NightWood at The Mount opens Friday
Lenox— From November 17th though January 6th, The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home, is excited to present the fourth year of NightWood, an innovative sound and light experience that immerses visitors in a fantastical winter landscape. Inspired by The Mount’s unique setting, NightWood combines scenic elements, theatrical lighting, and a dramatic score to create eight unique scenes that evoke wonder and awaken the imagination.
The Mount is once again collaborating with designer Chris Bocchario of Clerestory Light to create this year’s experience. Building upon last year’s captivating scenes, Bocchario has expanded the show with revised soundscapes and four mesmerizing new installations; The Hollow, The Woods Revisited, The Crossroads, and The Stream.
NightWood brings participants on an ethereal, sensory journey—ranging from contemplative and intimate to celebratory and communal. Bocchario explains, “There is something evocative about being in the woods at night: a connection to our ancient past, to old traditions and long-forgotten experiences. It unlocks a host of emotions that differ from person to person.”
The total route is approximately three quarters of a mile through the woods and gardens and takes approximately 45 minutes. Golf cart tours are available on select days for those requiring accessibility accommodations. Advanced registration is required for accessible tours by calling 413-551-5100.
NightWood runs November 17th though January 6th at The Mount on Plunkett Street in Lenox. Tickets are $25, $12 for kids ages 13 to 18 and kids under age 12 and under are free.
Warm beverages and light refreshments will be available for purchase. Small plates from Brook Farm Inn’s new food truck will be available on select nights, and Berkshire Pulse will be on hand for special pop-up dance performances. Tickets are more information can be found online.
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Berkshire Museum announces ‘Festival of Trees: Nostalgia’
Pittsfield— From Saturday, November 18th through January 7th Berkshire Museum presents their beloved, annual celebration, “Festival of Trees.”
Berkshire Museum begins the search for participants in “Festival of Trees: Nostalgia”. This installment of the decades-old community tradition offers participants the opportunity to celebrate the long history and deep roots of community in the Berkshires while capturing the essence of our institutions, schools, and businesses.
A preview party will be held at Berkshire Museum on Friday, November 17th featuring special guest and award-winning songwriter, Paul Williams (The Rainbow Connection, We’ve Only Just Begun, and more.)
The festival runs Saturday, November 18th through January 7th at the Berkshire Museum on South Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online.
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The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents award-winning comedian Samantha Bee
Great Barrington— On Saturday, November 18th at 8 p.m., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents award-winning comedian Samantha Bee.
Samantha Bee is the sex ed teacher you never knew you needed. In Your Favorite Woman: The Joy of Sex Education, Bee takes us on the journey of our bodies through puberty, menopause, and beyond featuring her signature wit and personal stories in a multimedia event that will make you feel truly seen, as if a hot flash was a live show.
The show is on Saturday, November 18th at 8 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street in Great Barrington. Tickets are $45 to $185. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Berkshire International Film Festival environmental film focus series begins
Lenox/Stockbridge— The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) will present a weekend of environmental events with award-winning documentary “Fashioned Reimagined” on Friday, November 17th at 7 p.m. at the Lenox Town Hall and the documentary film “Living Wine” on Sunday, November 19th at 4 p.m. at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.
Fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl has always felt uneasy about the devastating environmental impact of her industry. When she wins the coveted Vogue award for the Best Young Designer of the Year, which comes with a big cash prize, Amy decides to use the money to create a sustainable collection from field to finished garment, and transform her entire business. Over the following three years, her own personal revolution becomes the precursor of a much bigger, societal change. The results of Powney’s efforts are captured in the film “Fashioned Reimagined” directed by Becky Hunter. This powerful documentary follows Powney during her trajectory from outsider to industry leader as she sets out to create a fashion collection that’s ethical and sustainable at every level. The Guardian called the film, “A Must watch, not just for the fashion industry, but for everyone who wears clothes.”
The “Fashioned Reimagined” screening is on Friday, November 17th at 7 p.m. at Lenox Town Hall on Walker Street in Lenox followed by a Q&A with executive producer, Cindy Meehl and BIFF programmer, Lillian Lennox. Tickets and more information can be found online.
“Living Wine” follows the journeys of natural winemakers in Northern California, during the largest wildfire season on record. Equal parts farmer, winemaker, and artist, they stay true to their ideals creating wines made through innovative sustainable and regenerative farming and without chemical additives. Eschewing the industrial agricultural practices of the corporate wine industry, these winemakers are healing the very environment they are surviving, i.e. a changing climate marked by rising temperatures, shorter growing seasons, and more frequent and virulent wildfires.
The “Living Wine” screening is on Sunday, November 19th at 4 p.m. at the Berkshire Botanical Garden on West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge followed by nibbles and a wine tasting of biodynamic and organic wines. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Bookstore in Lenox hosts poet Patty Crane and her just published translation of Nobel Prize winner Tomas Transtromer’s ‘Blue House: Collected Works’
Lenox— On Friday November 17th at 6 p.m., The Bookstore in Lenox hosts poet Patty Crane and her just published translation of Nobel Prize winner Tomas Transtromer’s “The Blue House: Collected Works”.
Patty Crane is the author of “Bell I Wake To” (Zone 3 Press First Book Award, 2019), “something flown” (Concrete Wolf Chapbook Award, 2018), and “Bright Scythe” (Sarabande Books, 2015) which includes a selection of her Tranströmer translations. Her award-winning poetry and translations have appeared widely in journals, including Bellevue Literary Review, Blackbird, Five Points, Guernica, Plume, Poetry Magazine, Poetry East, The New York Times Magazine, and elsewhere. She has been awarded fellowships at MacDowell and Hedgebrook.
Tomas Transtromer’s work has been translated into dozens of languages. “The Blue House” is the first time his complete works appear in English. There is a personal element to this work. When Crane lived in Sweden, she met and befriended Tomas and his wife Monia, and worked with them on some of the earlier translations that appeared in “Bright Scythe”. With an introduction by Yusef Komunyakaa, “The Blue House” is composed of the fourteen books Transtromer published in the course of his career. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2011.
The reading is on Friday November 17th at 6 p.m. At The Bookstore in Lenox on Housatonic Street in Lenox. It is free and open to the public.
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Berkshire South Regional Community Center hosts free community thanks supper
Great Barrington— On Tuesday, November 21st at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Berkshire South Regional Community Center will host two seatings of its 16th Annual Community Thanks Supper.
Every year, Berkshire South gathers local community members for an evening of gratitude and traditional Thanksgiving food. This year’s feast will be prepared by local volunteers and chefs including cookbook author Janet Elsbach, chef Hank Ferlauto, Eli Holland, and Dorothy McTeigue.
The seatings are on Tuesday, November 21st at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Berkshire South Regional Community Center on Crissey Road in Great Barrington. All are welcome! Reserve your seat at the table by filling out a registration form online or by calling 413-528-2810 ext 37.
