Arts & Life
By dessert, ‘You’re in outer space’: Chef Matthew Brehm caters multi-course cannabis-infused meals in the Valley
By CAROLYN BROWN
A local chef is bringing a new meaning to the phrase “getting baked.”Chef Matthew Brehm is the owner of Upscale Cannabis Wine Dinners, which provides catered brunches and dinners with weed-infused dishes. He operates out of western Massachusetts, but...
They’ve got it in the bag: Franklin County Baggers cornhole league offers fun, camaraderie for all
By DOMENIC POLI
What would you do if you loved cornhole but there was no league in your area? Well, if you’re David Knox and Michael Shedd, you would start your own.The two hit it off while playing in a Northampton club in 2022 and on Jan. 3 of this year held the...
Meet the Worm Whisperer: Ben Goldberg makes worm farming sound not only possible, but downright attractive
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...
‘He was a big star, but he didn’t act like one’: Two Franklin County residents reflect on their time working with the late Phil Donahue
By SAM FERLAND
In the wake of Phil Donahue’s death on Aug. 18, two Franklin County residents remember the renowned television host known for hosting “The Phil Donahue Show,” describing memories of their time producing a show hosted by Donahue in 1985.“A Citizens’...
Closer than Mumbai: Inaugural Bollywood film series comes to Greenfield Garden Cinemas, every second Monday
By AMALIA WOMPA
Vidhi Salla, a radio host, author and journalist whose focus is on Indian cultural arts, is pioneering the introduction of Bollywood to New England theaters.Salla grew up in Mumbai and studied literature before moving to southern Vermont in 2018 to...
Faith Matters: The importance of waving: Recognizing one another, post-pandemic, pre-election
By HETTY STARTUP
Have you, like me, noticed a spate of large, at least twice-human-sized skeletons appearing around the Valley in time for Halloween this year? They sure are creepy and quite threatening even if they are completely fake. As signifiers of our mortality,...
Sounds Local: The Boxcar Lilies reunite for one night only: Original trio celebrates 15th anniversary at favorite venue, the Iron Horse
By SHERYL HUNTER
Stephanie Marshall, Katie Clarke and Jenny Goodspeed formed the Boxcar Lilies back in 2009, drawn together by their shared love of three-part harmony and roots music. Accompanying themselves on guitar, claw hammer banjo, electric bass, and washboard,...
Speaking of Nature: Dam it: The risks and perils that beavers face in the winter
By BILL DANIELSON
The American beaver (Castor canadensis) is one of those mammals that everyone has heard of. A humongous rodent capable of cutting down trees and damming up streams, the furry brown creature has been represented by plush toys and has long been a...
Social justice is served, silverware not required: ‘The Revolution Will Be Well Fed’ is a cookbook and history book rolled into one
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Corrie Locke-Hardy of Plainfield has a varied work history. She has been a pastry chef, a teacher, and a social-justice education consultant. Most recently, she became a cookbook author with the publication of “The Revolution Will Be Well Fed”...
One man’s trash is another’s fashion: Swanson’s Fabrics held its first ever Trash Rich Fashion Show on Sunday night
By MADISON SCHOFIELD
In the world of fast fashion, the life cycle of a fabric is pretty grim: cut, quickly sewn together into a garment and mass produced, then worn and enjoyed for a season or two before being retired to the back of the closet or tossed into a landfill....
Let’s Talk Relationships: Building emotional intelligence for strong partnership, part 2
By AMY NEWSHORE
In my last column, I highlighted how emotional intelligence is a strong determinant of the success and flourishing of partnerships and marriages, as well as friendships, work and family relationships. Briefly, I defined emotional intelligence as...
The things kids learn hanging out with plants: Local programs nurture relationships between children and nature
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
When anyone mentions teaching children about plants, I recall a scenario from when my son, now 20, was very young. I’ll save that for after we’ve had a chance to meet two local women who mentor kids in plant identification, responsible foraging, and...
A clarinetist, a bassoonist and a pianist walk into a church: Brick Church Music Series wraps up fall 2024-25 season with trio, Oct. 27
By CHRIS LARABEE
To mark the end of the fall leg of the Brick Church Music Series’ 2024-25 season, folks are invited to two days of classical music with the traditional Sunday afternoon concert, as well as a follow-up masterclass with the performers the next day.The...
Valley Bounty: Plant medicine for the people: Local herbal company grows their own ingredients
By JACOB NELSON
Sometimes, medicine comes from a pill bottle. Other times, it grows right in your backyard, if only you knew how to access it.Blending modern chemistry with traditional wisdom, Blue Crow Botanicals puts locally grown herbal medicine right at people’s...
Faith Matters: The urgent need for a prophetic ministry for peace
By THE REV. DAVID JONES
I’ve been re-reading “The Prophetic Imagination,” a classic by biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann. In it he talks about the prophetic ministry of churches as being the result of two essential ingredients.The first ingredient is that a church must...
Sounds Local: Wendell Full Moon Coffeehouse returns with full schedule: Plus, Lady Hang at Hawks & Reed, and a tribute to the late Kate Lorenz
By SHERYL HUNTER
After a limited opening last year, the Wendell Full Moon Coffeehouse, held at the Wendell Town Hall, is ready to return to a full schedule. Briezyjane and the Hurricane will kick off the 2024/2025 season in fine style on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7:30...
Speaking of Nature: An exceptional evening extravaganza: An entire yellow-rumped warbler flock threw a party on my deck
By BILL DANIELSON
I realize that I wrote a column on the yellow-rumped warbler just last week, but I had an encounter with this species that was as wonderful as it was unexpected. I very rarely feature a particular species in consecutive columns, but this was an...
The Green Team makes dinner: 100 Mile Dinner is later this month in Greenfield
By TINKY WEISBLAT
We live in an area with abundant local sources of food. Greenfield’s Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew is getting ready to celebrate this year’s harvest with a “100 Mile Dinner.”The dinner will take place next Saturday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m....
Nostalgic in the 19th century: Two new exhibitions in Old Deerfield this fall aim to fill in more gaps of New England history
By CHRIS LARABEE
With the leaves changing and weather cooling down, Historic Deerfield is welcoming folks to two new exhibitions this fall aiming to tell the history of New England, while also exploring the feelings of nostalgia and beauty that shaped some of those...
Superstition, or just bad lighting?: Some animal shelters find black cats less likely to be adopted
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN
One of the most enduring symbols of Halloween is the black cat, and their associations with the supernatural date as far back as the Middle Ages in Europe. Satan, witches and bad luck have followed these felines into the modern Halloween...
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.
