May events at Down County Social Club
Sheffield – Down County Social Club (DCSC) will host a variety of events in May. Thursday, May 12, will feature EarthBlu, the guitar/electronic loop project from Peter Lindstrom. On Thursday, May 19, Canadian folk duo Mama’s Broke will be joined by New Orleans folk/punk outfit Belligerence. The evening will begin with a musical puppet show from the Wildcat Collective. On Thursday, May 26, Brooklyn’s Emily Danger will present her dark cabaret rock.
All shows begin at 8 p.m. and have a suggested donation of $10. For more information, call (413229-8585.
–E.E.
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Simon’s Rock Jazz Ensemble to perform spring concert
Great Barrington — The Bard College at Simon’s Rock Jazz Ensemble will present its spring concert in the Daniel Arts Center’s McConnell Theater on Friday, May 13, at 8:00 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.
Directed by faculty member John Myers, the performance will include a variety of styles including standards by Duke Ellington and Irving Berlin, and plenty of energetic and creative improvisation by the Ensemble members. An original composition by Myers, “Blended Morning” in 7/8 time, as well as a special piece featuring the Ensemble’s graduating seniors, will round out the program. Members of the all-student ensemble include Ethan Ackelsberg on marimba and drums; Shane Ciancanelli on trombone; Robert Costales on alto sax and vocals; Olivia Davis on percussion/drums; Zara London-Southern on clarinet and vocals; Malcolm Gilbert on tenor sax; Julie Hahn on flute and percussion; Whitney Harri on clarinet and vocals; Jan Jurchak on piano and tenor sax; Coco Marcil on clarinet; Mia McGiffert on alto sax and vocals; Theo MacPhail on electric bass; Matthew Stabile on keyboard, piano, and vocals; Nathaniel Wachtel on viola and vocals; Andrew Wainwright on trumpet; Keith Walsh on alto sax; and Aaron Weiss on guitar.
–E.E.
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Lee Greener Gateway Cleanup
Lee – More than 60 Lee residents turned out early Saturday morning on May 7 for the first annual Lee Greener Gateway Community Cleanup Day. Organized by the town of Lee’s Recycling Committee, 10 groups spread out throughout the town to collect roadside trash. Participating in the cleanup were 30 students from the Lee Middle and High School, two students from Lenox Memorial Middle and High School, 11 students from the College Internship Program, and 26 adults. Three hours later the groups reassembled at the town’s gazebo, having collected more than 200 large bags of trash and recyclables which filled a truck to overflowing and most of a nearby dumpster. The volunteers then enjoyed free pizza and snacks provided by many local restaurants and grocery stores.
Valerie Bluhm, the Recycling Committee’s event coordinator, considered the day a great success for a first effort: “We really appreciated the large turnout, especially all the young people. It was a nice way for residents of all ages to get together for a common purpose and, in a few hours, we greatly improved the most heavily littered roadsides in town.” She expects the event will be repeated next year in Lee and hopes it will spread to other towns in Berkshire County.
–E.E.
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Local schools share in Williams’ Olmsted Awards
Williamstown — Williams College has announced its 2016 Bicentennial Olmsted Awards for Faculty Development to Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School (BART) in Adams, Brayton Elementary School and McCann Technical School in North Adams, Lanesborough Elementary School, and Mount Greylock Regional School and Williamstown Elementary School in Williamstown. Each school will receive $5,000 for professional and curricular development projects.
Adams-Cheshire will use its Olmsted Award to hire two consultants and purchase the book “Teaching with Poverty in Mind” by Eric Jensen for the C.T. Plunkett Elementary School. BART’s Olmsted grant will support three projects: Spanish lessons for faculty and staff members, workshops for teachers in a technology education program called Web-Enriched Classroom, and a new administrator support group. Brayton Elementary School will use its Olmsted grant to support continued training for teachers in the Leader in Me program. The awards for Lanesborough Elementary and Williamstown Elementary will help support their collaborative focus on STEM and provide a three-day professional development experience focusing on teaching math. McCann plans to use its Olmsted grant to help add expertise for a computer science and software engineering course to its Project Lead the Way program. Mount Greylock will use its Olmsted award to continue its ninth grade team model which provides support for the academic, social, and emotional growth for ninth-graders.
The local Olmsted Awards are funded by an endowment from the estates of George Olmsted, Jr. ’24 and his wife, Frances. The awards were established in 1993, on the occasion of Williams’ bicentennial celebration. They are an extension of the national Olmsted Prizes, which are administered each year to secondary school teachers from around the country, nominated by students of Williams’ senior class.
–E.E.
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BCC Players to present ‘Avenue Q’
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College’s BCC Players will present their spring production of the musical comedy “Avenue Q,” a puppet-filled show that follows a group of 20-somethings seeking their purpose in big-city life, at the Boland Theatre Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 22. Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Ellen Shanahan serves as musical director for the production and Andrea Borak is the choreographer. “Avenue Q” features mature content and is not suitable for children. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for students and seniors. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Ellen Shanahan at (413) 236-4703 or eshanahan@berkshirecc.edu.
–E.E.
