Ski Butternut to host first annual Berkshire Beatles Bash
Great Barrington — On Saturday, July 8, from 3 to 8 p.m., Ski Butternut will host the inaugural Berkshire Beatles Bash featuring music from Classical Mystery Tour, trivia contests with prizes, activities for children, local food vendors, beer, libations and summer fun for Beatles fans of all ages.
Classical Mystery Tour brings the original Beatles’ sound to life with the acclaimed George Martin arrangements. The musicians, who dress in the different era-appropriate garb, perform Beatles classics such as “Penny Lane,” “Yesterday,” “I Am the Walrus” and more. Since 2017 is the 50th anniversary of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, ”the record will be highlighted in the show. Jim Owen as John Lennon, Paul Curatolo as Paul McCartney, Tom Teeley as George Harrison and Doug Cox as Ringo Starr have decades of live performance experience as the Beatles, having starred in productions of “Beatlemania” on Broadway and in film. Also performing Beatles’ sets at the festival will be Plastic Soul led by Richard Downs as well as Reinhardt and Ciccarelli.
Tickets are $35 in advance, $45 at the door and $100 for a VIP package that includes a post-concert party with the artists at the Barn at the Egremont Village Inn with artists. Children 12 and under will be admitted free. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar.
–E.E.
* * *
July 7 First Friday Artswalk
Pittsfield — The First Fridays Artswalk from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 7, will encompass more than a dozen art shows featuring over a dozen accomplished regional artists in Pittsfield’s Upstreet Cultural District. The artswalk will kick off with opening receptions and artists present throughout, plus a free guided walking tour beginning at 5 p.m. at the BRTA Intermodal Center.
The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts will present “I Am a Part of Art,” Community Access to the Arts’ annual exhibit of art created by artists with disabilities, from Friday, July 7, through Monday, July 31. The exhibit will be open during the artswalk and an opening reception will take place on Thursday, July 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. During the month of July, the Whitney Center for the Arts will present “Flights of Fancy,” an exhibit of collage, multimedia and assembly by Tammara Leminen, whose work is three-dimensional and pulls heavily from her fondness for Victorian-era illustrations. An artswalk reception will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. The paintings of Melissa Matsuki Lillie, a painter whose artwork references natural forms using a personal visual language of vibrant colors and complex layers, will be on display at the gallery at Hotel on North in July and August with an opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. during the artswalk.
New shows from local artists will also be displayed at the Brothership Building window, Steven Valenti’s Clothing for Men, Shire City Sanctuary, Berkshire Medical Center, the Marketplace Café, Berkshire Paint and Sip, NUarts, the Funky Phoenix, Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, and the Kinderhook Group Real Estate. There will also be a collaborative exhibit with Jacob’s Pillow Dance.
For more information, call Downtown Pittsfield Inc. at (413) 443-6501.
–E.E.
* * *
The Mount to present live recording of ‘The Book Show’
Lenox — On Thursday, July 6, from 3 to 4:15 p.m., the Mount will host a live recording of an episode of the WAMC Northeast Public Radio program “The Book Show.” The episode will feature the show’s host, Joe Donahue, in conversation with author Courtney Maum about her latest book, “Touch.”
In addition to “Touch,” Maum is the author of the novel “I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You.” Her short fiction, book reviews and essays on writing have been published in the New York Times, Electric Literature and BuzzFeed. At various points in her life, she has been a trend forecaster, a fashion publicist, and a party promoter. She currently works as a product namer for M·A·C cosmetics from her home in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for Mount members. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar of contact the Mount at (413) 551-5111 or info@edithwharton.org.
–E.E.
* * *
Schantz Galleries to welcome glass artist Tagliapietra
Stockbridge — Schantz Galleries will present classic and contemporary works by glass artist Lino Tagliapietra Thurday, July 6, through Sunday, July 30. Tagliapietra will be present at the public opening of the exhibition on Friday, July 7, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Regarded internationally as the best glass blower in the world by his peers, Tagliapietra is celebrating 70 years of working with glass. Not limiting himself to only blown glass forms, the Tagliapietra’s passion for his art has driven him to create large-scale fused glass panels using various forms of his own hand-pulled canes, murrini, rondelle and glass pellets.
For more information, contact Schantz Galleries at (413) 298-3044 or webinquiry@schantzgalleries.com.
–E.E.
* * *
‘Under Siege: The Addiction Epidemic and What We Can Do to Help’
Pittsfield — On Thursday, July 6, at 10:45 a.m., the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will welcome Dr. Jennifer Michaels to Congregation Knesset Israel for a free presentation titled “Under Siege: The Addiction Epidemic and What We Can Do to Help.”
In her presentation, Michaels will describe the disease of addiction; explain how people become addicted to substances, with a focus on heroin and prescription pills; and discuss how treatments and recovery work.
Michaels is assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and the medical director of the Brien Center, Berkshire County’s largest community mental health provider. She is dual board-certified in adult and addiction psychiatry as well as a national mentor for the Physician Clinical Support System. She is a frequent guest on WAMC Northeast Public Radio and is a committed community educator on topics related to mental health.
For more information, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10.
–E.E.
