This Saturday, right after the downtown trick or treat!!

Just moved to the area. Can anyone recommend:

- a good PT

- a great non-shady chiropractor

- a really great massage therapist that specializes in sports recovery

- ....and a running club?

even providing 1/4 of these would be much appreciated :) thank you in advance!

Will cross post to the much less active Easthampton subreddit. Does anyone know if the Easthampton lower mill pond is being drained due to the Great Sinkhole of ‘26? It’s so low I can’t see that being lack of rain alone.

If you parked your car at Stop n Shop in front of Tandem this morning at 9am and have a large scrape across the rear driver's side, call 413-587-1100 (non-emergency Noho police). Watched some asshole drag his giant SUV across the back of it before driving away, the police have his plate # so you can make a claim for it.

Hi! We are getting married at the Roosevelt Room in Northampton next fall. We are hoping to find a spot for our first look that has some pretty foliage/nature. We checked out some of the gardens at Smith College as well as Childs Park. Any other leads on places in the area?

Thank you so much!

New Year's Eve 2023

Northampto Ma

Finding the Philosopher's Stone:
The Alchemical Imagination with Eliza Swann 

Saturday, October 24, 2026
6:30-7:30pm
Splendor Solis Books
21 Market Street, Northampton, MA
Free!

What is the Philosopher's Stone, and why has its pursuit endured for millennia? 

This talk moves through the architecture of alchemy – its symbolic systems, material experiments and metaphysical ambitions – tracing a lineage from the Hellenistic world to contemporary practice. Along the way, we'll consider the many forms the Philosopher's Stone has taken: a substance, a process, a state of consciousness, an artistic or spiritual achievement.

We'll look closely at the strange methods alchemists devised in their attempts to realise the Stone: from body modification, to the drawing of sigils and encoded diagrams, to the use of fermented substances believed to harbour latent vital forces.

Seen together, these practices reveal alchemy as a hybrid field where experimentation, imagination and devotion converge. The Philosopher's Stone hovers at the edge of impossibility, and it is precisely this condition that opens a space for radical creativity. The quest does not resolve; it deepens, expands and continually renews itself across time.

Eliza Swann,

also known as Emerald, is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and alchemist whose work explores mysticism and its relationship to contemporary arts practice. In 2014, they founded Golden Dome, a nonprofit art school for mystics dedicated to experimental creative education. Swann is the author of The Anatomy of the Aura (St. Martin's, 2020) Green Mary (Cosmic Dog House Press, 2024), and The Alchemical Imagination (Weiser/Red Wheel). They have published essays in BOMB, Momus, Contemporary Art Review LA, and many anthologies. Their work has been supported by the Warhol Foundation, the LA Department of Cultural Affairs, PEN America, and the Foundation for Contemporary Art, and others. They currently serve on the faculty of Pratt Institute, where they teach alchemy.

You read that right. Not for me, but for my paraplegic wheelie pup who will never catch one but loves chasing them, and it is great therapy for her. The UMass campus has some prime hunting grounds around the hotel, but I'd like to branch out.

Does anyone have more info?

Main Street

Northampton Ma

Passing along a letter that is circulating for those interested in helping support Fort Hill staff and parents. I am not an organizer for this, so please direct any questions you have through the form. Just a friend!

-------

Dear Fort Hill parents and community members,

TLDR: Opt in to be involved in keeping the Fort Hill Center for Early Childhood Education open. Fill out this brief google form to stay connected and involved.

On October 19, families and staff learned from a surprise email that Smith College plans to close Fort Hill, just after the center’s 100th anniversary. No parents, faculty, students, or Fort Hill staff were involved in this decision. The impact of Fort Hill's closure would be devastating – for current families, faculty, staff, students, alums, the local community, and the college's reputation.

A group of parents, staff, faculty, and concerned community members working to ensure that this valued resource – which serves 90 children and employs 30 staff members – remains in operation. We'd love your support as we work to reverse this decision and seek clarity and stability for families and the community.

Already, on October 20 we've started organizing, including with an emergency teachers' union meeting, media outreach for the Gazette article, a parent action at the Presidential Colloquium, and of course expressing our concerns to college and political leadership. But much more is needed.

If you’d like to stay informed as the campaign to save Fort Hill continues, please fill out this brief google form. In this very fast-moving situation, we plan to share information requests and calls to action soon, including details on a sign-on letter and rally. 

Many thanks, and stay tuned,

Friends of Fort Hill

Can anyone recommend a nail tech in the area that specializes in more "advanced" acrylic sets? (Like more complex, detailed designs)

Thanks (:

✌🏻 💗

Looking for people's tips on the best places to buy specific grocery items, when and where to look for markdowns, etc.

How do you keep your grocery bill down? What's the best deal you've found locally?

this is right downtown in northampton
if you see these bugs, kill them they are invasive and destructive

Last night, two emails were sent: one to parents, and one from the president to the college community.

What parents got:

Dear Fort Hill Families,

I write to share some difficult news regarding the future of the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill. Following a review of the College’s childcare benefits and operations, Smith College has made the decision to close Fort Hill on June 4, 2027.

Fort Hill is a warm, nurturing community, and we know how much you value the dedicated teachers and staff who care for your children every day. This decision is not a reflection of the quality of education and care at Fort Hill, nor is it a budget-relieving measure. Instead, Smith is expanding its overall childcare benefit to a model that provides flexible childcare benefits for employees with children up to age 12 across any licensed and accredited provider. 

We know how important stability is for young children and working families, which is why we are announcing this transition now. Fort Hill will remain open and operate normally through June 4, 2027.

We invite you to attend an information session with CECE Director Jen Godlesky and me via Zoom on Monday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. (link to follow). Over the coming months, our top priority is supporting your family through this transition.

We are profoundly grateful for the trust you place in Fort Hill. We are committed to communicating with you throughout this transition with transparency, care, and respect while working closely with union leadership and Smith staff members.

Sincerely,

Anne-Marie Szmyt
Vice President for Human Resources

What the Smith community got:

Dear Friends,

I write to share an important update regarding the College’s childcare benefits as well as the future of the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill.

Following a review of our current benefit programs, the College will significantly expand its childcare benefit to cover employees with children age 0 to age 12 enrolled at any licensed and accredited childcare provider. Under the current model, childcare support is limited exclusively to the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill and children ages 8 weeks to preschool. This is a thoughtful and difficult decision because it involves a significant reallocation of resources such that Fort Hill will close on June 4, 2027.

With this expanded benefit, Smith families will have the freedom to choose licensed and accredited childcare aligned with their schedules and tailored to their specific needs. Currently, around 45 employees participate in the College’s childcare benefit program. The expanded benefit will offer approximately 350 faculty and staff employees the ability to receive a childcare subsidy. Our colleagues in Human Resources will share more details about the expanded childcare benefit in the next few weeks.

I want to be clear that, though the College is actively working to address a structural deficit, this is not a budget-relieving decision. In fact, we are reallocating Smith’s current investment toward a modern, broader childcare benefit model.

We know that changes to childcare can have a significant impact on families. While this decision was not an easy one, it was made with deep gratitude for our Fort Hill colleagues and with a commitment to work collaboratively with union leadership to provide transition support.

Fort Hill has provided exemplary early education and care for young children of Smith employees and members of the community. We remain deeply committed to honoring that remarkable legacy by fully supporting our Fort Hill children, families, and staff throughout this transition.

Sincerely,

Sarah Willie-LeBreton
President

The pretty new signs at the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area (FLCA) have been consistently vandalized by a person or persons who seem to think they can disobey leash laws in Northampton and are angry that dogs should be leashed in a conservation area.

Please if you see anyone vandalizing these signs, report to the police and Broad Brook Coalition (via website). If you can I.D. them, that's great too.

Thanks folks. (If you insist on being an off leash advocate in a conservation area, please watch this full video.

Edit: typo & clarification

I have 2 tickets for tonight’s sold-out performance that starts at 6:30. Listed on StubHub for $63 each but happy to sell them directly for $45 each.

Where are the best bars/spots to watch the C's? The Brass Cat is a personal favorite, but I'd love to hear other recommendations, especially in Northampton. Bonus points if you know they have access to the Amazon Prime-exclusive games, such as Friday against the Knicks. TIA!

Anybody know of a shop in the area that does alternator rebuilds?

Just replaced mine but Denso doesn't do core deposits, and AutoZone and the like won't take old parts unless you buy new from them with deposit. I know some auto shops do bulk recycling but I'd feel bad dropping off a hunk of metal for them to deal with without my having paid them for service, so looking for other options before I go that route.

Not expecting to get paid for it, just trying to get rid of it safely and free, ideally to somewhere that could re-man it.

This post tells you everything you need to know. Literally hundreds of people sharing their negative experiences here AND in their Google Reviews (3.9).

This is the exact business that makes Northampton look like a tourist trap scam (more than it already does).

Support the other good businesses in town; or find the local artisans directly.

The MAJORITY of inventory in Spill the Tea is resold from Amazon and Temu and sourced from China (unethical). There's like a handful of overpriced artisan goods; and 95% of the store is resold garbage marked up literally 500-1000%.

Find the GOOD STEWARDS of Northampton and SUPPORT THEM this spooky season!!!

New Year's Eve

Northampton Ma

Has anyone here ever rented a unit at Hampshire Woods apartments on Oak street? I'm about to tour a unit there.

Wondering if anyone here has any experience renting there you could share? I believe they are managed by Maple Heights Reality.

Coming from Texas, it never fails to take my breath away. I’m feeling especially lucky to live here right now. Here’s to hoping the joy of the fall leaves carries us all through the short days and cold of winter!