The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: My boyfriend worked for evil. Should we break up?
By Yana Tallon-Hicks For the Valley Advocate Dear Yana, My boyfriend (“Tim”) knowingly violated a red-line boundary of mine by accepting a job at a particularly Evil Company. As a result, we've been on a break. They've apologized and have since left that...
Building a new tradition of shared, platonic love: Locals redefine intimacy through floral workshops, community swaps and the enduring power of showing up
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate Sixteen years ago, Newton-born actress Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, the perpetually perky deputy director of the popular NBC mockumentary sitcom, “Parks and Recreation,” took her gal pals out for...
‘There’s no wrong way to play’: Immersive theater event at Quonk offers unique fantasy experience
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Victor E. Everwin knew he might die at the Dark Magic School reunion — and he welcomed it. Fourteen years ago, he’d entered a time loop fueled by a "Dark Pact," and only winning the "Most Nefarious" superlative could...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Iconic women: Lessons from the suffragists
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate With Women’s History Month soon upon us, it makes sense to call attention to women who have changed the course of history. Names like Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul may not be instantly recognizable, but when Shaina...
From scraps to stunners: Sam Webber’s custom motorcycle shop in Florence brings vintage dreams to life
By Sam Ferland For the Valley Advocate There are few people that get to say they turned their passion into a living. Sam R. Webber meticulously assembled his 1950 Harley Davidson Panhead seven years ago with parts he collected from various locations,...
Message in a bottle: The delicate alchemy of Black Birch Vineyard
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Western Mass. is known for a lot of things. Colleges. Asparagus. Apples. Lesbians. Basketball. But wine? Not as of yet. Beer? For sure. With stalwarts like Berkshire Brewing Company, The Northampton Brewery and The...
The V-Spot: How do I tell my partner that I’m having an affair?
By Yana Tallon-Hicks For the Valley Advocate Dear Yana, I’m in a committed relationship with someone I care about deeply, and I’ve crossed a line I never thought I would — I’m having an affair. I love my partner and we have a real life together. And still, I’ve...
‘Keeping the music alive’: The Iron Horse launches ‘Playing It Forward’ capital campaign
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Nearly two years after reopening its doors following significant renovations, The Iron Horse Music Hall has turned its attention to improving its financial stability and recently launched a capital campaign with a...
Spinning a new story: Greenfield residents to offer new sober space for music lovers with Turners Falls record store, cafe
By Erin-Leigh Hoffman For the Valley Advocate Greenfield residents Mark Schwaber and Ada Langford are spinning something new on Avenue A — a record store and cafe with a focus on community building around physical media in a sober and inclusive setting....
Revamped and revisited: Two older releases shine again in a brand new light
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Kaspar Hauser Live at Zone Art Center, Springfield, MA 4-24-1982 A few months ago I received a CD in the mail from Georgia. I ended up putting it aside for far too long. I already had a lineup of reviews to...
The ‘Avita’ adventure: UMass alums launch AI-powered language-learning app
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Trips to South America helped a pair of lifelong best friends from Northampton realize a love of learning Spanish. Now, they’re turning that passion into an app to help other people learn the language and make connections. Reed...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
Beyond 4/20: Criminal Justice Reform and Cannabis in Mass
“A lot of people are still in jail,” said Kamani Jefferson, lobbyist and president of the Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council (MRCC). “No one should be in jail for this plant.”
‘One of indie-rock’s finest’: Cass McCombs takes the stage at The Iron Horse in Northampton
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs has gotten his fair share of critical acclaim. The Fader, a New York-based music and culture publication, called him “one of the greatest lyricists of our time.” BrooklynVegan, a New York...
The V-Spot: Five Months of Sexual Unfulfillment
First, allow me to validate your feeling that your climax and needs are not important to your partner because from what I’m reading from you here, it certainly seems like they are not.
Take a day trip to a modernist paradise: The Frelinghuysen Morris Home & Studio in Lenox provides a splendid view of two groundbreaking artistic lives
By DON STEWART For the Advocate A short drive from downtown Lenox, you travel past ornamental wrought iron gates and enter into the former Gilded Age estate of “Brookhurst.” You’re first greeted by a voluptuous two-and-a-half-ton reclining female figure sculpted by...
The Beerhunter: The Gluten-Free Beer Problem
For a couple of decades now, gluten-free beer has been a victim of the veggie burger problem.
Stagestruck: The Colossus of Roads
His name was Moses, his chosen people were New Yorkers escaping summer in the city, his promised land was Jones Beach, and his Red Sea crossing was a borough-slicing expressway to Long Island Sound. He was Robert Moses, the fascinating, maddening subject of a smart, energetic play coming to Amherst Cinema this week, courtesy of National Theatre Live.
