Arts & Life
Singular jazz duo comes to Amherst College: PVJS concert will showcase renowned improvisational trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith
By STEVE PFARRER
Over the years, Glenn Siegel has worked with a huge number of jazz musicians and composers, both as the founder of the former Magic Triangle concert series at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and with his Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares program.But...
Around & About: A fashion plate for a whole minute
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
Once when I was walking on a main drag in Toronto, I turned to the woman I was with and said, “The guys here dress differently than I do.” Without missing a beat, she said, “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. You’re equally out of fashion...
The different sides of James Baldwin: Mead Museum exhibit showcases writer’s artistic connections
By STEVE PFARRER
It’s mostly a lesser-known footnote to his career: From 1983 to 1986, James Baldwin was based at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was part of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies and taught students from across the...
A piece of the Oscar action: Three ARHS graduates have hands in Academy Award-nominated documentaries
By STEVE PFARRER
The Academy Awards are almost upon us, and with it comes the endless handicapping and speculation on who will win best actor and actress, who’s likely to be voted best director, and which film will score an Oscar for best picture of the year.But...
Book Bag: ‘Once We Were Home’ by Jennifer Rosner; two talks by writer and Native historian Margaret Bruchac
By STEVE PFARRER
Once We Were HomeBy Jennifer Rosner, Flatiron Books Northampton author Jennifer Rosner made a strong debut in 2020 with her first novel, “The Yellow Bird Sings,” a story set in Poland during World War II, in which a Jewish mother and daughter are...
The Beat Goes On: Kimaya Diggs launches new album in Amherst, hot blues in Florence and more
By STEVE PFARRER
The official start of spring is less than three weeks away, though it’s anyone’s guess when the weather will really warm up. But as if she’s anticipating that time, Kimaya Diggs has a new single out that could serve as a wonderful soundtrack for that...
Where authors take center stage: Amherst College’s Litfest returns this weekend with talks, reading, more
By STEVE PFARRER
February has its national landmarks: Presidents Day, the Super Bowl, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day.In the Valley, February also means it’s time for Amherst College’s LitFest.Now in its eighth year, the college’s literary festival brings acclaimed and...
Powerful ‘Dreams’: Pelham native’s film about a driven weightlifter turns heads at Sundance
By STEVE PFARRER
The idea first came to Elijah Bynum about four years ago when he was exercising in a California gym and noticed an ultra-serious bodybuilder, a guy who was “radiating intensity” as he went through his paces.“There was this really intense energy about...
The Beat Goes On: Seats hot for three-day Back Porch Festival; celebrated guitar pickers will hit Amherst and Northampton
By STEVE PFARRER
Though it’s still two weeks away, the Back Porch Festival is set to take up a lot of space in downtown Northampton, and some of the ticket options have already sold out, so it’s time to give a final preview of the annual roots music fest.The basics:...
Best Bites: BBQ fine in Deerfield, Amherst
‘Barbecue” means many different things to many different people. So does “BBQ.” So let’s get the first big question out of the way first: Is it barbecue or BBQ?Google Trends, the super-brain, says it’s BBQ. U.S. searches for both terms peak each year...
Get Growing: Mass Aggie Seed Library at UMass Amherst makes free seeds accessible to all
By MICKEY RATHBUN
It’s February. A few days ago, the temperature outside was an untoasty -10 degrees, weather that challenges the reaches of our imaginations to conjure images of newly planted vegetable seeds sprouting in our gardens. But it’s never too soon to start...
Voices of loss, grief and transformation: Illuminati Ensemble concert includes nod to local Black history
By STEVE PFARRER
David Ruggles and Frederick Douglass, two of the most notable Black men to come to Northampton in the first part of the 19th century, left behind a strong legacy as committed abolitionists, writers, and speakers. Ruggles also lived in Florence in the...
The romance of the rails: 22,000 flock to the annual Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield
By STEVE PFARRER
It’s no secret that the U.S. railroad system, which a century ago had the largest passenger service in the world, looks very different today.Though the nation’s freight system is still significant, passenger service has long since been eclipsed by...
Book Bag: ‘Sun on the Muddy’ by Jim Armenti; ‘Common Place’ by Thomas E. Johnson, Jr.; ‘The Adventures of Robo-Kid’ by Diane deGroat
By STEVE PFARRER
Sun on The MuddyPoems by Jim Armenti; photos by Dave Madeloni; edited by Dan Lombardo; Levellers PressJim Armenti is well known in these parts for the varied roles he’s had in the regional music scene. The multi-instrumentalist — guitar, bass,...
Amherst resident named winner in Mass Audubon photography contest for image of baby porcupine
By MADDIE FABIAN
AMHERST — Sometimes patience pays off — at least it certainly did for Amherst photographer Darya Zelentsova, whose image of a baby porcupine at the Quabbin Reservoir last summer recently won top honors from the Massachusetts Audubon Society.The...
Pictures of possibility: Exhibit by acclaimed illustrator Christian Robinson aims to help children explore the variety life offers
By STEVE PFARRER
Illustrator and children’s book author Christian Robinson calls his website “The Art of Fun,” and it seems an appropriate title. Robinson’s colorful and whimsical art — a mix of detailed collage, acrylic paint and colored pencil — transmits the sense...
Longtime Eric Carle Museum director Alexandra Kennedy stepping down this year
By STEVE PFARRER
AMHERST — After almost 15 years leading the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Executive Director Alexandra Kennedy plans to step down from her post this year.But Kennedy, known at the Carle as Alix, says she hopes to stay engaged with the museum...
Around and About with Richard McCarthy: Pondering my life’s habits
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
This past fall, I was bicycling in Hadley and I came up on a dead squirrel in the road. I got off my bike and used the instep of my foot to move the remains to the edge of a field on the side of the road. Two other cyclists approached me as I was...
Get Growing: The importance of talking to plants
By MICKEY RATHBUN
A few years ago I was having coffee with my two sisters-in-law at a family gathering in North Carolina. Both of them had recently built new houses and were quizzing me about how to create gardens in the bare dirt surrounding their homes. The question...
Best Bites 2022: A taste of the finest the Valley has to offer
By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN
With a new year of dining ahead, it’s time to boil down all of my last year’s recommendations into a cheat sheet that you can clip or print and stick on your fridge: the best of Best Bites. I’ve picked 40 amazing places to eat and drink in the area...
