Celebrate queer joy and community: QueerCore Fest (Sept. 28), Queer Kids Fest (Oct. 5) and Queer Curiosities Outdoor Market (Oct. 12) welcome all ages

By CAROLYN BROWN

Three upcoming local all-ages events will celebrate queer joy and community, albeit in very different ways.QueerCore Fest, an all-ages punk and hardcore festival that centers “BIPOC, queer, trans, gender-diverse, and femme artists,” will debut at...

Speaking of Nature: The return of feeder politics: It’s autumn, and the baby birds aren’t babies anymore

By BILL DANIELSON

On Sept. 22 we observed the official change in the seasons from summer to autumn. This was the Autumnal Equinox, the day when we technically saw 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. With each passing day we will now see less and less of the sun...

John and May: Former lover of John Lennon brings photo exhibit of their relationship to Northampton

By BOB FLAHERTY

In our 60-year obsession with the Beatles, the group’s women have always played a compelling part. Ringo’s long-lasting marriage to “Caveman” co-star Barbara Bach; the George/Pattie Boyd/Eric Clapton triangle; Paul’s heart-tugging romance with Linda...

Farewell to the ‘Doctor of Rock’: Sept. 29 Iron Horse concert pays tribute to Smith professor before he hops the pond

By CAROLYN BROWN

After more than two decades at Smith College, a beloved music professor will say goodbye to Northampton with a farewell concert at the Iron Horse next week. Professor Steve Waksman, who has taught at Smith for 23 years, will complete his last semester...

Valley Bounty: Nothing says autumn like apple picking: Over 10 varieties available this year at Apex Orchards

By LISA GOODRICH

School is back in session, and the emblematic apple is in season at local orchards. Courtney Basil, co-owner of Apex Orchards in Shelburne Falls, reports “beautiful, bountiful peach and apple crops this season.”Apex planted several new varieties in...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Blanche Derby of Northampton

Forager Blanche Derby of Northampton says that she “honors the autumnal equinox with salad made from edible flowers and greens which are available at this time in September. Some are weeds while others are cultivated. Taking center stage is the lovely...

Acting among giants: Northampton native Caroline Bloom appears in Coppola’s magnum opus, ‘Megalopolis’

By CAROLYN BROWN

Francis Ford Coppola’s latest movie — his first in over a decade — is a passion project he’s been working on for 40 years. Even more exciting? An actress from Northampton is in it.Caroline Bloom will make her most prestigious screen credit to date in...

Two heads are better than one: Northampton Center for the Arts appoints co-directors

By CAROLYN BROWN

The Northampton Center for the Arts recently announced the appointment of Kelly Silliman and Heather Geoffrey as its new co-directors.Silliman, a dancer and educator, was program director at the Center since 2017, prior to stepping into her new role....

There is a Season with Molly Parr: Like a big crouton salad: A panzanella is a Tuscan tomato and bread salad

By MOLLY PARR

They say it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, but I’m not certain I feel that way about this perfect panzanella that made me swoon before it ended up on my kitchen floor, the victim of a Tupperware mishap in the fridge....

Speaking of Nature: Abandoned by the gods: One unusually unlucky birding morning

By BILL DANIELSON

Long-time readers of mine will be familiar with my tales of the Photo Gods. These are those supernatural beings that look over me during my photographic endeavors and either smile down on me benevolently, or take issue with something that I have done...

‘Jazz without borders’: Multicultural theme defines Northampton Jazz Festival, Sept. 27-28

By CAROLYN BROWN

In a year of international strife, the Northampton Jazz Festival is aiming to bring people together with music that transcends borders. The Northampton Jazz Festival, which will return for its 12th year on Sept. 27 and 28, is celebrating the unifying...

You oughta see these pictures: Greenfield Garden Cinemas launches Talking Talkies series of essential 1930s films

By CHRIS LARABEE

As the Greenfield Garden Cinemas was completed in the late 1920s, Hollywood was introducing a novel idea into more and more movies: sound. In 2024, cinema co-owner Isaac Mass and local movie historian Jonathan Boschen are offering an opportunity to...

Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: Time for a garden makeover: Seek help from professionals to see the big picture

By MICKEY RATHBUN

Late summer isn’t a pretty time in the garden, at least not in my garden. The recent mini-drought has bleached out what passes for lawn, several large hydrangeas are drooping as they beg me for water, the daylily borders are shriveled and brown....

Earth Matters: Spotting rare birds among the common: Birdwatching tactics for observing abnormal bird behavior

By DAVID SPECTOR

Birdwatchers make lists. We list bird species seen by day, week, year, or lifetime. We list birds seen in a yard, town, state, or continent. We compete and get a special thrill from finding a stray from far away.It is a truism of birdwatching that...

Weekly Food Photo Contest: This week’s winner: Linda Marston of Amherst

Linda Marston of Amherst made this cauliflower crust pizza topped with homemade pesto, eggplant and portobello mushroom. She noted that the “eggplant and basil for the pesto were two of the garden items delivered to me last week by Phyllis Lehrer for...

A recipe for social justice: ‘The Revolution Will Be Well Fed’ is a cookbook for community organizing

By CAROLYN BROWN

A local author’s new cookbook aims to inspire activism through food designed for community organizing and social justice.“The Revolution Will Be Well Fed,” written by Corrie Locke-Hardy, features 50 recipes that are made for community activism —...

New college bar has potential, is spacious, lacks buzz: Spoke Live the place to go when Spoke is full

By EMILEE KLEIN

Spoke is a University of Massachusetts Amherst student treasure. One of the three college bars in town, Spoke offers the trifecta of a good college bar: space to dance, cheap drinks and a classic bar feel complete with a wall of fake IDs. The...

Only Human with Joan Axelrod-Contrada: ‘Live for today’: A lesson for those who struggle to be in the present

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

True confessions: I constantly struggle with the notion of living in the present, a mindset The Grass Roots embraced in their classic-rock hit “Let’s Live for Today.”As much as sage after sage has touted such advice, I’ve always had a soft spot for...

Speaking of Nature: The great southward migration

By BILL DANIELSON

One of the most remarkable things about birding in September is the number of strangers that you see. Having spent so much time observing the birds during the summer months, I have a very clear roster in my head of who the “regulars” are. Not only...

Arts Briefs: A little musical something for everyone in September, from country to Irish to indie punk

How time flies“I got sober in 1990 at age twenty-seven. A few years later, I started writing songs.” That’s how singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier begins the liner notes of her soon-to-be reissued, highly acclaimed album, “Drag Queens in Limousines,”...