Arts & Life
Back Porch Festival returns next weekend: Tribute to Neil Young, ‘Bluegrass Spectacular’ and Lucinda Williams will headline
By CAROLYN BROWN
The roots music festival Back Porch Festival, which takes place in downtown Northampton, will return for its 11th year from Friday, March 7, through Sunday, March 9, with more than 60 performers.
Book Review: A penguin, a fish, and some hope: Author to read from fourth book in ‘Noodles & Albie’ series next week at Greenfield Public Library
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Eric Bennett of Northampton will share his lifelong love of penguins next Saturday morning at the Greenfield Public Library.
Faith Matters: Chapters in healing: Community gets us through tough times
By HETTY STARTUP
In very tough times, we lean hard on community and faith. We did this during the horrors of Jan. 6 and on 9/11. In past decades, some of us drew deeply from our moral stance about civil rights and we need to do so again. Some of us prayed at vigils against the Iraq war and more recently held our faith communities close during the COVID-19 pandemic. These are, if you like, the chapters of our experience as people of faith. They may help us feel that we were there; they date and define us. May we prevail. In between, here are a couple of my chapters.
Sustainability made fun: Greenfield High School club aims to make school and planet greener
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
Stella Verlander, a Greenfield High School senior who plans to study political science in college with an eye toward an environmental law degree, is president of the GHS Sustainability Club. Verlander revived the club following pandemic interruptions, with the aim of educating people about issues related to conservation, climate crises, and political action. “Any obstacles are not about lack of interest,” she said. “The real problem is ignorance.”
Sounds Local: World-class music in your own backyard: Watermelon Wednesdays kicks off 26th season next week with ‘Northern European fiddle festival’
By SHERYL HUNTER
As we approach the end of February, the idea of sitting in the West Whately Chapel, enjoying some fine acoustic music while snacking on watermelon sounds quite appealing. And hold onto that thought because the Watermelon Wednesdays concert series is gearing up for its 2025 season, and it’s not too far away!
Speaking of Nature: The hawks are not happy: The snow and ice are creating a big problem for the big birds
By BILL DANIELSON
If there has been any theme to this winter it has been the cold. For the first time in years the temperatures have dropped below freezing and generally remained there for weeks on end. Back when I was a kid, my father used to make a skating rink in the back of our house where we would spend endless hours playing hockey. My father even put spotlights in the bedroom windows so that we could play outside at night. On particularly cold nights, my mother would insist that the faces of her children were slathered with copious amounts of Johnson’s baby cream so that we didn’t freeze solid. Those were the days.
Remembering a pioneering Black chef: James Hemings, Jefferson’s enslaved personal chef and half brother-in-law, was first American to become a French chef de cuisine
By TINKY WEISBLAT
For Black History Month, I’m making Macaroni Pie.
‘We called each other hermanas’: Colleagues remember beloved UMass voice professor, Paulina Stark
By CAROLYN BROWN
Paulina Stark, a professor emerita of voice at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1985 to 2005, passed away earlier this month at the age of 88.
Shell yeah: At long last, Amherst Oyster Bar will open next month
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Famous for its giant popovers, Judie’s was a mainstay of Amherst’s dining scene, a popular place for people to go to on graduation, alumni and homecoming weekends and to celebrate special events for more than 40 years.
A display of diverse techniques: Northfield Mount Hermon exhibits work from visual arts faculty members
By MADISON SCHOFIELD
Enjoy a glimpse into the minds of the creative individuals who teach art to students at Northfield Mount Hermon. Currently on display at the school’s Rhodes Art Center is an exhibit showcasing the work of the visual arts faculty.
Strings to close out the season: Brick Church Music Series presents Wistaria String Quartet this Sunday
By CHRIS LARABEE
After a strong start to its 2024-25 season, the Brick Church Music Series is closing out with a local string quartet.
Kindness inspires kindness: Community turns 10-year-old’s $8 dog shelter donation into $468
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN
A small, $8 donation to the Friends of the Franklin County Regional Dog Shelter from 10-year-old Charlotte Cooley of Greenfield turned into nearly $500 after three weeks of donation matching spurred on by a Facebook post in early January.
Sounds Local: ‘Everybody likes the blues, they just don’t know it’: Tommy Castro and the Painkillers play the Shea Theater this Saturday
By SHERYL HUNTER
California-based blues and rock musician Tommy Castro said that his new album, “Closer to the Bone,” is the first real blues album he’s made. Considering that the guitarist, singer, and songwriter has released 16 albums in his award-winning four-decade career, this comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Speaking of Nature: A decade of waiting: Remembering my last visit from the Northern shrike
By BILL DANIELSON
The kitchen windows face due east. The narrow writing desk is as wide as the double windows and looks out at my deck. Ten feet away is the deck railing and a collection of different feeders. The Birch Perch is there and another five feet away there is a giant lilac bush that fills the yard with perfume in May. But this is wintertime and the only thing the yard is full of now is the hustle and bustle of hungry birds as they bicker with one another over food.
‘The clouds changed everything’: Local photographer’s work on display at Greenfield Public Library through Feb. 28
By MADISON SCHOFIELD
The Greenfield Public Library welcomed its first local artist as part of a new program to host monthly art exhibitions. “Clouds in Shades of Gray” by Paul Jablon will be on display in the conference room gallery till the end of February.
Valley Bounty: Time to tap: Family of sugarmakers continue to chase that sweet promise of maple syrup
By JACOB NELSON
Plenty of young kids tap a few maple trees, inspired by the sweet promise of maple syrup. Few become enamored with it to the point of kickstarting a family business. Cooper Deane, who helps run Bear Hill Sugar Farm, is one of them.
Planting to support birds: Ecologist maps out a plan at Greening Greenfield’s Supporting Birds in Our Community series
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
A crowd recently gathered at the Second Congregational Church to hear ecologist and educator Dr. Martha Gach describe how to support birds by growing and tending plants. Gach delivered a sobering update: the number of birds worldwide has decreased by 30% since 1970; nearly 3 billion birds died unnaturally in that time span.
Glimpse into historic Viking life: Red Apple Farm to host The NorthFolk Night Market, Feb. 22 and 23
By DOMENIC POLI
Grab your tunics and chain mail – Red Apple Farm is getting ready to host The NorthFolk Night Market!
Faith Matters: ‘I will break their hearts of stone’: In these turbulent times, let us all open our hearts to love
By THE REV. LINDA M. RHINEHART NEAS
Composer Dan Schutte wrote, “I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.”
Sounds Local: Do It Now to perform in Wendell on Feb. 15
By SHERYL HUNTER
Combine John Sheldon’s extraordinary guitar playing with the powerful words of Beat Poet Laureate Paul Richmond and Tony Vacca’s excellent percussion skills, and you have the makings for a special night of words and music.
Your Daily Puzzles
An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."
A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.
Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.
Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.
Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.
