Arts & Life
Around and About: Everything that needed to be said
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
A friend of mine had a terminal illness, and I went to visit him at a medical facility. Perhaps that is a dark sentence to begin a story, not brimming with enticement, but it’s a real one.On the way over to see him I felt like you do when life serves...
The Beat Goes On: Boston bluegrass in Amherst, a rap and hip-hop festival in Hadley, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
It’s a long way from Boston to the Appalachians, but you wouldn’t know it for the number of top bluegrass players and string bands that seem to come out of The Hub.Consider Molly Tuttle, for instance, the award-winning guitar picker who studied at...
Bach is back, and live: UMass Bach Festival & Symposium returns in-person for first time since 2019
By STEVE PFARRER
April in Amherst in an odd-numbered year: It must be time for the Bach Festival & Symposium at the University of Massachusetts.The biennial event, begun in 2015, offers a wide range of J.S. Bach’s music, from solo performances to expansive pieces with...
David and Goliath battle: Acclaimed documentary by Northampton filmmaker tells of Jewish partisans in WWII
By STEVE PFARRER
‘Labor of love” might be a cliche. But when it comes to her new film, “Four Winters: A Story of Jewish Partisan Resistance and Bravery During WWII,” Julia Mintz says the expression is very much appropriate.Mintz, a documentary filmmaker who splits her...
Book Bag: ‘America Challenged’ by Rosalie Pedalino Porter; ‘The Masters of Medicine’ by Dr. Andrew Lam
By STEVE PFARRER
America Challenged: The NewPolitics of Race, Education and CultureBy Rosalie Pedalino Porter; Hamilton Books Amherst resident Rosalie Porter, who earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and later taught and...
Art exhibits spring forth: What’s on view at selected local galleries
By STEVE PFARRER
Spring is here — or at least the calendar says it is. And as the weather (hopefully) warms, there’s more incentive to get outside and check out what’s on view at local art galleries. Here’s a look at some selected shows this month. PULP Gallery,...
A relic returned: Broken cold case brings French and Indian War powder horn back to Belchertown museum
By SCOTT MERZBACH
BELCHERTOWN — In the summer of 1971, Michael Corbett, a visitor to the Stone House Museum, arriving with his girlfriend, signed the guestbook and toured the historic building at a time when it still housed three antique powder horns, including one...
The Beat Goes On: Early Baroque music and instrumental guitar in Florence, an a cappella fundraiser in Amherst, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
Day-night doubleheaders have been the standard for Major League Baseball for some time now: the same two teams facing off in two games played before successive crowds.This weekend the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence is offering its own...
Short stories from a long road: James McMurtry delivers a standout show at The Drake
By STEVE PFARRER
He’s been hailed as one of the best songwriters around, a troubadour of small-town America and the hardscrabble lives of its citizens.But James McMurtry has always taken a low-key approach to his music, and he did it again last week when he played a...
A transformative experience: In his new graphic memoir, Jarrett Krosoczka looks back on the life lessons he learned as a camp counselor
By STEVE PFARRER
Five years ago, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, already an acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator, took his career to the next level with “Hey, Kiddo,” a graphic novel/memoir in which he shared poignant and often painful details from his childhood and...
Funding for nature trail next to Leverett sawmill advances to TM
By SCOTT MERZBACH
LEVERETT — Funding for a new nature trail and park associated with the historic North Leverett Sawmill will be decided at annual Town Meeting this spring, but no money will yet go toward a rehabilitation planning grant for the 200-year-old Moore’s...
Book Bag: ‘High Bridge’ by Michael Miller; ‘Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine’ by Hannah Moushabeck
By STEVE PFARRER
High BridgeBy Michael Miller; Köehler Books Fayetteville, New York is not exactly a well-known locale. But in the mid-19th century, this village outside Syracuse was home to two people who would later make significant marks in U.S. history: President...
Two roads converge: Academic and musician Florence Dore mines connections between her passions
By STEVE PFARRER
Who says you can’t merge a Ph.D. and rock and roll? As Florence Dore explains, she spent a long time traveling on seemingly disparate tracks. On one hand she was the professor who’d devoted years to studying American literature and teaching...
Book Bag: ‘Writing the Land: Windbown I,’ edited by Lis McLouglin; coming book launches at Odyssey Bookshop
By STEVE PFARRER
Writing the Land: Windblown IEdited by Lis McLoughlin; NatureCulture LLC The beauty of nature has inspired countless writers and other artists for time immemorial. That beauty has also inspired any number of people to try to preserve the natural world...
A burst of spring at the Fine Arts Center: Dance, music and acrobatics on tap at UMass in next two weeks
By STEVE PFARRER
The Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts has continued to rebound from the pandemic with an expanded program this year featuring a range of shows in music, dance, theater and movement.As spring officially arrives, the schedule is...
Crossing the border with performance art: Documentary by Amherst native Amber Bemak profiles the Mexican-Chicano artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña
By STEVE PFARRER
When she was an undergraduate at Antioch College, Amber Bemak studied film before moving on to get an MFA in film, video and new media from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.But Bemak, 45, who grew up in Amherst and now teaches film and media...
Get Growing: Symposiums back to stir gardening anticipation
By MICKEY RATHBUN
One of the many casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic was the series of annual spring gardening symposiums hosted by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association (WMMGA). These popular events helped gardeners of all abilities expand their...
A ‘colleen’ remembers Saint Patrick’s Day
By Tinky Weisblat
Barbara Ann Veal of Sunderland has nothing but happy memories of Saint Patrick’s Day. They come from two different times in her life.One of those times was her childhood. Her Swedish-American father loved to bake Irish soda bread. Despite his ethnic...
The Beat Goes On: Lots o’ Celtic music over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, blues and soul in Florence, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
Unless you’re planning to drink yourself into a stupor with a borg (blackout rage gallon) or some other kind of booze preparation, you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day weekend by listening to any number of Celtic groups that will be playing in the...
A bright splash of color: Carle Museum tries on special glasses for visitors with vision issue
By STEVE PFARRER
For Will Schneider, putting on this pair of glasses opened up his vision to a depth of color he wouldn’t ordinarily see.“The blue is so much more textured,” said Schneider as he peered at an illustration at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art....
