December 19, 2023: Habari gani, girls?

There’s a little irony in there being so much to do at the end of the year, as if the last day of 2023 itself is a deadline. And some of the celebrations coming are ones that may be unfamiliar to you. Kwanzaa might just be the least understood of the late fall/early winter, year-end holidays, but the Kwanzaa Collective is here to not just teach us of the 7 days themselves, but to encourage the community to come out and celebrate together. Umass Professor Amilcar Shabazz and Educator Ayanna Crawford join us in studio to talk about Kwanzaa’s origins, meaning, and how you can celebrate right here in Western Massachusetts. Then we head to Hadley for the many head of dairy cows and more at Barstow’s Longview Farm, Dairy Store, and Bakery. We chat with Denise Barstow Manz, communications manager, about their herd and bakery, the effects of the floods on them, and their amazing anaerobic combuster, and how important keeping food local is at this very moment. And Mr. Universe, Hampshire College’s Salman Hameed, gives us his year end recommendations and one last astral event for which you make want to keep an eye on the skies.