Magical gatherings: Welcome to The Realms, a medieval live action role-playing game held throughout New England
By EMILEE KLEIN For the Valley Advocate Ken Crowley, Kaitlin Haslam and Ally Crowley are just like any other Granby family. But when they cross a wooden bridge by a willow tree somewhere in the town’s forest, suddenly, Ken, Kaitlin and Ally are no longer. But on this...
You are what you ink: UMass exhibition blurs lines between art, tattoos, and identity
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer It’s not often that you see tattoo art on display in an art gallery, but a University of Massachusetts alum will soon change that with an upcoming exhibition. Alex Leon Sherker’s art show “Who Are You? Who Am AI?” will be at the Augusta...
Apples and art, the perfect autumn afternoon?: Eighth biennial Art in the Orchard on view at Park Hill Orchard
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton will host its eighth biennial Art in the Orchard exhibition, a half-mile sculpture trail on the orchard’s grounds, until Sunday, Nov. 30. The orchard itself is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, but the...
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...
A farewell tour in four-part harmony: New York Voices headline Northampton Jazz Fest, culminating two days of live music, Sept. 26 & 27
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The Northampton Jazz Festival will return on Friday, Sept. 26, and Saturday, Sept. 27, for live jazz at a variety of downtown Northampton venues. This year’s headliner will be New York Voices, a vocal jazz quartet that began as an...
Arrive hungry: Taste of Northampton expands to two days, Sept. 13 and 14
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Foodies, rejoice: Taste of Northampton is almost here again — and it’s even bigger than last year. The food festival Taste of Northampton will return this year on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 14, from 11...
Sci-fi or not so far-fetched?: New opera ‘The Onion’ explores the power and perils of AI-driven memory retrieval
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer If you could exist inside any memory from your past as it happened around you, would you? The new opera “The Onion,” about an eponymous AI device that can bring back memories in an immersive way, will premiere at Amherst College’s Holden...
A feeling you can’t replace: Body slams and feisty feuds, Pioneer Valley wrestling has it all
By Hannah Bevis For the Valley Advocate All hope seems lost. The hero, the crowd favorite, Pedro “The Shot-Caller” Dones, lies defeated in the center of a wrestling ring. The crowd lining the walls of the upstairs room of the Pulaski Club in Easthampton is hushed as...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Ruminating over wine knickknacks: How far we have fallen culturally when we have replaced Syrah with schwag
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate The somewhat suspect science that has told us for many years that “a little wine is good for you” seems to be going the way of leeching. When it comes to reliable medical advice, there has been some bad news for wine lovers....
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Breathing fresh life into ‘old chestnuts’: Classics made new (but not too new)
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate One of the most common terms in theater parlance is the “old chestnut.” This is a type of show that has been around a long time and often has themes, music, or values that are guaranteed to encourage potential audiences to...
Mixtape: Three psychedelic trips to ease your musical soul: New releases from locals: Gold Dust, Princess Ghoul and Bunnies
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Gold Dust, “In the Shade of the Living Light" Gold Dust originated as a solo project for Stephen Pierce, a local punk musician who wanted to step outside of that genre and into traditional folk and psychedelia. After...
Sessions
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O Cannabis: The craftsmanship of hand trimming
“Practice makes perfect, you just want to be super slow and meticulous,” Dunphy said.
20 hours to celebrate 20 years: Valley Free Radio host to broadcast for nearly a day, Aug. 7
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A local radio host is gearing up for an uninterrupted 20-hour broadcast next week. Yes, that’s right – 20 hours straight. Jack Frisch, who hosts the jazz program “The Downbeat” on Valley Free Radio every Tuesday afternoon, will host a...
The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: How do I prepare for first-time sex?
By Yana Tallon-Hicks I recently began a new relationship and am something of a late bloomer (I’m in my mid-20s), so I have very little actual experience when it comes to physical intimacy with a partner. My boyfriend and I have discussed it a bit, and he’s very...
Best Bites: Where to eat dinner right now: The top 35 Valley spots for dinner and what you should order
By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN For the Advocate If I were writing the Pioneer Valley chapter of a travel guide to New England, this would be its section for “dinner with table service.” I list restaurants first that I feel are most essential to the local dining scene, the ones we...
Beerhunter: Hitchcock Brewing Starts Fresh in Bernardston
It has been a busy year for Hitchcock Brewing Company.
Stagestruck: A Fall Harvest for the Theater
Next month on area stages (and a screen), three shows featuring women front and center, bucking prejudice, expectations, even labels. Plus, a musical farce with a woman in a beard. That one first. “Die Fledermaus,” the fall offering from Valley Light Opera, is the...
