Arts & Life
Chance Encounters with Bob Flaherty: Tobacco road — Harvest time at Hadley farm like a family reunion every day
By BOB FLAHERTY
HADLEY — There are TV shows with “friends” in the title and we all have enough Facebook friends to fill the Mullins Center, but the sort of companions who help you bring in the tobacco harvest on a hot weekend in August are the ones you want with you...
The story of Local Mojo: How one group of students is changing the UMass music scene
By PAIGE HANSON
During his sophomore year of college in November 2021, Charley Blacker wanted to start an organization that was unique and new to the University of Massachusetts Amherst community: a group dedicated to promoting local musicians through playlists,...
Prepare to be horrified: Greenfield Garden Cinemas to screen 25 films over five weeks for Stephen King Film Festival
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
In an effort to bring movie buffs from throughout the region into the city, the Garden Cinemas, and, subsequently, the Greenfield City Council, have declared the month of September “Stephen King Month.”From Aug. 30 to Oct. 4, Garden Cinemas will show...
From their table to yours: Taking inspiration from their mothers, friends open 3 Amigos in Amherst offering Caribbean-infused Mexican cuisine
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Inspired by meals their mothers prepared for them while growing up, the owners of a new restaurant in the Mill District in North Amherst are bringing Caribbean-infused Mexican cuisine to a wider community.“We have the best dishes from Puerto...
Let them run wild: Doc from Hadley-born filmmaker explores the lives of wild horses
By ADA DENENFELD KELLY
Growing up in Hadley, Steven Latham had a wild Chincoteague pony on his family farm, but it wasn’t until he learned about a veterans’ program pairing veterans with mustangs to train that he was inspired to create his documentary.“A couple friends told...
Fests to feel good attending: River Roads Festival, Sept. 7, and Arcadia Folk Festival, Aug. 23-24, center on environmental causes
By ALEXA LEWIS
Nature has served as an artistic muse for centuries, so it’s no surprise that music and environmental activism have historical connections.Two music festivals returning to Easthampton this summer embody the relationship between the natural and musical...
Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: You say tomato: A brief history of the fruit (or vegetable)
By MICKEY RATHBUN
It’s August and in my household that means one thing: local tomatoes. For much of the year, our grocery stores offer tomatoes tough enough to endure machine picking followed by days or weeks in cold storage. Even the more expensive, so-called...
‘The ice cream is just better here’: New Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail features many Hampshire County shops
By PAIGE HANSON
This summer, ice cream enthusiasts statewide can explore the newly established Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail, a self-guided tour of more than 100 ice cream shops in Massachusetts.Of the 100 locations statewide, seven of them are in Hampshire...
Musical experiences that must be seen: Amherst Cinema presents Sound & Vision series through Sept. 18
By SCOTT MERZBACH
A documentary profiling Swing-era clarinetist Artie Shaw, a musical comedy featuring 1960s-pop band The Monkees and one of African cinema’s first musicals are among this year’s selections in an annual summer celebration of music culture through film...
Earth Matters: Getting to the root of a weed: Who was Joe Pye, and is Joe Pye weed a cure for typhus or any other ailment?
By DAVID SPECTOR
In summer, many New England roads are lined with clouds of magenta flowers atop the tall stems of several species of Joe Pye weed, especially where the roads are bordered by damp ditches. Who was Joe Pye? A perusal of popular botanical sources reveals...
Something for everyone: UMass Fine Arts Center announces robust 2024-2025 season lineup
By PAIGE HANSON
The University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center’s 2024-2025 season includes quite a few notable offerings, including “a one-time Grateful Dead keyboardist, two of the greatest artists in world music, jazz celebrations of the lives and work of...
Key to a near-century of living? In new biography, Amherst resident Elsie Fetterman, 97, says it’s positivity
By SCOTT MERZBACH
By the time Elsie Fetterman attended the annual meeting of the American Home Economics Association in Detroit in 1964, where she was presented a distinguished community service award by then first lady Lady Bird Johnson, she was already raising four...
Scaling new heights: 8 from region compete in USA Climbing Youth Nationals in Utah
By ALEXA LEWIS
Towering structures dominate the interior of Central Rock Gym in Hadley, where climbers of all ages cling to colorful grips and swing themselves continuously upward in a display of fearlessness and strength.For eight of the gym’s young climbers, the...
Frontier Regional School student directs short film ‘Averted’
By CHRIS LARABEE
SUNDERLAND — As the middle of summer vacation approaches, most Frontier Regional School students are likely working, taking trips with friends and enjoying all their free time.For Connor Mabius, however, this break serves as a chance to sit in the...
Knitters’ paradise: Webs, ‘America’s Yarn Store’ and a mainstay for Valley crafters for generations, turns 50
By EMILEE KLEIN
When Webs opened their doors on May 16, the first day of the store’s annual tent sale, store manager Angela Cheek watched as a rush of people flowed through the doors for three whole continuous minutes on a Thursday morning. Within an hour, the...
Book Bag: ‘Pickett’s Dream’ by Christopher Carlisle; ‘Like Father, Like Son’ by Lesléa Newman; ‘Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook’ by Ilan Stavans & Margaret E. Boyle
By STEVE PFARRER
Pickett’s DreamBy Christopher CarlisleAustin Macauley PublishersChristopher Carlisle, at one time the Episcopal chaplain for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, later co-founded Cathedral in the Night, a Christian outdoor service and community in...
‘It’s not as hard as it looks’: Stompin’ Boots weekly line dances and classes rapidly growing in popularity
By ALEXA LEWIS
When Shellie Stone went to Nashville two years ago, she was intoxicated with the city’s quintessential culture of music and dancing, and immediately took to the dance floor. Stone, who had been line dancing for fun since attending her first class...
A trip down memory lane: A memory of visiting the Leverett Sawmill, in honor of the town 250th anniversary
By ALICE CARMICHAEL HARRIS
I fastened my helmet and threw my leg over the back of my boyfriend’s big BMW motorcycle. We had a perfect sunny day as we rode out of Amherst, past neat houses and farms, past acres of serene woodlands. It was July 4, 1974, and when Russ had read the...
Around and About with Richard McCarthy: Handling our devices: Or, are our devices handling us?
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
When I was a teenager, among the last things in the world I thought would render me uncool and out-of-it when I got older was technology. In fact, I don’t remember ever using, or even coming across the word “technology,” except my knowing MIT stood...
$1.4M coming to region for trail work in six communities
By SCOTT MERZBACH
NORTHAMPTON — More than $1.4 million in MassTrail state grants are heading to six communities in the region for projects ranging from an accessible trail system at the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course in Amherst to additional work on a sensory trail...
