Inside the witch house: Horror filmmaking couple Aaron Fradkin and Victoria Fratz Fradkin set their most recent, ‘Beezel,’ in Northampton
By JENNIFER LEVESQUE For the Advocate It’s always spooky season when you have a love for horror movies, scary stories and a curiosity of anything dark and morbid. And fall accentuates that spooky feeling for everyone. Finding a new horror series or collection of...
Monte Belmonte wines: Three wines sure to cure a white wine funk
When I go to Pita Pockets in Northampton I always get the shawarma pocket, hot. When I go to Mesa Verde in Greenfield, I always get the blackened chicken burrito with chipotle sour cream. When I go to Captain Jack’s in Easthampton, I always get “Just Clams.” I am a...
A stunning sight: Easthampton man commissions dragon painting on his downtown home as an anniversary gift
Stephen Parmenter married his wife Nina on a special, palindromic date: Nov. 11, 2011. Read another way: 11/11/11. So as the couple’s 11th anniversary approaches, Parmenter knew his anniversary gift to his wife had to be special. Nina is originally from Vietnam,...
Late-night lounge coming to downtown Northampton
Cafe Balagan, the Main Street coffee shop associated with the Balagan Cannabis dispensary next door, has opened for late-night service. Rachael Workman, one of the owners of Cafe Balagan and Balagan Cannabis, said that she and her fellow owners, who are all in their...
Behind the Music
Neon FaunaLeather Motel “Pinned Butterfly” the opening track and first single off of Neon Fauna’s second full length album Leather Motel sets the energetic mood immediately with this experimental album. When I say experimental, it's not just in reference to the...
Blazing Their Own Trail: Only the 2nd community in the nation to officially commit to reparations for its Black residents, Amherst is in important and unchartered territory
When she was 10 years old, a fourth-grade teacher asked Debora Bridges during a classroom lesson “what it felt like to be a slave” as a “little colored girl.” It happened in 1961. In Amherst. Although her mother and grandmother were able to scrounge up an apology...
The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: What actually makes for good sex
After over a decade of doing this work, I firmly believe that everybody who is interested in having sex wants to be good at it. Or, at the very least, they want to have sex that is good rather than sex that is not. Meaning, we are motivated to experience good...
‘Social equity’ applicants making inroads, gradually, in cannabis business
The first time lifelong Holyoke resident Damaris Aponte sold marijuana, she was 14 and growing up in a city deeply impacted by the so-called war on drugs. She saw many people she knew get arrested on drug charges, and her own brother was killed in the city’s...
Stagestruck: Black Plays Matter
2020’s Summer of Rage following the murder of George Floyd gave rise to much soul-searching in many areas of American society, including the theater community. Some of the fruits were on view this summer.
Stagestruck: Don’t Pass Over This One
In a season when every major theater in the region has mounted shows reflecting on today’s racial tensions and evils, I found “Pass Over,” at Chester Theatre Company, the most compelling and affecting. If you see only one play this summer, see this one.
Stagestruck: The Land on Which We Dance
It’s become standard practice in the region’s theaters to offer a land acknowledgement before every performance. As Jacob’s Pillow’s artistic director Pamela Tatge says every night, “The land on which we dance is the ancestral homeland” of the Native peoples whose...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Bones to Pick: Philip B. Price’s forthcoming solo record will haunt and soothe you
On Bone Almanac, Price succeeds in unnerving listeners as much as comforting them.
The V-Spot: Do I Talk Too Much in Bed?
Does this mean you can just run your mouth, continuing to make her uncomfortable in the name of your personal consent crusade? No, of course not, but let’s explore the middle ground.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Stagestruck: Summer Snapshots
Thinking back over the summer theater season just ended, images from memorable shows are passing before my mind’s eye, and ear — from striking moments in performances to sets and soundscapes. Here are some Valley snapshots. Chester Theatre Company celebrated its 30th...











