Campus Causes!
College is the time in your life where you’re learning not just by hitting the books, but growing and learning to be part of a small community. But larger events in the world are still going on outside of campus, some that inspire hope and others that demand to be challenged. College students in Western Massachusetts rally behind many different causes, including reproductive rights, divesting from fossil fuels, ending a culture of...
The Futuristic Art of Christina Gusek
2050 and Beyond Christina Gusek is a futurist. She looks to what will be instead of what is. Her exhibit at Holyoke Hummus Company, Year 2050 and Beyond, is a vividly terrifying vision of people distorted with machines on a psychedelic event horizon. This exploration of people and our relationships with the increasingly advanced machines we rely on, is full of beauty and wit. The artwork is fluid and hypnotic. Gusek’s humor and smart...
Chicopee Downtown GetDown All Weekend
Chicopee’s Downtown GetDown The Downtown GetDown is funneling people in this weekend to check out all the cool stuff going on in The Pee. This year’s GetDown will feature a Bike Rodeo, an event usually for kids under age 13 that teaches them good ridership skills and provides a sweet cycling course on which to practice. Musical acts will include 2 Free Spirits, Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push, Sky Highway, Trailer Trash,...
The Button Lady: Wearing Dissent on Your Sleeve
Print artist Leni Fried is standing over a silk-screen printer flipping through a stack of stencils of peace signs and words such as “nasty,” “peace,” and “freedom,” but she’s looking for the stencil she uses most often these days: “RESIST.” Fried, a printmaker and co-founder of the Adams-based BagShare Project to reduce plastic shopping bag waste, has been putting the word on anything she can lately. It appears on T-shirts (including...
Missed Connections: ‘Your left leg is unique’
The Missed Connections forum on Craigslist is a wasteland of terrible poetry, dick pics, and whining, but among the detritus are some truly fascinating, funny, and occasionally sweet entries. The following are highlights from the Western Mass Missed Connections forum, sans detritus. Westfield Walmart – m4w (Westfield) I was behind you in line today talking with your beautiful baby with the blue eyes. You young thing ginger I...
Valley Roller Derby Superbowl SMACK DOWN Saturday
Don’t Disappoint Halle PAIN Yo; To the Derby We Must Go On Saturday what may be the most anticipated rematch of the roller derby season is going down in Wilbraham when the Western Mass Furies go head-to-head against the Hartford Wailers. Hailed as the “Superbowl” of roller derby, digital smack talk has been laid down: “How are you feeling?” asks Western Mass Roller Derby of the Hartford club. “Because we are ready to fight, skate,...
149th Cummington Festival TODAY through Sunday
A Fair-ly Long Run Celebrating its 149th year, the 2017 annual Cummington Fair will feature music, movement, agriculture, and competitions. Spanning four days, each date has a theme: Thursday is truck night, Friday is children’s night/cruise night, Saturday is agriculture day/demo night, and Sunday is old fashion fair day. Entertainers will include Kenya Acrobats, 4×4 truck pull, Moonshine Holler, Vic and Sticks Family Singers,...
What To See at Local Museums and Galleries: Aug. 24-30, 2017
Amherst Visitor’s Center: Pioneer Valley Perspectives II. Susan Dion will share art depicting local scenes in Western Mass. Portion of proceeds goes to Trustees of Reservations. Aug. 3-25. Free. 35 South Pleasant St., Amherst. sue1952us@yahoo.com. Anchor House of Artists: Kevin Bouricius — 50 Visions. Painter Bouricius (b. 1951) has developed his visionary oeuvre in relative obscurity since he began painting in 1968. Through Aug. 12....
Free Will Astrology: Sensitive Swashbuckler Sagittarius
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Welcome to Swami Moonflower’s Psychic Hygiene Hints. Ready for some mystical cleansing? Hint #1: To remove stains on your attitude, use a blend of Chardonnay wine, tears from a cathartic crying session, and dew collected before dawn. Hint #2: To eliminate glitches in your love life, polish your erogenous zones with pomegranate juice while you visualize the goddess kissing your cheek. #3: To get rid of...
Aug. 17-23, 2017 Crossword Puzzle Answers
Sorry about the mix up in this week’s Advocate, Aug. 17-23, 2017. Here are the answers to the crossword puzzle, if you’re looking for them. – Kristin Palpini, editor,...
FRIDAY Classic Rap With Masta Ace
Living hip-hop legend Masta Ace blends classic rap rhythms with modern beats and messages, and he’ll be performing in Greenfield this weekend. A major player on the underground hip-hop scene since the ‘90s. His most acclaimed release is Disposable Arts, a concept album about a kid at a satirical rap school, the School for the Disposable Arts. Since this time Ace has been touring on the East Coast and Europe, most recently he’s been...
SATURDAY: Boogaloo Bash is First in Free Concert Series Millpond.Live, Easthampton
The Millpond.Live Concert series is getting started in a big, booty-shakin’, celebratin’ kind of way this year by featuring a boogaloo bash. What’s boogaloo? A blend of mambo, doo-wop, R&B, and funk that was hot in the 1960s, but for some unthinkable reason (this music is jam-groovin-get-out-your-seat-fantastic!) fell out of favor with pop culture. No matter, there are still plenty of people playing those funkin’ rhythms. Featured...
Lady and the Amp Rocks SATURDAY
By Kristin Palpini Lady and the Amp Rock n’ roll isn’t a given; it’s born, nurtured, and cultivated into existence. And one of the best incubators of rock in the Valley is the Institute for Musical Arts. Now in its 30th year, the Goshen program to support girls in music and music-related businesses is celebrating its anniversary with a day-long festival full of performances by current students, faculty, and alumnae. Check out And the...
Out of this World Art in the Orchard Now Open in Easthampton
By Kristin Palpini Outside Art Amid the apple trees at Park Hill Orchard one of the surprises you will see is a towering silver spear shooting into the sky. We don’t know what any of the other art installations will be, so expect lots more artful surprises at the farm. This year marks the fourth Art in the Orchards walking sculpture trail at Park Hill. The self-guided tour is about a half mile long and features all new works....
Exhibits: See What’s Up at Area Museums and Galleries
Amherst Town Hall: Echoes of the Past — Photographs of Abandoned Places explores the beauty of decay and what’s been left behind. Through Sept. 4. Free. Amherst Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. (413) 222-4924. echoesofthepast2014@gmail.com. Amherst Visitor’s Center: Pioneer Valley Perspectives II. Susan Dion will share art depicting local scenes in Western Mass. Portion of proceeds goes to Trustees of Reservations. Aug. 3-25....
LISTEN Jack Dwyers’ Sessions Set: Blues, folk, n’ jazz
Click the image to hear Jack Dwyer’s style of jazz, folk, and blues in the spirit of Tin Pan...
Love, Hate, and Horniness With Sondheim’s ‘Company’!
Company, one of Stephen Sondheim’s early musicals, is a funny, relatable, and insightful look at marriage, divorce, and single life. The story follows Bobby, a single man on his 35th birthday, who is celebrating with his married friends — who are all in various states of love, hate, and horniness. The audience is treated to a series of vignettes featuring Bobby during visits with one of the couples or alone with a girlfriend....
Hey Boss, Is Being a Woman Holding Me Back?
I have a confession to make: I’ve always worried about being underpaid. This concern has been present whether working for a supportive company or fast food joints. Why? Because I’m a woman aware of the U.S. wage statistics that say there’s a good chance I am being paid less for my work than men in similar employment situations. On a national average, women earn 73 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to the Pew Research...
Look Up: FREE Westfield International Air Show All Weekend
Blown Away Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Superman? Better. It’s LOTS of planes. This Saturday and Sunday Barnes-Airport, the home of the 104th Fighter Wing in Westfield, is hosting its insanely popular international air show. There will be live I-can’t-believe-they-just-did-that! performances by the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds out of Las Vegas, the Acemaker T-33 (the U.S.A.’s first operational jet fighter), the Black Daggers U.S. Army...
Ballerinas in the Wild this Saturday in Brattleboro
Ballet and farming go together like fine art and craft beer — the combo isn’t typical, but it should be. On Saturday, Vermont’s Farm to Ballet troupe will perform at Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, an historic farm dating back to 1836 that has long shared a connection with the patients of Brattleboro Retreat. Each of the company’s seasonal performances take place at and tell the stories of various local farms. Instead on focusing on the...
On View: Exhibits at the area’s museums and galleries
Amherst Visitor’s Center: Pioneer Valley Perspectives II. Susan Dion will share art depicting local scenes in Western Mass. Portion of proceeds goes to Trustees of Reservations. Aug. 3-25. Free. 35 South Pleasant St., Amherst. sue1952us@yahoo.com. Anchor House of Artists: Kevin Bouricius — 50 Visions. Painter Bouricius (b. 1951) has developed his visionary oeuvre in relative obscurity since he began painting in 1968. Through Aug. 12....
LISTEN UP: Krunkelstiltskin plays that heavy rock with humor for you (SESSIONS VIDEO)
Go see it, go see it, go see it, here.
Ray Mason, the Valley’s Neil Young, Playing Aug. 3
Ray Mason, the Valley’s Neil Young If there’s a mic and some place for him to plug in his old Silvertone guitar, you’ve got a good chance of seeing Ray Mason. The tireless musician gigs up and down the Valley several times a week and for good reason — he’s awesome. Mason, who plays solo and with the Lonesome Brothers, is a talented storyteller and songwriter with a gift for infusing humor and honesty into his roots-style folk rock. Go...
WOOF: Westfield’s Ales for Tales Pub Crawl Friday
Ales for Tails Hoist a pint for man’s best friend Friday in downtown Westfield for the third annual Ales for Tails Pub Crawl. Organized by Susie Howard, the roaming pack of beer nuts are raising money for the Westfield Animal Shelter. Things get going at 6 p.m. at Skyline Trading Co. on Elm Street. Then it’s off to Two Rivers Burrito Co., The Maple Leaf (if you didn’t fill your belly with burritos already, The Leaf has excellent...
‘It Was Against the Law for Black and White Musicians to Play Together,’ Springfield Jazz & Roots Fest Seeks Justice
Music is never just some notes of a melody — it’s always something more, says legendary New Orleans jazz saxophonist Charles Neville. Neville, who grew up in New Orleans during the Jim Crow era, but now resides in Huntington with his wife and children, has seen music change America. “I remember when the first black cops were allowed on the police force and one of the things we all as young teenagers laughed at was the fact that they...
‘Hold These Truths’ Explores Japanese Internment During WWII
We (Sort Of) Hold These Truths When the U.S. ordered more than 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to relocate to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942, Gordon Hirabayashi refused to listen. The son of Japanese immigrants and a legal U.S. resident, Hirabayashi challenged the forced detention in the courts — and lost. “My citizenship didn’t protect me one bit,” Hirabayashi told The New York Times in...
Tom Wyatt Creates Metal Illusions
Metal Reflections “With bounced light, magic can happen. Curving or bending light and the resulting shapes and forms open a doorway for our subjective minds. Whimsical or mysterious possibilities abound,” says Tom Wyatt in his artist bio on the Salmon Falls Gallery website. Wyatt, of Warwick, is a photographer who experiments with angels and times of day to bring dramatic color and texture to his work. Tom Wyatt — Illusion and...
EXHIBITS: What’s On View at Museums and Galleries
Amherst Visitor’s Center: Pioneer Valley Perspectives II. Susan Dion will share art depicting local scenes in Western Mass. Portion of proceeds goes to Trustees of Reservations. Aug. 3-25. Free. 35 South Pleasant St., Amherst. sue1952us@yahoo.com. Anchor House of Artists: Kevin Bouricius — 50 Visions. Painter Bouricius (b. 1951) has developed his visionary oeuvre in relative obscurity since he began painting in 1968. Through...
The Buddy McEarns Band Playing Friday
Buddy McEarns Your Musical Respect Good time, blusey bar band Buddy McEarns rocks with driving, classical guitar riffs and just the tiniest dash of hippie jam. There’s something comforting about The Buddy McEarns Band, like looking at an old friend named nostaligia through beer goggles. Catch them once, or twice this weekend! The Buddy McEarns Band: Friday (with the full band), 6-9 p.m. Free. Luxe Burger Bar, 1200 W. Columbus...
Whatever Happened To … Dog Sees God Looks at Peanuts Characters as Teens
Charlie Brown Would Be So Emo If you’ve ever wondered what happened to Good ‘ol Chuck, from the Peanuts comics, Gateway City Arts can fill you in; A week-long run of Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead begins Friday. Satirizing the Peanuts, the play imagines the characters as teenagers dealing with an existential crisis — so, in a lot of ways, it’s similar to the strip. The play gets...
The Original Game of Thrones: Queen Margaret Takes Center Stage in Springfield/Turners
Queen Margaret, Historical Bad-Ass Before there was Game of Thrones and Cersei, there was the War of the Roses and Queen Margaret of Anjou. In fact, many people believe the hit HBO show was based on the War of the Roses, a 30-year war (of which Margaret was a key player) fought between enemy houses — the Yorks and the Lancasters — for control of the English throne. Margaret was queen of England for 17 nonconsecutive years. She led the...
Western Mass Missed Connections — 1st dates SUCK
The Missed Connections forum on Craigslist is a wasteland of terrible poetry, dick pics, and whining, but among the detritus are some truly fascinating, funny, and occasionally sweet entries. The following are highlights from the Western Mass Missed Connections forum, sans detritus. 1st dates SUCK — m4w (eastside grill) Yeah, I texted you too soon after it ended. I seemed desperate probably. Whatever. I just thought you were cool and...
O, Cannabis: Getting Into The Weeds On Massachusetts’ Pot Bill
We’re no Nevada, but last week Massachusetts took two rippin’ steps toward weed legalization and protection in the state. First the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a business cannot fire an employee for being a medical marijuana patient — a decision that is causing headaches in HR offices around the state who claim it will be difficult to maintain drug-free workplaces. Then the Legislature passed a compromise bill on...
Go See: Natural Fibers and Uncommon Weaves wtih Leonore Alaniz at Leverett Crafts and Arts
Natural Fibers and Uncommon Weaves Cloth may seem like something you can find in nature, something that just is; but people do have to make it. And creating cloth by hand is becoming a lost art. See why textiles are glorious at The Crafted Cloth, an exhibit of contemporary cloth by indigenous weavers from Africa, Peru, Guatemala, India, New England, and featuring local fiberista Leonore Alaniz. There will be textiles and items there...
Can Western Mass Support Farm-To-Table For Everyone?
Nathan pulls his mother by the hand through the Springfield downtown farmers market stopping at none of the booths she wants to visit: the cookie stand, the hand-made jewlery display, the gourmet chips, and honey. The 2-year-old loves the farmers market, his mother Emily Riehl says, but she wishes he would gravitate toward more of the farm than the market. Lured by the musicians who often play the Friday afternoon market, Riehl, 20,...