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The Fabulous 413 on 88.5 NEPM.
The Fabulous 413

Wuthering skies over the pizza house

By Monte Belmonte,
Kaliis Smith
Published August 1, 2023 at 1:01 AM EDT
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Several people all dressed in red stand in a park with their right arms extended over their heads
1 of 6  — learning wuthering.jpg
The crowd learns the choreography from the video at "The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever" in Energy Park in Greenfield
Monte Belmonte / New England Public Media
Three men in sunglasses face the camera. The first wears a flowered shirt and a black baseball cap, the second wears a blue shirt and smiles, the third is wearing a red t-shirt and waves. They are all in front of a large rooftop telescope.
2 of 6  — dark skies trio.jpg
(from left) Monte Belmote and astronomers James Lowenthal of Smith College, and Salman Hameed of Hampshire College stand outside the McConnell Rooftop Observatory at Smith College in Northampton.
Monte Belmonte / New England Public Media
Two pizzas lay upon a table surrounded by plates and wine glasses. One pizza is plain cheese, the other has pepperoni and mushrooms.
3 of 6  — Joe's Pizza
Our standard order of one cheese pizza and one pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Joe's Cafe Spaghetti and Pizza House in Northampton
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media
A small crowd dressed in red stands before a gazebo where several individuals, also in red, appear to be preparing for movement.
4 of 6  — teaching Wuthering.jpg
Volunteers teaching the choreography of Wuthering Heights to the participants gathered to be a part of Greenfield's "Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever"
Monte Belmonte / New England Public Media
Two men stand below the platform of a large telescope and the dome that houses it. There is a metal railing surrounding the platform through which we see two men. The man on the right wears a n95 mask and a black shirt, the man on the left wears light colored pants, a black t-shirt with a loose blue button down shirt over it. Both men are looking up at the equipment.
5 of 6  — Salman and James and telescope:Fab413
(from left) Hampshire College Astronomer Salman Hameed and Smith College astronomer James Lowenthal inside the McConnell Rooftop Observatory at Smith College.
Monte Belmonte / New England Public Media
Two wine bottles stand on a table. The label of the bottle to the left reads "Monte Rio Cellars: Lodi Zinfandel". The label of the bottle to the right reads "Zensa|Primitivo". Behind both bottles, a man sits in a red booth, hands extended in an excited gesture and smiles with an equally excited expression on his face. He is bald and wears a blue polo shirt. A small stack of plates, silverware and napkins rests to the right of the bottles.
6 of 6  — Michael Quinlan: Fab413
Our guest for Pizza Quest VI, Michael Quinlan, Table & Vine Ambassador
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media

Today is all about the unexpected things we encounter.

Including a day dedicated to a performing arts pioneer. "The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever" was started by a small theater troupe in London in an effort to get themselves into the Guiness Book of World Records for the most people dressed as Kate Bush. But what started as a half-joking tribute has turned into a global phenomenon, including Greenfield, which may have been the only city in the northeast participating this year. We head to Energy Park not just to learn the choreography, but to hear the stories of the folx who've come together on the birthday of the artist who begat this whole endeavor.

And like the surprises we see in the skies when the conditions are right. Dark Skies is a movement to reduce light pollution so that both scientists and civilians might observe the cosmos better, but it's more than that when we look a little closer. We head to the McConnell Rooftop Observatory at Smith College to talk about the efforts to make less illuminated evenings happen with astronomers James Lowenthal of Smith College and Mr. Universe, Salman Hameed of Hampshire College. There we're able to dig into not just the potential scientific benefits of these efforts, their environmental potential, and how to find the places where you too can enjoy the benefits of a darkened sky.

And it's in the neighborhood pizza place with a much longer name than we use colloquially. Joe's Cafe Spaghetti and Pizza House becomes our first Hampshire County location for Pizza Quest. For over 70 years the local staple has been serving the folx of western Mass. Since it is a much beloved local of Table & Vine Ambassador Michael Quinlan, we invite him along to test their slices, and find the dish of local urban legend.

Tags
The Fabulous 413 ARTS & CULTUREWESTERN MASSACHUSETTSMUSICTHEATERDANCESCIENCEFOODWINE & SPIRITS
Monte Belmonte
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.
See stories by Monte Belmonte
Kaliis Smith
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.
See stories by Kaliis Smith