Arts & Life
Classical at the club: Series at The Drake makes new room for chamber music
By CAROLYN BROWN
Most people don’t see local bars as venues for classical music, but a concert series at The Drake in Amherst is helping redefine and expand where classical music belongs.
Franklin County YMCA water fitness class all in on cheeky calendar
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
A rollicking group of women who bonded through a class at Franklin County’s YMCA in Greenfield have produced a calendar for 2025 that celebrates beautiful humans in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Let’s meet some water nymphs who could grace your wall if you get your hands on one of these fabulous calendars.
Arts Briefs: Bach and rock in Northampton, cumbia in Amherst, and more
Hear the heir to cumbiaThe Drake in Amherst will kick off its 2025 programming with an exciting show on Jan. 9, presenting cumbia accordionist Yeison Landero.Landero grew up in Colombia, immersed in cumbia music; his grandfather, Andrés Landero, was a...
Reading roundup: Steve Pfarrer’s favorite books of 2024
By STEVE PFARRER
During my last several years as the Gazette’s arts and features writer, I compiled a list of my favorite books of the year each December, given that newspapers all do that best-of-the-year thing and I thought it would be fun to get on board...
50 years of ‘Free to Be’: New exhibition at Eric Carle Museum celebrates thinking beyond gender stereotypes
By CAROLYN BROWN
The album “Free to Be… You and Me,” released by Marlo Thomas in 1972, inspired a generation to think beyond gender stereotypes. Now, the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst is celebrating the “Free to Be...” project’s lasting legacy and impact in a new...
Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: A garden in winter need not be dreary: Plants that will enliven your garden in winter
By MICKEY RATHBUN
It’s not unusual these cold gray days to despair over the appearance of our gardens. It wasn’t so long ago that late-blooming asters and brilliant foliage punctuated the landscape. Now that I’m leaving garden cleanup until spring to help feed and...
Giving the gift of Christmases past: Deerfield children’s letters to Santa resurface after decades
By CHRIS LARABEE
From 1952 to 2008, children in Deerfield had an opportunity to write letters to Santa Claus and, after some time, a letter from the big man himself would be sent back to the child.Now, decades later after many of the letters were likely forgotten, a...
Only Human: Why I’m a full-on Swiftie
By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA
Taylor Swift’s song “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” has turned me into a full-on Swiftie. Yes, you read that right: This 60-something widow is now belting out lyrics about pain and power with a vigor that could rival any teenage girl wrapped in...
Play in a gamer’s paradise: A plethora of classic video games, mini-golf and tournaments bring community to Prodigy in Easthampton
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
Tucked behind the large former factory building that makes up the Eastworks retail complex lies the entrance to Prodigy, signs indicating that only those ages 13 and up may enter, with those under 17 requiring adult supervision. After going through...
Around and About with Richard McCarthy: A small act of great love: A story of strollers and waiting rooms
By RICHARD MCCARTHY
Recently I had an appointment with my primary care provider, and after checking in with the receptionist, I looked to find a seat in the waiting room.One of the only seats available was perpendicular to a young woman with a child about 5 or 6 months...
‘The magic that existed back then’: Academy of Music to screen time capsule film of New Year’s Eve 1984 concert at The Rusty Nail
By CAROLYN BROWN
It’s been 40 years since the band NRBQ played at Sunderland’s The Rusty Nail on New Year’s Eve, but a devoted fan and friend of the band kept the night alive with his concert footage. Later this month, the Academy of Music will screen that footage,...
Drum roll, please: Longtime UMass percussion instructor Thom Hannum inducted into Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame
By CAROLYN BROWN
Thousands of University of Massachusetts Amherst students have learned from percussion instructor Thom Hannum, whose 40-year career at the college included a tenure as the assistant director, then associate director, of the Minuteman Marching Band...
Humanity amid horrors: In her new novel, Granby author Thérèse Soukar Chehade examines the corrosive impact of the Lebanese Civil War on a number of Beirut families
By STEVE PFARRER
War has been a regular horror in Lebanon for nearly half a century, flaring most recently this fall with Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon in attacks against the Iranian-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah, a spillover in turn from the brutal,...
Tradition lives on: Silent auction features historical cakes as part of senior class fundraiser at ARHS
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A graffiti-covered section of the Berlin Wall sits side by side with the Taj Mahal and the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Vault of Heaven, and nearby is a large rat representing its role in the Great Plague.They are among sites and events from...
Valley Bounty: ‘If you need something, come on over’: Hillside Farm’s selection is just about as fresh as you can get
By JACOB NELSON
In South Deerfield, the North Main Street bridge over the railroad tracks has been closed for repairs since May. “I was joking that we’re probably the only ones on this street happy about the detour,” Kelly Kicza says with a laugh.That’s because cars...
‘I’ve become Darlene’: Northampton author’s new book tells the story of a child who survived Belchertown State School
By CAROLYN BROWN
Decades ago, it was common for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be kept in inhumane conditions inside horrific institutions. With the release of his new book, “Becoming Darlene: The Story of Belchertown Patient #4952,”...
‘An oasis in the midst of a shopping center’: Resonance Hot Yoga and Massage offers serenity and relaxation for all
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Outside a new yoga studio, massage therapy center and meditation space is a busy parking lot, with people bustling into neighboring stores and restaurants to buy groceries, pick up prescriptions or get a meal.Within the confines of Resonance Hot Yoga...
Marriage intentions, Amherst
Marriage intentions received at Amherst town clerk’s office.Bartlett Marr Stoodley Doty, 42, e-commerce, Florence, and Johanna Frances Hoogendyk, 36, university lecturer, Florence.Christopher Wesley Byler, 37, family support counselor, Holyoke, and...
Valley Bounty: Benefit cuts threaten farm’s livelihood
By JACOB NELSON
Jared Duval built his farm around Massachusetts’ innovative Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). Since 2017, HIP has helped tens of thousands of lower-income households buy fresh produce grown by local farmers. By most accounts, it’s been a wild success,...
Collectors’ paradise: Northampton Antiquarian Book, Ephemera, and Book Arts Fair returns this weekend
Staff Report
Collectors and fans of rare books and the book arts will find good company at an upcoming book fair in Northampton.The eighth Northampton Antiquarian Book, Ephemera, and Book Arts Fair (also known simply as the Northampton Book Fair) will be at 33...
