The battle for equality goes back nearly two centuries: New book examines efforts by Black Americans to fight segregation in public transport
By STEVE PFARRER For the Valley Advocate Along with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Kwame Ture, Rosa Parks is one of the celebrated names of the civil rights movement: the Montgomery, Alabama woman who refused to move from her seat on a bus in 1955, sparking a...
The mane event: New England Morgan Horse Show to return to Northampton
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Equestrians will flock to Northampton later this month to celebrate and show off their skills with Morgan horses, the official state horse of Massachusetts. From Monday, July 21, through Saturday, July 26, the New England Morgan Horse...
World of wonder: Walter Wick’s dynamic photographic illustrations at Norman Rockwell Museum
By DON STEWART For the Valley Advocate The dynamic images of photographic illustrator Walter Wick can be viewed through Oct. 26 in four galleries at Stockbridge’s Norman Rockwell Museum. An older generation may not recognize the Miami-based artist’s name, however....
Life’s a drag!: A day in the life of producer and queen, Magnolia Masquerade
By Hannah Bevis For the Valley Advocate On most days, Andrew Curran, better known as his drag persona Magnolia Masquerade, is a whirlwind of activity, brainstorming ideas for future shows, creating the props that will bring them to life, running the rehearsals with...
Brutal? No, beautiful: Holyoke artist Michael Karmody has found beauty — and a decent living — in concrete creations
By Samuel Gelinas Staff Writer Artist Michael Karmody knows a hard truth about concrete — that it is often associated with sidewalks and jails, not attractive things. But, serious question. What does concrete actually look like? For Karmody, the only serious answer...
Monte Belmonte Wines: What’s going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield?: Something fishy is afoot at the Big Y’s flagship location for fine wine
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate What is going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield? Given that you are reading a wine column, I assume you partake of the grape. Then you probably know that Table & Vine is the wines, beer and spirits branch of the...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Audience participation required: Three plays raise questions around moral integrity and point of view
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate Plays about difficult subjects, like the consequences of personal actions, politics, and social change, require more of the audience in terms of asking them to consider how their own sense of morality and moral integrity...
Mixtape: New heavy music to initiate summer: Reviewing Warm’s ‘Fastidium’ and TueTewsday’s ‘Shoulda Been Larz’
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Warm “Fastidium” The moment I pressed play on this album, I couldn’t stop listening to it. At home, mid-chore, I just sat there in a trance-like state until the last track ended. “Fastidium” is the latest release from local...
‘I’ve met friends in my books’: Eric Carle Museum celebrates author, illustrator Grace Lin with retrospective exhibition
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Florence-based author and illustrator Grace Lin is known for books like “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” (for which she received a Newbery Honor in 2010), “The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon,” “The Ugly Vegetables,” and “A Big Mooncake...
A food fest to feel good about: Inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest is this Sunday
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new vegan food festival is about to take root in the Pioneer Valley. The inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest will be at Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton on Sunday, June 15, from noon to 5 p.m. The vendor lineup includes...
Catharsis meets comedy: ‘Customers From Hell’ show will premiere at the Shea Theater on Sunday, June 15
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Most people who have worked retail and food service jobs have dealt with customers who were rude, annoying, or just plain strange. A new comedy TV series written and filmed in the Pioneer Valley wants to answer the question: what if those...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
O’ Cannabis! Inhale, Exhale: Cannabis friendly yoga comes to the Valley
The stereotype of the lazy stoner is a persistent one in popular culture, but Frappier believes that cannabis can help many people to enjoy many physical activities.
Passionate on and off the bandstand: Jazz community mourns the loss of bassist George Kaye
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Jazz bassist George Kaye, longtime member of the Valley’s Green Street Trio, died on Monday, Feb. 10, at the age of 73 after a period of failing health. “He was a very deeply caring person,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the Northampton...
V-Spot: Has My Date Been Canceled?
“Cancel culture” has become such a beast in our social landscape that I struggle to even want to write this column at all, to be honest.
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Post-pandemic, theater companies work to reconnect with audiences
By JARICE HANSON For the Advocate This has been a summer of some outstanding theater opportunities for audiences to become reacquainted with familiar company names that may have been on hiatus over the past couple of years (due to that pesky pandemic that has kept...
The Beerhunter: Shake Your Cabin Fever with a Taproom Day Trip
If you’ve got the winter blues, consider breaking out of your bunker and hitting the road (responsibly, please) to visit some taprooms.
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.
