Dewey Hall to host outdoor concert with Moonshine Holler
Sheffield — On Friday, Aug. 14, from 7 to 8 p.m., Dewey Hall will host an outdoor concert with Moonshine Holler, featuring roots musicians Paula Bradley and Darren Wallace.
A West Virginia-born multi-instrumentalist residing in the Berkshires, Bradley is known for her strong, spirited vocals. She has toured (on banjo) with Uncle Earl and Bruce Molsky (on guitar and banjo uke); and recorded and toured with Tony Trischka and Molsky as part of the acoustic roots trio Jawbone. She was also a founding member of the popular New England honky tonk combo Girl Howdy; and with her late husband, Bill Dillof, Moonshine Holler. Currently, she also leads her own juke-joint swing combo Miss Paula & the Twangbusters.
A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, now living in Connecticut, Wallace started playing fiddle, guitar, mandolin and bass fiddle at the age of 15. Soon after, he sought out older area musicians, leading him to master fiddlers Lionel LeLeux and Varise Conner as well as many other great Cajun musicians. Wallace has shared the stage with many of the legends of Cajun and zydeco music, including Dewey Balfa, Canray Fontenot, Bois Sec Ardoin, Eddy Lejeune, Rockin’ Dopsie, and Merlin Fontenot. Wallace toured extensively with the Cajun ensemble Filé and currently performs with festival favorites Jesse Lege and Bayou Brew.
Tickets are $10, and pre-purchase is recommended due to limited space. For tickets and seating guidelines, see the Berkshire Edge calendar, or contact (413) 429-1176 or deweysessionsmusic@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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‘Full Speed Ahead: Back to the Moon!’ to feature former astronaut Kenneth Bechis
Pittsfield — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College’s Distinguished Speakers Series will present the online talk “Full Speed Ahead: Back to the Moon” with former astronaut Kenneth Bechis, Ph.D., Wednesday, Aug.12, at 4:30 p.m.
NASA has been redirected to accelerate Moon exploration and put astronauts back on the Moon by 2024. Space agencies and private companies around the world are in a race for scientific exploration, national prestige, national security and huge profits that could come from harvesting the Moon’s natural resources, including safe nuclear fusion fuel that could potentially control global warming and end the energy crisis here on Earth. In this presentation, scientist and former astronaut Bechis will look at the possibilities, the risks and the benefits of winning the space race back to the Moon.
Bechis is a retired chief scientist in the Space Ops and Environmental Solutions Division of Northrup Grumman and a former NASA payload specialist astronaut. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in astronomy from Harvard, a Master of Science in physics from MIT, and a Doctor of Philosophy in astrophysics from UMass Amherst.
The cost is $10 for OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Museum members; $15 for the general public; and free for BCC students, youth 17 and under, and those holding WIC, EBT/SNAP, or ConnectorCare cards. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College at (413) 236-2190 or olli@berkshirecc.edu.
–E.E.
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Dohoney Memorial Scholarship continues to recognize, inspire community service
Great Barrington — The Honorable James P. Dohoney Memorial Scholarship Fund has named this year’s recipients.
Lee High School graduate Juliette Gagnon, who is headed to Colby-Sawyer College, demonstrated a commitment to serving others through her work at a nonprofit art camp for children in need, and for countless hours tutoring Spanish. “This scholarship means the world to me,” Gagnon said. “A huge weight has been lifted off of my heart, and I feel so much more confident about college now.”
Greta Luf showed “service above self” by co-creating a group focused on improving student-faculty relationships and shared ownership in the classroom at Monument Mountain Regional High School. “I am planning on going into the legal profession, and learning about Honorable James P. Dohoney and all of the positive work he did for our county, both in his professional career and his life in general, is something I aspire to do. I hope to continue similar work in my future endeavors,” said Luf, who will attend the University of Massachusetts.
Volunteering at Mercy Weekend at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy inspired recent Mount Everett Regional High School graduate Madeleine Soudant. “[The scholarship] absolutely has inspired me to continue community service, not only throughout college, but into the rest of my life as well … James P. Dohoney and his family have reminded me what community service is really about. It has reignited my passion for service, and I am so incredibly grateful for that, over anything else,” said Soudant, who will attend Nichols College.
For over 20 years, the legacy of Berkshire County Judge James P. Dohoney (1942-95) has provided financial support to college students from Berkshire County and inspired decades of community service. The fund was created as a resource for residents of south Berkshire County to assist families with children pursuing a post-secondary education. Scholarship applications are reviewed on an anonymous basis each spring and administered by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Graduating seniors of Monument Mountain Regional High School, Mount Everett Regional High School, Lenox Memorial High School and Lee High School who are entering their first year of a two- or four-year college or university are eligible to apply.
–E.E.
