Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: ‘I just let them grow’: Inside one of the six gardens on this year’s Northampton Garden Tour
By MICKEY RATHBUN For the Valley Advocate John Smith likes it when people stop outside his house, a lovely Carpenter Gothic on a quiet street in Florence, to peek at his garden through the fence. “I tell them, ‘Come on in and have a look around,’” he said. On June 14,...
Prepare to be transported back to your youth: Thornes is about to open an extensive arcade of vintage video games
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer An arcade near Boston will soon have a new location in Northampton. Hometown Arcade will open its third location in the basement of Thornes Marketplace this November, replacing what used to be Acme Surplus, though the exact opening date...
What can you expect from a Cuddle Party? Conversations about consent happen before anything else
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES For the Advocate As the sun sets over the Hidden Temple in Florence, 14 adults in their comfiest pajamas sprawl on a generous bed of quilts. Outside on this crisp October Saturday, the foliage is just starting to turn, its pops of color...
‘One sentence can change the course of a relationship’: Valley Players stage first full production, ‘Constellations,’ this weekend and next
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Valley Players, a local volunteer theater group formed earlier this year, will perform their first full production in Amherst this weekend and next. The show, “Constellations,” by playwright Nick Payne, will be at Munson Memorial Library...
Farewell to the ‘Doctor of Rock’: Sept. 29 Iron Horse concert pays tribute to Smith professor before he hops the pond
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer After more than two decades at Smith College, a beloved music professor will say goodbye to Northampton with a farewell concert at the Iron Horse next week. Professor Steve Waksman, who has taught at Smith for 23 years, will complete his...
Acting among giants: Northampton native Caroline Bloom appears in Coppola’s magnum opus, ‘Megalopolis’
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Francis Ford Coppola’s latest movie — his first in over a decade — is a passion project he’s been working on for 40 years. Even more exciting? An actress from Northampton is in it. Caroline Bloom will make her most prestigious screen...
‘Jazz without borders’: Multicultural theme defines Northampton Jazz Festival, Sept. 27-28
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer In a year of international strife, the Northampton Jazz Festival is aiming to bring people together with music that transcends borders. The Northampton Jazz Festival, which will return for its 12th year on Sept. 27 and 28, is celebrating...
Would you eat food off of a naked body?: Local event, Food & Form, has nothing – and everything – to do with nudity
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate To Coco Bustin, the body is a beautiful vessel. She first came to appreciate it in figure drawing classes at Tufts University, where she met every curve and contour with wonder. Nudity, she realized, was an artistic...
Mixtape: The doctor will see you now
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Michael Brady is a psychotherapist and songwriter based out of the Berkshires. His debut release, “Second Skin,” is a concept album written about fictional case studies Brady has concocted from inspirations from his...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Wine Snob Glossary, Part 1
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate While dining out with my lovely wife the other day, it occurred to me that I use a lot of extraordinarily snobby adjectives that are incomprehensible to the lay drinker. Then it occurred to me: maybe a wine glossary would be...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Exploring gender and body positivity on stage
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate This summer three outstanding shows in the Berkshires demonstrate that the performativity of gender has broken free from traditional gender-based casting in some places. In this edition of Theater Matters, we explore how some...
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.
Music with a message: Northampton Jazz Festival takes over downtown next weekend with a celebration of music and civil rights
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Max Roach is celebrated as one of the most influential drummers in jazz history, a pioneer of Bebop who led groundbreaking ensembles in every decade of his long career. As a drummer and a composer, he’s credited with making drums a more...
V-Spot: How Do I Have Group Sex, Properly?
What is the proper etiquette??
Staff Picks: Guitars, fireworks, and a debate watch party
Get out and do stuff!
The Beerhunter Abroad: Japan – Land of the Rising Suds
After dark, standing in a 24-hour convenience store in downtown Kyoto, I scanned the rows of canned and bottled beers in a bright refrigerated case. Virtually everything on offer was a product of one of the “big four” Japanese breweries: Sapporo, Suntory, Asahi, and...
Stagestruck: Two Great Ladies on Noah’s Ark
My partner, a literature professor, has noted a principle in both scholarship and fiction that she calls the Noah’s Ark Approach: If you want to get attention for your female subject, pair her with a famous man. Two new plays in Berkshire theaters illustrate that rule.
