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....
Can’t take that away from me: With Jan. 20 on the horizon, the Queer Joy Collaborative sings, dances and fights for its life
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES For the Valley Advocate Glitter. Sparkle. Bedazzle. Shine. When Mara Levi and Nova Wehman-Brown started dreaming of a Winter Ball, these four words came to mind. The executive director and the board president of the Queer Joy...
The future is bright … and weightless: An eye-opening exploration of everything and nothing at a spa in Easthampton
By Bob Flaherty For the Valley Advocate My journey. Where it begins and ends I have no idea. I do know that I could use some healing along the way, I’m just not sure what it is I have. Although, yes, I am acutely aware of my mousetrap nervous system and my constantly...
Monte Belmonte Wines: A toast to Champagne
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Champagne, with its effervescent, aspirational qualities, levitating its drinkers towards the hope of wealth and good cheer, has become a staple when the clock strikes 12 on the last night of the year. The tiny bubbles of...
Mixtape: A collection of albums for the end of the year
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate As the year comes to a close, I have to say, I’m still very grateful for the gift of music. So here’s an end-of-the-year mixtape befitting this time of year, a taste of what I’ve been listening to lately. Joshua David...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: As the curtain falls on 2024: Remembering three great losses to the Valley theater family
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate If you ask any actor or person who works in the collaborative arts, they’ll tell you that one of the best parts about working in a creative field are the bonds that form with other actors, production personnel, and even theater...
Love is in the airwaves: Queer dating radio show creates connections and community
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Finding love is all about finding someone on your wavelength. A radio show at the University of Massachusetts Amherst wants to help the local queer community make romantic connections, one guest DJ at a time. On the show “Queer Yenta...
Get a whiff of this: ‘Flora & Fromage’ unites nature, art and food for an olfactory party in the Paper City
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer When the weather outside is frightful, warming up indoors, surrounded by plants, food, art and live music, is so delightful. Such is the idea behind Flora & Fromage, an upcoming plant-themed art and food experience at Mill 1 in...
Eat to the beat: New event series in a new venue mixes music, meals, and job training
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer At an upcoming new concert series at a recently opened venue in Holyoke, guests can listen to live music while they eat themed meals and help local students build career skills. The series, Feast & Harmony, will debut next week at De...
Cooking made simple: Classes at the Baker’s Pin demystify the secrets and tricks of great recipes
By NAOMI SCULLY-BRISTOL For the Advocate Walking into the Baker’s Pin, you are greeted by cheerful decor, beautiful colorful pots and an array of cooking gadgets. It is a home cook’s paradise with everything you could possibly need, from Le Creuset pots to artisan...
‘The magic that existed back then’: Academy of Music to screen time capsule film of New Year’s Eve 1984 concert at The Rusty Nail
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer It’s been 40 years since the band NRBQ played at Sunderland’s The Rusty Nail on New Year’s Eve, but a devoted fan and friend of the band kept the night alive with his concert footage. Later this month, the Academy of Music will screen...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
O, Cannabis! Pro-pot and Proud, Extravaganja in Northampton
Governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston, and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, you’re wasting your time with your anti-marijuana legalization effort, the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts. So far, the campaign, which launched in late April,...
In time for downbeat: Jazz record designer Jack Frisch hosts new show on Valley Free Radio to ‘get the music out there’
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Back in the 1980s, Jack Frisch, then in his early twenties, got bitten pretty hard by the jazz bug, taking the ferry from his home in Staten Island, New York, over to Manhattan with some friends and haunting record shops. His interest had...
Best of V-Spot: Pee or ‘squirt’? Understanding vaginal ejaculation
Editor’s note: Sex and relationship advice columnist Yana Tallon-Hicks is currently on maternity leave. While she’s gone, we’re reprinting some of her best columns of the past several years, and are looking forward to her return in September. Hi Yana, I started...
Staff Picks: Irish Fest, Northampton Arts Night Out, Chillifest, and Mead Art Museum
This Saturday marks the return of Easthampton’s Irish Fest to close out this season of Millpond.Live.
At Beerology, Homebrewers Can Go Local, Too
“A homebrew shop isn’t useful if you don’t know how to use what we’re selling,“ says Jordana Starr at Beerology in Northampton. “We want this to be an inviting, welcoming place to learn.”
Stagestruck: Voices on the Wind
WAM Theatre’s press kit includes advice on how to approach reporting on their production of “Kamloopa.” A statement by the playwright, Kim Senklip Harvey, a member of the Syilx and Tsilhqot’in Nation centered in British Columbia, outlines “Protocols for entering the Indigenous Artistic Ceremony” – not only in general but for this play specifically. Top of the list: “Indigenous protocol is to be respected. Period.”
