We’re extending our reach, and for the first time in our nearly 3 years of this show, we venture outside of the 4 counties of western Massachusetts to a facility that is closely tied to the work that many farmers in the 413 do: the raising of meat animals. 

We head to the other side of the Quabbin to Hardwick, just over the Hampshire border into Worcester County where Jennifer Core of CISA joins us to chat with Kate Stillman of Stillman Quality Meats about their brand new processing facility, one of the few of its kind in the area. We learn about the farm’s origins, and the shortfalls it found along the way, the process of constructing a new building to USDA Specs, and how you can help them finish it. 

Then Palestinian comic, actor, and more Alaa Shehada brings his story of hope, resilience, and the course of everyday life in his one man show The Horse of Jenin. Before the work comes to the Bowker Auditorium at UMass Fine Arts Center on Thursday Nov. 6 for the show's only US appearance this year, we ask about the refugee camp origins of his theater troupe and comedy work, and how humor helps convey the truth in one's story.