August 25, 2026: Candidate curated chili peppers

We continue to meet the folx appearing on the primary ballots this coming Tuesday Sept 1st with the second candidate for the 1st Franklin state rep seat. Lora Wondolowski is well known to those in Greenfield as she’s served on city council and is currently its president. We speak with her about the connections between her non-profit service origins and running municipalities, the biases that erupt in a political race like this, the changes she’s seen in the area over her years in Franklin County, and much more.This Friday, Aug 28th, Springfield Museums host the 4th Latino Arts Festival, and as part of that welcomes home someone whose taken their western Mass experiences and made them part of a national ethos. Dr. Ariana Curtis is Curator of Latinx Studies at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and will give a lecture on this subject as part of the festivities. We talk about her work as a part of that national museum and how her youth in the 413 has helped shape her curation practice. And Hadley is heating up with hot peppers at Kushi Farm and the North Hadley Chili Pepper Company. . We head to their plot to learn the history and legacy of their family’s relationship with the  land, and the pivot to hot peppers and hot pepper jelly with owner Matt Kushi.