The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents Jake Heggie’s ‘Dead Man Walking’, premiering live broadcasted in HD from the Met
Great Barrington— On Saturday, October 21st at 1 p.m., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking”, premiering live broadcasted in HD from the Met.
Jake Heggie’s powerful work has its highly anticipated Met premiere in a new production by Ivo van Hove. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, “Dead Man Walking” matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie’s poignant music and a libretto by Tony and Emmy Award–winner Terrence McNally.
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato starring as Sister Helen. The cast also features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere) as De Rocher’s mother.
The broadcast is on Saturday, October 21st at 1 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street in Great Barrington. Tickets are $25 and $10 for youth age 21 and under. ConnectorCare/WIC/EBT cards are accepted; four free tickets to movies or HD broadcasts per individual. Content Advisory: Dead Man Walking contains a depiction of a rape and murder, as well as other adult themes and strong language. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Stockbridge-Munsee Community presents Indigenous People’s Day workshop at the Mission House Museum
Williamstown— On Monday, October 9th (Indigenous Peoples’ Day) at 11 a.m., to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Stockbridge-Munsee Community’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office presents “Healing Within the Community,” a workshop led by Kim Hoffman, a descendant of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
In this workshop, Hoffman explores staying connected to creation through compassion and tribal healing modalities. Trained in massage therapy and Asian bodywork, Hoffman shares holistic techniques. By timing the event on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor and celebrate the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, the Indigenous peoples of the Berkshires.
The free outdoor workshop is on Monday, October 9th at 11 a.m. at the Mission House Museum on Main Street in Stockbridge. Advance registration is required. Participants are encouraged to bring a writing utensil and something to write on. Registration and more information can be found online.
Co-sponsored by The Clark Art, the Trustees of the Reservations, and Housatonic Heritage, the workshop is part of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community’s exhibit, “Our Lands, Our Home, Our Heart”.
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BRIDGE Celebrates 15 years of advancing justice and equity in Berkshire County and beyond
Great Barrington— On Sunday, October 8th from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education (BRIDGE), a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to advancing equity and justice by promoting accountability and working toward positive social change celebrates its 15th anniversary with a celebratory gala to be held at Jacob’s Pillow, site of the Underground Railroad.
The gala will host a blend of local artists, activists, culinary artists, and world renowned presenters and performers to highlight the essence of the organization’s vision and its reach in our local and broader communities. As BRIDGE honors the legacy of our trailblazers and civil rights leaders, BRIDGE will be joined by descendants of Harriet Tubman and Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois. Guests will be invited to celebrate in dance and to testify to the impact of the organization throughout the afternoon.
Over the 15 years BRIDGE has been recognized in law enforcement, public health, education and most recently in culturally specific victim services as a best practice. The organization and its founding director have consistently been acknowledged with awards and recognitions in business, anti-poverty, race equity, non-profit impact, women’s leadership, public health and peace work on a local, national and international level.
This weekend, join BRIDGE donors, staff, volunteers, constituents and partners in celebrating 15 years of expanding equity and justice in the Berkshires and beyond.
The celebration is on Sunday, October 8th from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Jacob’s Pillow on George Carter Road in Becket. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Hoffmann Bird Club monthly meeting with special guest Mario Cohn-Haft
Pittsfield— On Monday, October 9th at 7 p.m., Hoffmann Bird Club presents “Myths and Magic of Birding in the Middle of the Amazon” with special guest, Mario Cohn-Haft, Curator of Birds at Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA).
The Amazon may be the most famous biodiversity hotspot on earth. For over 30 years, Mario Cohn-Haft, a native New Englander, has lived and birded in and around Manaus, Brazil in the heart of the rainforest, home to 800 bird species including loud bellbirds, pihas, small coquettes, pygmy-tyrants, fancy cotingas, manakins, jazzy musician wrens, the weird hoatzin, and the very imposing harpy eagle. Cohn-Haft will discuss a sampling of these beautiful and fascinating Amazonian endemic birds. He’ll even bust a few myths.
Cohn-Haft is Research Ornithologist, Curator of Birds, and Member of the Graduate Faculty in Ecology at the Brazilian National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil. He was born and raised in the northeastern United States, where his love of exploring by map and compass and birding by ear in humid, buggy forests pre-adapted him for work in the Amazon. Hopelessly hooked by a tropical ecology field course in college (Dartmouth), he visited the Amazon for the first time as a research intern for the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project. He has lived in Manaus ever since, doing biodiversity surveys in previously unexplored areas which occasionally led to the discovery of new bird species. He is dedicated to scientific popularization, and to birdwatching and ecotourism as contributions to local economy, conservation, and quality of life.
The live, in-person meeting is on Monday, October 9th at 7 p.m. at Guardian Life Insurance Co. on South Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online.
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Lenox Library Association announces 28th annual two-day book sale
Lenox— On Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, October 8th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Lenox Library Association presents its annual two-day book sale at the Lenox Town Hall.
Booklovers of all ages will find a wide selection of fiction, history, art, biography, timely non-fiction, local interest, children’s books, and much more. The sale will offer more than 8,000 books in 30 categories, all donated from area homes and most in like-new condition. A special interest section features collectors’ items, including limited editions, signed and first editions, and books from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The sale will also include music CD’s and audiobooks.
The sale is on Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, October 8th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lenox Town Hall on Walker Street in Lenox. The event is free from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and all day on Sunday. A $10 preview ticket is available for entry on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. There is a raffle. Sturdy, recyclable book bags featuring the Lenox Library Association and Lenox Library logos will also be available for purchase. Customers who spend $50 or more will receive a complimentary bag. More information can be found online.
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The Friends of Scoville Library presents their “Giant Book Sale!” at the library during the Salisbury Fall Festival
Salisbury— On Friday, October 6th and Saturday October 7th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Friends of Scoville Library presents their “Giant Book Sale!” at the library during the Salisbury Fall Festival.
The sale include coffee table books; photography, travel, art, decorating, design/architecture, historical, aviation, motoring; collectors items and signed first editions; mysteries and non-fiction; cartoon and Illustrated novels; as well sport, fishing, cooking, yoga, poetry, music, theater, and children’s books, plus puzzles and music CD’s.
The Friends of Scoville Library volunteers have sorted and curated these generous donations. All proceeds help provide free programs for the community.
The sale is on Friday, October 6th and Saturday October 7th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
Scoville Memorial Library on Main Street in Salisbury. Prices start at $1. On Friday at 9 a.m., an early-bird pass is available for $10. On Saturday at 3 p.m. sharp, buy a bag for $10 and fill it. More information can be found online.
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The St. Stanislaus Kostka Preservation Committee will hold a guided tour of the church with ‘Town Historian’ Eugene Michalenko
Adams— on Sunday, October 8th at 3 p.m., the St. Stanislaus Kostka Preservation Committee will hold a guided tour of the church with Eugene Michalenko, president of the Adams Historical Society and “Town Historian,” in conjunction with Ramblefest.
When many people think of Adams, they think of the significant role that people of Polish descent have played in its history during the 20th Century. St. Stanislaus Kostka Church was built in 1904-1905 by the young Polish immigrant community. It stands as a monument to the vibrancy and strength of three generations who have worshipped there. Michalenko will present the church’s architectural, historical, and religious significance.
The tour is on Sunday, October 8th at 3 p.m. at Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church on Hoosac Street in Adams (one block from Ramblefest headquarters).
