Illustrator James Warhola to speak at Norman Rockwell Museum
Stockbridge — In conjunction with its new exhibition “James Warhola: Uncle Andy and Other Stories,” the Norman Rockwell Museum will present an evening with illustrator James Warhola on Thursday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m. Award-winning artist Warhola was influenced as a child by his artistic family–especially his famous uncle, Andy Warhol. Warhola will share stories of his family visits with the legendary artist and his mother, and discuss his own journey as an illustrator of picture books, science fiction subjects and popular periodicals including MAD magazine. The event is free for NRM members, or included with admission. For more information or to make reservations, contact NRM at (413) 931-2221 or register@nrm.org.
–E.E.
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Isadora Duncan dancers to perform
Stockbridge — A group of young Isadora Duncan dancers from Deborah Harris’ MusicMoves dance studio in Great Barrington will perform on the lawn of the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives on Saturday, July 29 at 1 p.m. The seven dancers range in ages from 8 to 11 and will be decked in silk tunics and flowered head wreaths while they dance barefoot to Vivaldi, Schubert and Brahms.
Duncan was well known to the communities of Stockbridge and Lenox at the turn of the century and gave outdoor recitals at Berkshire cottages such as Chesterwood and Norwood as well as at the Winthrop and Crowninshield estates. Harris has been teaching dance in the style of Duncan for over 20 years. She earned her Dalcroze Eurythmics certification at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and studied Duncan in New York with leading exponents and interpreters of Duncan dance including Catherine Gallant, Jeanne Bresciani and Lori Belilove.
The 30-minute performance is free and open to the public. In case of rain, the event will be held Sunday, July 30, at 1 p.m. For more information, contact Deborah Harris at (413) 528-9027 or harrisdeborah11@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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Town players to present staged reading of ‘After the Darkness’
Pittsfield — On Sunday, July 30, at 2 p.m., the Town Players of Pittsfield will present the first staged reading of their 97th season, “After The Darkness,” written and directed by Joe Starzyk, at the Whitney Center for the Arts. The play tells the story of Sydney Dunbar, a mother who must confront and forgive the man who murdered her child. The cast features Leah Marie Parker, Patrick White, Chris Foster and Mary Daigneault. Admission is $5. For tickets and more information, contact the Town Players of Pittsfield at (413) 443-9279 or townplayersofpittsfield1921@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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BCD student places third in video contest
Stockbridge — Berkshire Country Day School eighth grader Shayna Kantor turned her interest in American Sign Language into a third place-winning University of Southern California Shoah Foundation’s IWitness Video Challenge project. The challenge, which asks students to be inspired by testimonies of genocide survivors and witnesses to create positive change in their communities and document their processes in a video, was assigned by Shayna’s history teacher, Sarah Pitcher-Hoffman. Shayna was drawn to a testimony given in ASL, which she has been learning for the past two years, and was fascinated to learn more about what life was like for a deaf person in eastern Europe in the 1930s and ‘40s. For her community service project, Shayna went to a local kindergarten classroom and taught the basics of ASL.
“My testimony and video can teach them that deaf people have to make more sacrifices than we realize in order to fit in with the hearing world and that we should start giving them more respect for that,” Shayna said. “I will take away from this that I should be more aware and respectful to those who are less fortunate than me and who have to go through greater challenges to make their lives work.”
–E.E.
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Mattress recycling collection scheduled
Monterey — The Southern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District has announced a free mattress and box spring recycling program for residents of Alford, Becket, Monterey, Mount Washington, Otis and Washington. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection awarded a grant to the town of Monterey to pay for the program and it is expected to continue for at least one year.
Mattresses must be clean, dry and free of mold, mildew and bedbugs. Mattresses can be brought to the Monterey transfer station during operating hours. There is no charge for drop-off but proof of residency in the participating towns is required. For more information, contact Jamie Cahillane at the Center for EcoTechnology at (413) 445-4556 x14 or jamie.cahillane@cetonline.org.
–E.E.
