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Keyword search: CULTURE

By CHRIS LARABEE

What started as a small tour of orchards around the region has grown into a celebration of the apple, as CiderDays celebrates 30 years of fermentation.From North Adams to Northampton to Phillipston, as well as numerous Franklin County stops in...

By CHRIS LARABEE

A big change will be coming to families who take advantage of the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP).Beginning in December, all families using HIP benefits, regardless of their household size, will see their monthly incentives reduced to $20, which is,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — The long-running public hearing process for a second proposed BlueWave Solar project on Pine Meadow Road will extend into at least December, as the Planning Board continued the hearing once more time to allow the applicants to read and...

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

Leverett resident Ben Goldberg is well-known for displaying worm bins and fielding questions about vermiculture, also known as composting with worms. At the recent Garlic & Arts Festival, Goldberg’s booth also featured toilets, because he’s also an...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

MONTAGUE — RiverCulture is planning a temporary mural project that will expand public art across multiple villages next summer. Suzanne LoManto, director of RiverCulture, an organization seeking to foster Montague’s creative economy, told the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Munching on goldenrod, white woodland aster, white clover, hairy vetch, birdsfoot trefoil, burdock and dandelions, more than 120 sheep are having much of their dietary needs met by a variety of grasses and plants growing at an 11-acre,...

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — After a successful return in 2023, the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association’s (PVMA) Eastern European Heritage Day is back this weekend.The public is invited to PVMA, 10 Memorial St., on Sunday, Oct. 20, from 1 to 5 p.m. for the free...

By MARA MELLITS

Earlier this year, a nationwide outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in cows caused panic for dairy farmers everywhere. Now, Massachusetts has become the only state to test all of its dairy herds, from 95 farms, and achieve 100% negative...

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — The public hearing on a second proposed BlueWave Solar project on Pine Meadow Road was continued again to Oct. 24, as the company continues to address the Planning Board’s questions.BlueWave representatives appeared before the board for a...

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

ASHFIELD — A local nonprofit is helping convert a Kentucky coal mine into a farm and teach Hawaiian farmers how to run prosperous, resilient businesses in the face of climate change.Regenerative Farms, founded by Ashfield resident Mary Johnson in...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

Weathervane Community Arts (WCA), in partnership with the Montague Common Hall, will host an inaugural six-class series called “The Art of Makam,” where participants will learn the modal music system of makam, taught by Boston-based musician and...

SHELBURNE — Learn some tricks of traditional trades at Fabric of Life’s annual agricultural skills fair, Barnfest, on Saturday, Oct. 5.Fabric of Life, at 80 Bassett Road, is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and passing on traditional agricultural...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

With the start of October right around the corner, some squash and pumpkin farmers in the Pioneer Valley and North Quabbin are bearing the burden of Phytophthora capsici — a soil-based disease described by one farmer as being “like the plague” for...

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — In response to concerns aired at May’s public hearing for a second proposed BlueWave Solar project on Pine Meadow Road, the company presented revised plans Tuesday evening, although concerns from residents and the abutting family remained...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — Two local farms opened their doors to Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer on Monday morning to talk about the challenges brought on by climate change, as well as opportunities for future investments in the industry.The state’s first-ever climate...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

TURNERS FALLS — RiverCulture Director Suzanne LoManto believes “good public art is a response by an artist to the times we live in and the people who make up a community.”The completion of the 3,200-square-foot mural on the exterior of the Shea...

By JACOB NELSON

CHESTERFIELD — Three people. Two businesses. One piece of farmland. Countless ways that climate change is making farming harder.And yet, plenty of hope, because these farmers have a plan. With support from peers, nonprofits and even Uncle Sam, they’re...

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — While Kitchen Garden Farm’s Pink Jazz tomato was honored with third place in the heaviest category at the 39th Annual Tomato Contest in Boston earlier this month, don’t expect to find this form of tomato among the farm’s produce.Weighing in...

By SHERYL HUNTER

Before diving into Mark Schwaber’s new release, “Glacier,” I suggest you put on your headphones or earbuds, as this record is best experienced when you can listen closely. On the 11 tracks here, Schwaber, who lives in Greenfield, utilizes various...

By PHILIP KORMAN

 As I am poised to leave my job after 16 years as executive director of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture), naturally, I’ve started to reflect. My takeaways so far are: Local farms are still challenged to keep farming, maybe even more...