UMass Athletics to hold clinic at the Basketball Hall of Fame

As a part of the Basketball Hall of Fame 2010 Enshrinement festivities, UMass Amherst Women's Basketball head coach Sharon Dawley, her coaching staff and team will hold a free basketball clinic, August 11th at 11am at center court at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA

For more information on UMass Amherst Women's Basketball visit: http://www.umassathletics.com/sports/w-baskbl/umas-w-baskbl-body.html

For more information on Sharon Dawley visit: http://www.umassathletics.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/dawley_sharon00.html

Mayor Sarno welcomes Art & Soles artists, community and press to downtown studio

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, along with Maryann Lombardi, director of creative economy for the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Don Courtemanche, executive director of the Springfield Business Improvement District and Nancy Urbschat of TSM Design welcomed artists, community and press to the Art & Soles Main Street Studio.

C&W Realty has donated the retail space at 1200 Main as the downtown studio space for the Art & Soles project. The space has been vacant for years, last used by a financial services firm. The reflective film has been removed from the large display windows to allow people to look in to see these magnificent sneakers being created.

“I can’t think of a better way to showcase this space to potential tenants. Hopefully, by bringing awareness to the space, energizing it, and bringing thousands of people into it, we will also be able to bring about a creative retail tenant to occupy the space long term.” – Don Courtemanche, Executive Director, Springfield Business Improvement District.

The artists who hail from Springfield, UMass Amherst and around the Pioneer Valley then posed for a picture with the Mayor.

Sneakers Arrive in Downtown Springfield

Patrick Keough, all the way from Nebraska, delivered the five-foot sneakers early in the morning July 8th. Patrick along with Don Courtemanche, executive Director of the SBID carried them into the Art & Soles Studio at 1200 Main Street.

Later that morning the studio was visited by a family who were just walking by and wanted to check out what was going on.