Arts

Cultivating curiosity in the great outdoors: Grower of native plants creates curriculum for school children

03-18-2024 3:57 PM

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

We celebrate today’s Spring Equinox with Colrain resident Jocelyn Demuth, who designs curricula to encourage Massachusetts children to improve environmental health.Through her “Five hundred Yard Field Trip” website, Demuth provides teachers with free...


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Speaking of Nature: One lucky duck: Stumbling upon an entire flotilla of Common Mergansers

03-18-2024 5:01 AM

By BILL DANIELSON

It was a rainy Sunday morning at the beginning of March and I was suffering from cabin fever. It hasn’t been a particularly cold winter, but I had been cooped up nonetheless. Saturday had gone by without incident, like so many Saturday’s since the new...


‘All the world’s a stage’: Inaugural Montague Shakespeare Festival takes over Shea Theater with performances and workshops, March 18 to April 7

03-15-2024 3:28 PM

By JULIAN MENDOZA

In terms of timeless relevance and impact, it’s tough to argue that any writer has had more of a lasting legacy than William Shakespeare. For this reason, veteran thespian Kenny Butler argues there is never a bad time to delve into his world of words...


Facing history: Wendell Historical Society grapples with some challenging facts of their building’s history

03-15-2024 3:27 PM

By BELLA LEVAVI

With the first anniversary of the Wendell Historical Society approaching on April 1, the Society's President, Edward Hines, went searching for the history of the building that the society calls its home.Last July, the society purchased the former...


Lamenting language loss: Where would national identity be today if Irish was still spoken in Ireland?

03-15-2024 3:25 PM

By ROSEMARY CAINE

The 2019 Green River Festival had Rhiannon Giddens as the headliner on the last Sunday afternoon.I was intrigued by her background: a banjo player, violinist and singer, an ethnomusicologist trained in opera at Oberlin College, a charming beauty and...


Faith Matters: Supporting life after jail: St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ashfield hosts ‘Moving Forward: From Incarceration to Community’ April 13

03-15-2024 3:24 PM

By HETTY STARTUP

There are many citations about prison fellowship and ministry in the Bible, including the Psalms, the Book of Isaiah and perhaps most well-known, chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel.At St. John’s Episcopal Church this spring, the teachings are being taken...


Sounds Local: Don your St. Patrick’s Day green: Where to celebrate the holiday this weekend in Franklin County

03-13-2024 4:35 PM

By SHERYL HUNTER

St. Patrick’s Day is the day when we love to celebrate everything Irish. We eat corned beef, raise a pint of Guinness, and get all decked out in our best green outfits. Of course, there is music involved in these celebrations, be it traditional Celtic...


A bread that unites us all: For St. Patrick’s Day, a savory soda bread with cheese and chives

03-12-2024 4:06 PM

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I think of my mother and her grandmother whenever I get ready for St. Patrick’s Day. I forage in the basement for my light-up shamrock (which a neighbor whom I shall not name says makes the house look like a low-rent tavern). I affix it to a window,...


Nature Photo Contest

03-11-2024 5:01 PM


Speaking of Nature: Bring the birds to you: A behind-the-scenes tip of nature photography

03-10-2024 3:01 PM

By BILL DANIELSON

Every week, rain or shine, winter or summer, I try to find something fun, interesting and positive to talk about in my column. This is actually an easy thing to do, but what can be somewhat problematic is finding a photo that will pair nicely with the...


Creating with childlike wonder: Solo show by aritst Mary Frongillo on display in GCTV lobby this month

03-09-2024 9:00 AM

By BELLA LEVAVI

Artist Mary Frongillo loves to play and employs play to understand the world around her.Frongillo is the first featured lobby artist of the year at Greenfield Community Television (GCTV), located at 393 Main St., with her solo show, “Shapes in Space,”...


Faith Matters: All are welcome at Open Table: One effort to nurture respectful conversation among those who may see the world differently

03-09-2024 7:00 AM

By JAN FLASKA

I often ask the students I teach to tell me which fruit was forbidden by God in the Garden of Eden. A quick, abrupt answer is speculative: “Apple!” A thoughtful answer obligates us to read the source, which states that it is not specified. Now the...


Direct from the Sunshine State: Augusta Savage Gallery celebrates its namesake with group show from Florida

03-08-2024 5:21 PM

By STEVE PFARRER

Augusta Savage rose to prominence as a sculptor and educator when she moved to New York City in the 1920s, where she soon became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance.But Savage, who was also a determined advocate for equal rights for African...


Turning 35, with some new plays to mark the occasion: Chester Theatre unveils its 2024 program

03-08-2024 5:18 PM

By STEVE PFARRER

Chester Theatre Company turns 35 this year, and for its 2024 season, the ensemble is throwing in some new wrinkles to mark the occasion, from the world premiere of two new plays, the addition of some Friday matinee shows, and a production that the New...


Reclaiming the myth: World premier of ‘Gorgons’ tells the story of Medusa’s sisters, this weekend and next at Hawks & Reed

03-08-2024 11:34 AM

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

A modern spin on the Greek mythology will hit the stage at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center Friday, March 8, with the world premier of “Gorgons,” a play written by Megan Tripaldi and directed by Kevin Vandevelve. The two-actor play, starring Human...


Change the world in 1,000 days: It starts with supporting babies and their families

03-08-2024 10:20 AM

By DOUG SELWYN

A recent essay by Blythe Thomas, initiative director at 1000 Days, an organization that fights “to make health and well-being during the first 1,000 days (between pregnancy and a child’s 2nd birthday) a policy and funding priority,” begins by asking...


Sounds Local: Your favorite musician’s favorite musician: British singer-songwriter Luke Concannon plays in Shelburne Falls this Saturday

03-06-2024 2:00 PM

By SHERYL HUNTER

We all know that Ed Sheeran is a pop superstar and a bestie of Taylor Swift, but you probably didn’t know that he is a huge fan of of folk singer Luke Concannon, a British folk artist who will perform at The Mill in Shelburne Falls this Saturday,...


Connecting over casserole: Make this nourishing chili casserole when you want to communicate affection

03-05-2024 2:41 PM

By TINKY WEISBLAT

The little church I attend in Charlemont is in transition, getting ready to look for a new minister. Right now, we are enjoying sermons from the Rev. Randy Purinton of Amherst.Randy is a delight. He is wise and funny, and he often manages to work a...


Crafted at home for the home: Josh Hannon creates wooden household goods that are both functional and beautiful

03-04-2024 3:25 PM

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

Western Massachusetts is home to some of the world’s finest artisans and craft fairs. We can admire gorgeous objects made of wood, glass, wool, clay, flax, stone, wax, and other materials, and this happy circumstance allows us to shop locally....


Speaking of Nature: The bird that surprised me: Brown Creeper uncommon for most of year, expertly camoflauges among dead trees

03-04-2024 6:01 AM

By BILL DANIELSON

It was the end of a very long day, but, because of the increasing daylight that we have all been enjoying, it was still light out when I got home. I pulled up to the garage, but I had to get out to open the garage door because my door opener had died....



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