Arts
Tropical paradise? Not so much: Spring exhibits at Mead Art Museum examine the effect of tourism in the Caribbean, Native American art, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
What could be better in winter than a trip to the Caribbean? Warm but not overly hot temperatures, beautiful sandy beaches, crystalline waters — sounds like paradise.But as a current exhibit at the Mead Art Museum in Amherst shows, paradise for some...
A time for every purpose under heaven: Free sing-a-long Pete Seeger Fest returns to Ashfield, April 6
By SHERYL HUNTER
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Pete Seeger’s death. The legendary folk musician, political activist, and environmentalist touched lives around the world with his songs, which were rich in hope and history and exhibited a strong sense of...
Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Christine Adams of Northampton
This cheese and egg souffle, sent in by Christine Adams of Northampton, is picture perfect. The plate of cinnamon buns doesn’t look so bad either...How to enter: Snap a pic of something delicious-looking and send it with your name, town and a sentence...
Valley Bounty: Central Chicopee no longer a food desert: Couple buys and revives Fruit Fair grocery by turning to local farms and vendors
By LISA GOODRICH
Samaita (Sam) Newell is a first-generation immigrant from India. She met Jared Newell as a student in the five-college area. Following graduation and getting married, the young couple dreamed of buying a farm with a store.Without collateral, their...
A workplace from hell: Amherst filmmaker Matt Heron-Duranti is part of the team behind independent film “Another Day in America”
By STEVE PFARRER
There’s been a lot written about the problems that have plagued many American workplaces in the wake of the pandemic, from some employees insisting on continuing to work from home to offices that have mirrored the polarization and social conflicts...
Art is a vehicle for change: Power of Truths Festival returns to Florence to illuminate history of injustice, April 5-6
By STEVE PFARRER
Can the arts help us reexamine our past and come to terms with injustice? Can music, film and other mediums become instruments for social change by helping us look differently at our history and our beliefs?Those are questions the Power of Truths Arts...
Arts Briefs: Rising indie pop star Caroline Rose comes to Florence, UMass Amherst hosts a literary festival, and more
Hot tickets at BombyxFLORENCE — Indie pop singer and songwriter Caroline Rose, who’s gained increased attention and acclaim from the national music press in the last several years, is coming to the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity for two shows, April...
WriteAngles Conference announces new keynote speaker and award recipient: Vermont poet Shanta Lee to give address
By STEVE PFARRER
The WriteAngles Conference, the Valley literary get-together that has been revived after a five-year absence, has a new keynote speaker.Shanta Lee, an award-winning poet, visual artist, and journalist from Vermont, will give the main address at the...
Speaking of Nature: Is this Grackle really common? Behold the bird’s colorful iridescence on a sunny day
By BILL DANIELSON
After a while, one learns what to expect with each month and each season. July is going to be hot and humid, October will be colorful and somewhat melancholy, January will be cold and sleepy, and then there is March. March is the month for which the...
Stories bring the neighborhood home: ‘The Belt’ online oral history project shares Montview residents’ recollections of quirky riverside enclave
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES
On a springlike day in mid-March, three historians’ voices mingle with the buzzing of a drone. Claudia Lefko, Gail Hornstein and Ben James stand in the middle of the Montview Conservation Area while our camera captures the big picture — the vast, open...
Valley Bounty: Fermentation meets cooperation: Real Pickles in Greenfield supports and supplies the regional food system
By JACOB NELSON
A knock on the door interrupts the conversation. Someone is here to trade cheese for Real Pickles’ fermented veggies.Kate Hunter, a marketing coordinator, assistant sales manager, and worker-owner at Real Pickles, gets up to confirm the terms. Out the...
Book Bag: ‘I Could Have Been More Wrong’ by Kevin McCaffrey; ‘Fugitive from Injustice’ by Robert T. McMaster
By STEVE PFARRER
I Could Have Been More WrongBy Kevin McCaffreyFour Winds Press Kevin McCaffrey brings something to his poetry that other poets might consider employing more often: a sense of humor.In “I Could Have Been More Wrong,” McCaffrey, a South Hadley resident,...
Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Ethan Arsenault of Northampton
Readers, there is a future chef among us! These ravioli were made by 13-year-old Ethan Arsenault of Northampton. “For me, it’s about everything from scratch,” he said. “Homemade is always the best made.”How to enter: Snap a pic of something...
There is a Season with Molly Parr: A delicious soup, just not for me: Sharing this Hungarian Sweet and Sour Soup with Farro recipe so others may enjoy it
By MOLLY PARR
Have you ever loved something that hurt you? I’m not referring to a bad relationship — rather, a dish that you love, but your body hates? Maybe it’s something that gives you a headache, or makes your tummy uncomfortable. For me, it’s this sweet and...
A tale of murderous indifference: ‘The Zone of Interest’ offers a view of the Holocaust as chilling as its architects
By STEVE PFARRER
Hannah Arendt famously coined the term “the banality of evil” in her book on Adolph Eichmann’s trial in Israel in 1963, where the former Nazi official, a key organizer of the Holocaust, presented himself as a bureaucrat who was “just doing his job” in...
The Beat Goes On: A post-Mardi Gras show in Florence, a popular area band celebrates its newest album in Amherst, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
Mardi Gras took place last month, but you can catch some of its flavor at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity on March 24 at 4 p.m. when Jon Cleary & The Monster Gentlemen come to the Florence venue — with the Soggy Po Boys opening the show.Cleary has...
Growing along with the land: Piyush Labhsetwar joins Grow Food Northamton as new farm and land stewardship manager
By PAT JAMES
Visiting his great-uncle’s farm in central India was a “magical experience” for Piyush Labhsetwar, Grow Food Northampton’s new farm and land stewardship manager. He relishes memories of picking ripe mangoes and oranges, drinking fresh cow’s milk, and...
Speaking of Nature: One lucky duck: Stumbling upon an entire flotilla of Common Mergansers
By BILL DANIELSON
It was a rainy Sunday morning at the beginning of March and I was suffering from cabin fever. It hasn’t been a particularly cold winter, but I had been cooped up nonetheless. Saturday had gone by without incident, like so many Saturday’s since the new...
The local logophile, an erudite Easthamptonite: Veteran Merriam-Webster editor Peter Sokolowski is the public face of the country’s oldest dictionary
By STEVE PFARRER
When Peter Sokolowski started work as an editor at Merriam-Webster 30 years ago, about 80 people worked at the venerable dictionary company in Springfield, including about 45 editors.But based on how quiet the offices were, it might have seemed the...
Valley Bounty: Maple syrup time: After year-long prep, Hickory Hill Farm readies for Massachusetts Maple Weekend
By JACOB NELSON
It turns out pancakes and hot air balloons have at least one thing in common: they both pair well with maple syrup.“Flying over the woods is a good way to find maple trees,” offers Paul Sena, owner of both Worthington Ballooning and Hickory Hill Farm....
