Valley Bounty: It’s the season of tree-ditions: Kingsbury Christmas Tree Farm in South Deerfield offers cut your own and pre-cut varieties

By JACOB NELSON

The Christmas season, for people who celebrate, tends to be full of traditions. Maybe it’s watching the same corny holiday movies every year. Maybe it’s making Grandma’s special cookies, a yellowing index card with her faded cursive handwriting...

Let’s Talk Relationships: How to handle feelings of shame: The holiday season can be a triggering time for many

By AMY NEWSHORE

Shame is a topic not easily talked about. And that is why I feel enthusiastic about writing about it. That’s my thing — discussing and writing about topics that we often hold at arm’s length and don’t dare think or talk about.But why am I choosing to...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Toni Doherty of Northampton

“Vanilla cake with vanilla butter cream frosting and fruit on top has been a family birthday favorite for 20 years,” Toni Doherty of Northampton wrote, adding, “I allowed whimsy to guide the toppings this time!”How to enter: Snap a pic of something...

‘The magic that existed back then’: Academy of Music to screen time capsule film of New Year’s Eve 1984 concert at The Rusty Nail

By CAROLYN BROWN

It’s been 40 years since the band NRBQ played at Sunderland’s The Rusty Nail on New Year’s Eve, but a devoted fan and friend of the band kept the night alive with his concert footage. Later this month, the Academy of Music will screen that footage,...

Around and About with Richard McCarthy: A small act of great love: A story of strollers and waiting rooms

By RICHARD MCCARTHY

Recently I had an appointment with my primary care provider, and after checking in with the receptionist, I looked to find a seat in the waiting room.One of the only seats available was perpendicular to a young woman with a child about 5 or 6 months...

Arts Briefs: Local holiday show options for everyone, both naughty and nice

An ‘anti-holiday spectacular’Prefer rudeness to Rudolph, getting blitzed to Blitzen, or X-rated humor to Xmas? The show “F*ck That! Erin McKeown’s Anti-Holiday Spectacular,” which will be at the Iron Horse on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m., might be for...

Speaking of Nature: Spotting the bird with the ‘X-factor’: The absolute worst time to be without a camera

By BILL DANIELSON

It was the morning of Thanksgiving Day and I was up early. Guests were still asleep and I was done with the morning chores. A pot of fresh coffee had been brewed, a fire was crackling happily in the wood stove (front doors open so the fire was...

Humanity amid horrors: In her new novel, Granby author Thérèse Soukar Chehade examines the corrosive impact of the Lebanese Civil War on a number of Beirut families

By STEVE PFARRER

War has been a regular horror in Lebanon for nearly half a century, flaring most recently this fall with Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon in attacks against the Iranian-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah, a spillover in turn from the brutal,...

A celebration of history-making women: The Rockwell Museum exhibits over 200 of Anita Kunz’s portraits in ‘Original Sisters’

By DON STEWART

She’s the first woman, and the first Canadian, to present a solo exhibit of her work at the Library of Congress, and two of her paintings can be found at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. You’d recognize Anita Kunz’s often satirical works from...

Chalk Talk: Thank a teacher today: The educators from your past would love to hear from you

By ALLYSON SMITH

Throughout my 16-year educational career, I have been asked countless times to think about a memorable teacher. Any number of professors, administrators, and professional development instructors have asked this of participants to get at their...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Howard Moore of Northampton

“I was struck by the patterns and colors of this sliced Rossa di Milano,” Howard Moore of Northampton wrote. “It might not be all that impressive to others, but like a parent showing off baby pictures, I am biased because I grew these from seed.”How...

Drum roll, please: Longtime UMass percussion instructor Thom Hannum inducted into Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame

By CAROLYN BROWN

Thousands of University of Massachusetts Amherst students have learned from percussion instructor Thom Hannum, whose 40-year career at the college included a tenure as the assistant director, then associate director, of the Minuteman Marching Band...

Art inspiring art: Northampton resident Judy Van Heyst makes collages from children’s weather drawings

By CAROLYN BROWN

Through the Gazette’s weather art program, local schoolchildren find artistic inspiration in the world around them – and a Northampton woman finds her own artistic inspiration from them.Judy Van Heyst, 90, is a former art teacher who lives in...

Arts Briefs: Monochrome art in Northampton, pottery in Hatfield, Welcome Yule returns, and more

Where it all beganMost artists host shows of their work in galleries, but one potter, a native of Hatfield, will soon host one at a different venue: her childhood home.Potter Amy Clark, who currently works in Maine but started her pottery career in a...

Speaking of Nature: A feast for the little guys: Planning a menu for the birds in your life

By BILL DANIELSON

Thanksgiving is here and I couldn’t be happier. 2024 has been an “interesting” year and I, for one, just need a break. Even the hustle and bustle of the holiday (the shopping, cooking, traveling, or hosting) can be a delightful distraction from the...

‘An oasis in the midst of a shopping center’: Resonance Hot Yoga and Massage offers serenity and relaxation for all

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Outside a new yoga studio, massage therapy center and meditation space is a busy parking lot, with people bustling into neighboring stores and restaurants to buy groceries, pick up prescriptions or get a meal.Within the confines of Resonance Hot Yoga...

‘I’ve become Darlene’: Northampton author’s new book tells the story of a child who survived Belchertown State School

By CAROLYN BROWN

Decades ago, it was common for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be kept in inhumane conditions inside horrific institutions. With the release of his new book, “Becoming Darlene: The Story of Belchertown Patient #4952,”...

Valley Bounty: ‘If you need something, come on over’: Hillside Farm’s selection is just about as fresh as you can get

By JACOB NELSON

In South Deerfield, the North Main Street bridge over the railroad tracks has been closed for repairs since May. “I was joking that we’re probably the only ones on this street happy about the detour,” laughs Kelly Kicza.That’s because cars have been...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Agnes Banas of Easthampton

Agnes Banas and her granddaughter made this festive appetizer tray for Thanksgiving last year. They used cheeses and salami for the feathers, a red pear for the body, a grape tomato for the head, and black olives for decoration. How to enter: Snap a...