Arts

Best Bites: A familiar feast: The Passover Seder traditions and tastes my family holds dear

By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN

Passover has always been my favorite Jewish holiday. The Passover Seder my parents host annually in my childhood house in Northampton has been the most festive and joyous meal of the year for as long as I can remember.My dad’s childhood Seders were...

There is a Season with Molly Parr: Crowd-pleasing potatoes: If you’re not smashing your potatoes, you’re missing out

By MOLLY PARR

Last column I wrote that I am currently on a pretty limited diet that cuts out certain types of carbs — FODMAP for short (the full acronym stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols). Well, it turns out that a...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Gayle Pemberton of Northampton

This pie, sent in by Gayle Pemberton of Northampton, has that perfect balance of both flavor and texture. The “delicious light chocolate inside,” she wrote, is “sprinkled with crust dust.”How to enter: Snap a pic of something delicious-looking and...

Valley Bounty: Your soil will thank you: As garden season gets underway, Whately farm provides ‘black gold’ to many

By JACOB NELSON

“Compost is not soil, but it makes your soil better,” says Mike Mahar, owner of Bear Path Compost in Whately. “It adds life to it. If you’re going to take something out of the soil by harvesting, you should put something back in, and compost is...

Painting a more complete picture: ‘Unnamed Figures’ highlights Black presence and absence in early American history

By CHRIS LARABEE

In partnership with the American Folk Art Museum, Historic Deerfield is presenting an exhibition on the unexplored histories of Black people in early America.“Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North” explores Black...

Book Bag: ‘Cecilia: A Memoir of Lesbian Love and Loss’ by Astrid Lindstrom; ‘Go Play in Traffic: A Writer’s Life’ by Michelle A. Gabow

By STEVE PFARRER

Cecilia: A Memoir of Lesbian Love and LossBy Astrid LindstromHeliotrope Press Astrid Lindstrom’s memoir, “Cecilia,” about the loss of her wife following a difficult battle with cancer, is at times a painful read. But it’s also a memorial to her late...

Earth Matters: From Big Sits to Birdathons: Birding competitions far and near

By JOSHUA ROSE

A few months ago, headlines flared that Peter Kaestner had seen his 10,000th bird species. This could have been anticlimactic, as Kaestner has been renowned for years among birders for traveling worldwide and seeing more species than anyone.However,...

The Beat Goes On: Album release shows by Barnstar! and Lisa Bastoni, a Young@Heart Chorus concert with new special guests, and more

By STEVE PFARRER

’Tis the season of gigs by artists dropping new albums.In early April, the Valley indie-folk band Cloudbelly celebrated a new disc, “i know i know i know,” with back-to-back shows at The Parlor Room in Northampton, and Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini,...

Speaking of Nature: Indulging in eye candy: Finally, after such a long wait, it’s beginning to look like spring is here

By BILL DANIELSON

I have just about reached the end of my patience with the winter of 2024. I realize that this may sound a bit strange, especially because we are now in the beginning of spring, but those of us who bore the brunt of the April snowstorm may sympathize...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Nicholas Horton of Northampton

This week’s winner, Nicholas Horton of Northampton, made Ethiopian food at home with his daughter Nari Horton (also of Northampton) “with injera provided by a daughter visiting from Minneapolis.”Submit pics at features@gazettenet.com.

What does freedom look like today? On view at Williams College, seven Black American artists interpret the meaning of emancipation

By DON STEWART

Through July 14 at the Williams College Museum of Art you can view new works by seven of today’s leading Black American artists in “Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation.” The show, “conceived as a commemoration of the 160th anniversary...

Spring brings new art: A look at what's on tap in April at selected local galleries

By STEVE PFARRER

April weather can be fickle, as this week, with some warm, sunny days to start, followed by a few days of clouds and rain, has shown.But if you can’t get out into nature as much as you’d like, you can still see plenty of artwork in the region, which...

Book Bag: ‘Dear Oliver: An Unexpected Friendship With Oliver Sacks’ by Susan B. Barry; ‘Benjy’s Messy Room’ by Barbara Diamond Goldin

By STEVE PFARRER

Dear Oliver: An Unexpected Friendship with Oliver SacksBy Susan R. BarryThe Experiment, LLCSusan Barry, a former Mount Holyoke College professor of neuroscience, behavior, and biology, was born with a significant case of strabismus — crossed eyes —...

Only Human with Joan Axelrod-Contrada: To journal or not to journal: Advice for when journaling feels like it’s holding you back

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Anyone who’s ever kept a journal can relate to the song “Dear Diary” by the Moody Blues.The tune came out in 1969 at the height of my adolescent angst. I poured my misery into a pocket-sized pink diary with a lock to keep away prying eyes. Like the...

Arts Briefs: An arts festival at Smith College, a theatrical version of an iconic 1920s novel, and more

By STEVE PFARRER

Editor’s note: The performance at Northampton’s A.P.E. Gallery tonight with Fumi Tomita has been canceled. However, Tomita and Allen Fowler will be present for the artist’s reception at the gallery from 5-8 p.m.​​​​​​A new arts celebrationNORTHAMPTON...

The risk in revealing: 2023 Grammy winner Madison Cunningham comes to Northampton

By STEVE PFARRER

Madison Cunningham, who comes to Northampton’s Academy of Music April 19, won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album, for her 2022 release, “Revealer.”In fact, Cunningham, who grew up in southern California and still lives there, also has won...

Speaking of Nature: Molting for amore: Spring has arrived and male goldfinches are starting to molt into their nuptial plumage

By BILL DANIELSON

It just so happens that I am a creature of habit and I always write my column on a Thursday. On this particular morning I find myself luxuriating in an unexpected, but most welcome, deviation from my normal routine. A huge winter storm has arrived and...

You’re up next: Western Mass open mic scene heats up post-pandemic

By STEVE PFARRER

Not so long ago, there was a general lament sometimes heard among Valley musicians: “There aren’t enough places to play around here.”That might have been true for professional players who wanted to be paid — and maybe, despite the opening of new local...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Leslee Nuttelman of Florence

This very impressive-looking cake was sent in by Leslee Nuttelman of Florence. She says it’s “pistachio cake with a raspberry gelee filling and mascarpone whipped cream,” which sounds like the perfect combination of flavors. How to enter: Snap a pic...