By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Not so long ago, there was a general lament sometimes heard among Valley musicians: “There aren’t enough places to play around here.” That might have been true for professional players who wanted to be paid — and maybe, despite the opening of new local clubs in recent years such as The Drake, the Marigold Theater, and the Bombyx Center, it still is. The crowd applauds after a performance during a Wednesday open mic night at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE But for musicians of any level who want to try out a new song or just polish their ma ..read more

By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Merriam-Webster has a very active online presence today. But in years past, as Peter Sokolowski explains, decisions on adding new words to the dictionary generated vast paper records, called citation files, as seen here in the company’s Springfield headquarters. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS When Peter Sokolowski started work as an editor at Merriam-Webster 30 years ago, about 80 people worked at the venerable dictionary company in Springfield, including about 45 editors. But based on how quiet the offices were, it might have seemed the company employed just a handfu ..read more

By Bob Flaherty For the Valley Advocate STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE Clinical Supervisor Lilly Gaev, LCSW, right, sits with Bob Flaherty as they demonstrate the experience of ketamine assisted psychotherapy at the Center for Healing Journeys in Northampton. A gamechanger, they call it. A chance to face the challenges of your life head on. To free your mind, unencumbered by old negative patterns. Empowering your life. Re-setting your brain. Though it’s been around for decades, ketamine, still employed as an anesthetic, has, in recent years, been introduced in a dramatically different way: a ps ..read more

By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate World premieres are challenging pieces of theater in every sense. For many theaters and theater companies, it’s safer to produce an “old chestnut”— a show that has a proven track record with audiences, or a show that is familiar to many. Producing a brand new show can be challenging as well as exciting. When all of the elements — writing, directing, stagecraft and acting — are working in harmony, audiences are thrust into the spotlight of being the first judges of new work. We’re now entering the “high season” of theater in the Valley and surroundi ..read more

By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate PHOTO BY MONTE BELMONTE Aging wine is a lost art. It’s lost on me and I’m a self-described wine snob. I have exactly two bottles of wine in my “wine cellar.” It’s actually not a cellar at all. It’s a room off of my living room where I keep my tools and other sundry forms of clutter. But it’s where I also have a giant chest freezer and a tiny wine fridge. In that wine fridge there is currently one bottle of Champagne. The only reason I’m saving it is because it is Champagne and maybe I’ll drink it on a special occasion. More likely, one weekend I’ll r ..read more

By Robin Goldstein For the Valley Advocate The weed world is always full of buzz, and lately you might have heard everyone buzzing about terpenes. Should you care? The answer is complicated and non-obvious. To explain, I must start from the beginning of the story, in the early days of medical weed. From the late 1990s to the early 2010s, almost all the first-generation “dispensaries” — especially the trailblazers on the West Coast — sold their buds “deli-style.” This means it was scooped out of a giant jar and into a baggie, like bulk grains at a health-food co-op. The biggest advantage of de ..read more

By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Local musician Chris Croteau took a musical hiatus to focus on parenthood, but is now back with an album that is worth the wait. Released in November of last year, “Mesmir” is Croteau’s comeback. The 16-track album has songs that have taken decades to finalize, with appearances by many musicians (and friends) sprinkled throughout. Some of those friends have since passed away. The album serves as a dedication, honoring their contribution and inspiration for many of the songs. Jennifer Levesque: Can you tell the readers a little bit about y ..read more

By HANNAH BEVIS For the Advocate Every Sunday morning from November to early February, dozens of people rolled up to Easthampton Mountain View school to play basketball. STAFF PHOTO / JEFF LAJOIE The Fireballers (from left: Sam Barnes, Allen Riccio, Chris Blake, Jo Kalucki, and Liam Cregan) cheer on teammates against the Fighting Artichokes during the championship game of the inaugural Division Q season earlier this month at Mountain View School in Easthampton. Games started at 10 a.m., but players always showed up early to shoot around and warm up (some sleepier than others). Volunteers car ..read more

By AZAI DUGGER and ROBIN GOLDSTEIN For the Advocate Note from Robin Goldstein: For this column, I asked my 9-year-old nephew and co-author Azai Dugger to choose his favorite restaurants and briefly describe each one — the same task as I undertook for my last Gazette column. With great difficulty and repeated admonishments, I banned surrounding family members from prompting Azai as he named and described his winners. I edited his descriptions moderately, shortening and re-ordering some material with the priority of preserving his original wording and phrasing. Azai then edited my final draft. M ..read more

By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN For the Advocate If I were writing the Pioneer Valley chapter of a travel guide to New England, this would be its section for “dinner with table service.” I list restaurants first that I feel are most essential to the local dining scene, the ones we can’t live without, with extra points for live music, late-night service, and nostalgia. Key to icons: ? Also good for lunch. ? Good for wine. ? Good for beer. ? Good for cocktails. T-O Good for take-out. ? Kitchen open late (Sunday through Thursday after 9 p.m. or Friday and Saturday after 10 p.m.). Always call ahead and ask how ..read more