Arts
Hitting the ceramic circuit: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail turns 20 years old, April 27-28
By STEVE PFARRER
A lot can change in 20 years: Presidents and other politicians come and go, new cultural fads and technologies emerge, clothing styles morph, and music and movies take on different dimensions.In these parts, one tradition hasn’t changed. Since 2005,...
Best Bites: A familiar feast: The Passover Seder traditions and tastes my family holds dear
By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN
Passover has always been my favorite Jewish holiday. The Passover Seder my parents host annually in my childhood house in Northampton has been the most festive and joyous meal of the year for as long as I can remember.My dad’s childhood Seders were...
Valley Bounty: Your soil will thank you: As garden season gets underway, Whately farm provides ‘black gold’ to many
By JACOB NELSON
“Compost is not soil, but it makes your soil better,” says Mike Mahar, owner of Bear Path Compost in Whately. “It adds life to it. If you’re going to take something out of the soil by harvesting, you should put something back in, and compost is...
Painting a more complete picture: ‘Unnamed Figures’ highlights Black presence and absence in early American history
By CHRIS LARABEE
In partnership with the American Folk Art Museum, Historic Deerfield is presenting an exhibition on the unexplored histories of Black people in early America.“Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North” explores Black...
Earth Matters: From Big Sits to Birdathons: Birding competitions far and near
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,...
Sounds Local: Spring is singer-songwriter season: A host of local performers celebrate new work
By SHERYL HUNTER
We are fortunate to live in an area where we can experience all types of music, and when it comes to singer-songwriters, we are fortunate to have so many talented ones living among us. Any given weekend, you can head out to one of the local breweries...
Crunch time for matzo: An easy-to-make sweet treat that’s Passover Seder-friendly
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Passover begins this coming Monday night. This eight-day holiday means many things to many people: the survival of the Jewish people in the book of Exodus, the overall history of Judaism, and even the last supper of Jesus.This year Easter came more...
Spotlight on women in classical music: Brick Church Music Series’s season comes to a close, April 28-29, with Champlain Trio
By CHRIS LARABEE
Join the First Church of Deerfield for two days of classical music, as the Brick Church Music Series’ 2023-2024 season comes to a close on April 28 and 29.The two-part event begins on Sunday, April 28, at 3 p.m. at the First Church of Deerfield, 71...
Ready for their close-up: Pothole Pictures announces a season of curated film screenings, live music and $1 popcorn
By DIANE BRONCACCIO
It’s showtime again for Pothole Pictures, a community-based movie series that showcases classic movies, live local music, occasional interviews with relevant film-makers, and sells popcorn that’s still only $1.Named for Shelburne Falls’s Glacial...
You’re up next: Western Mass open mic scene heats up post-pandemic
By STEVE PFARRER
Not so long ago, there was a general lament sometimes heard among Valley musicians: “There aren’t enough places to play around here.”That might have been true for professional players who wanted to be paid — and maybe, despite the opening of new local...
Sounds Local: Fun for the whole family: Meltdown, a book and music fest for kids, returns to Greenfield this Saturday
By SHERYL HUNTER
If you are looking for some family fun this weekend that includes award-winning authors, arts and crafts, games, puppetry, circus performers and lots of music, then head to The River’s annual Meltdown, a book and music festival for kids that will take...
A varied and appealing ‘American Table’: New book from the Smithsonian looks at American history through the lens of food
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Food connects Americans to each other and to our history. Those connections were highlighted in a recent book and a library talk. The book is “Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People and Innovations That Feed Us,” (Harvest) by Lisa Kingsley in...
The family that builds together: Bernardston’s Van Natta family are DIY superstars
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
The Van Natta family home on Parmenter Road was the second house built in Bernardston, and walking through their 1747 residence imparts a feeling of time travel, given centuries-old aspects as well as evidence of dozens of changes over many decades....
Speaking of Nature: Molting for amore: Spring has arrived and male goldfinches are starting to molt into their nuptial plumage
By BILL DANIELSON
It just so happens that I am a creature of habit and I always write my column on a Thursday. On this particular morning I find myself luxuriating in an unexpected, but most welcome, deviation from my normal routine. A huge winter storm has arrived and...
For all the bragging rights (and one trophy): The winners of this year’s Valley Voices story slams head to a final competition
By STEVE PFARRER
The assignment is pretty straightforward: tell a concise story about your life, in no more than five minutes, that reflects a certain theme.The challenge is in telling that story with enough heart, spirit, verve, humor or whatever else you can conjure...
More than man’s best friend: Emotional support dog brings priceless comfort to Greenfield teen with PTSD
By DIANE BRONCACCIO
Zeal, a soulful-eyed chocolate lab, may well be “man’s best friend” to 15-year-old Rain Sanborn. But if all goes well, Zeal will also be a great comfort to the boy who suffered through years of trauma and anxiety brought on by a near-fatal ski...
A workplace from hell: Amherst filmmaker Matt Heron-Duranti is part of the team behind independent film “Another Day in America”
By STEVE PFARRER
There’s been a lot written about the problems that have plagued many American workplaces in the wake of the pandemic, from employees insisting on continuing to work at home to offices that have mirrored the polarization and social conflicts plaguing...
Let’s Talk Relationships: Talk to me like you love me: How to use words to love your partner better
By AMY NEWSHORE
As time goes by in a relationship, and partners get to know each other more, there will be inevitable hurts, disappointments and upsets. This is what happens when we share our life with another human being. We each come from our own backgrounds,...
Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: What good is an herbarium? Herbariums, like Emily Dickinson’s, are an essential resource for scientists
By MICKEY RATHBUN
The word “herbarium” sounds a bit quaint, even antiquated. We may think of Emily Dickinson’s herbarium, which she created during her year at Mount Holyoke in 1847-48. Although she had begun studying plants at age 9 and was helping her mother in the...
Faith Matters: ‘A place where there is no man’: A call to realize that we are the ones we have been waiting for
By JASPER LAPIENSKI
“In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man.” (Avot 2:6)If you take just the second half of this statement, it sounds uncomfortably familiar: Be a man. We hear that a lot these days. Real men don’t cry; be a man. Shoulder the burden. Do your...
