Where ideas erupt,
and creativity flows,
community grows. Our mission is to create opportunities and build community in and through the arts and humanities.
a community arts & humanities space, arts incubator, and black box theater in downtown Greenfield, Mass
cafe/gallery hours, recurring events, free programming, community, inspiration! The LAVA Center is a community arts space, arts incubator, and black box theater in downtown Greenfield, MA. We are a place where all, including marginalized communities and individuals, can have their voices heard.
An arts incubator, providing many opportunities for creatives and their work to be nourished. Our humanities programming centers on local history, and social and environmental justice themes. The LAVA Center is located at 324 Main St., between TD Bank and the Pushkin Gallery. NOTE: Our staff is part-time, and we cannot always respond to comments quickly. You may get a faster response if you contact us using this form - https://thelavacenter.org/contact-us/ - or text us at 413-376-8118. Thank you.
12/11/2025
Community Art Show: Conversations with the Artists
Saturday, Dec 13, noon
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
Join us for a conversation with the artists. At noon, Allen Fowler will lead a conversation with local visual artists. People from the Community Art Show are invited to participate and will be asked to talk about their work and their process. Out of this conversation may emerge ideas for programming for visual artists in 2026. Everyone is invited to come and listen, ask questions and explore where this group could go.
Note: Due to weather, this event has been rescheduled to 12/17.
Writers Read
featuring the LAVA Team: Jan Maher, Jovonna Van Pelt, Lindy Whiton, Matthew Barlow, Vanessa Query
NOW ON: Wednesday, Dec 17, 7pm
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
Writers Read is a monthly opportunity for an audience to come and listen to local writers in an intimate environment. Each second Wednesday of the month, three writers read from their work, followed by a discussion facilitated by Lindy Whiton, designer of Writers Read. These discussions have been eye opening, touching, and inspiring. Audiences have left the venue ready to write.
Jan Maher’s novels Heaven, Indiana; Earth As It Is; and short fiction collection The Persistence of Memory and Other Stories have each won Kirkus “Best Of” designations. Her stories and poems have been published regionally in Meat for Tea: The Valley Review; Compass Roads: Poems about the Pioneer Valley; Spoken Word in the Woods: An Anthology celebrating The Word Stage 10th Year – at The North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival – celebrating 25 years; and Valley and Beyond: A Writers Read Anthology. She is a co-coordinator at The LAVA Center, where she has read for Writers Read and Paul Richmond’s Third Tuesday. Three of her plays have been presented at LAVA: Most Dangerous Women, and As We Were: Nine Days in October as staged readings and Ismene in a full production. She is currently working on a third novel set in the fictional town of Heaven, Indiana.
Jovonna Van Pelt has stories to share: funny stories, difficult stories, personal revelations, casual observations. She has been a featured reader for Straw Dog Writers Guild, Poets at Large, Gateway City Arts, Great Falls Word Festival, and a multiple finalist in the Poet’s Seat competition. Jo’s poetry collection Unrelated Questions (Human Error Publishing, 2019) will be followed by a second volume of poetry and a book of Christmas short stories in 2026. She lives happily with her rescue cat in Greenfield, MA.
Lindy Whiton has been on the staff and Board of LAVA since 2020. She facilitates Writers Read and over the past year released her first book of poetry and photographs, “Spirit of the Rookery”
Matthew Barlow is a lapsed academic, writer, musician and co-founder of the DC-based non-profit, EmpowerEd.
Vanessa Query is a director, writer, performer, and organizer. She has written and directed several short films and has performed and produced all types of theater, such as sketch comedy, circus sideshow, devised theater, and mixed-media performance art. Her work has been performed and screened across the United States and in Ireland and India. She lives in Greenfield and is Manager and Co-coordinator of The LAVA Center. vanessaquery.com
$1-5 suggested donation, but all are welcome.
Any further questions may be directed at [email protected]. https://www.facebook.com/events/1345456693279675/
12/10/2025
Comedy Project presents: “yOu aRe hERe,” a comedy variety show
Saturday, Dec. 13, 5pm
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
The lineup of comics, storytellers, songsters and friends will include some regulars featured at the Comedy Project’s events and some first time and guest performers, who aren’t afraid to take their comic material from wherever they find it. Hosted by Andrea CK.
No one is ever turned away for inability to pay; patrons who can afford it are asked to consider a generous donation to help The LAVA Center start 2026 on a firm foundation.
Greening Greenfield film series: “The Social Dilemma”
Thursday, Dec 11, 5:45pm
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
“This part-documentary, part docu-drama digs into the world of algorithms — the ones quietly deciding what you see online, how long you stay there, and who benefits from your scrolling . . . . What it nails is the urgency of the conversation, regulations, digital literacy, mental health awareness – these aren’t optional anymore.”
Following the film, we will have an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of social media use and the ever-widening use of AI in our daily lives within our capitalistic system that currently has few, if any, guardrails on this advancing technology. Free. Refreshments served. Doors open at 5:20.
For more information about Greening Greenfield and our commitment to restoring our climate, biodiversity, housing and more, go to www.GreeningGreenfieldMA.org.
For events that are scheduled to occur during a forecasted storm or other bad driving weather, we will call things the night before whenever possible (or, for evening events, by 2pm that afternoon). If it's an extreme and unforeseen situation, we will call it at least 2 hours before the event's start time, and will email all affected parties and post to our page.
12/09/2025
UPDATE: Due to weather, this event has been rescheduled to 12/17.
Writers Read
featuring the LAVA Team: Jan Maher, Jovonna Van Pelt, Lindy Whiton, Matthew Barlow, Vanessa Query
Wednesday, Dec 17, 7pm
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
Writers Read is a monthly opportunity for an audience to come and listen to local writers in an intimate environment. Each second Wednesday of the month, three writers read from their work, followed by a discussion facilitated by Lindy Whiton, designer of Writers Read. These discussions have been eye opening, touching, and inspiring. Audiences have left the venue ready to write.
Jan Maher’s novels Heaven, Indiana; Earth As It Is; and short fiction collection The Persistence of Memory and Other Stories have each won Kirkus “Best Of” designations. Her stories and poems have been published regionally in Meat for Tea: The Valley Review; Compass Roads: Poems about the Pioneer Valley; Spoken Word in the Woods: An Anthology celebrating The Word Stage 10th Year – at The North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival – celebrating 25 years; and Valley and Beyond: A Writers Read Anthology. She is a co-coordinator at The LAVA Center, where she has read for Writers Read and Paul Richmond’s Third Tuesday. Three of her plays have been presented at LAVA: Most Dangerous Women, and As We Were: Nine Days in October as staged readings and Ismene in a full production. She is currently working on a third novel set in the fictional town of Heaven, Indiana.
Jovonna Van Pelt has stories to share: funny stories, difficult stories, personal revelations, casual observations. She has been a featured reader for Straw Dog Writers Guild, Poets at Large, Gateway City Arts, Great Falls Word Festival, and a multiple finalist in the Poet’s Seat competition. Jo’s poetry collection Unrelated Questions (Human Error Publishing, 2019) will be followed by a second volume of poetry and a book of Christmas short stories in 2026. She lives happily with her rescue cat in Greenfield, MA.
Lindy Whiton has been on the staff and Board of LAVA since 2020. She facilitates Writers Read and over the past year released her first book of poetry and photographs, “Spirit of the Rookery”
Matthew Barlow is a lapsed academic, writer, musician and co-founder of the DC-based non-profit, EmpowerEd.
Vanessa Query is a director, writer, performer, and organizer. She has written and directed several short films and has performed and produced all types of theater, such as sketch comedy, circus sideshow, devised theater, and mixed-media performance art. Her work has been performed and screened across the United States and in Ireland and India. She lives in Greenfield and is Manager and Co-coordinator of The LAVA Center. vanessaquery.com
The Comedy Project presents: “yOu aRe hERe,” a comedy variety show & a fun(d)-raiser benefiting The LAVA Center
Saturday, Dec 13, 5pm
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
The lineup of comics, storytellers, songsters and friends will include some regulars featured at the Comedy Project’s events and some first time and guest performers, who aren’t afraid to take their comic material from wherever they find it. Hosted by Andrea CK.
No one is ever turned away for inability to pay; patrons who can afford it are asked to consider a generous donation to help The LAVA Center start 2026 on a firm foundation.
New grantee highlight ‼️ From the LAVA Center: "Our new short documentary, Rising River’s Edge: The Climate Crisis in Franklin County, is now available to view online. This film promises audiences an authentic glimpse into the lives and struggles of farmers in Franklin County amid ongoing extreme weather.
Rising River’s Edge examines the plight of the food systems in Franklin County in the face of a changing and unpredictable climate. In the past two years, the county has experienced heavy rains, floods, late frosts, April snowfalls and drought. The extreme changes in weather patterns and unpredictability of forecasts wreak havoc on our food systems and farms. This is in the face of the fact that 50% of Franklin County’s population faces food insecurity issues. Franklin County is also the poorest, most rural and disparate county in Massachusetts.
Our team consists of filmmakers and producers Hugh Finnerty, Clara Witty, Matthew Barlow and Rebecca Rideout, who interviewed local farmers in Franklin county, documented their struggles and their resiliency in planning for this unpredictable new normal. We also trace this new normal down through the local food systems to restaurants and consumers. Featured farms in the film are Clark Brothers Orchards of Ashfield, Just Roots of Greenfield and Red Fire Farm of Montague and Granby. A local restaurateur is also featured: Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield, a pay-what-you-can cafe.
In the film, the farmers discuss their challenges navigating extreme and unpredictable weather. We see that late frosts contribute to new diseases plaguing apple trees, major floods wiped out fields and with the floods came major crop loss. The farms have not been able to recover swiftly, and the damage from one year continues into the next. Buying local supports local farms, and whether it’s directly from the farm stand or a farmer’s market, the money from buying local stays in the community, and also contributes to a healthier community.
Viewers can watch Rising River’s Edge by visiting https://buff.ly/bFxBRMv. Views are available with a donation, on a sliding scale $5–15 and $1 for Card to Culture.
Funding for this film was provided by MassHumanities via the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Greening Greenfield and The LAVA Center." The LAVA Center
12/05/2025
The final Smack Dab Q***r Open Mic of the year has been canceled. Sorry for the late notice!
12/05/2025
Greenfield First Sunday Word
Sunday, Dec 7, 1:30pm
The LAVA Center: 324 Main St, Greenfield
Poetry, Stories, Spoken Word
Doors open at 1:00
1:20 is Open Mic
5 minute slots
2:30 Features this month -
Ben Tousley
Dina Stander
$1 to $5 sliding scale donation
Books will be for sale
Hope to see and hear you
Paul Richmond
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Arts nonprofit organization Local Access to Valley Arts is thrilled to announce the opening of its new performing arts and community space in downtown Greenfield, MA!
The LAVA Center is a new arts incubator, black box theater and community space in downtown Greenfield, MA. The LAVA Center is located at 324 Main St., in between TD Bank and the Pushkin Gallery.
With a focus on creating opportunities in and through primarily the performing and literary arts, the LAVA Center will host a wide variety of arts events, classes, and workshops as well as be a space to display and sell art made by local artisans.
The LAVA Center is also available to rent for meetings and workshops, and provides an affordable option for groups needing space for rehearsals, classes, and small performances.
There are plenty of opportunities for artists and their work to be nourished, such as providing space to show and develop works in progress.
The LAVA Center focuses on the communal and collaborative aspect of the arts by:
providing assistance for organizations needing grant funding to pursue arts projects;
ensuring the high visibility of center activities through a comprehensive public relations program;
actively ‘match-making’, enabling likely partner organizations to find each other for collaborative work;
maintaining a communications center for the dissemination and distribution of notices, requests, news, etc for local artists and arts organizations.
Public events will include art gallery displays, intimate theatrical and musical performances, film screenings, pop-up markets for local artisans to sell their wares, informal gatherings for writers and other artists, networking opportunities and meetups for artists of all types and arts-based programming for Greenfield’s youth.
