Ralph Gilles, Stellantis Chief Design Officer for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram, Maserati, and Fiat brands will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 41st Lime Rock Park Historic Festival
Lakeville — Ralph Gilles, Stellantis Chief Design Officer for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram, Maserati, and Fiat brands will serve as this year’s Grand Marshal for the 41st Lime Rock Park Historic Festival.
Since first joining the company in 1992 as a designer, Gilles has put his extensive academic background in industrial design and business administration to use, holding various positions within the company that include serving as Vice President-Design Chrysler LLC in 2008, President and CEO of Dodge Brand in 2009 and Head of Design, GEC, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. in 2015. An avid enthusiast who enjoys spending time at the track, go-karting, and watching Formula 1 auto racing, Gilles has participated in the Targa Newfoundland Rally, the Car and Driver One Lap of America, and the SRT Viper Cup Series. In addition, he frequently serves as a judge at various Concours d’Elegance events across the country, including Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, as well as the EyesOn Design car show.
“I couldn’t be more excited about participating in this year’s Lime Rock Historic Festival,” said Gilles. “Enthusiasts will have the exclusive opportunity to see the illustrious history of Chrysler brand performance and concept cars in one location.”
A celebration that spans the decades, the Historic Festival will host a unique selection of Chrysler concept cars that have never previously assembled. Confirmed examples will include the 1960 Plymouth XNR that is equipped with the “Slant-6” engine, just one of 12 built to “NASCAR” specifications capable of 250HP, the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, one of just nine left in the world and the 1995 Chrysler Atlantic that was designed by Bob Hubbach and inspired by the Bugatti Atlantique. Other confirmed concept cars attending are the 1941 Chrysler Newport, 1953 Chrysler D’Elegance, 1954 Chrysler DeSoto Adventurer II,1957 Chrysler Diablo, 2005 Chrysler Firepower and the 2023 Chrysler 300 Special Edition.
This year marks the 41st running of the Lime Rock Historic Festival, which includes three days of historic racing, a 20-mile competition car parade through the picturesque hills, and Sunday in the Park, which combines the Lime Rock Concours with the Gathering of the Marques.
The festival is August 31st through September 4th at Lime Rock Park on White Hollow Road in Lakeville. More information can be found online.
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The 22nd Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Fine Woodwork Show and Silent Auction
Stockbridge — On Saturday, September 2nd and Sunday, September 3rd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days, the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild presents the 22nd Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Fine Woodwork Show and Silent Auction, a fine woodwork show and sale featuring designs by professional woodworkers from the Berkshire region.
The Guild represents a range of backgrounds and experience. Members include furniture makers, cabinetmakers, boat builders, sculptors, house builders, wood turners, luthiers, and suppliers of wood products. Members practice and advocate for fine woodworking on a professional level and encourage woodworking as an enjoyable hobby.
There will be a silent auction to benefit the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Scholarship Fund, which supports individuals who aspire to make woodworking their professional goal. The 2023 recipients of scholarships totaling $16,000 will be announced at this event.
Throughout the weekend, Guild members will demonstrate various woodworking techniques including woodturning, longbow construction, marquetry, joinery, and hand cut dovetails.
Sean Stanton from North Plain Farm in Great Barrington will be onsite offering farm-raised pork sausages and beef hotdogs. Pleasant & Main from Housatonic will be onsite with their signature coffee drinks, baked treats, and savory breakfast crepes.
The show is on Saturday, September 2nd and Sunday, September 3rd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days at the Berkshire Botanical Garden (BBG) on West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge. Admission is $5 and $3 for BBG members. A list of exhibitors and more information can be found online.
The Berkshire Woodworkers Guild members meet once a month in a member’s shop for a brief meeting followed by a demonstration of a technique, tool, or project. These meetings are a time for members to share ideas and learn new ways of approaching their craft. New members are welcome to join those who have been part of the Guild for many years. More information cab be found online.
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The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts presents the work of Karen Chase and Paul Graubard
Pittsfield — From September 1st through September 29th, the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts presents the work of Karen Chase and Paul Graubard.
Karen Chase is an abstract painter. Paul Graubard paints narrative, visionary works. Their paintings could not be more different, and they are married. This show highlights their individual pieces and one collaborative piece.
Paul began to paint about 25 years ago, giving up his practice as a psychologist. At this point, museums in the U.S. and abroad collect Graubard’s work. When he started painting, the first thing he did was buy a big roll of white paper, then went to the hardware store to buy a can of black paint. With that paint and paper, he made Emma’s Matzoria, which will be on display for this show. It is based on his childhood memories in New Jersey. It has never been shown before.
Every Saturday when Karen was four years old, her mother took her to New York City on the train to take art lessons in the basement of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She can still smell those jars of red, yellow, and blue paint sitting on the oversized wooden easels, and has been making art since then. Karen’s abstract paintings are characterized by motion, the result, she believes, of her childhood polio.
For a previous show at The Lichtenstein, the couple collaborated on a large piece which was silently auctioned off to benefit the Clinton Church Restoration. This summer, Paul and Karen visited the inside of the church and were both excited and inspired to try another collaboration. The piece, “The Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, Great Barrington”, will be on display and the focus of another silent auction to benefit the Dubois Freedom Center, previously known as Clinton Church Restoration. The silent auction is available in person at the Lichtenstein or by emailing slemme@cityofpittsfield.org.
The show will be on display from September 1st through September 29th at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts on Renne Avenue on Pittsfield. There is an opening reception on September 1st from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the First Fridays Artswalk. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or by appointment. To make an appointment, call 413-637-0505. The gallery will also be open on Saturday, September 9th during the Mural Festival from noon to 3 p.m.
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Wild Soul River presents Williamstown artist Jane Hudson’s ‘Major Arcana’ series of paintings
Williamstown — From September 1st through December 24th, Wild Soul River presents Williamstown artist Jane Hudson’s “Major Arcana “ series of paintings, inspired by the Major Arcana cards in the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck, which are also the inspiration for a Major Arcana-specific 22-card tarot deck released by Hudson this summer with Wild Soul River.
Hudson has been a practitioner of the Tarot since her twenties. Introduced to the Tarot and other esoteric practices in the early 1960’s, the cards appealed to her artistic sensibilities and her love of cosmic mystery. Through many changes in her life she carried on with the practice, using it mainly for self-reflection. In late 2019, Hudson made a piece (later to become “The Chariot”) and a friend suggested that she pursue a series based on the Tarot. Up to that point she had not worked in series, allowing her to explore developing imagery as it occurred to her but during the COVID lockdown in 2020, the project took shape.
Jane Hudson is an actor, poet, performance artist, video artist, rock musician, and painter. Jane received an NEA for her work in video, and showed large abstract paintings in Boston at the Atlantic Gallery, Nielsen Gallery, and Segal Gallery. She taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for 32 years.
The work will be exhibited from September 1st through December 24th at Wild Soul River on Cole Avenue in Williamstown. Timed with the autumnal equinox, there will be an experiential opening on September 22nd from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jane Hudson’s Major Arcana 22-card tarot deck is currently sold exclusively through Wild Soul River in Williamstown. More information can be found online.
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Berkshire Art Center’s 2023 Artists-In-Residence artist talks and exhibition openings
Stockbridge — Berkshire Art Center’s 2023 Artists-In-Residence, Noah Beauregard and Kelly Potter, are celebrating the end of their residencies this summer with virtual artist talks and in-person exhibition openings at The Red Lion Inn and Chesterwood.
Red Lion Inn Artist-In-Residence, Noah Beauregard, will have a virtual artist talk on Thursday, August 31st from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. followed by the opening of his exhibition, “NOCTURNE”, on Saturday, September 9th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Red Lion Inn. In his artist talk, Beauregard will be reviewing his upcoming show at The Red Lion Inn and discussing his onsite experience and inspiration. The Red Lion Inn has been the perfect location for Beauregard’s modern take on the classic fauvism style.
Chesterwood Artist-In-Residence, Kelly Potter, will have a virtual artist talk on Thursday, September 7th from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. followed by the opening of her exhibition, “Friend or Foe”, on Saturday, September 16th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Chesterwood. Using oil painting and wall mounted ceramic relief sculpture, Potter’s work investigates a dynamic between the tamed and the untamed.
The Red Lion Inn is located at 30 Main Street in Stockbridge and Chesterwood is located at 4 Williamsville Road in Stockbridge. More information can be found online.
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The New Marlborough Meeting House presents pianist Simone Dinnerstein
New Marlborough — On Saturday, September 2nd at 4:30 p.m., the New Marlborough Meeting House presents pianist Simone Dinnerstein performing works of Rameau, Schubert, Schumann, and Glass played on the Meeting House’s magnificent Bechstein concert grand piano.
Simone Dinnerstein has performed with numerous orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra. Her ten albums have topped the Billboard classical charts.
The Washington Post called Dinnerstein “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity…combined with elegance and grace, lend her music-making its captivating beauty.”
The concert is on Saturday, September 2nd at 4:30 p.m. at the New Marlborough Meeting House on Hartsville New Marlborough Road in New Marlborough. Tickets are $30, $25 for members, $10 for college students with I.D., and free for those under age 21. Tickets and more information can be found online or by calling 413-229-5045.
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The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum is running the Hoosac Valley Explorer ‘Ice Cream Train’ to close out its summer season
Adams — On September 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum (BSRM) is running the Hoosac Valley Explorer “Ice Cream Train” to close out its summer season.
Passengers on the “Ice Cream Train” enjoy a narrated 10-mile round-trip journey on the historic Adams Branch, learning more about the railroad history of northern Berkshire County while enjoying fantastic views of the Hoosac Valley, Mount Greylock, and Hoosic River. After the one-hour trip, all passengers receive a voucher to redeem for an ice cream treat.
Ice Cream Trains will take place at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on September 2nd; 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on September 3rd; and 1 p.m. on September 4th departing from 4 Hoosac Street in Adams. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Bennington College presents Beyond Plastics for two sessions of free, virtual, two-part grassroots organizing training
Bennington — Bennington College presents Beyond Plastics for two sessions of free, virtual, two-part grassroots organizing training in September that will teach you practical and powerful ways to end plastic pollution and engage your larger community.
Do you want to help end plastic pollution in your community? This online training is divided into two sessions, each two hours long. You must complete both sessions, but you can attend them in any order you wish, and they are each offered twice to ensure you can find a time that works with your schedule. The topics include “Laying the Foundation”, “The ABC’s of Activism”, and “Virtual Grassroots Organizing Training”
The virtual sessions run September 9th through September 14th. They are free and open to the public. Registration and more infraction can be found online.
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The Becket Athenaeum is holding a two-day book sale
Becket — On September 2nd and 3rd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days, the Becket Athenaeum is holding a two-day book sale on its front lawn. A wide variety of books will be available for readers of all ages and interests including fiction, non-fiction, art, gardening, cooking, and more… Anyone taking one or more books is simply asked to donate any amount they choose to support the library’s operations.
The Athenaeum, which serves the Becket and Washington communities is open four days a week and offers its patrons over 5,000 items such as museum passes, books, e-books, CDs, magazines and a library of things. Patrons also enjoy free programs like book clubs, cooking clubs, story-time, crafts nights, game nights, movie nights, and monthly workshops.
The book is on September 2nd and 3rd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days at the Becket Athenaeum on Main Street in Becket. More information can be found online.
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Berkshire Concert Choir welcomes singer for their fall season
Pittsfield— The Berkshire Concert Choir and Music Director Ryan LaBoy welcome all interested singers to the choir’s first rehearsal of the fall season on September 7th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield. No auditions are required.
The Fall concerts, to be performed on November 18th and 19th will feature music about nature by contemporary women composers.
This is the Choir’s first program with Ryan LaBoy as Conductor. LaBoy was appointed Music Director for the 2023-24 season. Mr. LaBoy holds a Masters in Choral Conducting from the University of Minnesota, a Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College, and is currently a Doctoral candidate in Music at Teachers College, Columbia University. LaBoy is also the Artistic Director of the Berkshire Children’s Chorus in Sheffield and Pittsfield, and Adjunct Music Faculty and Choir Director at Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
LaBoy said, “I am so excited to begin work with Berkshire Concert Choir, to build upon their nearly 50 years of rich musical history, and to continue fostering an important community space for social connection.”
The first rehearsal is on September 7th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Zion Lutheran Church on First Street in Pittsfield. Seasonal dues are $65. Registration and more information can be found online. You may also register by mailing a check to Berkshire Concert Choir, P.O. Box 452, Pittsfield, MA, 01202 or you may register and pay in person at the first rehearsal.
