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Spring Arts Preview 2020
Spring is in the air. Sort of. In some ways, after a snowy start, it has felt that winter didn’t come at all. But with clocks about to change to Daylight Savings (on Sunday, March 8!) it’s time to come out of our shells and check out a good show or museum. Here is an...
Cinemadope: Toon in — animation for the late-night crowd
In the run-up to the Oscars a few weeks ago, you might have seen a flurry of activity from local theaters as they featured the yearly roundup of animated short films that were vying for the golden statuette. It’s always a treat to see that collection of film on the...
Clueless Parent: Another one on the way
For the past three-plus years, I’ve been the parent of an amazing child. In a couple months time, I will be a parent of two. A friend who has two children recently told me that it would be impossible to describe to me the amount of work that will go into parenting...
Stagestruck: Facts & Fancies
In these fake-news days, when fiction rules the cybersphere and truth is called a lie (and vice versa), the lifespan of a fact can be the length of a tweet (if it’s not stillborn). The play now running at TheaterWorks in Hartford (through March 8) can’t help but be...
Podcast: Chris Goudreau on the end of free recycling in Western Mass
Since China has stopped accepting much of the United States’ recycling, many communities have had to pay to have their recyclables hauled away. Western Mass has been spared that up to now, but beginning July 1 that will change. Writer Chris Goudreau speaks about...
The V-Spot: How to break the habit of not having sex
Hi Yana, My partner and I get into the habit of not having sex. We have a bunch of kids, full-time jobs, and all of that. It causes emotional tension to build and then we use that as an excuse to not sexually connect. We fall into a very platonic state. However, I’m...
Stagestruck: Peter Pan, Meet Lizzie Borden
Two of the shows coming up on three Five College stages this week and next are family-friendly journeys into Neverland’s backstory. The other is a rock musical about a sensational axe murder. First up is Finding Neverland, the musical based on the 2004 film. It was...
Black Pyramid on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is Black Pyramid, a psychedelic war metal band with doom and stoner metal influences. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Black Pyramid:
Monte Belmonte Wines: (Gently) trashing California wine
In my last column, I mentioned how my main motivations for writing this column are to justify my habit and to get free wine, and how I’ve succeeded on both counts. I also wrote about some rather good wines that just miraculously showed up on my doorstep, as if...
Staff Picks: Wet’suwet’en Nation fundraiser, Wishbone Zoë, Shelter Me: In Times of Need, and a Sherlock Holmes mystery
Fundraiser for The Wet’suwet’en Nation at Majestic Saloon // FRIDAY The Majestic Saloon and Lupinewood, a trans sanctuary in Greenfield, are holding a fundraiser for the Wet’suwet’en Nation, an indigenous group in the British Columbia region. The Wet’suwet’en Nation...
Free recycling in Western Mass is about to end: What people are doing about it at the local and state level
For three years, since China instituted stricter purity standards in the recyclable materials they accept, a single piece of paper has shielded most Western Mass communities from the higher price of recycling experienced in much of the country: a multi-year contract...
Editorial: It really is time to abolish ICE
Tactical forces are descending upon Massachusetts. What is the existential threat that brought this about? A hunt for the undocumented among us. WBUR reported last week that “SWAT-like immigration officers” are in Boston, and possibly will be coming to other parts of...
Bizarro Briefs: The Bite of a Yogi
The Bite of a Yogi A 46-year-old Maryland woman is charged in court with second-degree assault after she allegedly bit a man’s neck for peeing on her yoga mat in late January. The story appeared in the Baltimore Sun last week. Although there are still details to come...
Valley Show Girl: ‘Soulfly! … Fly High! … Soulfly! … Fly Free!’
Arizona-based metal band Soulfly are coming back to our local music scene here in the Valley on their latest tour. They were here in 2014 when they played to a complete packed house at Maximum Capacity in Chicopee. The same venue under a different name, Poor Richards,...
Stagestruck: The Shape of Silence
In 1981, Ota Shogo had a vision: “A broken faucet center stage. A thin line of water from the spout. The sound of water. A variety of people come by, approach, touch the water, and pass on. In this composition, silence breathes as living human time, not as form.” From...
The V-Spot: We’re BOTH Healing From Trauma
Writer’s note: In this week’s column, we talk about childhood sexual abuse. Hi Yana, I’m a childhood sexual abuse survivor and I worked really hard to put my mental and emotional well-being back in order. I met my husband during the initial stages of my healing and he...
Sister Jawbone on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions band is gospel-tinged vintage soul and bluesy rock group Sister Jawbone. Check out the band’s performance in the video below. Interview with Sister Jawbone:
Staff Picks: Hawthorn, KidsBestFest, Ruth Garbus, and a staged Smith play reading
Shea Lobby Series Presents: Sweet Lightning, Wallace Field, and Hawthorn // SUNDAY Boston-based duo Hawthorn, made up by Heather Scott and Taylor Holland, blend their voices expertly in arrangements that tackle themes of maternity, divorce, parenting, and healing from...
Stagestruck: Filling in the Blank
Brian Stanton, an aspiring actor, is doing a class exercise based on Oedipus Rex, and he freezes. The story of the Greek king who’s tragically ignorant of his real parents strikes too close to home. Brian, like Oedipus, was adopted, and like Oedipus he’s both eager...
Endorsement: Bernie Sanders for President
Democrats, and truly all Americans outside of the president’s devoted base, have now been spending years trying to think up who best to challenge Trump to vote him out of office. The editorial staff at the Valley Advocate is unanimous. Our choice is Vermont Senator...
Beerhunter: Vanished Valley opens new taproom and kitchen in Ludlow
For better or worse, craft beer fans tend to think like tourists, with an eager eye toward the next brewery opening and a fondness for day-long taproom treks. I can understand the excitement, given how quickly the American craft beer map continues to grow. As I noted...
Bizarro Briefs: You’ve Got (lots of) Mail
You’ve Got (lots of) Mail In what we can only imagine was a scene reminiscent of Harry Potter’s acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a couple from Ohio received 55,000 identical letters. But the contents of those letters — and the reason there...
Cinemadope: Screen Time
I still remember that day, bright with promise, just after the new year had dawned, when my children finally had to go to school again. Don’t get me wrong, I love the little scamps more than I’ve ever loved anything on this earth, but two weeks of holidays, sugar, and...
Some Advocate Accolades: Staff wins 4 NENPA awards at this year’s newspaper conference
The Advocate took home four awards at this year’s New England Better Newspaper Competition, including a first place award for a front page design by Jennifer Levesque. The winning design of the March 28 Valley Advocate earlier this year featured the cover story...
The V-Spot: Can I open up my relationship to date my ex?
Hi Yana, I’m currently one year and six months deep into a heterosexual relationship with my boyfriend. I’ve long regretted not asking for an open relationship from the beginning. I’m bisexual and I’ve always been in monogamous relationships. For the past two to three...
Stagestruck: Stand Tall, Mi Gente!
The name of the Performance Project’s youth program, First Generation, comes from its entrance requirement. All the participants identify as being a “first” in their family – the first to grow up in this country, to graduate high school or go to college, to be...
Caylin Lee on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions artist is Caylin Lee, a singer-songwriter who writes modern country with slice of life pop wisdom. Check out her Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Caylin Lee:
Letters to the Editor: Are we there yet?
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we now living under the rule of an authoritarian style government? Do we have a supreme leader who rules as a dictator want-to-be? Has our government become subject to fascism? Have we sacrificed freedom for a...
Bizarro Briefs: A Drug Lord’s Zoo
A Drug Lord’s Zoo There likely wouldn’t be hippopotamuses living in Columbia if it weren’t for Pablo Escobar. After his death in 1993, the drug lord’s abandoned zoo was dismantled, and while African animals such as rhinos and giraffes were given new homes, there...
Staff Picks: Eleanor Levine, Left Hand Backwards, Hellen Fremont, and a movement workshop for tired activists
Left Hand Backwards, Lobotomobile, The Freqs, and Sciencefight at 13th Floor Music Lounge // SATURDAY Palmer-based punk and metal group Left Hand Backwards celebrates its 10th anniversary as a band this Saturday in Florence at the 13th Floor Music Lounge. Joining them...
Cinemadope: Torch Song
Waiting is hard. Some of us skip ahead in our books, others sneak a peek at a bride before the ceremony. Some of us roar past a minivan going a perfectly reasonable 70 mph on 91 South — I’m looking at you, white Honda Civic. There’s just something about getting an...
Valley Show Girl: Sister Act
“There are stars, there is music, but where are you? I am calling you home tonight.” The beginning lyrics to opening track “Come On Home” from the latest release from Americana duo Ari & Mia welcomes you into their album as if it’s an intimate dinner party, with...
Reading for a cause: Valley Eye Radio volunteers read news for those who can’t read it themselves
A little over a decade ago, David Manning, 81, retired from Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Northampton, where he worked for 45 years as a teacher and administrator. In retirement, with additional time on his hands, Manning dove headlong into the many...
Former Club Castaway manager says she quit following dispute over queer performers
Bella Vendetta, who worked for Whately’s Club Castaway and planned to move forward with a line-up of queer and trans performers, said she left after three weeks following a dispute with ownership over those plans. “My original thoughts were sadness that it didn’t work...
Amherst Cinema series on new directions in movies gets prestigious grant
Amherst Cinema’s original film series, Bellwether: New Directions in Cinema recently received a $15,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Amherst Cinema’s General Manager, George Myers, Pioneer Valley-based filmmaker Luke Meyer, and...
Editorial: Needless election tech — and the Iowa Caucus — need to go
In years past, there may have been times for me when the beginning of February was a time to look forward to the Super Bowl, or even the State of the Union with other presidents. This year, it was all about the Iowa caucus. After more than a year of anticipation, we...
Love Letter to a Nightmare
“I secretly believe that I am a goddess with very brief moments of incarnation,” Jennifer Johnson declares, robed in a long white shift, a pair of ram’s horns set on her head. She’s portraying – or perhaps channeling – Leonora Carrington, the free-spirited...
V-Spot: My long-distance partner doesn’t want video chat sex
Hi Yana, My partner and I are temporarily in a long-distance relationship and he’s expressed discomfort with video chat sex. It sounds like it’s mostly based in discomfort with being naked and vulnerable in front of a camera, feeling unsure about how to make...
Free Will Astrology: You don’t know more than Bohr, Pisces
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You now have the power to make connections that have not previously been possible. You can tap into an enhanced capacity to forge new alliances and strengthen your support system. I urge you to be on the lookout for a dynamic group effort...
Podcast: David Brule on River Stories series about local Native history and culture
David Brule, president of the Nolumbeka Project, based in Greenfield, speaks about a series focusing on Native Americans in the Valley. The series, which will consist of about a dozen events, is in part a response to this year’s Plymouth 400 observance, which is...
Burrie Jenkins on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Burrie Jenkins plays folk rock on 12 string guitars mixed with world music influences. Check out his full Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Burrie Jenkins:
Sign-Holding Stalwarts: A talk with some regulars at Northampton’s weekly anti-war protest
For past 20-plus years I would head to downtown Northampton to run errands on Saturday mornings and smile at the small group holding anti-war signs in front of the courthouse on Main Street. A few weeks ago, I decided to join them. I have joined many a protest in the...
Letters to the Editor: Gambling research already underway
Gambling research already underway In response to “Between the Lines: Problem gambling data collection is coming too late,” published Jan. 16-22, 2020. On January 15, 2020, the Valley Advocate published an editorial about the importance of problem gambling-related...
Staff Picks: LAVA Center Opening, Silver Chord Bowl, Vermont Crankie Fest, and Sierra Grille show
LAVA Center Grand Opening Weekend // FRIDAY to SUNDAY Greenfield welcomes a new performing space on Main Street this weekend. The LAVA Center, part black box theater, part art gallery, is opening with three days of activities to reflect the center’s community-oriented...
A flame in the midst of winter: Amherst Winter Fest theme this year is ‘fire and ice’
Hundreds of small flickering candles lighting paths to a live ice carving demo at sunset and a fire juggling event with acrobatics and a unicycle are just some of the things in store for this year’s Luminaria, which kicks off the week of Winter Fest Amherst on Feb. 1...
The other side of Plymouth Rock: River Stories series, highlighting the Valley’s Native population, is a counterpoint to Plymouth 400
Plymouth, Massachusetts, is gearing up for a big anniversary this year: It was in December 1620 that a group of English Puritans, who came to be known as the Pilgrims, landed on the shore of eastern Massachusetts and began to build a settlement that would eventually...
Editorial: The slow progress of East-West rail
With recent success in the expansion of North-South rail, in some ways it feels like there is momentum finally building for an East-West line. However, Gov. Charlie Baker seemed to throw some cold water on that last week during the opening of a handicapped-accessible...
Podcast: Chris Goudreau on local independent record labels
Writer Chris Goudreau wrote a recent piece on local independent record labels in the Valley. Those include Feeding Tube Records in Florence, Disques de Lapin in Brattleboro, and Rub Wrongways Records in Northampton. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley...
Bizarro Briefs: Lost your thumb? Use your big toe
Lost your thumb? Use your big toe A British cobbler was distraught after a freak accident last year — his thumb was caught in some machinery and severed completely. The man thought his work as a cobbler, which he is passionate about, was over. Instead, he agreed to an...
Groundskeeper’s ‘Ghost Things’ combs the depths of the psyche
The charred remains of a building smolder in patches of fire as gray smoke drifts over autumnal treetops. That image is cut, and layered multiple times on top of one another for the album cover art of Ghost Things, by Northampton-based Americana-infused indie rock...
Cinemadope: The Short List
Ever since I was first introduced to the tiny hot dog, I have been an appetizer man. Those delectable little morsels — a bite or two at most — can contain a density of flavor that many full meals can only wish to attain. And while many are served ahead of an...
V-Spot: Not The Sex Life I Want
Hi Yana, I didn’t think this was a real problem or, that it was just me. I didn’t think about it until I got into an argument with my husband, when he said “Why don’t you have sex the way when you’re drunk, when you’re sober?!” I really never thought about it till...
Free Will Astrology: Time to be brassy, saucy, and sassy, Aries
ARIES (March 21-April 19): My favorite ancient Greek philosopher was the rascal Diogenes. As a joke, he carried around a lantern during the daytime, proclaiming, “I am just looking for an honest man.” When Alexander the Great, the most powerful man in the world, came...
Zoe Lemos on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Zoe Lemos is a songwriter who plays punk charged indie rock with earworm melodies. You can find her Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Zoe Lemos:
Letters to the editor: A note on gun terminology
A note on gun terminology In response to “A Loaded Topic: Pioneer Valley firearms community is active, but often hidden,” published January 16 – 22, 2020. I just read this article. It is an interesting way to introduce the topic to your readership which, I...
Bizarro Briefs: Robber in the Dark
Robber in the dark A man attempted to rob the Bank of Scotland last September armed with a meat cleaver and disguised by a pillowcase over his head — but he forgot to cut eye holes. The 47-year-old stormed into the bank and wielded the meat cleaver while wearing the...
Staff Picks: MLK Celebration, Sessa, musings on Thomas Paine, Pamela Means Jazz Project
‘We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. // TUESDAY Music was a key part of the civil rights movement — African-American music in particular. To celebrate that music and the spirit and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., the Fine Arts...
‘Get it, sell it, put everything together’: Local independent record labels in the Valley
The Valley is known for its rich array of musicians and bands, but as owners of the handful of local, independent record labels can tell you, there’s more to the local music scene. Labels in this area include Feeding Tube Records in Florence, Disques de Lapin in...
Editorial: We Can’t Afford To Let Them Divide Us
It was probably inevitable that — with so much at stake — the tone of the Democratic primary would ratchet up. Supporters of various candidates who believe in the vision of those candidates can look at the world, at the conditions that brought us President Donald...E-Edition
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