Ventfort Hall to present ‘Opulent Emporiums’
Lenox — Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum will host retail and restaurant historian Jan Whitaker on Tuesday, June 6, at 4 p.m. for a talk titled “Opulent Emporiums: The Gilded Age of Department Stores,” which will be followed by a Victorian tea.
Whitaker’s illustrated talk will recreate the ultimate shopping experience that began in Paris in the 1850s and spread worldwide thanks to the Industrial Revolution; a new middle class; and the inventions of the steel frame structure, the elevator and the escalator. With floor upon floor of merchandise, shopping became an entertainment.
Internationally known department store expert Whitaker is the author of several books including “Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social History of the Tea Room Craze in America,” “The World of Department Stores,” and “Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class.” She lives in Northampton.
Tickets $26 in advance and $32 day of the event. Reservations are recommended. For information or reservations, contact Ventfort Hall at (413) 637-3206 or info@gildedage.org.
–E.E.
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Young classical musicians to perform at Southfield Church
Southfield — On Saturday, June 3, at 7 p.m., Music at the Southfield Church will present Hannah Cohen, violin, and Noah Krauss, cello and piano, at the Southfield Church, 234 Norfolk Rd. The program will include solo and duet pieces by Gliere, Bach and Handel, as well as Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” for violin and piano.
Cohen is a native of Lee and a graduate of Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, who has studied violin under Peter Zazofsky at Boston University and will continue her studies this fall at the Royal College of Music in London. Krauss, who hails from New York City, began his undergraduate cello and piano studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, but returned to his hometown to continue his studies at the Juilliard School.
The performance is free and open to the public; a retiring collection will be taken in support of the artists. A reception with refreshments will follow the program. For more information, call the Southfield Church at (413) 229-8109.
–E.E.
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Scoville Memorial Library to host Chicken Day
Salisbury, Conn. — On Saturday, June 3, at 11 a.m., Scoville Memorial Library will host Chicken Day with chicken whisperer and artist Leslie Watkins and her Bantams Little Lovey and Pavarooti. Watkins will tell stories about her flock of Bantam hens and their rooster friends and will describe what makes chickens such interesting social creatures. Children will be able to hear stories about chickens who save the day and make chicken stamping art to take home. For more information, contact the library at (860) 435-2838 or scovlibn@biblio.org.
–E.E.
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Ghent Playhouse to hold auditions for ‘Greater Tuna’
Ghent, N.Y. — The Ghent Playhouse will hold auditions for “Greater Tuna” on Monday, June 5, and Tuesday, June 6, at 7:15 p.m. with sign-in beginning at 7 p.m.
Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, “Greater Tuna” portrays a day in the life of the wacky inhabitants of Tuna, Texas, as they parade across the stage in all their outrageous and irreverent glory, spouting on life, politics and what makes them tick. Performances will run Friday, Oct. 6, through Sunday, Oct. 22.
Needed for casting are two male actors between the ages of 20 and 60 who will portray 20 characters. The production requires stamina, and the abilities to change roles quickly and create inventive voices for the characters. Those auditioning will be asked to read scenes from the script.
For more information, contact the director, Brian Wagner, at briandwagner65@gmail.com.
–E.E.
