Articles
by Advocate Staff | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, News
Too often, small town bucolic Hadley gets confused for what’s on Route 9. Yes, the congested commercial stretch is the town’s main artery, but not its heart. There’s a lot more going on in Hadley than waiting to get over the Coolidge Bridge at rush hour. Food Hadley...
by Will Meyer | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Leisure, Music, Newsletter
This Friday night, Sept. 23, there are at least six shows I want to attend. It wouldn’t be surprising if some touring band squeezes in a last-minute basement show. There are other bars and venues, too — Ben Folds is playing the Calvin, for one — and maybe a festival...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter
Canciones Criollas Thursday offers a festive evening of Latin food and music with Criollo Clasico Trio, one of the most eclectic Caribbean musical ensembles touring today. Sliding playfully between Latin, classical, Afro-Cuban, and jazz, the band — led by famed Puerto...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
Scent-sational The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival markets itself as “the festival that stinks.” So really, how could we resist? But even if sniffing and hefting around bags of aromatic bulbs isn’t your idea of a fun time, there’s still good reason to hike up...
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
I usually find Double Edge Theatre on their home turf — at The Farm in rural Ashfield — where they live and work and, every summer, perform a “traveling spectacle” that takes audiences on an episodic journey around the spread. But last week I encountered...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Play it Again, Sheldon John Sheldon has latched himself to so many meteoric musical acts, it’s a wonder that he hasn’t ascended beyond our earthly ears completely. Thankfully, he retains an intimate connection to the Valley, despite his years writing and playing for...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
The Other World War II Club In the years following the Allied victory in Europe, young artists came together seeking a creative space to begin again. The “Cobra” movement became that unique meeting point. Cobra artists were a diverse lot, but many shared an interest...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Good God, please vote in November. If you are not yet registered, and you’re a Massachusetts resident, you have until Oct. 19 to get your registry card at any Town Hall, Registry of Motor Vehicles, or government office that provides public assistance. You can also...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
“The mythology is hold your nose and vote for the lesser evil and things will get better. “Lesser evil” politicians have been speaking for us and they are bought and paid for by their corporate influences consisting of “predatory banks, the fossil fuel...
by Naila Moreira | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, Featured, News, Newsletter
I arrive at Book and Plow Farm to find production farmer Tobin Porter-Brown on a tractor, forking a pallet of canvas sacks off a pickup truck. He’s wearing a Book and Plow shirt, khaki shorts and thick boots that will later serve him in better stead than my sandals...
by From Our Readers | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Gratitude’s Nice, Affordable Healthcare is BetterThis past Grandparents Day some grandparents across our nation might get a telephone call or a note from a loved one. It is more important to focus on more crucial issues facing older Americans.Retirement and how to...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Editor’s Note: Sexual trauma addressed in this week’s column.Hi Yana,I really appreciate your column and the work that you do. I have a really embarrassing sex problem. I was sexually abused throughout various parts of my life, starting in my childhood and going into...
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
Thank you, Barrington Stage Company, for reviving this past summer’s hit play American Son. Thanks because I missed it in July and was glad of the opportunity to catch up with it during its brief return engagement. And thanks, too, because this run (through Sept. 25)...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter
Hot Diggity Could it be that the lingering heat wave of the past week was due to the potency of the peppers newly ripening at Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland? Probably not, but we hear these little devils are hotter than ever — and just in time for ChiliFest....
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter
Worm, Baby, Worm Smell that brisk fall air coming down from the mountains? It’s nearly fall, which marks the return of the Worm. Now in its 18th year, the Wormtown Music Festival hosts a weekend of music on the wooded grounds of Camp Kee-Wanee on the Green River....
by Peter Vancini | Sep 13, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Leisure, News, Newsletter
Call of the wild At the edge of a shady green grove in Hadley, light streams through the forest canopy in thin shafts. It speckles the grassy floor below, where three large birds of prey sit awkwardly, tethered with thin leather straps to their short wooden perches....
by Gary Carra | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter, Nightcrawler
Could you be… won’t you be… my neighbor? It’s an indelible marriage of image and song performed daily by Fred Rogers on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood as he shed his business casual attire and slipped into his favorite sweater and sneaks. He was an...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks
Rob Schneider at Hu Ke Lau • Thursday I saw Rob Schneider at the Hu Ke Lau a few years ago. I left feeling I had my fill of his weird comedic persona. Former SNL regular and a staple in pretty much every Adam Sandler movie known to man, he brings out the dumb giggles....
by Peter Vancini | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, News
On August 29, new Federal Aviation Administration rules governing the commercial use of small unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, took effect nationwide. Part 107, as it’s known, represents the inaugural effort by the FAA to regulate the commercial use of airspace by...
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 15, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
For the six members of the Northampton Playwrights Lab whose plays are having staged readings this weekend and next, the performances represent the first public airings of new scripts and newly revised older work. Some are brand new, having received feedback and...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
The American workforce is at a crossroads. Shaken to its foundation by the Great Recession, the economy is slowly rebuilding — and we’re making some seriously wrong moves. Over the last 30 years, the number of people in labor unions has decreased by half. U.S. CEOs...
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 14, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
If you’re like me, you studied William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis” in high school English class, and haven’t given it or its 19th-century author a thought since then. Well, I paid the man and his work a return visit the other day at his hillside homestead,...
by Chuck Shepherd | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
The upscale clothier Barneys New York recently introduced $585 “Distressed Superstar Sneakers” from the high-end brand Golden Goose that were purposely designed to look scuffed, well-worn and cobbled-together, as if they were shoes recovered from a...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot, Wellness
So, I was masturbating last night and set a timer. It took me under two minutes to orgasm. However, when someone else in involved, it takes forever or doesn’t happen at all. I can count the times it’s happened on two hands.Every time I masturbate it’s like...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Live Long This photo from the ’60s was so cute, we couldn’t not share it. It shows Adam Nimoy enjoying time with his dad, Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy. In 1966, his father originated the role of Mr. Spock, the human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise — a...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Hey Look, Holyoke! In his 46 years of photographing Holyoke, HCC art professor Frank Ward has expanded his initial vision of the downtown project from one portrait at a time to one street at a time. “I have seen that Holyoke offers a microcosm of the world,” he...
by Jack Brown | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
When your life seems fairly well set in its ways, change can be hard. Actually, change can be terrifying. You might have a family that you love and a job that you look forward to, and something can still seem not right. Accepting that — in other words, accepting our...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Newsletter
Tom Marinone Jr. grew up on Star Wars like you and I grew up on breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “I’ve been hooked ever since A New Hope came out,” he says. That was in 1977, when Marinone was six years old. Now he’s 45. When his midlife crisis came around, he knew one...
by Steve Pfarrer | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
MinyanBy John J. ClaytonParagon Housejohnjclayton.comJohn Clayton, professor emeritus of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has devoted much of his time in the last several years to writing short stories that have appeared in publications like...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 13, 2016 | Articles, Nerding Out, News, Newsletter
SCIENCE! It’s all around us, particularly in the Valley where members of the Knowledge Corridor continue to bang out some heady innovation. Check out what they’ve been up to lately: 14 Patents for UMass: In 2015, the state’s flagship university in Amherst received 14...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles
Museum Mind-Meld The Smithsonian Institution plays a huge role in making downtown Washington, D.C., so fun and educational for families, since its museums of Natural History, American History, Air and Space, American Art, and more are all free admission. To celebrate...
by Michael Agnello | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter
A new column by area students on the topics that matter to them most. Want in on this? Email editor Kristin Palpini at editor@valleyadvocate.com. A national flag is a symbol of a country’s history. In the United States, the 13 red and white stripes represent the...
by Warren Johnston | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Leisure, Newsletter, The Pour Man
When someone suggested that I try MAN Family Wines’ Chenin Blanc, my first reaction was that I don’t like sweet wines. Although Chenin Blanc grapes are often used to make excellent sweet wines in France and elsewhere, I was assured I’d find this South African offering...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Editorial Art Did you know Cinemadope columnist Jack Brown is also a talented illustrator? See his Trump campaign poster and more Brown art at jackjohnbrown.com. The Rich Get Richer If you ask enough people in our community if they’re able to sustain...
by Rob Breszney | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): What should you do if your allies get bogged down by excess caution or lazy procrastination? Here’s what I advise: Don’t confront them or berate them. Instead, cheerfully do what must be done without their help. And what action...
by Jennifer Levesque and Peter Vancini | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter
The Melvins occupy a strange space in the rock music landscape. They’re revered by fellow musicians and rock nerds as pioneers of the ’80s grunge rock scene, as original and weird today as they were 30 years ago, yet they fly largely under the radar of most...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Newsletter
We Kindly Stop For Emily If “poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing,” as the late, great James Tate once asserted, then we’ll never run low on good fodder for verse. What we do risk losing, from time to time, is our appreciation and respect for the eternal,...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter
Give Us The Funk The New Orleans jazz scene didn’t see Benny Jones coming. Back in 1977, he and members of the Tornado Brass Band created a new ensemble, called the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, with an eye to revolutionize old sounds. The music they played combined funk...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Newsletter
Full of Heart, Proud of Place The Connecticut Latino-American rights group CLARO and Hartford Capital City Pride celebrate their second annual PrideFest this weekend, which includes events in locations throughout Hartford. Although the main shindig is on Saturday...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Your Move, Pedestrians The longest-running arts festival in the Valley returns with 100 exhibitors, food vendors, and strolling musicians — all of it family-friendly and, when you stop to take a look up and down this beautiful Victorian street, really darn pretty....
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Diving Belles If The Legible Bod(ies) take a little while to come into their own, it won’t be from lack of ambition. The new Valley-based artist collective makes dance performances “for stage, film, screen, or anywhere people will sit still long enough to watch,” and...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Don’t Use Your WordsAaron Becker’s lush, cinematic illustrations aren’t just accompaniment for written stories — in his wordless Journey trilogy of children’s books, these images capture the details of setting, character, rhythm, and plot all at once. Becker, a native...
by Jack Brown | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
There’s a famous scene in Network, Sidney Lumet’s 1976 film about the state of the television industry, in which veteran newsman Howard Beale (Peter Finch), bitter about his impending dismissal in the face of declining ratings, announces to his audience that instead...
by Will Meyer | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter
Spotty Results I learned some shocking things about Spotify recently. The average employee rakes in $166,000 a year, and the highest executive compensation has increased over 300 percent since 2014, reaching as much as $18.9 million. Despite that, Spotify has never...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 7, 2016 | Articles, News
Facebook Here are some comments in response to an expert from “Between the Lines: In Defense of Safe Spaces,” we posted on our Facebook page with the quote: “It’s a blessing to be somewhere — even if it’s just for an hour — where women can talk about rape culture...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, News
With 75 percent of Western Massachusetts experiencing drought conditions, it’s beyond time to take water restriction and conservation seriously. As of press time, 16 Pioneer Valley communities are experiencing residential water use restrictions — the strictest being...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Thankfully, consent is becoming a big topic on college campuses. However, most conversations about consent overfocus on the damaging outcomes of the failure to ask for consent rather than engaging students in learning the benefits of ongoing conversations about...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 7, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Film, Food + Booze, Get Out With Staff Picks
Retrofaire 2016 Open Air Market • Saturday Fan of vintage fashion, jewelry, hard-to-find music gear, vinyl records and live jazz? The Northampton Arts Council presents the third annual RETROFAIRE, held in the space between Thornes Marketplace and the Northampton...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Between the Lines, Featured, News, Newsletter
On Aug. 21, before a month-long hiatus for HBO’s Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver spent five minutes highlighting the similarities between Donald Trump, a “racist voodoo doll made of discarded cat hair,” and the protagonist of a 1996 children’s book called The Kid...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
From six directions, cars attempt to drive through the intersection at Conz and Pleasant streets in Northampton. It’s 88 degrees and the dirt kicked up by heavy machinery sticks to sweat, giving everyone a dirty looking tan. The Route 5 entryway to Paradise City is...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Three Cheers for the Woo The local craft beer movement has taken off in every nook and cranny of Massachusetts, and Worcester is no exception. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since the city is the second largest in New England, and it sits along pretty much...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Newsletter
In the world of food, there is nothing more contentious than “traditional” Italian cooking — everyone with an ounce of olive oil in their veins thinks their family recipes are Old World classics. This is, in part, because Italian nonni rarely write down how to prepare...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Newsletter
FacebookHere are some comments in response to an expert from “Between the Lines: In Defense of Safe Spaces,” we posted on Facebook: “It’s a blessing to be somewhere — even if it’s just for an hour — where women can talk about rape culture without someone yelling about...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Two seven-year-old girls showed me three tricks I could use to avoid taking myself too seriously and getting too attached to my dignity. I’m offering these tricks to you just in time for the letting-go phase of your astrological cycle....
by Chuck Shepherd | Sep 6, 2016 | Articles, Featured, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
The recently concluded Olympics included a few of the more obscure athletic endeavors — such as dressage for horses and steeplechase for humans — but U.S. colleges compete in even less-heralded “sports,” such as wood chopping, rock climbing, fishing, and broomball....
by Hunter Styles | Aug 29, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Seth in the City Billy Flynn sings his smarmy way through Chicago with the promise of razzle dazzle. “Give ’em an act with lots of flash in it,” he croons, “and the reaction will be passionate.” The Seth Show, by contrast, pulls no theatrics. Seth Lepore is up...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 29, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Downtown Northampton’s biggest — and possibly last — public performing arts space is a real beauty: a 4,000 square foot, high-ceilinged room where local Freemasons used to hold community gatherings over a century ago. Completed in 1898, it takes up much of the fourth...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 30, 2016 | Articles, College Survival Guide, News, Newsletter
You’ve checked into your dorm and met your roommate, scoped out the campus and located the halls where you’ll have your first classes. It’s time to get off campus and explore this new place called the Pioneer Valley where you’ll likely be spending the next four years...
by Peter Vancini | Aug 29, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Newsletter, Wellness
A guide to summer cocktails from the garden It’s hard to imagine a better way to top off an afternoon in the garden than by settling into a lawn chair with a refreshing summer cocktail and admiring your work. Even better if you can actually harvest a few ingredients...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 29, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Food and Family, A Stone’s Throw Away Community is everything at the Stone Soul Festival in Springfield, a celebration that began in 1989 as a Mason Square neighborhood picnic. Since then, it’s evolved into a three-day event that its organizers claim is New England’s...
