"You can get anything you want…" at the 40th anniversary celebration of Arlo Guthrie's epic ballad "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree." Arlo Guthrie will be joined by the Mammals, and accompanied by a band featuring special guests Abe Guthrie and Gordon Titcomb. It all started on Thanksgiving Day in 1965 in Stockbridge, MA, when Arlo first began working on the song that inspired a whole generation's commitment to social consciousness and activism. Don't miss this performance that will also include old favorites such as Ring-Around-A-Rosy, the Motorcycle Song, Coming Into Los Angeles and many more!

The University Museum of Contemporary Art , Fine Arts Center, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is pleased to announce a new lecture series celebrating some of the most notable exhibitions in the Gallery's history. Looking back at the University Museum of Contemporary Art 's three decades of provocative and landmark programming, the series will highlight the artists and directors behind some of the Gallery's most significant shows. Participants will include legendary artists Robert Irwin, Judy Pfaff, and Allan Wexler, with former directors Dr. Hugh M. Davies, Helaine Posner, and Betsy Siersma.

By bringing these significant artists and directors back to UMass and by holding these public dialogues, we hope to raise awareness of the vanguard role played by the University Museum of Contemporary Art during these seminal years, and to bring attention to our current mission to engage a new generation of important visual artists who will make their mark here at the University Museum of Contemporary Art .

a new play by Obie award-winning playwright/director Marty Pottenger. This performance, commissioned in 2004 by the Center for Cultural Exchange in Portland, Maine, involves a broad cross section of people – members of local ethnic communities, homeless people, civic leaders such as Portland Mayor Jill Duson, the media – in an examination of the consequences of the “war on terror” in the lives of ordinary people. The performance is on November 4, 2005 at 8PM at Bowker Auditorium at UMass in Amherst.

A rich creative collaboration spins out of this community activism. Original music is to be premiered live in the performance with Peruvian guitar player Juan Corderi of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in a first time collaboration with French Canadian fiddle player Greg Boardman and Somali drummer Harun Sheekey. The music is a testament to the power of collaborative engagement, whether musical, personal or political.

“What kind of community do we want? What are we willing to accept in the name of security?” – Fred LaMontagne, Fire Chief, Portland.

home land security was created by Marty Pottenger through an extended series of artist residencies, interviews with all strata of the Portland community, from street people to the governor, a series of story circles, and civic dialogues that have fostered a citywide conversation about issues raised by September 11. What does “home” mean to you? What makes you feel “secure?” home land security takes as a point of departure the US Border Patrol’s raid on Portland’s Latino and Somali markets, which revealed some of the impact of the “war on terror” in the lives of ordinary people in our community. The rationale for, and civic reaction to this raid, was explored in discussions with the entire spectrum of local opinion – from refugees and homeless people to city and state officials, radical activists to conservative columnists. From these discussions, Marty Pottenger has crafted a script that explores the substance of community, and the commitment, resiliency and humor that are reflected in our civic forum. The actors and musicians who perform in home land security are themselves the participants who experienced these events – their participation is immediate, visceral and deeply personal.