ENFIELD — The festival, open to all, kicks off with an opening reception on Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments, music, and fun and games. The exhibit is open until Dec. 31.

EAST LONGMEADOW — Jeffrey and Christina Brooks are seeking to open a recreational marijuana dispensary in the industrial zone on Shaker Road. The couple knew they would need a bylaw amendment to do so but ran into an unexpected roadblock when they came before the Town Council on Nov. 26.

For the 15th year, the March for Food Bank with Monte Belmonte took place on Nov. 25 and 26, to help raise funds for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

AGAWAM — Residents and town officials got a look at the latest designs for the new Agawam High School at a public meeting on Nov. 20. Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson, who also serves as the chair of the Agawam High School Building Committee, highlighted the state-of-the-art features, while emphasizing that decisions were made based on the lessons other schools learned in their school builds.

CHESTER — On Nov. 22, David Pierce, president of the Chester Foundation, brought the Chester Railway Station and its history, in the form of a G Scale train set, to Chester Elementary School.

WESTFIELD — The city’s newest business, Comfort Bagels, began in the kitchen of its Founder/owner Janet Blake during the coronavirus pandemic, when she, like millions of others, started baking bread to fill those empty days during the pandemic lockdown.

WESTFIELD — The Whip City Animal Sanctuary family of volunteers and friends honored William Reed on a chilly and damp Saturday morning, Nov. 23, to thank him for his gift of 11 acres to the home for rescued and surrendered farm animals, many of whom have been neglected and abused.

NORTHAMPTON — While heavy rain began to fall outside of City Hall, local labor groups and supporters stood tall underneath umbrellas outside before the City Council’s Nov. 21 meeting for a rally to call on the city to allocate the necessary funding to restore the approximately 20 positions cut in the Northampton Public Schools last budget season.

WARE — On Nov. 21, a special ribbon cutting event took place to celebrate the grand opening of Pineapple Express, a cannabis home delivery company, in the parking lot of Phillips Plaza in Ware on West Street.

Mayor Domenic Sarno joined the Community Music School of Springfield, the Springfield Redevelopment Community for the fourth annual tree lighting ceremony at Union Station. After wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and holiday season, Sarno lit the tree and sent the Amherst Railway Society’s model train around the evergreen. The Community School of Music, under the direction of String City Orchestra co-director Will Losch, performed holiday songs before the tree lighting.