Arts & Life
Remembering a pioneering Black chef: James Hemings, Jefferson’s enslaved personal chef and half brother-in-law, was first American to become a French chef de cuisine
By TINKY WEISBLAT
For Black History Month, I’m making Macaroni Pie.
‘We called each other hermanas’: Colleagues remember beloved UMass voice professor, Paulina Stark
By CAROLYN BROWN
Paulina Stark, a professor emerita of voice at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1985 to 2005, passed away earlier this month at the age of 88.
Shell yeah: At long last, Amherst Oyster Bar will open next month
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Famous for its giant popovers, Judie’s was a mainstay of Amherst’s dining scene, a popular place for people to go to on graduation, alumni and homecoming weekends and to celebrate special events for more than 40 years.
A display of diverse techniques: Northfield Mount Hermon exhibits work from visual arts faculty members
By MADISON SCHOFIELD
Enjoy a glimpse into the minds of the creative individuals who teach art to students at Northfield Mount Hermon. Currently on display at the school’s Rhodes Art Center is an exhibit showcasing the work of the visual arts faculty.
Strings to close out the season: Brick Church Music Series presents Wistaria String Quartet this Sunday
By CHRIS LARABEE
After a strong start to its 2024-25 season, the Brick Church Music Series is closing out with a local string quartet.
Kindness inspires kindness: Community turns 10-year-old’s $8 dog shelter donation into $468
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN
A small, $8 donation to the Friends of the Franklin County Regional Dog Shelter from 10-year-old Charlotte Cooley of Greenfield turned into nearly $500 after three weeks of donation matching spurred on by a Facebook post in early January.
Sounds Local: ‘Everybody likes the blues, they just don’t know it’: Tommy Castro and the Painkillers play the Shea Theater this Saturday
By SHERYL HUNTER
California-based blues and rock musician Tommy Castro said that his new album, “Closer to the Bone,” is the first real blues album he’s made. Considering that the guitarist, singer, and songwriter has released 16 albums in his award-winning four-decade career, this comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Speaking of Nature: A decade of waiting: Remembering my last visit from the Northern shrike
By BILL DANIELSON
The kitchen windows face due east. The narrow writing desk is as wide as the double windows and looks out at my deck. Ten feet away is the deck railing and a collection of different feeders. The Birch Perch is there and another five feet away there is a giant lilac bush that fills the yard with perfume in May. But this is wintertime and the only thing the yard is full of now is the hustle and bustle of hungry birds as they bicker with one another over food.
‘The clouds changed everything’: Local photographer’s work on display at Greenfield Public Library through Feb. 28
By MADISON SCHOFIELD
The Greenfield Public Library welcomed its first local artist as part of a new program to host monthly art exhibitions. “Clouds in Shades of Gray” by Paul Jablon will be on display in the conference room gallery till the end of February.
Valley Bounty: Time to tap: Family of sugarmakers continue to chase that sweet promise of maple syrup
By JACOB NELSON
Plenty of young kids tap a few maple trees, inspired by the sweet promise of maple syrup. Few become enamored with it to the point of kickstarting a family business. Cooper Deane, who helps run Bear Hill Sugar Farm, is one of them.
Planting to support birds: Ecologist maps out a plan at Greening Greenfield’s Supporting Birds in Our Community series
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
A crowd recently gathered at the Second Congregational Church to hear ecologist and educator Dr. Martha Gach describe how to support birds by growing and tending plants. Gach delivered a sobering update: the number of birds worldwide has decreased by 30% since 1970; nearly 3 billion birds died unnaturally in that time span.
Glimpse into historic Viking life: Red Apple Farm to host The NorthFolk Night Market, Feb. 22 and 23
By DOMENIC POLI
Grab your tunics and chain mail – Red Apple Farm is getting ready to host The NorthFolk Night Market!
Faith Matters: ‘I will break their hearts of stone’: In these turbulent times, let us all open our hearts to love
By THE REV. LINDA M. RHINEHART NEAS
Composer Dan Schutte wrote, “I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.”
Sounds Local: Do It Now to perform in Wendell on Feb. 15
By SHERYL HUNTER
Combine John Sheldon’s extraordinary guitar playing with the powerful words of Beat Poet Laureate Paul Richmond and Tony Vacca’s excellent percussion skills, and you have the makings for a special night of words and music.
Something sweet for Valentine’s Day: The legend of the Neiman Marcus chocolate-chip cookie
By TINKY WEISBLAT
We tend to associate chocolate with Valentine’s Day. Americans will spend billions of dollars for that holiday this Friday, much of that money on chocolate. It seems like the perfect romantic gift.
Chiseled to perfection: Ice sculptors wowed the crowds at 103rd annual Winter Carnival
By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI
Of the festivities available for folks who attended the 103rd annual Winter Carnival, few, if any, turn heads like the series of ice sculptures displayed along Main Street during the carnival’s opening night.
‘Your body is really the only thing you have’: Young local artist yearns to build a life beyond nightmarish pain
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
Lily Bix-Daw, 25, heads to Dallas this week for intricate surgery to address idiopathic condylar resorption, a degenerative and debilitating condition affecting the jaw and many adjacent body parts. ICR would test anyone’s endurance and sanity, yet despite steep challenges, the Easthampton resident is on schedule to receive her BA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst this spring, having pursued her degree while enduring staggering pain, disfigurement, and financial hardship.
Planting hope in the garden: Artist Carrie Mae Weems, who named a peony for W.E.B. Du Bois, dreamed of a memorial garden
By LORETTA YARLOW
In 2013, the widely acclaimed artist Carrie Mae Weems — a charismatic artist, activist and educator, known for installations, videos and photographs that invite the viewer to reflect on issues of race, gender and class — was among 10 artists commissioned to participate in “Du Bois in Our Time,” an exhibition I curated when I was director of the University Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Let’s Talk Relationships: In the spirit of boldness and openness: Bringing the conversation to a new local TV show
By AMY NEWSHORE
Being that relationships play such a huge part in the quality of our lives, I am expanding beyond my relationship coaching practice and monthly newspaper column to host a local television show. It will be called “Let’s Talk Relationships,” the same name as this column. I want to provide you, my readers, as well as others in our local community, an additional resource where you can benefit from the discussions we will be having about important, relatable relationship topics.
Faith Matters: Invoking God in politics: Learning from Lincoln’s humility
By THE REV. RANDY CALVO
This coming Wednesday is Abraham Lincoln’s birth anniversary. In his Second Inaugural Address, as the President of a divided Union, he realized that people of faith were praying to the same God for different outcomes. Lincoln was humble enough to dare not equate God’s will with that of either side, saying, “The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”
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.
