Bits & Bytes: Mud Day at Muddy Brook; Children’s Attic consignment sale; ‘Go for B’roque!’; chestnut orchard work parties; community garden beds for Egremont families

Muddy Brook Elementary School to host Mud Day

Great Barrington — The Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School PTA has announced that its our ninth annual Mud Day will take place Saturday, May 19, from noon to 4 p.m., rain or shine, at Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School.

Students enjoy Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School’s 2017 Mud Day event. Photo courtesy Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School

Mud Day celebrates the Berkshire landscape by bringing the classroom outdoors in playful, creative ways. An estimated 500 attendees will build transparent pyramids with volunteers from Flying Cloud Institute, participate in a water cycle activity with the Housatonic Valley Association, explore the pond with Mass Audubon, and plant dogwood shrubs to take home with Greenagers and the Sheffield Land Trust. Third-graders will share with the public their “Skip the Straw” campaign, which challenges fellow students and families to take a pledge to forgo plastic drinking straws and to encourage their favorite local businesses to do the same. Mud Day will mark the debut of the fourth-graders’ Earth Cube, an industrial compost capable of processing 50 pounds of lunchroom scraps per day. And, of course, there will be mud. There will be lots and lots of mud. Kids can play muddy tug-o-war, build mud castles and get all-around messy in a giant mud field.

All activities are available to children for a fee of $5, and there is a $15 maximum per family. Adults may participate for free. Attendees are advised to bring changes of clothes and towels. Mud Day reusable water bottles and bags will be for sale, as well as hot dogs, popcorn, ice cream and baked goods. Families are also invited to bring a picnic lunch. For more information, contact Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School at (413) 644-2350 or mbres@bhrsdonline.org.

–E.E.

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CHP to hold Children’s Attic consignment sale

Great Barrington — Community Health Programs will host its annual Children’s Attic consignment sale at its main campus, 444 Stockbridge Road, Saturday, May 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to noon.

The sale will include all-season clothing in newborn sizes through youth size 14, maternity clothing, toys, games, books, baby equipment and more. In addition, volunteers are needed to help set-up, organize, sell and clean up following the event. Volunteers will receive early-bird shopping opportunities.

For more information or to volunteer, contact CHP at (413) 528-0547 or WIC@chpberkshires.org. Proceeds from the sale will support CHP’s Family Services programs.

–E.E.

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Berkshire Bach Society to present ‘Go for B’roque!’

Myron Lutzke. Photo courtesy Orchestra of St. Luke’s

Great Barrington — On Saturday, May 19, at 7:30 pm at the First Congregational Church, 251 Main St., the Berkshire Bach Society will present “Go for B’roque!”, a program of Baroque music directed by Myron Lutzke, a Baroque early music specialist and principal cellist of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

The program of “Go for B’roque!” is specifically designed to give the audience an opportunity to compare the distinctive sounds of period and modern instruments side by side. The debate about the “right” instruments for Baroque music will take a back seat to the repertoire presented, which will reward listeners with the sounds of Lutzke’s Ensemble of Eight, made up of members of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with five strings, flute, trumpet and harpsichord. A meet-and-greet reception with the musicians will follow the concert.

Tickets are $35–$50 for the general public, and free for children and full-time students with ID. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Berkshire Bach Society at (413) 528-9555 or info@berkshirebach.org.

–E.E.

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Springside Park chestnut orchard seeks volunteers for work days

Pittsfield — The American Chestnut Foundation’s Massachusetts/Rhode Island Chapter invites volunteers to join work parties Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Robert L. Presutti Chestnut Orchard at Springside Park.

Participants will remove ground cloth and plastic tubes, plant new seeds and seedlings, and weed existing sections of the orchard. All ages and abilities are welcome. Attendees are advised to wear comfortable garden clothes and sturdy work shoes; and to bring bug spray, sunscreen and hats as well as garden gloves, weeding tools and knee pads if possible. Refreshments and water will be provided. The event is expected to complete the plantings needed to begin the countdown toward harvesting blight-resistant American chestnut seeds as part of a reforestation effort.

Volunteers are asked to meet at the orchard at the end of the dirt road at Springside Park, 874 North St. and may give whatever time they can spare as all help will be appreciated. For more information, contact Lois at (508) 667-9685.

–E.E.

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Community garden beds available for Egremont families

North Egremont — Egremont families are invited to adopt one or more of eight raised organic garden beds now installed and ready for vegetable planting at French Park, 21 Prospect Lake Road.

The gardens are limited to Egremont residents, and priority will be given to families with children or grandchildren who will learn the importance of growing their own food. Two beds have extra elevation for gardeners with physical limitations. The beds will be filled by Greenagers with organic soil to encourage organic farming and will be for planting in mid to late May.

For more information or to reserve a bed, contact Greenagers’ Front Lawn Food coordinator Aretha Whitehead at (413) 644-9090 or aretha@greenagers.org. Those interested are asked to indicate if there are children in their families and if they have family members with physical limitations.

–E.E.