UNLOCK New Year’s Eve experience at Greylock Mill
North Adams — Greylock WORKS, the first phase of the Greylock Mill redevelopment project, will present a public New Year’s Eve event on Thursday, December 31 to ring in 2016 that will feature a dinner and late-night dance party.
The festive evening at Greylock Mill, 508 State Rd., will begin at 6 p.m. with a dinner menu sourced from local farms and served family-style at a long communal table under the north-facing sawtooth roof. The dinner will include passed hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and sparkling wine followed by a multi-course meal crafted with ingredients from Berle Farm, the Berry Patch, Mighty Food Farm, and Peace Valley Farm. Local beer and wine as well as a full cocktail bar will be included with dinner.
Following dinner the dining area will be transformed into a massive and immersive environment of music and video projection in order to dance in the New Year. Rhythms will be spun by DJ MadaMusic (Adam Post) and Down Deep (Kevin Finn) of Brooklyn’s Verboten.
Cash bars featuring local cocktails made with Berkshire Mountain Distillers spirits, beers curated by Bright Ideas Brewing (slated to open on the Mass MoCA campus in 2016), and wine will be available to guests. To supplement drink offerings, local producers BerkShore Oyster Company, Cricket Creek Farm, and Mezze Catering will vend food at various stations throughout the space. Springboard Innovative Event Production will create a transcendent atmosphere, continually unfolding over 100 linear feet of video projection and kinetic lighting across the dance floor. A sunken lounge with a sparkling wine bar and clusters of beanbags on the main level will offer respite from the dancing and an opportunity to connect with friends and strangers alike. Last call will take place at 1:30 a.m. on Friday, January 1, 2016.
Ticket prices include a $45 early-bird rate for the dance party (available until noon on Friday, December 18); $50 for the dance party (after December 18); $195 for the dinner and dance party, and dinner-only tickets for $165. The Berkshire Shenanigans party bus will be available with pickups from Pittsfield for $12 round trip. Main Street Hospitality Group will provide special hotel rates and shuttle services to and from its properties the Porches Inn, the Williams Inn, and Hotel on North.
For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar.
–E.E.
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‘Home for the Holidays’ concert to benefit Higher Ground
Williamstown — A number of area recording artists have banded together to create the concert “Home for the Holidays,” which will take place on Friday, December 18, at 6 p.m. at The Tavern at the Williams Inn. The performers are local favorites who come together monthly to share original songs in-the-round as part of the Williamstown SongCircle. This special evening will feature folk, Americana, and traditional music including Irish, Appalachian, and Quebecois as well as seasonal offerings.
Proceeds from the concert will benefit Higher Ground, a nonprofit organzation that supports community members displaced by Tropical Storm Irene and advocates for affordable housing. The concert will feature performances by Long Journey, Jeb Barry, Good Good, Duo Eamon, Gordon Holey, Rosin the Beaux, Northern Spy, and Singing School.
Donations of $10-$20 will be collected at the door. Dinner and a full bar menu will be available.
–E.E.
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Lillian Volat to speak at Friends Meeting House
Great Barrington — Lillian Volat, a Great Barrington native who has been living in Palestine since 2011, will present “Water and Entrepreneurship in Palestine” at the South Berkshire Friends Meeting House on Thursday, December 17 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Volat is the director of cewas Middle East and she will discuss its work as a training program for young Palestinian entrepreneurs in sustainable water, sanitation, and resource management.
The program is sponsored by Cafe Palestina and is free, though donations will be accepted.
–E.E.
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Ricky Bernstein on Nepalese youngsters’ escape from poverty
Pittsfield — On Thursday, December 17 at 10:45 a.m., the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will host Ricky Bernstein, the director of Hands in Outreach, a small nonprofit literacy program for very poor girls in inner-city Kathmandu, Nepal. This free program at Congregation Knesset Israel is part of the Federation’s Connecting With Community series.
Bernstein will speak on the origins of his interest in the education of girls living in poverty on the other side of the planet, and how Hands in Outreach and education can make a profound difference in the lives of girls and their families. He will also talk about the politics of poverty and privilege, and share stories about the girls and families.
For more information, please call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360, ext. 10.
–E.E.
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Kids 4 Harmony area holiday concerts
Pittsfield — Berkshire Children and Families’ Kids 4 Harmony program will hold a series of concerts to showcase students’ abilities and celebrate the holidays. The North Adams program will hold Casual Concerts on Tuesday, December 15 and Wednesday, December 16, at 4:15 p.m. at Brayton Elementary School. Casual Concerts are informal concerts that encourage students to become comfortable in front of audiences and illustrate the strength of the group as it performs as an ensemble. The concerts will last approximately 15 minutes.
The Pittsfield program will perform a holiday concert on Friday, December 18 at 5:30 p.m. at Reid Middle School. Kids 4 Harmony in Pittsfield, created in 2011, has 50 student participants ranging from beginners to those who have been in the program since its inception.
All concerts are free and open to the public. Contact Erin Sullivan for more information at (413) 448-8281 x36 or info@berkshirechildren.org.
–E.E.
