The Fabulous 413

We’re doing the stuff of big kids, because it’s good to remember that keeping a little youth in your perspective is a very good thing.  In Easthampton, we visit everyone’s houses to experience a city wide music celebration. The 3rd annual Easthampton Porchfest takes place Saturday, Oct. 4, now with three centralized neighborhoods to explore western Massachusetts sounds in. We speak with organizers...

Science and the arts combine voltron-like, which is a reference that dates us, but bear with. We’re off to Westfield to see the farm stand created when two science teachers made an enemies to lovers story real, and use their day jobs to make the growing better for the planet. Kosinski's Farm Stand may have started with a rivalry between a blueberry and a strawberry farm, but today it’s fruit, prod...

We’re headed for the hills, which are full of community! Including a health center that’s been keeping the folx in the many-hidden hilltowns healthy. Hilltown Community Health Center got its start 75 years ago tangentially through a campaign of a former Red Cross nurse, but over the years has outgrown its Worthington origins, into much more. We speak with doctors Michael Purdy and Debbie DiStefano...

Today is full of intrigue. Pulitzer Prize winning author Alex Storozynski joins us to talk about his academic exploration of free speech in the Eastern Bloc, which in turn leads him to incredible discoveries about his own family and their impact on both WWII and the modern day. all of which can be found in " Spies In My Blood: Secrets of a Polish Family’s Fight Against Nazis and Communists ," his...

We’re uncovering histories, and doing some exploration. In Ashfield this weekend, you’ve got the chance to preview a new work about the long lasting effects of slavery on the American landscape. "Seeing Violet" is a new play about the repercussions of one couple discovering their own connection to the triangle trade through a series of revelations at their home, and how that influences their inter...

This is what democracy looks like. How so? Well it’s in mutual aid and there’s a local organization that’s been helping the folx of the community through too many programs to list here. And that organization is about to experience a change in leadership. Community Action Pioneer Valley has thrived under the for the past 14 years under the guidance of Clare Higgins who’ll step down this month. We’l...

Today there's books, and ideas, and great music to accompany both.  In Lenox, 16 authors will gather to have live real conversations on a wide range of topics in order to encourage more healthy discourse. The Writers, Ideas, and Thinkers Festival , or WIT as we colloquially call it, starts this Thursday, and we’ll speak with The Author Guild’s director of programming Bernard Schwartz about the fol...

We’re covering the full breadth of the bay state and a pinch of the sky.   Mass Humanities has begun to honor those with particularly interesting and important stories to tell about and to Massachusetts, and their second honoree might be best known for Shipping up to Boston. Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys will receive the honor and we talk with the man himself as well as Brian Boyles of Mass Hu...

We are in the North County of the Berkshires as we say goodbye to summer, and hello to Fresh Grass. This Friday, Saturday and Sunday The FreshGrass Music Festival at Mass MoCA in North Adams will feature grassroots music from a swath of diverse genres. And today on the show we’ll hear music from Juno Award, Americana Music Award, and Steve Martin Banjo Prize winner Allison DeGroot , whose new Fres...

Today is jam packed, with theater, books, and government.  One of those things is not like the others, but accidentally ties them together, as Congressman Jim McGovern explores the fallout of free speech in this country as censors come for Jimmy Kimmel,  the UN’s recent declaration of Israeli actions as Genocide, and much more.  There’s a book fair this weekend in Northampton that’ll encourage you...

Today we explore stars of screen, stage, page, and mutual aid.  On the page, we’re taking one from the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee , who are co-hosting a benefit for immigrant rights this weekend with the  FCCPR Rapid Response Network . "It Can’t Happen Here: A Benefit for Immigrant Rights" is an event that will bring together activists, poets, musicians, storytellers, and even immigration l...

We’re helping our neighbors today in their passion, and in their hungers, and their survival. For survival we head to Mohawk Regional School where tomorrow the Mary Lyon Association is hosting a Resource Fair to connect community members with local resources and services, including SNAP/HIP, fuel assistance, literacy programs, senior services, and much more. And we’ll chat with CEO Kristen Baker a...

Schools are a hot topic for this year's election cycle. And in Franklin County, there’s a big shift that may be on the horizon. Faced with a declining school-aged population, 6 towns are seeking to create a sustainable educational future by merging into one regional district. We’ll speak with Six Town Regionalization Planning Board members Greg Snedeker, Deb Potee, and Deb Loomer as well as Gill M...

We conclude our week of chatting with the 4 potential Mayors for Northampton who’ll be on the preliminary ballot this coming Tuesday. Jillian Duclos is pivoting from her role at the Downtown Northampton Association to seek the seat of leadership for the city of Northampton. The only renter of the 4 candidates shares with us her perspective on the place of small businesses in the future of the city...

Today we sit in the backyard of our third candidate seeking the position of mayor in Northampton as we spend this week conversing with all 4 of the folx on the preliminary ballot this coming Sept 16th. Dan Breindel has worn many hats in his career, but it’s the unanswered questions of himself and his neighbors that put him on his current path. We’ll hear about the choice to seek the mayoral seat i...

Our chats with the candidates for Northampton mayor continue with David Dombrowski , a Northampton native and former police officer looking to fill the seat and address the issues he sees within the city including concerns over Picture Main Street, revitalizing the local economy, examining the housing and financial woes of the city and more.  We’ll also head to Amherst to find out more about a new...

Today, we’re starting a deep dive into the politics light portion of our ethos, because Northampton has a heavily contested mayoral preliminary going on right now. So for the rest of the week we’ll be chatting with each of the four contestants in that particular race.  And today we’ll start those conversations with the woman who currently has that seat: Gina Louise Sciarra . We’ll explore how her...

We’re digging into a bit of delicious history and listening to decades of dedication  We sit with Mother-Son authors Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, who’ve combined their talents to release the cookbook Heartland Masala . The book is an amazing and tasty snapshot not just of cultures meeting within one family, but of history, and interpersonal connections, with Jyoti’s incredible career trajectory from...

Today we get to play explorers: in our glasses, in our ears, and on our stages.  Tomorrow evening a work highlighting the experiences of women in an ongoing conflict overlooked by many will be presented at Holyoke Media. An Epic of Violence brings the stories of Sudanese women in their mother tongue to the stage through a company of six actors for a theatrical production and we’ll talk with the wr...

Today, we go onscreen in Deerfield where a new exhibit looks at the way the Asparagus Valley has been captured on film and tv. Pioneer Valley Picture Show is a wide sweeping exploration of the people, places, and screenplays that are connected to the towns and cities of the 413, from actors to costume designers, writers and directors, the Memorial Hall Museum is looking at the many ways Western Ma...

We’re learning more about the arts and culture of a diaspora at Springfield Museums for instance, where this Friday sees the third Latino Arts Festival . Featuring an exhibit on loan from the Museo de Ponce that itself delves into the sense of place and surrealism in Latin America, music, dance and more and we’ll chat with Museum director of Education Larissa Murray about the occasion We’ll also f...

It’s birthday time because one of the farms in the area is celebrating its time in agro-tourism with four acres of festivities. Mike’s Maze in Sunderland is celebrating its 25th year with its 26th maize labyrinth, so we head there to take in this year’s attraction and hear about it’s history. We’ll learn about the maze’s origins with the eponymous Mike  Wissemann  and artist Will Sillin who design...

20 years ago today the nation watched as Hurricane Katrina broke the levees and lay feet of water and devastation on the wards of New Orleans, destroying infrastructure, communities, and lives.  And today on the Fab 413, we’ll speak with one person displaced by the hurricane happened to land in Ashfield and make themselves a little ubiquitous. Nan Parati has been making signs for businesses, event...

Healthcare is a fraught issue in the US let alone the region. And there’s a local organization that’s been providing care for a wide variety of avenues to some of the most vulnerable populations across the 4 counties. Tapestry Health has been a force in the 413 for 50 years and has just undergone a few leadership changes. We speak their new Chair of the Board Brad Riley about their current service...

Every year, the congressman for the 2nd congressional district comes to to area for a whirlwind meeting with farmers, agricultural advocates, and other legislators, and members of his staff at various farms across his district.  We tag along with U.S. Representative Jim McGovern at the second stop of his 15 location, 2 day Farm Tour up in Ashfield at Foxtrot Farm  and get to see firsthand  how the...