, 2026

Garden report: there are leaf buds on the lilac bush. Last fall the leaves and bush looked dead. I am so glad to see it ready to bloom. The forsythia should bloom this week if the weather stays warm.

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Correction: the Amherst Global Village Festival will be held April 11 at the Amherst Pelham Regional High School, not the site I mentioned in last week’s column. Apologies to the organizers for the mistake.

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The Amherst Literacy Walk is also Saturday, April 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at various downtown locations including the West Cemetery and Emily Dickinson’s grave, the Unitarian Meeting House, Amherst Books and UMass Amherst Downtown store. The event celebrates the rich community of writers and readers, according to a release. It’s free.
For a full schedule, visit the town website: www.amherstma.gov.

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Valley Light Opera will  hold auditions for its fall production of “Fiddler on the Roof” April 17-19 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Hadley, according to an email from my neighbor Phyllis Jordan, who has been active with VLO for many years. Go to VLO.org and click on the “current show” tab for additional information and to sign up for an audition slot, she wrote. She also asked people to email ValleyLightOpera@gmail.com if interested in helping with off-stage roles.

We are fortunate to have many community organizations invited in the arts in the valley. We all know that behind the scenes requires a great deal of work to mount any production.
Thank you to all the volunteers for the shows that entertain, amuse and inspire us.

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The Northampton Rotary Club has scheduled a day of service Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to noon at the JFK Middle School in Northampton. For information or to volunteer contact Barbara Delvin at bdevlinmn@gmail.com

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Bruce Penniman of Amherst sent me an email about organ recital by Christopher Houlihan on Sunday, April 19, at 3 p.m. at the South Amherst Congregational Church. This will be the first event in South Church’s 2026 Arts & Social Justice Series. 

“Houlihan is a big name in the organ world, so we are taking reservations for the concert,” he wrote.

Call 253-2977 or email:office@amherstsouthchurch for reservations. Suggested donation $20.

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Save the date: the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Amherst Survival Center will be held April 18. Details next week

Send items for the Lehrer Report to: phyllehrer@gmail.com.