A perfect winter weekend
A message from Great Barrington Trails and Greenways: Outdoor conditions are shaping up for a perfect Winter Weekend. Just in time for the Snowshoe Exploration At Project Native. Try out snowshoes, or bring your own, and enjoy the beautiful woodland and field trails.
Or maybe it’s time to take the kids to a great sledding hill. The Berkshire Natural Resources Council invites you to Hollow Fields in Richmond. There’s also a wildlife trek and Hot Chocolate being offered at Bartholomew’s cobble . . . (Details for all listed below).Hard to choose, but whatever happens, don’t miss the chance to get outdoors and enjoy all this light and fluffy February snow!
Saturday • February 7 • 10 a.m. – Noon
Snowshoe Exploration at Project Native
Leaders: Karen LeBlanc & David Ellis
Dale Abrams (Flying Cloud Institute)
Snowshoeing is a great way to welcome cold weather. Come and enjoy the wintery trails at Project Native. Strap on your snowshoes and learn about wildlife tracking and animal winter survival strategies. Demo snowshoes provided by Berkshire Bike and Board. Pre-registration is requested; 24 hour advance reservation required for loan of snowshoes. To register: info@gbtrails.org or call 413-274-3433.
Saturday • February 7 • 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Sledding at Hollow Fields
Richmond, Mass.
The Berkshire Natural Resources Council invites folks of all ages! Sled right from the parking lot or walk into one of the upper fields for longer rides and bigger hills! Bring a sled, lots of warm clothes and your friends! If you don’t feel like sledding, take a walk to the top of the fields for gorgeous views of Yokun Ridge. Come anytime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.! Dress for winter conditions. If you are planning on walking up through the fields, Yak Traks or snowshoes may be necessary. Directions: From Great Barrington, take Route 41 North. After passing the intersection with 295, look for a left onto Perry’s Peak Road (1 mile). The parking area is at the second red barn on the left. Look for the BNRC sign. Email mleavitt@bnrc.net with any questions!
Saturdays • 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Hot Chocolate Saturdays at Bartholomew’s Cobble
Sheffield — Just because its cold doesn’t mean you can’t go outside! Join us at Bartholomew’s Cobble for winter programs, snowshoe hikes, and catching up with friends and neighbors. Each Saturday at the Cobble we invite you to join the crowd by grabbing some snowshoes, getting some fresh air and exercise, and chatting with us over a cup of hot cocoa in the Cobble Visitor Center. FREE with admission. Snow shoe rentals available in adult and children’s sizes. Sign up for a Trustee membership and the snow shoe rentals are free! Contact Rene Wendell: rwendell@ttor.org (413.229.8600).
For directions click here.
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February Vacation Camp at Flying Cloud Institute
NEW MARLBOROUGH— Flying Cloud Institute’s February vacation camp presents The Science and Art of Winter on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Campers grades 1 through 4 will grow crystals, engineer a miniature sled, and track animals through the snow. Held the Flying Cloud campus, a 200-acre colonial farmstead, there will be a mix of indoor and outdoor programs on trails and the field, as well the science lab and art studio space.
Flying Cloud educator Kristen Sparhawk says the February vacation activities aim to help kids discover the excitement of learning outdoors in winter. “Last year students built a snow shelter that lasted four weeks and tracked porcupine, otter and coyote,” she said. “They engineered and tested miniature sleds on a run they built in the field.”
Flying Cloud faculty members Dale Abrams, environmental science, Lindsey Berkowitz, engineering, and Jane Burke, chemistry and art, will lead these fun packed days. Activities will be tailored to the weather conditions and to the group of participants.
“The Wonder of Winter” is open to students in grades 1 through 4. The cost is $130 for both days. Please register by Feb. 9 to insure a place for your child.
For more information, call Flying Cloud at: 413-229-3321 or visit their website: https://flyingcloudinstitute.org/. Online registration here: https://flyingcloudinstitute.org/register-2/
Flying Cloud Institute is a nonprofit educational organization that works with students throughout the Berkshires. It’s mission is to help children ages 5 through 18 discover and develop their interest and skill in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) through a unique and exciting program which uses visual and performing arts, environmental studies and close connections with STEM professionals to inspire and stimulate creative thinking and problem solving.
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LABspace: Text deconstructed
Great Barrington—The LABspace Gallery at 177 Main St. will show an exhibition called Eid Ma Clack Shaw, organized by Abby Messitte, that employs text as a formal element. The opening reception is Saturday February 7 from 5-7 p.m., and the show will run through March 7.
Messitte wrote: At times fragmentary or illegible, language acts as a medium, just like color or composition. Liberated from linguistics, the letters convey a more immediate authority. As such, the elegance and structure of the mark-making take precedence over meaning.
Artists include Ellen Berkenblit, Damien Crisp, Steve DiBenedetto, Rob Fischer, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Graham Hamilton, Simone Shubuck, Ruby Sky Stiler, Despina Stokou, Whiting Tennis, Wayne White.
Ellen Berkenblit renders words with a grace and confidence consistent with all of her painterly gestures. Damien Crisp melds activist notes and thoughts with emotive paint. Steve DiBenedetto renders provocative phrases as hyperactive landscapes. Rob Fischer uses re-purposed glass painted with fragments of text, reminiscent of abandoned signage.
Sara Greenberger Rafferty’s printed plexiglass depict performers contorted in the shape of letters. Graham Hamilton’s artist’s statement is cut into painted MDF with a CNC table router. Simone Shubuck uses vintage book pages as the ground for ruminative drawings. Ruby Sky Stiler’s wall relief cobbles together an incongruous pastiche of imagery and text, which references classical antiquity.
Despina Stokou paints text as she would a landscape in her layered and at times subversive mixed media works. For Whiting Tennis, words and letters become the building blocks for imagined architectural structures in his works on paper. Wayne White’s bold phrases become monuments within the backdrops of found thrift-store paintings.
Gallery hours: Thursday – Saturday, 1:30-6 and by appointment at labspaceart@gmail.com
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This week at Helsinki Hudson
Blues ProJam 9, Thursday, February 5 at 8 p.m. A night of the region’s best blues musicians, featuring Slam Allen, Petey Hop, Bruce Katz, Rick Knapp, Sonny Rock. Anchored by the Club Helsinki House Band, the event welcomes all working musicians in the region to sit in for a freewheeling blues jam.
Barnstar! Friday, February 6 at 9 p.m. Barnstar!, an all-star collective of bluegrass and roots-music talent, has chosen to celebrate the release of its new album, “Sit Down! Get Up! Get Out!” at Helsinki Hudson. Using the familiar tools of the genre, Barnstar! forges its own brand of song-based bluegrass, gloriously harmonized and raucously played. The group includes bassist Zachariah Hickman, singer-guitarist Mark Erelli, fiddler Jake Amerding, mandolinist Taylor Armerding, and banjoist Charlie Rose.
Glenn David Andrews, Jazz Brunch, Sunday, February 8 at 12 p.m. Singer and trombonist Glen David Andrews brings his jazzy, horn-laced New Orleans funk and soul band back for an afternoon Jazz brunch. For this event, Helsinki Hudson Executive Chef Hugh Horner will drawn upon his cache of family recipes to create a 100 percent Southern Grandma-inspired all-you-can-eat buffet featuring low country, Appalachian, Creole and Delta cuisine. The Holmes Brothers were originally scheduled to appear, but are unable to perform due to unforeseen circumstances.
Open Mic with Cameron & Ryder, Tuesday, February 10 at 7 p.m. Sign-up at 6:30 p.m., show begins at 7 p.m. Free ticket giveaways.
Club Helsinki Hudson, 405 Columbia St., Hudson, New York 12534. For information and reservations, consult the Berkshire Edge calendar, visit the Helsinki Hudson website, or call: 518-828-4800.
