Litchfield Jazz Festival
Goshen, Conn. – Tickets are now on sale for the 21st annual Litchfield Jazz Festival, to be held Saturday, August 6, and Sunday, August 7, at the Goshen Fairgrounds. This year’s theme, Generations Of Jazz, will pair iconic jazz players with young stars-in-the-making from the Litchfield Jazz Camp. Young artists like saxophonist Albert Rivera and pianist Emmet Cohen will be joined by guitarist Paul Bollenback and saxophonist Jimmy Heath. Other artists participating in the Festival include Steve Johns, Orrin Evans, Dave Stryker, Donald Harrison, Avery Sharpe, and Matt Wilson.
This year the Festival sports a new look with its Sunday Scat & Scramble Jazz Brunch, featuring a New Orleans flair in food and music led by saxophonist Donald Harrison with an all-star band.
For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (860) 361-6285.
–E.E.
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Authors to discuss Wharton as a modern muse
Lenox — On Sunday, June 5, the Mount will welcome authors Sophie McManus and Stephanie Clifford to discuss their debut novels, “The Unfortunates” and “Everybody Rise.” Both novels are informed and inspired by Edith Wharton’s 1905 novel “The House of Mirth.”
Sophie McManus’ novel “The Unfortunates” was a finalist for the 2015 Discover Award, the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize, and was named a notable book by the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Paste, and Time Out New York. McManus’ work has appeared in American Short Fiction, O Magazine, Tin House, and elsewhere. She teaches writing in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Stephanie Clifford is a Loeb-award winning journalist. As a New York Times reporter, Clifford covered courts, business, and media. “Everybody Rise,” her first book, is a New York Times bestseller and has had its movie rights optioned by Fox 2000. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, Clifford grew up in Seattle and lives in Brooklyn.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and $8 for Mount members. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (413) 551-5100.
–E.E.
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‘Berkshire Visions’ art exhibit
Old Chatham, N.Y. – The Old Chatham Country Store & Cafe will display the work of artists Marguerite Bride and Karen S. Jacobs Friday, June 3, through Wednesday, July 27, in an exhibition entitled “Berkshire Visions: Two Artists, Two Mediums.” An opening reception will take place on Sunday, June 5, from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Watercolor painter Marguerite Bride’s work includes depictions of recognizable Berkshire and New England scenes. One of her paintings will be displayed on the rounding board when the Berkshire Carousel opens in Pittsfield in July. Bride is a Pittsfield resident and works out of her home studio.
Karen S. Jacobs is an oil painter of abstract landscapes whose work has taken on a new flair since her move to the Berkshires a few years ago. Jacobs has exhibited her work at numerous places in the Berkshires and, prior to moving to Pittsfield, she exhibited in many galleries in Boston and eastern Massachusetts.
–E.E.
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Plein air event calls for artists
Hudson, N.Y. — The Olana Partnership and the Columbia County Council on the Arts (CCCA) invite applications for the fourth annual Plein Air Paint Out, to be held at Olana State Historic Site on Columbus Day weekend. Applications and registration will be accepted until midnight on Friday, June 15. Guest judges for this year’s event include editors from PleinAir Magazine.
En plein air artists will capture the beauty of the Olana grounds and surrounding viewshed. The paint-out will culminate Saturday, October 8, with a judged competition and artist reception. Landscape painter Jane Bloodgood-Abrams will select the winners. On Sunday, October 9, artists will have the opportunity to participate in a special tent sale in Hudson, where additional works may be sold. There will also be a juried Quick Draw competition from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
All are welcome to apply. Applicants must register through the CCCA by sending an email to info@artscolumbia.org with “En Plein Air Registration” in the subject line, along with name, contact information, and two digital images of recent work. There is a $50 submission fee, which may be paid online or by check made payable to CCCA and mailed to 209 Warren St., Hudson, NY 12534. All registrations must be submitted by midnight on Friday, June 15.
For more information, contact the CCCA at (518) 671-6213 or info@artscolumbia.org.
–E.E.
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U.S. Bicycle Route 7 approved through the Berkshires
Pittsfield — The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has announced the designation of U.S. Bicycle Route (USBR) 7 in Massachusetts by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The USBR 7 connects Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont and covers over 380 miles in both on- and off-road infrastructure.
The designation of the Berkshire section of the Western New England Greenway as USBR 7 highlights the importance of bicycle travel and active tourism; touring cyclists can now ride from the East Coast Greenway in Connecticut all the way to the La Route Verte in Quebec on USBR 7. The Massachusetts section of USBR 7 begins at the Connecticut/Massachusetts border in Sheffield and continues through Great Barrington; Stockbridge; Lenox; Pittsfield; Lanesborough, Cheshire, and Adams (via the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail); North Adams; and Williamstown where it connects to the Vermont section at the border.
–E.E.
