‘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...
Curated for your viewing and listening pleasure: Amherst Cinema presents Sound & Vision series through Sept. 18
By SCOTT MERZBACH Staff Writer A documentary profiling Swing-era clarinetist Artie Shaw, a musical comedy featuring 1960s-pop band The Monkees and one of African cinema’s first musicals are among this year’s selections in an annual summer celebration of music culture...
The Gem from Easthampton: Gigantic bar manager’s recipe makes it across the pond to a speakeasy in Scotland
By CHRIS LARABEE Staff Writer With 3,100 miles and the Atlantic Ocean between them, what could Easthampton and Dundee, a city of approximately 148,000 people in Scotland, possibly have in common? Well, if you really do some digging, you might unearth a Gem of a...
Something for everyone: UMass Fine Arts Center announces robust 2024-2025 season lineup
By PAIGE HANSON For the Advocate Earlier this week, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center announced its lineup of performances for its 2024-2025 season, which includes quite a few notable offerings, including “a one-time Grateful Dead keyboardist,...
Food, friends, music and beer: Food Truck Fridays is the place to be in Easthampton this summer
By ALEXA LEWIS Staff Writer Going out with friends can be challenging when clashing tastes in food make it impossible to choose a restaurant. But for Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton, the solution to this predicament is simple, and it comes rolling in on four...
Knitters’ paradise: Webs, ‘America’s Yarn Store’ and a mainstay for Valley crafters for generations, turns 50
By EMILEE KLEIN Staff Writer When Webs opened their doors on May 16, the first day of the store’s annual tent sale, store manager Angela Cheek watched as a rush of people flowed through the doors for three whole continuous minutes on a Thursday morning. Within an...
This hiking club’s first rule? No diet talk: The Body Liberation Outdoor Club is coming to the Valley
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES For the Advocate The founder of the Body Liberation Outdoor Club saw “The Fat Babe Pool Party” in “Shrill,” the Hulu series about a heavy woman’s journey to embracing her body, and felt like she was in a dream. In the fourth episode of Season...
Music in the sky: Summit House Sunset Concert Series returns to its 173-year-old home
By PAIGE HANSON For the Advocate For the first time in two years, The Friends of Mount Holyoke Range have returned the Summit House Sunset Concert Series to its namesake, Skinner State Park’s historic Summit House. The Summit House, which sits at a 935-foot elevation...
Summer of loves: Polyamory in the Valley isn’t what you think
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate “You know what goes on behind closed doors in a polyamorous household?” Fox asks, and I lean in closer. We’re on the phone and he is 800 miles away, so I am leaning toward — nothing. I am on the precipice of something, I...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: The popularity of socially responsible theater
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate The stories that make up what we see in theater are just one aspect of what makes live entertainment so compelling, but the way those stories are told has much to do with whether the play continues to make you think even after...
Let smoke shops sell weed legally: An argument from your resident cannabis economist
By Robin Goldstein For the Valley Advocate When voters vote to legalize weed, their intent is to legalize weed. And yet, in states across America, devils lurk in the details of how weed is regulated. Some of these devils have turned out to be so monstrous that they...
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Hoping for a drier September: Three outdoor music festivals on tap for Easthampton toward summer’s end
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer July was a challenging month for outdoor music shows, with the heavy rain that flooded local farms and roads also washing out some concerts and threatening others. Organizers for upcoming music festivals in Easthampton are hoping things...
The V-Spot: My Love No Longer Dominates
Hello from Vienna, Austria, Yana! Over the years I’ve realized that I like being dominated in sex. I want strong men who play with my brain, mainly verbally. A year ago I met a guy on a kinky hookup app. We went out on a date and hit it off immediately. In the...
Valley Advocate Staff Picks: Goblet and Jeopardy, Poetic Open Mic, Women’s Film Fest
We’re telling you what to do.
The Beerhunter Abroad! Perusing Peruvian Brews
Peru The American craft beer landscape is an ever-expanding picture, but if you want to call yourself a seasoned beerhunter, you need to wander off the map from time to time. So in late May I set off on vacation to Peru, primed to enjoy a break from routine — and to...
Stagestruck: “Stagehand” Redux
One of the most adventurous endeavors in this Year of Zoom has been Stagehand, a live immersive piece from Eggtooth Productions first seen last fall. Another iteration launches this weekend and next, with a new framing concept and novel ticketing options.











