Arts & Life
Let’s Talk Relationships: Talk to me like you love me: How to use words to love your partner better
By AMY NEWSHORE
As time goes by in a relationship, and partners get to know each other more, there will be inevitable hurts, disappointments and upsets. This is what happens when we share our life with another human being. We each come from our own backgrounds,...
For all the bragging rights (and one trophy): The winners of this year’s Valley Voices story slams head to a final competition
By STEVE PFARRER
The assignment is pretty straightforward: tell a concise story about your life, in no more than five minutes, that reflects a certain theme.The challenge is in telling that story with enough heart, spirit, verve, humor or whatever else you can conjure...
The Beat Goes On: Cloudbelly celebrates a new album in Northampton, Brazilian sounds come to Amherst, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
Just days after former folk and Americana performer turned indie-pop singer Caroline Rose played in Florence, Cloudbelly, the Valley indie folk band led by singer-songwriter Corey Laitman, is set to showcase songs from a new album that has a...
April is a theatrical month: Latinx Theater Symposium and Shakespeare on tap at UMass
By STEVE PFARRER
April is shaping up to be a busy month for the University of Massachusetts Theater Department, beginning with a symposium that honors Latinx theater and closing with a fresh interpretation of a classic Shakespeare comedy.On April 8-9, theater...
Around and About with Richard McCarthy: Living the dream? In less than a minute, a new pitcher loses more than just the game
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
Sometimes I turn on the television for what a friend of mine calls “bubble gum for the mind,” just something to chew on a little bit. Once in a while that expected slight entertainment turns into something more than that, something riveting, and not...
Speaking of Nature: No power, no problem: The late-March storm that set a new record
By BILL DANIELSON
As seems to be the case more and more often, March went out with a bang. And, in agreement with my assessment of the year from last week’s column, it seems only fitting that we experienced our most major winter storm of the season in what was...
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...
