Commission on the Status of Women to hold legislative breakfast
Lenox — The Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women (BCCSW) will hold its second annual legislative breakfast from 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 26, at Shakespeare & Company’s Bernstein Theater. The event is open to the public and invited guests include Rep. Gailanne Cariddi (D-North Adams), Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D-Pittsfield), Rep. Paul Mark (D-Peru), Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox), and Sen. Benjamin Downing (D-Pittsfield). The speakers will be Director of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women Jill Ashton, Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center and Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer.
The forum will provide an opportunity for a community conversation around existing and emerging issues affecting all women and girls in the county. This year’s discussion will highlight Berkshire stories and related public advocacy opportunities in relation to women in poverty; domestic violence; opiate addiction, recovery, and stigma; and positive socioemotional strategies and opportunities in the county. Service providers are welcome. Berkshire residents are encouraged to bring a-100 word statement that can include a personal story or summary of a public policy that would benefit from legislative advocacy and support. There will be a brief open forum opportunity to speak to the Commission and attending members of the delegation. Written statements will be collected and shared with the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women at the State House and the Berkshire Delegation.
To RSVP and for more information, contact BCCSW Chair Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant at gwendolyn@multiculturalbridge.org or (413) 717-8164; or BCCSW Program Committee Chair Luci Leonard (413) 358-5296. A light continental breakfast will be offered from 7:30 a.m. – 7:45 a.m. during a networking opportunity. Early arrival is suggested for parking. The program will begin promptly at 7:45 a.m.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Theatre Group to present comedian Ben Kronberg
Pittsfield — Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) will present comedian Ben Kronberg as part of its Laugh Lounge series on Wednesday, February 24, at 8 p.m. at the Garage.
Since his breakout performance at HBO‘s 2007 Aspen Comedy Festival, Kronberg has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, John Oliver’s New York Stand-up Show, and Last Call with Carson Daly.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the show. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Colonial ticket office at (413) 997-4444.
–E.E.
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Writers Read monthly reading series
Lee – The Writers Read monthly reading series at the Lee Library will continue on Tuesday, February 23, at 5:30 p.m. with guest host Frances Roth and poets Hilary Russell and Jan Hutchinson.
Sheffield-based Hilary Russell’s poems have appeared in Ploughshares, Beloit Poetry Journal, Boulevard, and other poetry journals. Russell is the author of the chapbook “Giving up the House” and his work is included in “The Anthology of American Poetry (Wayside Press)” and “The Portable Writer (Wayside Press).” Jan Hutchinson, a lifelong writer and student of poetry, has published the collections “Poems of Prayer and Heresy (2008)” and “Raggedy Prayers and Crooked Ladders (2013).” For the past four Aprils, Jan has honored National Poetry Month by sending daily poetry prompts to an ever-increasing number of poets and songwriters who have expressed interest.
For more information contact davidgpoet@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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Williams College diversity lecture series
Williamstown — Williams College’s “Diversity-Equity-Social Justice: Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education” lecture series will continue on Monday, February 22, at 7 p.m. with Drake University Professor of Religion Jennifer Harvey. Harvey will give a talk entitled “Framing Ferguson: Religious Faith, Righteous Feminists and Holy Fire” which will take place in Griffin Hall, Room 3.
Harvey’s presentation will explore lesser-known perspectives — religious and secular — on the Civil Rights Movement to help better explain the current racial climate. Harvey’s teaching, writing, and public speaking focus on encounters of religion and ethics with race, gender, activism, politics, spirituality, justice, and other aspects of social life. Her most recent book is “Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2014).”
For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map or call the Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
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GBRSS to present student science fair
Great Barrington – Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School (GBRSS) invites the community to its bi-annual Middle School Student Science Fair Thursday, February 25, at 7 p.m. and Friday, February 26, at 9 a.m. in the school’s auditorium.
Leading the Science Fair this year is experienced Waldorf math and science teacher Lynn Arches, a seven-time Who’s Who Among American Teachers honoree whose research on the metabolic process of the female Denning polar bear and desalinization led her to collaborate with leading polar bear researchers. Nearly 45 GBRSS seventh- and eighth graders will demonstrate projects on diverse topics including many that concern conservation and “green” solutions to everyday problems, providing a firsthand opportunity to explore the phenomenological way students learn science at GBRSS.
–E.E.
