Sunday, February 16, 2025

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Bits & Bytes: Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas; autism neuroscience talk; hip hop residency performance; new GBRSS school director; Miss Hall’s pop-up art show

The hip-hop performance will be the culmination of the Mahaiwe education program’s four-day in-school residency taught by hip hop masters Baba Israel, Yako 440, Ken Fury and Grace Galu featuring students from Monument Valley Regional Middle School, Mount Everett Regional School and Herberg Middle School.

Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas to celebrate Norman Rockwell

Stockbridge — The Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas celebration, which captures small-town Christmas spirit the town that Norman Rockwell once called “the best of America, the best of New England,” will take place Friday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 2.

Highlights will include holiday readings and a children’s holiday sing-along held at the Stockbridge Library Museum & Archives. One of the more popular events is the self-guided holiday house tour, which will take place Saturday and feature some of the area’s finest Berkshire cottages and private homes decorated in holiday finery. This year will feature High Lawn Farm museum, Devonfield Inn, Applegate Inn, the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy residence, Naumkeag, Windermere, Willard Hill and the Merwin House. The musical high point of the weekend will take place on Saturday evening when over 100 carolers rejoice with songs of the season from the porch of the Red Lion Inn, then proceed through a luminous walkway to the First Congregational Church and a performance by Berkshire Lyric.

Capping off the weekend on Sunday, the town will reenact the spirit of Rockwell’s famous holiday scene, “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas.” Roger the Jester will perform on one end of the street while horse-drawn rides and visits with Santa take place on the other end. Music will fill the air when a local high school performs in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the Londontown Carolers sing on the front porch of the Red Lion Inn. Children can enjoy treats from the Pocket Lady and holiday art at Santa’s Workshop offered by the Norman Rockwell Museum. There will also be plenty of photo opportunities and a Christmas food booth from the Red Lion Inn.

For more information, tickets and a full schedule of events, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce at (413) 298-5200.

–E.E.

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Neuropsychologist Roberts to discuss autism

Elizabeth Roberts, Psy.D. Photo courtesy College Internship Program

Great Barrington — Psychologist and neuropsychologist Elizabeth Roberts, Psy.D., will present the lecture “Current Trends in Autism Neuroscience Research: Clinical Implications” Thursday, Nov. 29, from 7:15 to 9 p.m. in the Fisher Science Center at Bard College at Simon’s Rock.

Roberts has been the national director of clinical services for the College Internship Program since 2017. Previously, she practiced clinical neuropsychology for over two decades, most recently at the New York University Child Study Center, where she was an assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine. She has specialized in diagnosis and evaluation of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other types of neurodiversity. Robert lectures and writes on topics including executive functioning, employment, relationship and intimacy, co-occurring conditions, classroom learning, comorbid disorders, psychotherapy, college, young adulthood, and at-risk infants. She has a special interest in ASD in girls and women.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Bard College at Simon’s Rock at (413) 644-4400 or info@simons-rock.edu.

–E.E.

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Baba Israel of Open Thought Productions performs with students after a recent residency at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington. Photo courtesy Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

Mahaiwe to host student hip hop performance

Great Barrington — The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present “Hip Hop Theatre” with Open Thought Productions Friday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m.

The performance will be the culmination of the Mahaiwe education program’s four-day in-school residency taught by hip hop masters Baba Israel, Yako 440, Ken Fury and Grace Galu featuring students from Monument Valley Regional Middle School, Mount Everett Regional School and Herberg Middle School performing with the professional dancers from Open Thought Productions. Using music, dance, freestyle, hip hop and improvisational theater, the evening’s script will draw from the stories of the student participants, transforming them into the art of the theater.

Tickets are $5. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Mahaiwe box office at (413) 528-0100.

–E.E.

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Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School announces new school director

Sue Das. Photo courtesy Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School

Great Barrington — The Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School has announced Sue Das as its new director.

Das earned her doctorate in language, literacy and learning from Fordham University, and holds Masters of Arts in both teaching (N-6) and reading (K-12) from Manhattanville College as well as a Master of Arts in English from the University of Calcutta and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Saint Xavier’s College. Das holds a certificate of advanced educational leadership from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and has completed educational leadership training at the Vanderbilt University Peabody School of Education, the Children’s School, Fairfield University and Kingswood Oxford School. Most recently, Das was a fellow at the National Association of Independent Schools’ Aspiring Heads Institute.

A native of Calcutta, India, Das brings to her position a commitment to equity and social justice in teaching and learning. She has worked as a board member and a volunteer to create international literacy initiatives for nonprofits, including Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. Das comes to GBRSS from the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut. At Brunswick, Das has served as a teacher and administrator since 1998 and currently serves as the co-director of the Brunswick Faculty Institute. Das’ teaching experience includes gifted, remedial and other elementary education programs for children from pre-K through grade 8, as well as adjunct professorships in language and literacy at Queens College of Education, Manhattanville College of Education and Iona College of Education.

GBRSS will host a “Meet the Director” event Saturday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. All current and prospective families and interested members of the community are invited to meet Das to learn more about her vision for the school. Das will formally begin her role as school director Monday, July 1, 2019.

–E.E.

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Miss Hall’s to curate pop-up art show at Lichtenstein Center

Madison Bellemare arranges artwork in preparation for Miss Hall’s School’s pop-up art show at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield. Photo: Ellie Spangler

Pittsfield — Students from Miss Hall’s School’s gallery and art administration class will curate a pop-up art show at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts Friday, Nov. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Participating artists Nicole Irene, Phillip Knoll, Joanie Ciolfi, Eva Schuster, Peggy Morse, Debbie Carter and Gary Grosenbeck along with Miss Hall’s students Lanna Knoll, Zoe Yang and Jingtong Zhang will be present, and each will make live art in different media. Students of the gallery and art administration class learn about the business side of the art world by visiting galleries and museums to learn about curation, gallerists, arts management, grant writing, and selling art. Students then work to establish a mission statement for a pop-up gallery, identify a space to curate a show, serve as the jury for the selections, and host the show in the gallery as a final semester project.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Ellie Spangler at espangler@misshalls.org.

–E.E.

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But Not To Produce.