Metal, wood, fire, fire lizards and whales! Sort of.
The salamander, often translated to “fire lizard,” is the squirmy looking influence behind many congressional districts across the country, and gerrymandering looks like it is about to become all the rage for both Republicans and Democrats. It just so happens that one of the nation’s experts in the history of gerrymandering lives right here in the 413, so we welcome back Haydenville’s David Daley to help us navigate through the circuitous political meanderings of influencing elections through redistricting.
For wood and fire, we head to Wales, Massachusetts where Nipmuc community organizations have gathered to create a mishoon, a traditional canoe formed using stone and fire, with collaboration with Norcross Wildlife Foundation. Since Aug. 15, they've opened this ceremony and tradition to the public so that folx can see the ways the first peoples of this land live and thrive. We hear about the importance of this practice from the past to the present with the people who have inhabited these lands for millennia.
The metal is found in Millers Falls, where the RPM Fest Heavy Music Campout returns to Montague next weekend. We bang our heads with festival founder Brian Westbrook to discover what new sounds this year’s festival has in store for us all, earplugs at the ready.
