5 Resources to Supplement & Support Asian Studies in the Pioneer Valley this Winter

Asian Studies Supplemented in the Pioneer Valley Exhibit, Educator Workshop, Guided Tours, Performance Art & Free Family Day Educational opportunities are numerous over the next few months for those interested in teaching and learning about Asian art!  The Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, MA will be opening a new exhibit on Asian art […]

Retracing the old trolley track in South Amherst

By Vivienne Carey I snowshoed along this trail today and it took about 1½ hours. At other times of the year, when walking at a brisk pace, I usually need a little less than 1 hour. However, as you read on, I will show how the hike can be either shortened or lengthened according to …

6 Ways to Observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Western MA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Opportunities and Celebrations in Western MA Monday, January 21, 2013 Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and dedication to creating change in our country can be done in many ways.  The day will be celebrated in Western MA at concerts, lectures, worship services, and ceremonies throughout the region. […]

Community Conversation: Talking to Your Kids About Sex, Part 2

Hilltown Families presents… Talking to Your Kids About Sex A Community Conversation at Cup & Top Café Evening of Tuesday, January 29th in Florence Hilltown Families and Cup and Top Café are presenting a series of free talks for parents with Brooke Norton, Certified Sex Educator. Continuing with this series, the second talk will continue […]

Great Halls & Great Spaces in the Pioneer Valley

Mash Note No. 21: On Great Halls and Great Spaces The day after Christmas, my daughter Saskia and I took the grandparents to the Eric Carle Museum. For the most part, we followed Saskia’s lead: a juice box and pretzel snack in the cafeteria, a book perusal session in the library, and a puppet show. […]

Exploring D.A.R. State Forest, Goshen, MA

By Gini Traub Winter is such a funny season.  Easy to love.  Easy to loathe.  We all have our lists: My “love” list includes the brightness of sun and moon on a smooth white landscape. Bare branches interlaced against a blue sky.  How a light cover of snow reveals the lay of the land. How icicles build icicles along …

Community in the Happy Valley ❥ Helping Friends and Neighbors

Note 18, Community Recently, a friend of my third boy had a medical emergency. This is a lifelong buddy, who lives a hop, skip, one street crossed and a jump away so that play can flow like a helix from one abode to the other and back again. During the…

Affirming What’s Essential ❥ Love in Western MA

Note 13, Civil Rights in Lesbianville The other day I was at our co-op and listening in at the checkout on a conversation between friends about exercise classes. The two women were lesbians and here, where we live in the town that earned its Lesbianvil…