Newsletter
Valley Advocate Podcast: Tahirah Amatul-Wadud discusses her historic candidacy for Congress
A woman, an African American, and a Muslim, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud’s candidacy for the First Congressional District of Massachusetts makes her a first for the district in a couple respects. But for her, the campaign is about representing interests of the people of...
Inspection of Springfield church offering sanctuary to undocumented woman finds building habitable
South Congregational Church in Springfield, which is offering sanctuary to an undocumented Peruvian woman and her two American-born children, has passed the minimum requirements for an inspection by the city with only minor violations. Mayor Domenic Sarno sent out an...
Pick of the Day: Foxtrot at Amherst Cinema
Michael and Dafna’s son Jonathan is killed while serving in the Israeli Defense Forces; they experience gut-wrenching grief when army officials show up at their home to announce his death. The family’s overzealous mourning, as well as the army’s...
V-Spot: Teach My Nice Guy to Play Rough
Writer’s note: This column contains mention of rape/non-consensual sex. Hey Yana!! I’ve been dating the sweetest guy. Well, sweet in ways that he always helps with housework, takes care of my dog for me, and is ALWAYS there for me. He’s a solid and loyal dude which is...
Bizarro Briefs: Dog Doesn’t Bite Man
In 2016, dogs bit human postal service workers a total of 156 times in Colorado. But that shouldn’t deter any prospective mail carriers. A recent study shows that the number went down in 2017 … to 132 times. Nationwide, the number of dog bites to postal...
Calendar: Monday 4/9 – Wednesday 4/11
MONDAY 4/9 MUSIC Tommy Castro and The Painkillers: The Iron Horse: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton. STAGE/FILM/DANCE Facing the Surge: 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Free. A 25-min. film showing the costs of sea level rise for the...
Cinemadope: Bringing the Red Sox to Israel
After a long winter, spring has returned to Western Mass. And with it, as hotly anticipated as any crocus, comes a new season of Red Sox baseball. It’s a tradition that we have come to take for granted, and even when it’s not a great season — let’s face it,...
Free Will Astrology: Don’t wait 9 years to publish your poems, Capricorn
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries statesman Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States. He wrote one of history’s most famous documents, the Declaration of Independence. He was an architect, violinist, inventor, and linguist who spoke numerous...
Pick of the Day 4/7: The Local Vocal Chord Bowl at Amherst Regional High
Who doesn’t want to support the arts in public schools? On Saturday, April 7, you can. Watch nine great a cappella groups sing for music and arts enrichment in the Amherst and Northampton public school systems. Proceeds will be divided between the two and will be...
Pick of the Day 4/8: Isle of Dogs at Amherst Cinema
Something terrible has happened in Megasaki City! An executive decree has exiled all pets to a vast garbage dump called Trash Island. Well, no young boy worth his salt would let that stand, and 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a little prop plane to find his...
Calendar: Saturday 4/7 and Sunday 4/8
SATURDAY 4/7 MUSIC AEIOUkes: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. A community ukulele club who meets regularly to sing together and to improve our playing. For uke enthusiasts of all levels and experiences. Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton. 413-587-1012....
Pick of the Day 4/6: The Eagle Huntress
It’s Friday and you’re free as a bird, or as Steve Miller might say, “I wanna fly like an eagle!” If that’s the case, you might want to head up to Shelburne Falls tonight and catch The Eagle Huntress to get inspired. It’s a...
Progress and backlash highlighted in Springfield MLK assassination 50th anniversary commemoration
On a rainy Wednesday afternoon in Springfield, NAACP president Bishop Talbert Swan, Mayor Domenic Sarno, a host of interfaith clergy, and a roomful of citizens gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s April 3 “Mountaintop”...
Congressional challenger Amatul-Wadud says Neal’s seniority won’t help his district
Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, a Democratic primary challenger to longtime Congressman Richard Neal, is attacking her opponent from an unlikely angle — his seniority. Neal, a Springfield Democrat who has served in the House since 1989, would likely be appointed chairman of the...
Pick of the Day: Valley Voices
Do you have a story to tell? Do you want to tell it in front of a bunch of people you don’t know? You’re in luck! Season 4 of Valley Voices is the place to do it. Tonight “The Silver Lining” is the theme. Listen to all sorts of stories told in five minutes...
Calendar: Thursday 4/5 and Friday 4/6
THURSDAY 4/5 MUSIC Open Mic Night at The Taproom Hadley: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. The Taproom Hadley, 1Mill Valley Rd., Suite C, Hadley. 618-889-4831. Joe@thetaproomhadley.com. UMass Advanced Percussion Ensemble: 7:30 p.m. Free. The Department of Music and Dance...
Easthampton-based singer-songwriter Seth Glier takes home three Independent Music Awards
Easthampton-based folk pop multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Seth Glier won three Independent Music Awards on March 31 during the 16th annual awards ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York City. Glier, an Emmy nominated musician, took home awards for best...
Holyoke Public School bus drivers irked over contract change
When Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) announced in March that they will be changing their special education transportation contract from minibuses to vans, Anna Gonzales was concerned for her son’s well-being. Gonzales, who lives in Holyoke, has three children who have...
Can You Convince Monte Belmonte that Pinot Grigio is Good?
When I started down the road to wine snobbery, I was one of those people that said “I’m a red wine drinker. I don’t like white wine.” What a young, foolish, naive, wine drinker I was. I have since realized that there are great and interesting manifestations of...
The V-Spot: My Boyfriend is … Tied Up
Hi Yana, I’ve been dating a new guy for about four months. He’s honest and makes time for me. He’s also really exciting, and after going through a lot of painful previous relationships, I actually feel safe with him. Our sex life is amazing, and he...
Basemental: What happens ‘After the Gig’
What happens after the gig is over, the room is reset, and everyone goes home? This is the prompt being posed by a new collective that is organizing a festival later this month by the name, well, After the Gig Fest. “We wanted to use the phrase ‘After The Gig’ in...
The Beerhunter: It’s Almost Kölsch Weather
Despite what you’re seeing out your front window, hot afternoons in New England are not so far away. Once spring really hits, from the beach to the backyard, we’ll be reaching for lighter beers that are, to use an all-American term, “thirst-quenching.” For the past...
Pick of the Day 4/4: The genius of Svetlana Boym at UMass
SVETLANA BOYM: EXILE AND IMAGINATION Celebrating the legacy of literary and cultural critic Svetlana Boym who passed away in 2015, Exile and Imagination traces Boym’s life from when she left the USSR for the US in 1980. After her graduate studies, she became...
Calendar: What to do 4/4
WEDNESDAY 4/4 MUSIC All Ages Open Mic Night With Host F. Alex Johnson: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Award winning guitarist F Alex Johnson hosts this weekly open mic featuring some of the best talent in the valley. All ages, free and open to all. Brew Practitioners, 36 Main...
Local anchor Dave Madsen says former boss Sinclair Broadcast Group has put its anchors in ‘horrible position’
Longtime broadcast journalist and news anchor Dave Madsen, of Western Mass News, is criticizing his former boss, Sinclair Broadcast Group, following its decision to require its anchors to read promos decrying “fake stories” from national news outlets, a...
Workers Center hoping to deliver 1,000 letters supporting undocumented immigrant Lucio Perez to ICE
The Pioneer Valley Workers Center plans to hand deliver 1,000 letters from Western Massachusetts residents in support of Lucio Perez, an undocumented immigrant receiving sanctuary in Amherst, to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office in Hartford on...
Free Will Astrology: Play it safe in new ventures Aries
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Eighty-three-year-old author Harlan Ellison has had a long and successful career. In the course of publishing hundreds of literary works in seven different genres, he has won numerous awards. But when he was in his thirties, there was an...
Pick of the Day: Panique at HCC
Catch the tail end of Holyoke Community College’s 2018 French Film Festival. Bring your escargot and beret to watch Panique, a 1947 adaptation of Mr. Hire’s Engagement by Belgian crime writer Georges Simenon. It’s a “bleak picture of human nature at its vilest...
Calendar: Tuesday 4/3
TUESDAY 4/3 MUSIC Gary Mullen and The Works: 7:30 p.m. Springfield Symphony Hall, 34 Court St., Springfield. Northampton Jazz Workshop: 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. $5. Richmond, VA based clarinetist Darryl Harper will be the guest soloist with the Green Street Trio...
Northampton principal says accused peeping janitor passed background check
Following the arrest of a Northampton High School janitor on charges of taking photos of people in a girl’s bathroom, Principal Bryan Lombardi is defending the school’s hiring practices. Lombardi said there had been no way to screen out Michael J. Kremensky, 22, of...
Valley Advocate Podcast: Solomon Goldstein-Rose on why he dumped the Democratic party
First elected as a Democrat in 2016, 24-year-old Solomon Goldstein-Rose of Amherst replaced longtime Amherst Rep. Ellen Story in a crowded primary after Story retired. Now some Democrats are criticizing his decision to leave the party and run as an unenrolled...
Cannabis industry leaders gather at Hampshire College summit to widen appeal of plant
Adult-use cannabis was legalized by Massachusetts voters in 2016, but based on the number of moratoriums and bans that have passed across the state since then, it’s clear that there are still some mixed feelings about cannabis on the local level. “Like every other...
Calendar: Things to do on 4/2
MONDAY 4/2 MUSIC Back Stage Bar at Luthier’s Co-op: 6 p.m to 11 p.m. 108 Cottage St., Easthampton Hartford Jazz Orchestra: 8 p.m. Free. Arch Street Tavern, 85 Arch St., Hartford. STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Death of Stalin: 1:55 p.m., 4:35 p.m., 7:10 p.m., 9:40 p.m....
Cinemadope: Andy Goldsworthy makes me want to go outside
Live in New England long enough, and it’s easy to begin to take it for granted. The deeply quiet winters, the burst and blaze of autumn, the summer thunderstorm that chases away July’s heavy heat — our seasonal weather and landscapes become a way to mark our calendar...
Pick of the Day 4/2: The Death of Stalin
Has it snowed enough for ya? Well, dip inside Amherst Cinema today or tonight and check out IFC’s new release, The Death of Stalin. Political intrigue and farce are usually recipes for fun and hilarity — The Death of Stalin is no exception. It’s set in...
Springfield Church not Backing Down in Conflict with Mayor over Shelter of Undocumented Woman
If Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is trying to scare the South Congregational Church, it isn’t working. The historic Springfield church at 45 Maple Street has been sheltering an undocumented Peruvian woman named Gisella, whose last name is being withheld due to her...
Transit: A Marriage of Words and Solar Motion
Hadley Town Commons is sleepy and quaint and on one of the four corners of the intersection of Routes 47 and 9, sits the historic Goodwin Memorial Library. It’s a brick building, unassuming, old, and encumbered by time. The Goodwin, however, is slated for enormous...
Calendar: Saturday and Sunday 3/31- 4/1
SATURDAY 3/31 MUSIC Sylvan Esso: 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. $28. MASS MoCA. 1040 MASS MoCA WAY, North Adams. AEIOUkes: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. A community ukulele club who meets regularly to sing together and to improve our playing. All levels and experiences. Forbes...
Pick of the Day 4/1: Forest Park Zoo in Springfield
After a long and treacherous winter, The Forest Park Zoo is back! They’ll be open Easter Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Who doesn’t want to see furry and feathery adorableness? Sheep, monkeys, pythons, fennec foxes, spotted leopards, kangaroos and more. On...
Pick of the Day 3/31: Pablo Fransisco at the Huke Lau
You know the Huke Lau is closing on April 6, right? Well, you do now, so you might as well get your fill tonight before it’s too late. Comedian Pablo Fransisco is headlining tonight. Fransisco has two Comedy Central one-hour comedy specials to his credit: “They...
Drummer for ‘Black Panther’ soundtrack visits Pioneer Valley for first view of film
Black Panther smashed global box office records when it opened in February, and like any good action movie part of the magic of Black Panther is the soundtrack. While watching the movie, there’s one part of the soundtrack that you might not notice at first: the tama,...
Audio: Northampton dispatcher appears to give auto shop owner the OK to tow cars during march
Audio obtained by the Advocate from the Northampton Police Department indicates that a dispatcher from the Northampton Police Department told Jeffrey Tenczar, the owner of Greg’s Auto Repair in Northampton, that he could tow 14 vehicles from his private lot on...
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno calls on city to end tax exemption for church offering sanctuary
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is calling for South Congregational Church to lose its tax exemption status after church officials decided to offer sanctuary to Gisella, an undocumented immigrant from Peru who came to the country in 2001 and has two children and an...
Springfield Forest Park institution Sportstuff closes after 28 years
Sportstuff on Sumner Avenue in Springfield has long been an anchor business for the curious collection of shops and restaurants that come and go in the blink of an eye at the “X.” But not for much longer; after 28 years, Springfield residents Toni and Dave Trehey are...
Staff Picks: Brooks Williams, Adam Ezra, Sylvan Esso
Brooks Williams // Friday, March 30 Wind down your week with some good old fashioned blues at The Parlor Room. Georgia-born guitarist and songwriter Brooks Williams will be performing his special style of soulful blues. He’s been called “a mean finger-picker and a...
Calendar: Thursday and Friday 3/29 – 3/30
THURSDAY 3/29 MUSIC Luke Baillareon: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Live Italian music in The Mick. Free. The Mick, 3 Country Club Rd., Holyoke. 413-532-1800. info@logcabin-delaney.com. Open Mic Night at The Taproom Hadley: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Free. The Taproom Hadley, 1...
Advocates demand legislative action on paid family and medical leave, $15 minimum wage
For Alicia Fleming of Chicopee, getting paid family and medical leave isn’t about politics, it’s about survival. “As a single mom, paid family leave is of the utmost importance to the well being of my family,” Fleming said. Fleming told a room of about 150 people at...
Early spring holidays mean revisiting culinary traditions for many
With the last of the snow (hopefully) behind us, many people across the Pioneer Valley are looking forward to celebrating religious holidays in the early Spring. I was not raised Christian Orthodox, but I often celebrated Easter with my family with Orthodox food and...
Valley Show Girl: Friday the 23rd!!
Friday the 13th has become a horror franchise with 12 (and I’m sure there will be many more in the future) slasher films, television shows, comics, novels, video games and, of course, merchandise; take a look at the number of Jason’s masks roaming around on Halloween....
Letters to the Editor: Hope we will listen to student gun protesters
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
Editorial: Wrinkle in Time: Just in Time
When I was nine years old, I read A Wrinkle in Time, the 1962 young adult science fiction adventure that had become an academic staple in elementary school curriculum. I was a lover of books and I was quite taken with both the plot and the characters. So much so that...
Pick of the Day 3/28: Blackbird Effect in Holyoke
Here’s how The Blackbird Effect describes themselves: ” The Blackbird Effect= Pan Morigan & John Cabán, performing bent blues, green jazz & other Americanismos with roots to the sky!” “Americanismos,” that’s some fancy...
Calendar: Wednesday 3/28
MUSIC All Ages Open Mic Night With Host F. Alex Johnson: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free. Award winning guitarist F. Alex Johnson hosts this weekly open mic featuring some of the best talent in the valley. Brew Practitioners, 36 Main St., Florence. 413-584-2444....
Western Mass Year of the Woman? Election could bring all-female delegation to Hampshire County
Hampshire County has the highest proportion of women of any county in the state, and yet for years has been represented in the Statehouse mostly by men. With the retirement of longtime Amherst Rep. Ellen Story in 2016, this has been especially true. But this year’s...
Pick of the Day 3/27: Chinatown at Amherst Cinema
Tonight at Amherst Cinema, Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway star in the 1974 mystery classic mystery Chinatown. The omnipresent Wikipedia describes it as having “many elements of film noir, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part...
Calendar: Tuesday 3/27
MUSIC Open Mic: 8:30-11:00: 8:30 p.m. Luthier’s Co-op, 108 Cottage St., Easthampton. STAGE/FILM/DANCE PVJFF: Keep the Change: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Rave Cinemas, 864 Riverdale St., West Springfield. Science on Screen: Chinatown: 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Amherst...
Owners of cars towed at Northampton gun control rally accusing business owner of political motivation
Jeffrey and Jennifer Tenczar, owners of Greg’s Auto Repair in Northampton, didn’t understand why their lot was filling up on a Saturday morning to the point that it was affecting their business until they called police about getting the vehicles towed and learned...
Gun Control Protesters Take Over Downtown Northampton in the March For Our Lives
“Enough is enough! Enough is enough!” Hundreds of voices echoed off of the brick and concrete buildings that line Northampton’s Main Street. They were the voices of adults and teenagers, gathered together and united to bring an end to gun violence in...
The CDs You Gave Me: Rob Maher’s ‘Man of Many Misses’ hits the mark
Northampton-based singer-songwriter Rob Maher’s debut 10-track album, “A Man of Many Misses,” is a an ode to the underdog and to overcoming life’s pains with a wry sense of humor and unshakable empathy. It’s a record that blends melancholy folk with haunting...E-Edition
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