Rock On with Joan Axelrod-Contrada: Happiest song in the world?: Hearing ‘Good Vibrations’ through fresh ears

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

I was scrolling through my Google feed (that algorithm really gets me in ways that are both spooky and oddly comforting) when, kaboom, a headline fired up my inner skeptic. “Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys (scientifically) makes people happier than any other song,” it said.

Arts Briefs: ‘A Walk in the Woods’ in Amherst, ‘Guys and Dolls’ in Easthampton, Green River Fest, and more

Valley Players’ production of Lee Blessing’s play “A Walk in the Woods” will run at First Congregational Church in Amherst at 7 p.m. June 20-22, June 27-28, and at 2:30 p.m. on June 29.

Speaking of Nature: Pressure is on for the spotted turtle: Now is the point in the turtle life cycle when female turtles are most vulnerable

By BILL DANIELSON

The story of this spring has been the weather; specifically, the rain that just keeps falling. Add in the new arrival of the hazy smoke blowing south from Canadian wildfires and you’ve got a soggy, foggy, smoky, cloudy mess. The grass in my lawn is growing like crazy and the notion of a No Mow May wasn’t even really much of a choice so much as it was foisted upon us by the weather. When I finally get a dry moment to get out into the yard I am going to have to keep my eyes open for tigers and velociraptors in the tall grass.

A food fest to feel good about: Inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest is this Sunday, June 15

By CAROLYN BROWN

A new vegan food festival is about to take root in the Pioneer Valley.

Catharsis meets comedy: ‘Customers From Hell’ show will premiere at the Shea Theater on Sunday, June 15

By CAROLYN BROWN

Most people who have worked retail and food service jobs have dealt with customers who were rude, annoying, or just plain strange. A new comedy TV series written and filmed in the Pioneer Valley wants to answer the question: what if those customers were actually from Hell?

Valley Bounty: Rain or shine, strawberries are here: Teddy C. Smiarowski Farm welcomes another pick-your-own season

By LISA GOODRICH

The Smiarowski family name has been a fixture in Valley farming since around 1923 when Alexander Smiarowski came from Poland, and purchased farmland in Montague for a dairy, along with cucumbers, asparagus and corn.

There is a Season with Molly Parr: Cheesecake sans stress: No need to track down your springform pan

By MOLLY PARR

For years I’d been nervous about making cheesecakes. They seemed so difficult to master. I never quite trusted the combination of “water bath” and springform pan. I mention this because the Jewish holiday of Shavuot happened earlier this week. It’s traditional to eat dairy foods like cheese blintzes, noodle kugels, of course, cheesecake.

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Claire Frierson of Northampton

Claire Frierson of Northampton made this Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake for her daughter Julia’s birthday.

Around and About with Richard McCarthy: No direction known: Remembering the days of giving and receiving directions

By RICHARD MCCARTHY

It’s interesting how certain actions are made rarer, even extinct, by advancing technology, one-by-one, in an ever-longer line.

‘Meant to only last the summer’: Amherst artist’s wheatpaste murals among those now decorating Montague

By CAROLYN BROWN

Earlier this year, three Massachusetts artists were chosen to create six wheatpaste murals total to decorate the town of Montague, a public art project funded by a $15,000 grant. The most local of the three – graphic designer and illustrator Sophie Foulkes – recently installed her murals at Montague Town Hall and 20 Masonic St. in Montague.

Arts Briefs: Cultural Chaos in Easthampton, Chris Haynes memorial at Bombyx, and more

The street fair Cultural Chaos, one of Easthampton’s biggest annual events, will return this year on Saturday, June 14, from 12 to 5 p.m. on Cottage Street in Easthampton.

Speaking of Nature: The pressures of parenthood: Bird dads, like human dads, deserve a happy Father’s Day

By BILL DANIELSON

June is upon us and we are all set to celebrate Father’s Day this coming weekend. If we have any luck at all the weather will be cooperative, but the pattern has been pretty dismal so far; 12 consecutive rainy weekends according to my brother. It has been a rough spring for outdoor activities, but that is seen strictly through the human lens. Our wild neighbors have a schedule to keep and the game is on rain or shine.

‘Is Alice in you?’: Teens reimagine ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in ‘genre-bending’ show next weekend in Northampton

By CAROLYN BROWN

Lewis Carol’s story of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is more than 150 years old, but a group of local teen performers is reimagining it with a modern twist.

Dine downtown: Amherst Restaurant Week is June 8-12

By SCOTT MERZBACH

A tradition for 28 years, the Taste of Amherst for most of its run brought restaurants to the Town Common in mid-June, with select menu items offered from various tents that attendees could enjoy while listening to live music.

Valley Bounty: New farm with an old-fashioned feel: Moody Family Farm in Bernardston opens their farm stand this month

By LISA GOODRICH

When farming is in the family, the land calls no matter where else life takes you. Aaron Moody, owner-operator of Moody Family Farm, was born in Greenfield, and from the beginning, he knew that he loved working with animals. Three generations of Moody’s family farmed, and young Moody occasionally worked at his uncle’s dairy farm while growing up.

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Sabine Merz of Northampton

In honor of this weekend’s Asparagus Festival, this week’s winner is Sabine Merz of Northampton, who made “cannelloni with some excellent asparagus” from Plainville Farm in Hadley, with “her trusted assistant, Yoshi.”

Holyoke hosts inaugural Paper Festival: Crafts, exhibitions, tours, contests and more in the ‘Paper City’ this Saturday

By CAROLYN BROWN

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Holyoke was known for its thriving paper industry – that’s how it got the nickname “Paper City.” Now, over a century later, the city will celebrate the legacy and impact that paper production had on the area with the inaugural Holyoke Paper Festival.

Good art for good deeds: Belchertown Trash Gala next weekend will showcase three newly commissioned transfer station murals

By CAROLYN BROWN

Last September, the City of Belchertown put out a call for muralists to decorate three unusual canvases: transfer station containers, which hold large amounts of recyclable materials. The intent, according to a press release, was to “enhance the visual appeal of the site while also conveying the message that every resident’s effort contributes to a larger process.” Each mural had to use imagery related to Belchertown, drawing from nearly 100 responses to a community survey, and follow the theme “recycle, reuse, reduce, regenerate.”

Arts Briefs: Jazz doc and plein air paintings in Northampton, photo workshops in Easthampton, and more

The Northampton Jazz Festival will screen “Brownie Speaks,” a documentary about the life of jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, at 33 Hawley on Thursday, June 12, at 8 p.m.