Local markets have a myriad of cheeses, all jostling for attention. Delicately pale cream cheeses vie with veined and vibrant blue cheeses. Tender balls of mozzarella compete with bricks of Cheddar and craggy chunks of Parmesan. Salty feta, spicy pepperjack and herby goat stand ready to jazz the taste buds.

Double Edge Theater may have moved from Boston to an Ashfield farm in 1994 just to have affordable rehearsal and living space, rather than a place to perform.

Fractured fairy tales

The Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School will present "Into the Woods" May 17-19 at 7:30 p.m. and May 20 at 2 p.m. at the Academy of Music in Northampton.

They've been part of an international theater festival in Ireland, performed at national conferences of alternative theater groups in Chicago and Omaha, and gone to Washington, D.C., for workshops. Now members of Amherst's Rainbow Players are setting their sights on a really big stage: the 2012 summer Olympic games in London. The improvisational group of differently abled adults has been invited to perform at an event with a host of youth groups and other performers in Coventry, England, in late July. They'll take part in a similar performance during the July 27 opening ceremonies at the Olympics in London.

CANCER

A support group for adults with cancer in the Amherst area, offered by Cancer Connection, meets every other Friday. It is open to anyone living with a cancer diagnosis and meets at the South Congregational Church at midday. Registration is required; call 586-1642. For more information about Cancer Connection go to www.cancer-connection.org.

Dance

 · Dances for Spring Showcase 2012 - East Street Ballet students perform FRIDAY, May 18-19, Bowker Auditorium, Stockbridge Hall, UMass, Amherst. $10, $15, $20. 584-5535, www.eaststreetballet.com

Film/Movies

A proud war veteran who feels betrayed by his country's leaders and haunted by his experiences contemplates suicide when the fighting ends. Another veteran is wounded as he prepares for battle, but instead of receiving proper medical care, he's left on his own in horrible pain and increasing bitterness.

Dear Younger Generation,

Forgive our salutation but we don't know what to call you anymore. Generation X is in their 40s now. Generation Y went off to war and came home different somehow. No one knows what happened to Generation Z - something digital, most likely. And now you come along and who knows what to call you? Anyway, you know who you are.

Tiny houses

"The Little White House Project: 'Dwell in Possibility," sponsored by the Emily Dickinson Museum, in collaboration with the Amherst Public Arts Committee, will open May 12 at 1 p.m. and will remain on view on the museum grounds and other Main Street properties in Amherst through June 30.

CANCER

A support group for adults with cancer in the Amherst area, offered by Cancer Connection, meets every other Friday. It is open to anyone living with a cancer diagnosis and meets at the South Congregational Church at midday. Registration is required; call 586-1642. For more information about Cancer Connection go to www.cancer-connection.org.

Cyclamens are one of the joys of the indoor winter garden. Their charming reflexed flowers look like tiny birds hovering above the heart-shaped leaves. The flowers can be white, pink, red or with picotee edges. Alas, many of us find them a bit temperamental and bemoan their early spring demise in our warm houses.Eliza Gouverneur of Amherst, however, is successful in maintaining cyclamen plants, not just for a season but for several years. She has grown 250 baby plants from seed collected from her original mother specimens. Quite an impressive accomplishment.

Dance

 · The Great Mass - High-definition broadcast of performance by the Leipzig Ballet SUNDAY, May 13, 2 p.m., Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St., Amherst. $12.50 general; $8 students and seniors. 253-2547, www.amherstcinema.org

After Kristallnacht

The Institute for Holocaust, Genocide and Memory Studies at UMass and the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst will present a new play, "Present Company Excluded," at the Applebaum-Driker Theater in the Yiddish Book Center May 4 at noon, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. and May 6 at 2 p.m.

The hype has been building for years and it couldn't possibly be more deafening at this point.

After a series of summer blockbusters that individually introduced Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America, all these characters come together alongside several other friends and foes in "Marvel's The Avengers."

When Maya Stein was growing up in New Hampshire, her father put an old typewriter on a desk in a hallway near her bedroom, just a few doors down from her sister's room. When the spirit moved them, the two girls and their dad would take turns typing a line or two, creating communal stories that would take odd and magical turns as they progressed. The spirit of that project sparked a lifelong love of writing for Stein. Now, to celebrate her 40th birthday, Stein is taking off from Amherst on a 1,200-mile bicycle trip on which she'll tow a typewriter behind her, making regular stops to host community writing sessions.

Dance

 · The Dance Generators - FRIDAY, May 4, 2 p.m., Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst. Free. Refreshments.

From a distance, Eileen Cleary's family is a model of suburban normalcy. A devout Catholic, Eileen stays busy with daily churchly duties, keeps her house spick-and-span and has her grown daughter and son over for weekly dinners with her husband. Of course, all is not perfect, and after Eileen is nominated for the coveted Catholic Woman of the Year award, she scrambles to keep her family's cracks from the church's eyes. That is the premise of the 2011 indie film "The Perfect Family," starring Kathleen Turner as Eileen. The movie will have its Massachusetts premier Saturday in the Northampton High School auditorium, as the season finale of the Northampton-based Out! For Reel LGBT Film Series.

May 4-10

Amherst Cinema

28 Amity St., Amherst, 253-2547

www.amherstcinema.org

Best In Show (NR) Mon. 7

Bully (PG-13) Daily 2:45, 7; no 7 show Mon., Thurs.

Caldera (NR) Thurs. 7

The Deep Blue Sea (NR) Daily 2:55, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40; Sat., Sun. also 12:30; baby-friendly show Tues. 2:55

AMHERST MEDIA/ ACTV

Amherst Community Television 246 College St. Amherst, MA 01002 259-3300

"Farewell to Factory Towns?" A documentary about North Adams, produced by Maynard Seider, Thurs., 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., Fri., 4 p.m., Sat., 8:30 p.m., and Sun., 12:30 p.m.

AMHERST SENIOR CENTER

Bangs Community Center

70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst

259-3060

Lunch is Mondays through Fridays at 11:45 a.m., unless otherwise specified.