Annie Guthrie to perform at the Egremont Barn
South Egremont — The Barn at the Egremont Village Inn will present singer-songwriter Annie Guthrie Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m.
Having been performing for as long as she can remember, Guthrie is a prolific songwriter and versatile musician who defines her genre as folk-punk. She primarily plays acoustic guitar, bass and autoharp. Making her recording debut on Arlo Guthrie’s “Someday” album at the age of four, Guthrie went on to contribute vocals on “Woody’s 20 Grow Big Songs” and “More Together Again.” Although Guthrie often performs solo or with her band, Guthrie can also be seen performing and touring with her siblings as the GBabes, the Guthrie Family Reunion and occasionally alongside Folk Uke. In 2011 she teamed up with singer-songwriter Bobby Sweet to form Bitter Sweet. Her solo debut album “Dragonfly” was released in 2016.
Tickets are $15. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Egremont Barn at (413) 528-9580.
–E.E.
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Stockbridge Library to present author James Hatt
Stockbridge — On Saturday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m., the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will welcome James Hatt, author of the forthcoming book “Playing Chess with Putin: Memoir of an Accidental Spy.”
Using excerpts from his manuscript together with original source materials, court transcripts, money laundering investigations and a fresh look at the U.S. Congressional leadership of 1996, Hatt will explore examples of how Russia turned Western appetites for Russian cash and assets into targeted criminal conspiracies.
Hatt is an English lawyer who started traveling into Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1989 for the UK telephone company Cable and Wireless, which had been privatized out from the UK Foreign Office by Margaret Thatcher. Hatt first met Vladimir Putin in October 1990. When Putin became president on Dec. 31, 1999, Hatt was already building and operating fixed, satellite and mobile telephone companies across Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Georgia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
For more information, contact the Stockbridge Library at (413) 298-5501 or info@stockbridgelibrary.org.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative to present introductory film production course
Pittsfield — The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative will present the noncredit, eight-session “Beginning Film Production I” workshop at Berkshire Community College beginning Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The workshop will provide a foundation in the principles, techniques and equipment involved in film production. Students will write, produce, direct and edit individual projects. On completing the course, students will understand the basics of scripting, camera operation, direction, lighting, sound and nonlinear editing. They will achieve proficiency in camera operation including framing, exposure, focus and movement as well as demonstrate competency in nonlinear editing software.
The course will be taught by Emmy Award-nominated award-winning producer, editor and videographer Tony Dunne. An accomplished documentarian, Dunne’s credits include “Music Alone Shall Live: 35 Years of the Iron Horse” and “Things That Go Bump in the Night: Tales of Haunted New England,” which aired on PBS stations nationwide. Dunne is currently the executive producer of the WGBY program “Connecting Point” and the long-running high school quiz show “As Schools Match Wits.” Outside of his work at WGBY, Dunne is an accomplished independent producer and the co-creator of the Emmy Award-nominated independent series “New England Legends.”
The cost of the workshop is $320. Students must be at least 16 years old to participate. For more information, contact BFMC at (413) 528-4223 or info@berkshirefilm.org.
–E.E.
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Pine Woods to offer children’s activities
Stockbridge — Beginning in February, Construct‘s Pine Woods residential community, Community Health Programs and the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will partner to bring free children’s programs to the Pine Woods community room.
From 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays starting Feb. 7, CHP will offer a family playgroup that will provide opportunities for socialization, creativity, literacy and STEM development, including cooking activities and outdoor play. Led by local educator and CHP playgroup leader Sue Ebitz, the playgroups will be open to Pine Woods families and others in the nearby community.
From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of each month starting Feb. 9, Stockbridge Library youth librarian Jenney Maloy will present a pop-up library and story time at the community room. Pine Woods children in preschool through middle school can sign up for library cards, check out books and read with Miss Jenney, parents and each other.
For more information, contact CHP at (413) 528-0457 or the Stockbridge Library at (413) 298-5501.
–E.E.
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Baseball in the Berkshire launches educational programming
Lanesborough — Baseball in the Berkshires recently launched its educational outreach programming, which is currently being presented in afterschool programs at the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires in Pittsfield as well as those offered by the Berkshire Family YMCA. Each presentation is literature-based and encourages participants to learn through reading. The 40-minute lessons, titled “Sliding Baseball Across the Curriculum,” use baseball as a vehicle for educational content that incorporates math, science, history, economics, civil rights, visual arts, women’s history, music, physics, technology, geography and more. The curriculum is based on the “Baseball in the Classroom” program of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and is written to the Core Curriculum standards. The instructors are retired teachers Jeff Wallace of Pittsfield Public Schools and Larry Moore of the Central Berkshire Regional School District who also are also part-time educators with National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. For more information, contact Baseball in the Berkshires director Larry Moore at (413) 822-6738 or lmgymfest@aol.com.
–E.E.
