Fun in Cummington! Take part in family-friendly activities throughout the season
About Our Work
Cummington Cultural District Committee
The organizing group for what has become the Cummington Cultural District formed in June 2019 to explore the possibility of applying for statewide cultural district designation through the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The committee received ad-hoc designation from the Cummington Select Board and met monthly for to engage the community and develop a robust application and work plan. The Cummington Cultural District was designated by the Mass Cultural Council in the Spring of 2023, and transitioned from an ad-hoc committee to a full municipal committee in Spring 2024.
The vision for the cultural district is to engage the entire town in an inclusive and positive effort to identify priorities and work towards a revitalized Village area with collaborative programming and marketing to new audiences to experience all the things which make Cummington special.
Revitalization will include supporting the use of public space as well as new uses of underutilized or vacant commercial buildings in the district. It will also be a way for existing cultural institutions and businesses to collaborate and cross promote their programs and build new partnerships. Finally, it will be central to the discussion of community character and help define the planning goals of the town.
The conversations around forming a Cultural District have already yielded new programming partnership proposals between the Bryant Homestead historic site and the Kingman Tavern Historic site, and between the Cummington Agricultural Fair and the Bryant Homestead – however, these projects were put on hold for COVID reasons. New programming and exhibits were also discussed among Project Art and the Kingman and the Bryant Homestead. While these events are in the planning stages and postponed due to COVID restrictions, witnessing the flow of ideas and possibilities is very encouraging!
Three years of success with the Hilltown Open Studio Tour is what convinced us that we can and should do this — getting hundreds of visitors to artists’ studios with good sales reports has been a strong motivator to use the creative capital we have for improving a bright future for the village. We have continued to develop our community-centered, place-based programs since.
Current Committee Members
John Bye
Leslie Ferrin
Ilse Godfrey
Laura Sheridan
Cultural District Goals
GOAL 1: Community Cohesion
GOAL 2: Collaborative Programming & Marketing
GOAL 2: Collaborative Programming & Marketing
- Inclusive and positive process of identifying and working towards goals for community's economic future and social dynamics
- Build bridges among talented individuals, but also between old—timers and newcomers, between generations, farmers, artists and commuters
- Find ways to support one another
- Celebrate our dynamic rural community character, inspiring natural beauty and agricultural heritage
GOAL 2: Collaborative Programming & Marketing
GOAL 2: Collaborative Programming & Marketing
GOAL 2: Collaborative Programming & Marketing
- Synchronize existing activities and marketing
- Collaborative marketing, newsletter, mailing lists — sustain and support what we already do individually
- Develop more resources/staff/volunteers for town-owned sites
- Programming opportunities to focus on shared knowledge of traditional crafts/trades/skills —hands—on workshops and collaboration with Cummington Fair
GOAL 3: Enhance and Improve space and buildings
GOAL 2: Collaborative Programming & Marketing
GOAL 3: Enhance and Improve space and buildings
- Space for lessons and classes
- Attract new art and dining businesses to underutilized and vacant buildings
- Improve attendance and revenue for performances such as Friday Night Café
- Support feasibility study for key locations on Route 9 & Main St for possible arts and culture use
- Use public art and appropriate signage to enhance 'sense of place'
- Create new opportunities for residents to connect with the natural world
- Encourage and promote pedestrian planning for Village/Route 9 to the library area — safe crossing, traffic calming measures
Timeline & Accomplishments (2019-2024)
Committee Formed (June 2019)
A group of local residents, artists and business owners gathered to discuss the possibility of applying for cultural district designation from the Massachusetts Cultural Council
Pancake Breakfast (March 2020)
A free town pancake breakfast organized to gather feedback on important questions about the goals of the proposed cultural district. The Cultural District continues to gather the community in the spring for a review of the previous year, an overview of the year ahead, and an opportunity to gather feedback over a warm meal with neighbors.
I Love Cummington Photo Contest (Feb 2021)
A photo contest accepted submissions from amateur youth and adult residents with the theme, "I Love Cummington." Finalists' photos were posted to social media.
Hilltown Open Studio Tour (October 2021)
The third Hilltown Open Studio tour resumed in-person self-guided studio tours featuring 9 Cummington studio artists. The Cummington Cultural District partners with HOST annually to promote the event, and in the 2023 edition, Cummington served as the hub of the tour.
Village Community Public Forum (October 2021)
Residents were invited to an open forum to ask questions and provide feedback on the proposed cultural district initiative.
MCC Application Submitted (December 2021)
The committee submitted a final application to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for consideration.
REFLECTIONS: A Public Art Exhibition (June-October 2022)
The committee produced the public art festival REFLECTIONS, installed along the Main Street Cultural District corridor, supporting 10 temporary public artworks by over a dozen local artists. This program has become a keystone annual activity, undertaken every year since it was initiated.
Cummington Cultural District Designation by MCC (March 2023)
The Cummington Cultural District was officially designated by the Mass Cultural Council, and celebrated with a Pancake Breakfast Community Celebration on Sat, April 29, 2023.
Mass Humanities Staffing Grant Awarded (June 2023)
Mass Humanities awarded the Cultural District a Staffing Recovery Grant to make its first hire for support administration staff. The Cummington Cultural District hired a Community Outreach & Media Specialist in Sept 2023 to support the growing marketing, programming, and administrative operations of the group.
deTours: Exploring Cummington (July & August 2024)
deTours: Exploring Cummington, was formed as a new program in 2024. The inaugural series of thematic hikes led by artists, humanists, and scientists to uncover new facets of special sites in Cummington was deTours: Exploring the Bryant Homestead. The program continues at other sites.