Berkshire Art Center presents hammered botanicals and mixed media workshop with Diane Firtell
Pittsfield— On Saturdays June 7th, 14, and 21st from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Berkshire Art Center presents a hammered botanicals and mixed media workshop with Berkshire artist Diane Firtell.
Experiment with pounded flower printmaking techniques and then add collage, pen and ink, or whatever medium you prefer, turning blank paper into notecards, postcards, or a finished work of art.
Nature is the inspiration and source of almost all Diane Firtell’s work. Expressing her voice in color, texture and shape, her jewelry designs are worn by celebrities and have been featured in films, including “Cocktail” and “Earth Girls are Easy.” A beloved art instructor, she teaches with creativity and joy.
The workshop is on Saturdays June 7th, 14, and 21st from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Berkshire Art Center, located at 141 North Street in Pittsfield. Registration and more information can be found online.
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City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development announces the return of the Pittsfield Paintbox Program with a call for art
Pittsfield— The City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development has announced the return of the Pittsfield Paintbox Program with a call for art.
The Paintbox Program celebrates local artists, enlivens the streetscape, and discourages vandalism of utility boxes throughout the downtown. Pittsfield’s Cultural Development Director Jen Glockner says, “We’re thrilled to be bringing back this program to offer regional artists a chance to show off their work and help to bring more public art to the streets of Pittsfield.”
Four new Paintbox designs will be installed. Artists can submit between one and three designs for consideration. Submissions will be accepted through June 20th. Participating artists may receive $500 total for an artist stipend and supplies. The application and more information can be found online.
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Berkshire Pride Pride-season kick-off to feature flag raising, proclamation, and block party
Pittsfield— On Saturday, May 31st from noon to 4 p.m., Berkshire Pride’s Pride-season kick-off will feature a flag raising, proclamation, and block party.
At noon at City Hall, located at 70 Allen Street in Pittsfield, there will be a powerful flag raising ceremony and an official proclamation from Mayor Peter Marchetti, declaring June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Pittsfield. The ceremony will also include the presentation of the Community Partner of the Year award.
At 12:30 p.m., following the ceremony, the celebration continues with a Block Party on School Street in partnership with Hot Plate Brewing Co. and Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. Play lawn games while DJ Pup Daddy spins your favorite jams and Brazzuca’s serves it up on the grill.
The event is on Saturday, May 31st from noon to 4 p.m. at City Hall at 70 Allen Street and Hot Plate Brewing Co. on School Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online.
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Barrington Stage Company’s 2025 season opens with New Los Angeles Repertory Company’s production of ‘Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground’ starring Tony Award winner John Rubinstein
Pittsfield— From June 3rd through June 8th, Barrington Stage Company’s 2025 season opens with New Los Angeles Repertory Company’s production of “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” starring Tony Award winner John Rubinstein.
It’s 1962. The New York Times Magazine publishes a ranking of the greatest American Presidents. Pondering his placement on the list, Eisenhower looks back on his life of service and contemplates what it takes to lead, and what makes a leader great. Full of fascinating revelations about the man, the leader, and American history itself, this new one-man play by Richard Hellesen lets you sit in with the five-star president.
“During the extremely challenging and even frightening events of our own present times, our audiences have been surprised, moved, informed, uplifted, and inspired to observe one of the most powerful men of the last century express his personal humility, his dilemmas and hard choices, his honor, his intelligence and wit, his respect and dignity, along with his fervent hope that he might have contributed to the betterment of the lives of the soldiers he commanded, the citizens of foreign countries he helped liberate and unite, and the people of the United States he represented for eight years in the White House,” said Rubinstein.
The performances run from June 3rd through June 8th on Barrington Stage Company’s Boyd-Quinson Stage, located at 30 Union Street in Pittsfield. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Great Barrington Public Theater’s 2025 season opens with Maggie Kearnan’s ‘How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos’
Great Barrington— From June 5th through June 22nd, Great Barrington Public Theater’s 2025 season opens with Maggie Kearnan’s “How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos.”
It’s illegal to be a billionaire, and Jeffrey Bezos (Noah Alexis Tuleja) has agreed to give an interview in exchange for information on the federal case against him. But there’s something off about journalist Cherry Beaumont (Eliza Fichter,) a crowd is forming outside, and the onstage Fact Checker (Shai Vaknine) has a few important clarifications to make. The fall of capitalism is about to get very messy.
“We find ourselves in a surreal contemporary world, watching the upending and dismantling of decades, even centuries, of America’s core democratic institutions. ‘How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos’ kicks off our 2025 season by challenging us, to make us think about who we are, where we’re headed as a nation, and more importantly, can we survive this, or will it make us stronger?” said Great Barrington Public Theater Artistic Director Jim Frangione. “It’s without a doubt a play ‘of the moment’… Maggie is a playwright to watch and we are happy to have her play in our season.”
The performances run from June 5th through June 22nd at 84 Alford Street in Great Barrington. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Mac-Haydn Theatre’s 2025 season opens with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘A Grand Night For Singing,’ a revue offering a fresh and innovative take on the songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein
Chatham, N.Y.— From June 5th through June 15th, Mac-Haydn Theatre’s 2025 season opens with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “A Grand Night For Singing,” a revue offering a fresh and innovative take on the songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein may never have imagined “Shall We Dance?” as a comic pas de deux for a towering beauty and her diminutive admirer, nor might they have suspected that one day a lovelorn young lad might pose the musical question, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” But that’s precisely the kind of invention lavished upon this new revue, with innovative musical arrangements including a sultry Andrews Sisters-esque “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” a swingin’ “Honeybun” worthy of the Modernaires, and a jazzy “Kansas City,” proving how terrifically up-to-date the remarkable songs of R&H remain.
The performances run from June 5th through June 15th at Mac-Haydn Theatre, located at 1925 NY-203 in Chatham, N.Y. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Foundry presents ‘Treaty: A Play About How To Not Blow Up The Planet,’ a Ground UP Productions original piece by Chris Thorpe
West Stockbridge— On June 5th and 6th, The Foundry presents “Treaty: A Play About How To Not Blow Up The Planet,” a Ground UP Productions original piece by Chris Thorpe.
After a chance meeting with a disarmament expert, playwright Chris Thorpe fell into the world of nuclear treaty negotiation, The Treaty On The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and the ordinary people who are trying to achieve the extraordinary outcome of complete nuclear disarmament. Based on conversations with organizations and individuals involved in those negotiations, including ICAN, the Nobel Prize winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the play is partly a story about the people on either side of the nuclear debate, and partly a conversation with the audience about how we find the space to talk about disarmament in our own lives.
The performances are on June 5th and 6th at The Foundry, located at 2 Harris Street in West Stockbridge. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Literacy Network presents Lauren Letellier’s one-woman show, ‘The Village Cidiot’ at The Mount
Lenox— On Friday, June 6th at 5 p.m., Literacy Network presents Lauren Letellier’s one-woman show, “The Village Cidiot” at The Mount
In “The Village Cidiot,” a dyed-in-the-wool Manhattanite loses her big corporate job and moves, reluctantly, to a tiny upstate town where her city skills are no match for rural reality. The show details Letellier’s journey about navigating life’s disruptions with humor, compassion, and tick repellent.
The performance is on Friday, June 6th at 5 p.m. at The Mount, located at 2 Plunkett Street in Lenox. There will be a post-show reception with a cash bar. Tickets and more information can be found online. All proceeds from ticket sales are to benefit the Literacy Network.
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OLLI presents Richard Matturro for an author talk and launch of his new novel ‘Shepherd’
Pittsfield— On Thursday, May 29th at 4 p.m., OLLI presents Richard Matturro for an author talk and the launch of his new novel “Shepherd” at Berkshire Community College.
Based (very loosely) on the myth of Daphne and Apollo from Ovid, Shepherd is a compelling story of love lost and regained — and also a healing meditation on grief and its survival, with something about what a good shepherd (in this case a dog) can do to mediate that process.
Richard Matturro holds a doctorate in English with a specialization in Shakespeare and Greek Mythology. After sixteen years at the Albany Times Union and fourteen years teaching literature at UAlbany, he now lives on an old farm in the foothills of the Berkshires. A frequent OLLI instructor, he is the author of numerous newspaper articles and short stories. “Shepherd” is his seventh novel.
The event is on Thursday, May 29th at 4 p.m. at Berkshire Community College, located at 1350 West Street in Pittsfield. It is free and open to the public. The book will be available for purchase and signing. A reception with light refreshments to follow. More information can be found online.
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BEAT’s native plant giveaway and exchange
Pittsfield— On Saturday, May 31st from 10 a.m. to noon, BEAT presents its native plant giveaway and exchange.
Four years ago, with the help of volunteers, BEAT planted a rain garden at our Environmental Leadership & Education Center located along the West Branch of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield. Not only does this garden collect and filter stormwater before running off and draining to the Housatonic River directly behind our building, but it also supports native pollinators. The garden is filled with pollinators all summer, and in the fall, birds feast on the fruit.
Some species that will be available to take home include common sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale,) seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens,) blue vervain (Verbena hastata,) great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica.) Exchanges are welcome, but not required. BEAT is looking for donations of the following species: Wild bee balm or wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa,) Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata,) Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberos,) Golden alexander (Zizia aurea,) Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis,) Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor,) and Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis.)
The event is on Saturday, May 31st from 10 a.m. to noon at BEAT’s Environmental Leadership & Education Center, located at 20 Chapel Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online.
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Berkshire Community College’s summer EMT training courses
Pittsfield— Berkshire Community College (BCC), in conjunction with Action Ambulance and County Ambulance, will offer two EMT training courses this summer.
The Action Ambulance course will be held June 2nd through September 6th on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and every other Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The County Ambulance course will be held June 16th through August 23rd on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The program covers the National Emergency Medical Services Educational Standards and prepares students for the National Registry of Medical Technicians practical and cognitive testing. Upon completion of the program and successful certification with the National Registry of EMTs, students may apply for certification by the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services.
100% attendance is required. Scholarships are available for students who qualify. To register for either course, email workforce@berkshirecc.edu or call 413-236-2115.
