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A dance of rural ice cream

We are making a way for the things we need today.

It happens with newly made government offices. One of Gov. Healey's actions in her first 100 days in office was to create the Office of Rural Affairs, and former State senator Anne Gobi has recently been appointed to the post. We talk to her about the challenges her office is facing in light of the area's recent environmental disasters, about the ongoing transportation questions of the region, and which apples she likes best.

It happens when a farm makes it's appeal a bit broader. Gran-Val Scoops in Granville is much more than an ice cream shop. In addition to offering gourmet ice cream in a wealth of flavors, they also sell dairy products from several farms, raise grass fed beef, have a petting zoo on premises, and more. We chat with Avola Bernt, co-owner about keeping their flavors local, and the rich intertwined history of their farm and family.

And it happens in dance. Within the wealth of the Jacob's Pillow Festival in Becket, a company seeking to make dance truly for every body makes its way to Western Mass. Axis Dance Company has purposefully sought to include professional dancers of all abilities, all disabilities, and all neurodivergences since 1987. We speak with their artistic director, Nadia Adame, about making equitable movement for all, and how we can have more folx dancing in more places everywhere.

Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.
Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413. She was most recently host and producer at The River 93.9/WRSI where she appeared on Mornings with Monte for the Nerdwatch segment and hosted weekday evenings.