Arts & Life
Sounds Local: Bidding farewell to festival season: Many noteworthy concerts on the horizon as we head into fall
By SHERYL HUNTER
It’s never easy to bid farewell to summer, and fortunately, there are a few summer music series chugging along, providing us with a last gasp of the warm weather months before we have to resign ourselves to life in the great indoors. Let’s take a look...
Behold the winning peach pie: Justin Malone of South Deerfield won first place at Apex Orchards’ annual Peach Fest
By TINKY WEISBLAT
I recently participated in Apex Orchards’ annual Peach Fest. Owner Tim Smith couldn’t quite remember whether it was the third or fourth such occasion. I couldn’t remember either, although I go every time it happens and always enjoy visiting the...
Reflecting on 25 years of growth: Pleasant Street Community Garden in Greenfield celebrates a quarter century
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
The Pleasant Street Community Garden in Greenfield broke ground 25 years ago when local farmer Rich Pascale volunteered to till some land at the corner of School and Pleasant Streets, making it possible for locals to create a community garden on the...
Speaking of Nature: The great southward migration
By BILL DANIELSON
One of the most remarkable things about birding in September is the number of strangers that you see. Having spent so much time observing the birds during the summer months, I have a very clear roster in my head of who the “regulars” are. Not only...
Finger-picking good: Amherst autoharp workshop hosts weekly jams for all levels
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Music from centuries-old folk songs and contemporary and classical tunes emanates through the hallway at the Bangs Community Center on a recent morning, as some of the autoharp players hold the instrument upright against their shoulders and below...
The story of Local Mojo: How one group of students is changing the UMass music scene
By PAIGE HANSON
During his sophomore year of college in November 2021, Charley Blacker wanted to start an organization that was unique and new to the University of Massachusetts Amherst community: a group dedicated to promoting local musicians through playlists,...
Giving the gift of access: Pay it Forward program helps local artists realize their projects’ full potential
By ALEXA LEWIS
Easthampton’s Old Town Hall has once again opened its doors to a diverse assortment of local artistic talent as part of CitySpace’s 2024 Pay it Forward program. As summer winds to a close, the 10 artists and groups selected to this year’s cohort are...
Shea Theater mural taking shape in Turners Falls
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN
North Carolina-based muralist Darion Fleming has arrived to Montague to begin working his creative magic on the 3,200-square-foot exterior wall of the Shea Theater Arts Center on Avenue A.The mural’s final design and painting timeline were released on...
Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra: An ensemble like no other
By SHERYL HUNTER
When you hear the word orchestra, you immediately think of classical music. When you attend a concert by the Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra (HVGO), you are likely to hear something from a composer like Beethoven, but the group might also play an...
Valley Bounty: This farm grows friendship: Connie and Bill Gillen encourage pick-your-own at Sunset Farm in Amherst
By LISA GOODRICH
Sunset Farm in Amherst is a neighborhood farm that emphasizes the social aspects of farming in community. Owners Connie and Bill Gillen grow vegetables and flowers on 10 acres, within walking and biking distance of the University of Massachusetts...
Speaking of Nature: He’s the king of the tyrants: The eastern kingbird is an aggressive, spunky little bird with an oversized attitude
By BILL DANIELSON
About a mile to the east of my house, sitting at the side of the quiet country road upon which I live, there is a small man-made pond that is typical of the kind that one might find near a farm. There are actually several of these ponds along this...
‘Rock ’n’ roll was our religion’: In the wake of his best friend’s death, Jeffrey Foucault releases ‘Universal Fire’
By BOB FLAHERTY
The New Yorker once called Jeffrey Foucault’s music “Beat-up troubadour folk whittled to dolorous perfection.” Now try all that with electric guitars.Foucault, a Wisconsin native who now lives in Shelburne Falls, will appear with his band Friday night...
‘How the communes became a community’: 56 years later, new doc profiles life on the Montague and Packer Corners communes
By RICHIE DAVIS
It was 1968 when reporters and editors from Liberation News Service — who’d been on the front lines documenting the political battles to end the Vietnam War — pulled up stakes in New York City and put down roots on farms in Montague and nearby...
Where it’s fun to get lost: Mike’s Maze returns Sept. 6 with a circus theme
By CHRIS LARABEE
Corn one, come all!The circus is coming to Sunderland this fall, as Mike’s Maze turns itself into a corn-ival for the 2024 season, with its “Join the Circus” theme. With stars and the theme’s phrase etched into the corn field, the famous labyrinth is...
Faith Matters: Divine activity out in the farm fields: Reflections from an agricultural Anglican
By THE REV. JIMMY PICKETT
I have on my right arm a tattoo that reminds me every day why I serve as a priest in the Episcopal Church.I grew up in Leicester and spent nearly every weekend at my Great Grandmother’s house, an old red farmhouse with a big barn and a large field...
Sounds Local: Heavier than ever: 10th annual RPM Fest brings punk, rock and metal to Montague this weekend
By SHERYL HUNTER
When the RPM Fest celebrates its 10th anniversary this Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31 to Sept. 1) at the Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club in Montague, you can be sure they will live up to their reputation as “the heaviest party of the summer.” The festival,...
Dipping into memories of Alice Parker: Sharing the late composer, conductor, and teacher’s go-to dip
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Growing up spending summers down the road from composer, conductor, and teacher Alice Parker in Hawley, I didn’t know how lucky I was. I assumed everyone attended festive pot-luck parties at which grownups and children alike dressed in costume, ate...
Growing abundantly and sharing the bounty: Colrain resident’s garden is nothing short of magical
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
(Editor’s note: Last week’s column focused on the Colrain home of Jon Lagrèze and Judith Roberts; this week we learn about their garden.)Jonathan “Jon” Lagrèze built his first farm structure before losing any baby teeth. At age 5 – after “borrowing”...
Speaking of Nature: Spotting an unusual feeding frenzy: Three very different species of birds partake in communal feeding
By BILL DANIELSON
For the final week of my summer vacation I decided to make a bold move and pay a visit to one of the wonderful coastal areas that we have in the state of Massachusetts. Earlier in the summer I went to First Encounter Beach, in Eastham, and to round...
Would you eat food off of a naked body?: Local event, Food & Form, has nothing – and everything – to do with nudity
By Melissa Karen Sances
To Coco Bustin, the body is a beautiful vessel. She first came to appreciate it in figure drawing classes at Tufts University, where she met every curve and contour with wonder. Nudity, she realized, was an artistic invitation. As a natural foodie,...
Your Daily Puzzles
An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."
A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.
Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.
Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.
Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.
