Arts
Upon Nancy’s Floor: 33 Hawley event celebrates iconic dancers, history, and a new dance floor
By STEVE PFARRER
Among the many features that are part of 33 Hawley, the Northampton Community Arts Trust building that was finally completed in early January following 10 years of construction, there’s probably nothing more important to dancers than the floor of the...
Embracing both new and old: Da Camera Singers celebrates 50 years in the best way they know how
By JUDSON BROWN
Da Camera Singers Director Sheila Heffernon wasn’t hiding her exasperation in addressing her tenor section after a recent rehearsal preparing the group for a 50th anniversary concert coming up May 11 and 12.“Watch me! Watch me! Watch me!” she wrote on...
Time to celebrate kids and books: Mass Kids Lit Fest offers a wealth of programs in Valley during Children’s Book Week
By STEVE PFARRER
Just in time to coincide with Children’s Book Week, a national event established in 1905, the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) has created a children’s literary showcase here in the Valley.The Mass Kids Lit Fest, a new book festival taking...
Arts Briefs: A themed exhibit in Northampton, new opportunities for artists in Easthampton, and more
Witnesses to difficult journeysNORTHAMPTON — As Passover takes place, local Jewish activists are working with a New Hampshire photographer and the New England Visionary Artists Museum (Anchor House of Artists) to stage an exhibit drawing links between...
Speaking of Nature: ‘Those sound like chickens’: Wood frogs and spring peepers are back — and loud as ever
By BILL DANIELSON
During a recent lecture on evolutioin I had to explain the differences between three different processes known as geographic, temporal and behavioral isolation. Geographic isolation is the easiest of these concepts to understand because it involves...
Hitting the ceramic circuit: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail turns 20 years old, April 27-28
By STEVE PFARRER
A lot can change in 20 years: Presidents and other politicians come and go, new cultural fads and technologies emerge, clothing styles morph, and music and movies take on different dimensions.In these parts, one tradition hasn’t changed. Since 2005,...
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...
