Metta Quintet’s “She Said / She Says:” Women in Jazz
Great Barrington— Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents a performance of female jazz creators, “She Said / She Says,” by Metta Quintet on Thursday, March 9 at 7 p.m.
“She Said / She Says” is a comprehensive program highlighting some of the many important achievements of female composers, arrangers, instrumentalists and vocalists from early 20th century through present-day. Using U.S. and 20th Century women’s history as a backdrop, “She Said / She Says” celebrates the lives of some of the many courageous, creative women who have dedicated their lives to the serious study and practice of jazz music.
Established in 1994, JazzReach is a nationally recognized New York City not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, performance, creation and teaching of jazz music. “She Said / She Says” will be performed by the Metta Quintet, JazzReach’s resident ensemble.
Tickets are $20, $15 for members, $10 ages 12 and under.
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Miss Hall’s School to present “Once Upon a Mattress”
Pittsfield— The Miss Hall’s School Theater Ensemble presents “Once Upon a Mattress,” the lively musical comedy adaptation of the classic fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea.” Once Upon a Mattress tells the story of Princess Winnifred, who must pass a nearly impossible test — attempting to sleep atop twenty mattresses and feeling a pea underneath the bottom one — before she wins Queen Aggravain’s approval to marry her son, Prince Dauntless.
There will be three showings, one at 8 p.m. performance on Friday, March 3; an 8 p.m. performance on Saturday, March 4; and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 5. All performances will take place in the Woods Theater of the Klein Arts Center on the Miss Hall’s School campus, 492 Holmes Road in Pittsfield.
Visit https://www.misshalls.org/stories/winter-musical-2023 to reserve tickets. (After 4 p.m. on March 3, and through Sunday, March 5, please call 413-395-7023 to reserve tickets.) General admission is $10, and reservations are strongly recommended. Senior citizen and handicapped-accessible seating are available.
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The GB Democratic Town Council holds its first meeting of 2023
Great Barrington— The Great Barrington Democratic Town Committee will meet on Saturday, March 4 at 9:30 a.m. at the Claire Teague Senior Center, 917 South Main Street, Great Barrington. Among the topics on the agenda for this first meeting of 2023: upcoming town elections and likely issues at the annual town meeting (including affordable housing and the Housatonic water situation); the outlook on Beacon Hill under its new Democratic leadership; and policy-related projects for Democrats in this non-election year. The Senior Center is handicapped accessible.
For more information on the committee please contact Great Barrington town Democratic committee chair Michael Wise, at 413-854-1323. The meeting will be in-person.
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The history of the Walloomsac Inn unveiled by the Preservation Trust of Vermont
Bennington, Vt. — Callie Raspuzzi, Bennington Museum Collections Manager, will discuss the history of the Walloomsac Inn on Wednesday, March 8 at 6 p.m.
The Walloomsac Inn is a favorite and mysterious local landmark in Bennington. In this presentation, the Museum’s Collections Manager Callie Raspuzzi will dive deep into the 250-plus years of the inn’s history starting with Elijah Dewey, who built the original building in 1771. Learn more about the men and women who owned and expanded the business and some famous visitors including Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Walt Disney. Also learn about how changes in society affected the roles of public hostelries in general, and the Walloomsac Inn in particular.
Raspuzzi will be joined by Meg Campbell of the Preservation Trust of Vermont.
This free virtual webinar will take place live via Zoom. Register here.
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Local artist-author Carol Diehl to discuss her new book “Banksy: Completed”
Otis— The Otis Historical Commission and Otis Preservation Trust (OPT) are hosting the first Notice Otis Series cultural event of the 2022-23 season with artist-author Carol Diehl discussing her book “Banksy: Completed,” on Wednesday, March 8, at 7 p.m., at the Town of Otis Library, 48 North Main Road, Otis. Diehl will be signing copies of her book for sale at the event.
Banksy is the world’s most famous living artist, yet no one knows who he is. For more than twenty years, his wryly political and darkly humorous spray paintings have appeared mysteriously on urban walls around the globe, generating headlines and controversy. Art critics disdain him, but the public (and the art market) love him. Seeing Banksy as the ultimate provocateur, Diehl investigates the dramas that unfold after his works are discovered, with all of their social, economic, and political implications. Through her exploration of his paintings, installations, writings, and Academy Award-nominated film, “Exit through the Gift Shop,” Diehl proves that there’s more to Banksy than the painting on the wall.
A resident of the Berkshires, artist and critic Carol Diehl has been a longtime Contributing Editor to Art in America, as well as a former slam poet at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
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Learn about Mustelids with Nathan Buckhout
Dalton— MassWildlife biologist Nathan Buckhout will present at the March Berkshire Green Drinks gathering on Wednesday, March 8, at 6 p.m. in person at Shire Breu-Hous inside The Stationery Factory, 63 Flansburg Ave, Dalton, and online via Zoom. Nathan will talk about Mustelids, or the weasel family, and go over some common characteristics of the large group.
Mustelids are a family of carnivorous mammals which include weasels, minks, otters, fishers, martens, and wolverines, among others. They’re an incredibly diverse family that comprises a vast number of individual species. Nathan will briefly discuss each species presently in Massachusetts, as well as species that have disappeared from the region. He will also talk about some common misconceptions and human-mustelid-related issues that commonly occur. Additionally, Nathan is an expert on bears and enjoys discussing all types of wildlife; he welcomes all questions about any wildlife during the Q&A session!
The in-person gathering begins at 5 p.m. at Shire Breu-Hous. The presentation will take place upstairs in a venue space of The Stationery Factory at 6 p.m. RSVP to the in-person event at https://March-2023-Berks-Green-Drinks.eventbrite.com. All food orders must be placed inside Shire Breu-Hous and paid for at the same time. They ask that you please try to place these orders before 6 p.m.
Pre-registration is required to attend the virtual presentation. Register at https://tinyurl.com/March-2023-Berks-Green-Drinks
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“Panics without Borders: How Global Sporting Events Drive Myths about Sex Trafficking” lecture
Williamstown— Williams College presents a talk by Professor Greg Mitchell, entitled “Panics without Borders: How Global Sporting Events Drive Myths about Sex Trafficking,” on Thursday, March 9 from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.
About the talk: We are living in a time of great panic about “sex trafficking”—an idea whose meaning has been expanded beyond any real usefulness by evangelicals, conspiracy theorists, anti-prostitution feminists, and politicians with their own agendas. This is especially visible during events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, when claims circulate that as many as 40,000 women and girls will be sex trafficked. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Brazil as well as interviews with sex workers, policymakers, missionaries, and activists in Russia, Qatar, Japan, the UK, and South Africa, Gregory Mitchell shows that despite baseless statistical claims to the contrary, sex trafficking never increases as a result of these global mega-events—but police violence against sex workers always does. This trend is dangerous because these events happen in moments of nationalist fervor during which fears of foreigners and migrants are heightened and easily exploited to frightening ends.
The Williams College Faculty Lecture Series is organized by the faculty members of the Lecture Committee. The aim of the series is to present big ideas beyond disciplinary boundaries. This event will take place in Wege Auditorium and is free and open to the public. For more information visit here.
