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By TED WATT and HELEN ANN SEPHTON

This column honors Colleen Kelley, the education director at the Hitchcock Center, who will soon be leaving her post after 40 years.In the fall of 1984, Colleen walked into the Hitchcock Center — young, bright, idealistic, and fresh off a position as...

By STEVE PFARRER

NORTHAMPTON — It’s been another good year for Valley writers.Twelve area authors (and author/illustrators) have had new work long-listed for the 2024 Massachusetts Book Awards, presented annually by the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) in five...

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...

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,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — In a visit to the South County Senior Center, much of U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s discussion with residents focused on national issues, such as immigration and the war in Gaza. Still, the longtime Worcester Democrat emphasized these...

By RACHEL QUIMBY

One of my favorite books from childhood is P.D. Eastman’s “Big Dog, Little Dog,” the story of two bi-pedal pooches who are best friends. But Fred is tall, and Ted is short; Fred drives slowly and Ted drives fast; Ted plays the tuba, and Fred plays the...

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...

By STEVE PFARRER

As part of a funding program for municipal and nonprofit performing arts centers, the Massachusetts Cultural Council is awarding over $150,000 to 10 arts organizations and centers in the Valley.The awards — part of $3.66 million in funding the MCC is...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — With the rejection of two reuse proposals that involved selling the building, the future of the Whately Center School is now back in the hands of the town, as the Select Board opted last week to let the school’s Visioning Committee flesh out...

By GARRETT COTE

SPRINGFIELD — Entering Thursday afternoon’s NCAA tournament regional game, the UMass hockey team was well aware of the task at hand battling the No. 3 team in the country, Denver, and its No. 1 ranked scoring offense in the nation.The Minutemen held...

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...

By CHRIS LARABEE

With two new members on its board of directors, the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding is looking to continue its international work, while also expanding on its mission here in the valley.In recent weeks, the international and domestic peace-building...

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...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — Having received two responses to a request for proposals for the sale of the Whately Center School, members of the Center School Visioning Committee are asking for more time to come up with an idea to retain the historic building.Jenny...

By MARGAUX PAINE

As the world grapples with environmental challenges, the Fossil Free Zones initiative, championed by Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), takes inspiration from the transformative work at The Hitchcock Center for the Environment. The Center...

By STEVE PFARRER

AMHERST — Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center, began his 2004 memoir about his work, “Outwitting History,” with a memorable anecdote: how he’d taken a dead-of-night train from the Valley to Manhattan in 1980 and, with the...

By LAWRENCE WINSHIP

February in New England brings longer days, uncertain weather … and seed catalogs! We gardeners pour over highly anticipated pages of glossy photos offering the promise of gorgeous fruits and flowers, all for the small price of a seed packet.Seed...

By STEVE PFARRER

Since opening in the spring of 2022, The Drake has featured a wide range of music, from blues to rock to folk (and various combinations thereof), to jazz and more.“More” includes the Amherst club’s periodic forays into classical music, with concerts...

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — With the UMass hockey team awaiting an offensive zone faceoff while on the power play in overtime, UMass Lowell elected to take a timeout to talk over its defensive strategy for the biggest moment in the game.Minutemen defenseman Ryan Ufko...

The Amherst High School 4x800-meter boys relay team put a bow on its tremendous season at the MIAA Indoor Track Meet of Champions at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on Saturday.Nicolas Lisle, Kyle Yanko, Miguel Pinero-Jacome and David Pinero-Jacome...

By STEVE PFARRER

What a difference a year makes.Late last May, the Northampton Fire Department abruptly shut down virtually all music performances at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence, citing inadequate fire prevention measures at the venue.The move...