Neighbors: Local photographer captures life at Heath Fair

Hello neighbor.

Some of you may know our supremely talented neighbor Matt Cavanaugh, a photojournalist and professional wedding and event photographer who lives in Greenfield with his wife Nicole and their two young sons.

Matt spent three days this summer shooting the Heath Fair and captured life in Franklin County while doing so, producing some great photos.

"I've gone to the Heath Fair many times with my family," he said this week. "It's always fun and photogenic. I love looking at the people and the activities."

Matt said he's always seen the fair as a good subject that he wanted to cover in-depth, and this year he did.

"This became a personal project for me," said Matt. "I contacted a friend who lives in a cabin in Heath and he was away that weekend so he let me stay there."

Matt stayed about two miles from the fair, so he got up every morning to get there when it opened and went back to the cabin every night after it closed.

"I kept working on different images so I'd have a good representation of the experience," he says. "I think I accomplished that. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to capture a different kind of lifestyle."

After perusing his photos, I felt like I'd been at the fair this year. They really tell a story.

Matt says his Heath Fair photos have had more website hits than anything else he's done.

"I really enjoy this fair," he says. "Everyone seems to feel the same way, Heath residents especially. They look forward to it all year and the entire town helps out and volunteers. It's amazing."

Matt said seeing a town with such heart and soul is a beautiful thing, and he should know beauty with his photographer's eye.

He lived in Washington, D.C., before moving to the valley five years ago, and spent six years as a member of the White House Press Corps, served on the board of the White House News Photographers Association and has documented a lot of historic events, including the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama. Matt's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe, to name a few.

He is still doing freelance, but spends much more time on his wedding and event photography now.

Matt calls the "charming and quirky" Heath Fair the "real deal," and any of you who have attended will likely agree.

"Way up in the hills of western Massachusetts, where mobile phones don't work and Internet access is basically nonexistent, visiting the Heath Fair is a little like going back in time," he says. Heaven!

Visit his website to see photos of some of our neighbors, large farm animals and tractors pulling heavy things, people square dancing in a barn and some great shots of fireworks. Thanks, Matt! Visit:

www.matthewcavanaugh.com

THE FOLKS AT TRINITARIAN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH on Main Street in Northfield will host a tag and bake sale on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you'd like to get an early start on your holiday shopping, there will be tables loaded with kitchenware, linens, jewelry, books, puzzles and games, as well as tools, small furniture and toys.

LEVERETT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, across from the post office in Leverett, will hold a farmers market and tag sale on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you'd like to sell something, the cost for space is $10 and there's lots of room, so reservations aren't necessary. If you'd like to buy something, there will be homemade baked goods, preserves and homegrown products, along with lots of tag sale items. Proceeds will benefit Heifer International.

OUR NEIGHBOR HALEY'S ANTIQUES in Athol has released "Uniquely North Quabbin," a compilation by about 50 writers and photographers who have captured the unique features of the nine North Quabbin towns — Athol, Erving, New Salem, Orange, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Warwick and Wendell.

You can get your copy ($19.95) at North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce, Haley's, Adams Farm in Athol or Quabbin Harvest Coop, TrailHead and Johnson's Farm, all in Orange. You can also order copies online at: www.uniquelynorthquabbinbook.com.

CHRISTOPHER BOUCHER will help raise awareness and money for the Cambridge-based nonprofit Food For Free when he rides in the Ride For Food on Sunday. Christopher is hoping to raise $1,000 for the food rescue and delivery programs, which provide health food for hungry neighbors throughout Massachusetts. Good luck, Christopher! To donate, visit: www.foodforfree.org/events.

CHRISTI ASHENDEN has raised more than $2,000 for hungry children and adults across the world over the years. Christi will once again participate in the Franklin County CROP Hunger Walk on Oct. 18, with her Team UCC Conway. She's hoping to raise more than she ever has is asking your help to do it. "The CROP Walk is important to me, because everyone deserves food," she says. Good luck, Christi! To donate, visit: www.hunger.cwsglobal.org.

THE HILLTOWN HARMONY CHORUS led by Shelley Roberts has switched its rehearsals to Tuesday nights from 6 to 7:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 29. The chorus rehearses in the main hall of the Senior Center on Main Street in Shelburne Falls, and will perform its holiday concert on Dec. 4. New members are welcome. To register, call 413-625-2502.

OUR NEIGHBOR SUSAN G. FENTIN OF CONWAY, a lawyer with Springfield-based Skoler, Abbott & Presser P.C., will be honored at the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly annual "Top Women of Law" event. She is one of the top 50 honorees, female legal professionals in Massachusetts, all of whom are regarded as pioneers, educators, trailblazers and role models. She will be the only lawyer from the Pioneer Valley to be recognized. Congratulations, Attorney Fentin!

LIVING LOCAL IN A GLOBAL WORLD, a program about our local economy, will be presented Sept. 30 from 6 to 7:45 p.m. in the meeting room in Green Fields Market at 144 Main St. in Greenfield. Franklin Community Co-op (Green Fields Market and McCusker's Market in Shelburne Falls) Member Participation Circle are the sponsors. The event will feature an overview of the local economy by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin County Community Development Corp., as well as a panel of local small business owners. A discussion will follow.

A COUPLE OF STUDENTS FROM Mahar Regional School recently joined Congressman Jim McGovern in a roundtable discussion on climate change. Yunjung Seo and Kacy Ninteau are part of his Congressional Youth Cabinet. They joined other local students to talk about how elected, business and community leaders throughout Massachusetts can and should support renewable energy. Keep up the good work Yunjung and Kacy!

BAYSTATE FRANKLIN MEDICAL CENTER'S Oncology Department will offer a free 10-week writing workshop on Thursdays beginning Oct. 1 for those touched by cancer. The workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Artspace, 15 Mill St. in Greenfield. Our neighbor Pam Roberts will lead the workshop. Registration is required by calling 413-625-2402 or emailing: pamro@aol.com.

I'M GIVING YOU ADVANCED NOTICE to plan to be at the 10th annual Mahar Cancer Walk, which will be held on the track behind Ralph C. Mahar Regional School in Orange on Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A survivor lap will begin at 11 a.m. Mahar cheerleaders will provide a dance demonstration, and there will be food and beverages sold throughout the event. Music will also be provided. All proceeds stay local. They are used to purchase gas and grocery gift cards for local cancer patients.

THE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF NORTH ORANGE AND TULLY recently hosted a surprise "thank you" celebration for Richard R. "Dick" Hall for his lifelong contributions to the quality of community life. Pastor Don Erickson was one of many who spoke of his accomplishments.

Dick cooked hotdogs for more than 40 years for Athol Memorial Hospital's annual plant sale, served on the Tully Fire Department and the new Orange police station building committees and was an Orange assessors for more than 30 years.

He received a citation from the state and a plaque from the governor's office for his many years of service. More than 100 people celebrated with him. Congratulations, Dick, and thank you for your years of service.

To contact Anita Fritz, a staff reporter at The Recorder, send an email to: neighbors@recorder.com or call 413-772-0261, ext. 280. Information you want included in Neighbors should be submitted by noon two days before you want it to run. Neighbors runs on Tuesday and Friday.

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