Friday, February 14, 2025

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

BITS & BYTES: Jacob’s Pillow presents CONTRA-TIEMPO; Berkshires Jazz presents ‘10 by Duke’; WordXWord at 10×10 Festival; Hot Plate presents Berkshire Concert Choir; February vacation at The Clark; Meet a kangaroo at Chatham Public Library; Ward’s Nursery ‘Kids Feed the Birds’ workshop

CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold, multilingual company that creates communities where all people are awakened to a sense of themselves as artists and social change agents who move through the world with compassion, confidence, and joy.

Jacob’s Pillow presents CONTRA-TIEMPO activist dance theater to host free 10×10 community Dance party and workshop and performance in Pittsfield 

Pittsfield— As part of this year’s 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival in Pittsfield, Jacob’s Pillow is excited to announce that Los Angeles-based activist dance theater company CONTRA-TIEMPO will host a community dance party and workshop (“Sabor Session”) on Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 p.m., followed by a performance of ‘¡azúcar!’ on Friday, February 23rd at 6:30 p.m., both held at the Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church on First Street in Pittsfield. 

CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold, multilingual company that creates communities where all people are awakened to a sense of themselves as artists and social change agents who move through the world with compassion, confidence, and joy. The company dances and educates using a physical, visual, and sonic vocabulary that combines salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip hop, and contemporary dance with theater, compelling text, and original music. 

CONTRA-TIEMPO artist Jannet Galdamez. Photo by Steve Wylie.

On Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 p.m., get moving and grooving with a “Sabor Session” (from the Spanish word for “flavor”) where CONTRA-TIEMPO will guide participants in Afro-Latin social dance forms that are rooted in radical joy. In the artists’ words, “Together we embody joy as a form of resistance and a tool to build community.” No prior dance knowledge is necessary. Bring comfortable shoes and an open heart. 

On Friday, February 23rd at 6:30 p.m., watch an excerpt from the full-length work ‘¡azúcar!’ which brings to life the vibrations of Cuban musician Celia Cruz, as artists explore ancestral wisdoms about a plant that once aided in our healing, sweetening medicinal concoctions, now extracted, refined, and used as weaponized poison. The development of ¡azúcar! is driven by unearthing the history embedded in the artists’ bodies to courageously name, confront, and intentionally obliterate the often unspoken undercurrent of anti-Blackness in Latinidad. This courageous work is rooted in our Afro-Latine movement languages, the sacred feminine, personal narratives of food, labor, community, sabor, and explorations of ‘familying’ and healing as practices. There will be a Q&A following the performance. 

These free, family-friendly events are on Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 p.m. and Friday, February 23rd at 6:30 p.m. in the Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church on First Street in Pittsfield. The doors open at 6 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but advance registration is recommended. Registration and more information can be found online. Accessible seating can be reserved at community@jacobspillow.org.

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Berkshires Jazz presents ’10 by Duke’ featuring Matt and Atla DeChamplain with the Hot Club of New England

Pittsfield— On Saturday, February 24th at 7:30 p.m., as part of Pittsfield’s 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival, Berkshires Jazz presents “10 by Duke,” a concert of music that was composed or popularized by Duke Ellington featuring Matt and Atla DeChamplain with the Hot Club of New England.

Atla and Matt DeChamplain. Image courtesy of Berkshire Jazz.

Fifty years after his passing, Duke Ellington is universally acknowledged as America’s most prolific composer. Berkshires Jazz joins the international music community in celebrating Ellington’s 125th birthday this year, starting with a new look at the Ellington oeuvre. The works are reimagined through the lens of the French Jazz Manouche style that was introduced and popularized by the likes of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. 

“The program underscores how versatile Ellington’s music remains today, half a century after his passing in 1974,” said Ed Bride, President of Berkshires Jazz, Inc. “Performing Ellington works in the Manouche stylings makes the program unique, and hard to resist.”

The concert is on Saturday, February 24th at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkshire Museum on South Street in Pittsfield. Tickets are $25 in advance. Tickets and more information can be found online. 

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WordXWord at 10×10 Festival

Pittsfield— On Thursday, February 22nd at 7 p.m., as part of the 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival, WordXWord presents “10 Words,” poems that fit on a dime and some that don’t. 

The number of the day is 10. What could possibly go wrong when you stir a pot full of poets and bring it to a slow boil?

Image courtesy of WordXWord.

The event is on Thursday, February 22nd at 7 p.m. at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts on Renne Avenue in Pittsfield. It is free and open to the public. More information can be found online. 

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Hot Plate Brewing Company presents the Berkshire Concert Choir to celebrate the release of one of the 10 microbrews created for the 10×10 Festival in Pittsfield

Pittsfield— On Sunday, February 18th from 4 p.m.-on, Hot Plate Brewing Company presents the Berkshire Concert Choir to celebrate the release of one of the 10 microbrews created for the 10×10 Festival in Pittsfield. 

Image courtesy of Hot Plate Brewing Company.

The special beer created for this event is a Polish wheat beer, or Grodziskie, which Hot Plate owners have named “Weary of the Luminous Silence.” The title was inspired by a text from Olga Tokarczuk’s Nobel prize-winning novel, “The Books of Jacob”, which explores Polish history. The Berkshire Concert Choir will lead the audience in a singalong of familiar and singable tunes from the “Beer Choir Hymnal,” as well as several songs that reference historical events.  

The event is on Sunday, February 18th from 4 p.m.-on at Hot Plate Brewing Company on School Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online. 

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Clark Art Institute to host special activities during February school vacation week

Williamstown— From Monday, February 19th through Friday, February 23rd, the Clark Art Institute hosts special activities for February school vacation week.

The Clark, Lent by The Troob Family Foundation, TR TR2004.27.1

Learn about prints, drawings, and photographs in celebration of the Clark’s ever-expanding collection of works on paper alongside “50 Years and Forward: Works on Paper Acquisitions” on view through March 10th. To learn more about the art-making methods depicted in the exhibition, visitors are welcome to participate in two workshops, Cyanotype-Making and Printmaking. 

On February 22nd from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Learn more about Cyanotype-Making, the photographic printing process. Drop-in and experiment with light-sensitive paper to make your own cyanotype.

On February 23rd at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., there will be a guided Printmaking workshop, in which you will create unique prints to take home or share with friends. Advanced registration is required.

Additionally, every day this week, visitors can pick up a free set of colored pencils and a drawing pad at the Clark Center Admissions desk.

The activities are from Monday, February 19th through Friday, February 23rd at the Clark Art Institute on South Street in Williamstown. Admission is free for all visitors through March 31st. Registration and more information can be found online. 

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Meet a kangaroo at Wild World of Animals at Chatham Public Library

Chatham, N.Y.— On Wednesday, February 21st at 10:30 a.m., the Chatham Public Library hosts a special opportunity to see and learn about live animals during February school vacation week. 

Kangaroo. Image courtesy of Chatham Public Library.

Wild World of Animals, an informative and educational program presented by Two by Two Animal Haven, focuses on the importance of animal conservation through live interaction with fun and exciting animal species including a kangaroo, parrot, ball python, tortoise, alligator, chinchilla, ring-tailed lemur, and a cane toad. (This is a “no touch” program.)

The family-friendly event is on Wednesday, February 21st at 10:30 a.m. at the Chatham Public Library on Woodbridge Avenue in Chatham, N.Y. Pre-registration is required. Email merka@chatham.k12.ny.us to reserve your space.

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Pre-register for Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center’s ‘Kids Feed the Birds’ workshop

Great Barrington— On Thursday February 22nd at 10 a.m. during February school vacation week, Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center is offering a free workshop “Kids Feed the Birds,” a hands-on activity for children with adult companions.

Kids will assemble bird-feeders made with peanut butter (or shortening if peanut butter is an allergen) smeared on pine cones then rolled in bird seed mix. A simple cord of twine tied to the top allows the feeder to hang from tree limbs or porch overhangs. Then, watch what birds come to visit! Dress appropriately for messy play. 

Image courtesy of Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center.

The free workshop is on Thursday February 22nd at 10 a.m. at Ward’s Nursery and Garden Center on Main Street in Great Barrington. This event is suitable for children ages 4 and up. Pre-registration is required. Register or learn more online or by calling 413-528-0166.

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