The Fisher Center, as part of the 2023 Spiegeltent Season, with the Center for Indigenous Studies at Bard presents Ya Tseen
Annandale-On-Hudson— On Saturday, June 24th at 8:30 p.m., the Fisher Center, as part of the 2023 Spiegeltent Season, with the Center for Indigenous Studies at Bard presents Ya Tseen.
Ya Tseen (“be alive” in Tlingit) is the electro-soul music project of artist Nicholas Galanin, one of the most vital voices in contemporary art. Their debut release, Indian Yard, explores love, desire, frustration, pain, revolution, and connection through the magnetic expressions of an Indigenous mind, rich with emotional range and sharp awareness. Led by one of the world’s foremost Indigenous artists, Ya Tseen delivers an irrepressible and profound experience of liberation through feeling and connection.
The Nicholas Galanin and Ya Tseen concert is on Saturday, June 24th at 8:30 p.m. at the Fisher Center at Bard on Manor Ave in Annandale-On-Hudson. Tickets are $40 plus fees. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting the Fisher Center online.
Kicking off the 2023 Spiegeltent Season, on Thursday, June 22nd at 8 p.m., is artist/advocate Britton Smith, who brings his funk liberation band Britton & The Sting to spread the gospel of authenticity as a pathway to total freedom. Britton & The Sting creates an intergalactic, Afrofuturistic sanctuary of healing whenever and wherever they take the stage.
The Britton & The Sting concert is on Thursday, June 22nd at 8 p.m. at the Fisher Center at Bard on Manor Ave in Annandale-On-Hudson. Tickets are $25 plus fees. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting the Fisher Center online.
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The Norfolk Library presents ‘A Juneteenth Book Discussion: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack’
Norfolk— On Thursday, June 15th at 5:30 p.m., the Norfolk Library presents “A Juneteenth Book Discussion: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack”.
In recognition of Juneteenth this year, the Norfolk Library invites you to attend a book discussion of “The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake”, winner of the National Book Award in 2021. Author, professor, and public historian Tiya Miles draws on history, art, and many other dimensions to explore the meanings held in a single object, a cotton sack passed down through three generations of African American women.
The discussion is on Thursday, June 15th at 5:30 p.m. at the the Norfolk Library on Greenwoods Road in Norfolk. Free registration and more information can be found by visiting the Norfolk Library online.
In the Library’s continuing commitment to social justice equity, copies of the book will be freely given to the first ten people who would like to participate in the discussion. Please register online or by calling 860-542-5075 ext. 2, and come by to pick up your book.
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2023 Juneteenth celebration at the Hill-Stead Museum
Farmington— On Friday, June 23rd from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Hill-Stead Museum invites you to celebrate Juneteenth!
Juneteenth celebrates the historical event in Galveston, Texas which declared the end of slavery in the United States of America. It has been celebrated annually on June 19th in various parts of the country since 1865. Together with Amistad Center for Art & Culture and ShopBlackCT, Hill-Stead is once again hosting this event as part of a month-long series of Juneteenth celebrations taking place throughout the region.
Inspired by Juneteenth picnics, please join us for an evening of discovery and celebration featuring regional Black artists, organizations, and businesses. Bring your lawn chairs and picnic dinner on the grounds as you enjoy performances on Hill-Stead’s picturesque grounds. Crab Shack King food truck will be onsite with amazing food for your picnic dinner.
The Juneteenth picnic is on Friday, June 23rd from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hill-Stead Museum on Maintain Road in Farmington. Admission is free but pre-registration is required. Pre-registration and more information can be found by visiting Hill-Stead Museum online.
Hill-Stead was the first architectural project of founder Theodate Pope Riddle (1867–1946), one of the first licensed female architects in the U.S., and an early proponent of historic preservation. The museum’s collection of paintings by Monet, Degas, Whistler, Manet and Cassatt rival artwork found in major art museums around the world. The museum is open for guided tours Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The grounds are open daily, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
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MASS MoCA opens the exhibit ‘ANNE SAMAT: LOVE’
North Adams— On Saturday June 24th, MASS MoCA opens the exhibit, “ANNE SAMAT: LOVE”.
Anne Samat, a Malaysian artist from Kuala Lumpur, spreads inspiring reminders that we are surrounded by love and compassion. In her solo Kidspace exhibition, the artist adorns traditional Southeast Asian Pua Kumbu weavings with humble household goods from 99 cent stores and thrift shops to construct totemic figurative sculptures. Brightly colored and heavily detailed, each one resonates as an avatar of a family member or friend. Samat’s work is dedicated to the feeling of love – found in personal relationships, in past generations that paved the way for her, and in potential feelings that could exist among strangers. The centerpiece of the installation will be a new piece that Samat created specifically for MASS MoCA. The sculpture, a larger than life size figure with outstretched arms, is created to feel like one is entering a hug. As part of the installation, the longest wall in Kidspace will be coated with a wallpaper based on Samat’s weavings.
The show opens on Saturday June 24th at MASS MoCA on MASS MoCA Way in North Adams with a member preview celebration on Friday, June 23, at 6 p.m. More information can be found by visiting MASS MoCA online.
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Clark Art Institute presents concert by Hermanos Gutiérrez
Williamstown— On Wednesday, June 28th at 6 p.m., the Clark Art Institute kicks off its five-part outdoor concert series with a free performance by Hermanos Gutiérrez.
Guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez evoke expansive plains and rough wildernesses. Almost painterly in their mastery of their instruments, the two brothers, Alejandro and Estevan, transport their audiences to the wilds of Italian Westerns. With their guitars they travel through landscapes haunted by vaqueros, cancioneros, wanderers, fugitives, lovers, family, and whatever ghosts their listeners bring to the music.
The free concert is on Wednesday, June 28th at 6 p.m. near the reflecting pool at the Clark on South Street in Williamstown. Bring a picnic and your own seating. For more information, visit the Clark online.
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As part of Pride month and Movies on Mainstreet, Hudson Hall presents ‘Female Trouble’
Hudson— On Tuesday, June 27th at 7 p.m., as part of Pride month and Movies on Mainstreet, Hudson Hall presents “Female Trouble” (1974, dir. John Waters, 89min).
Bring out your cha cha heels, Hudson! Hosted by the criminally glamorous Trixie Starr and Mark Allen, join in for an uproariously fun screening of this crashing classic Hollywood melodrama with total anarchy and a delirious mess of sex, violence, cruelty, and frivolity.
The screening is on Tuesday, June 27th at 7 p.m. in the Upstairs Performance Hall at Hudson Hall on Warren Street in Hudson. Tickets are $5. The movie features adult content and is not suitable for children. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Spencertown Academy Celebrates the ‘Art of the Garden’
Spencertown— On Saturday, June 24th, Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s presents its 19th annual Hidden Gardens Celebration, the “Art of the Garden”.
The Hidden Gardens Celebration features a self-guided garden tour to some of the most dazzling private gardens in the region, an outdoor market, and a botanical-themed art exhibition.
This year’s Hidden Gardens Tour showcases the glory of late spring and promise of summer beauty at residential gardens in Austerlitz, Hillsdale, and Copake. Two of the gardens, perched high in the Taconic Hills, offer magnificent views and vistas. A 180-acre farm boasts an authentic Japanese Tea House and Zen Garden.
“After nearly two decades of Academy garden tours, I always fear we have exhausted the county inventory of inspiring landscapes to share with the community. But to my delight, every year we manage to discover new hidden horticultural gems to feature for everyone to enjoy,” says Madaline Sparks, who co-chairs the event along with Vivian Wachsberger. “The gardens feature a wide range of landscape styles and conditions, and many delightful surprises, including Nigerian dwarf goats!”
The Market on the Green will take place on Saturday, June 24th from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Spencertown Village Green, which is located at the intersection of Routes 203 and 7. There will be over 20 vendors including the Academy’s White Elephant Booth. Warren Street Oldtime Stringband will serenade visitors with Southern Appalachian fiddle dance music. Food vendors will include the Spencertown Volunteer Firemen, Taco Diablo Food Truck, and Frankie’s Coffee Truck. A percentage of all sales benefit the Academy. Admission is free.
The gardens will be open on Saturday, June 24th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 on the day of the tour. Advanced tickets and more information can be found by visiting Spencertown Academy online. Tickets and the program guide, with maps and descriptions, will be available for pick up on the day of the tour at the Academy and at the Market on the Green from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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Berkshire Community College to hold series of three culinary classes for alumni
Pittsfield— Starting on Monday, June 26th at 10 a.m., Berkshire Community College (BCC), as part of its Workforce Development and Community Education program, is offering a series of three culinary classes to BCC alumni.
Area chef and farmer Jeremy Stanton leads a handmade pasta making class on Monday, June 26th. Stanton, former owner and operator of The Meat Market, Fire Roasted Catering and Stellar Pasta Company, will teach participants how to make brightly colored pastas using fresh, local ingredients.
Upcoming classes include basic poultry butchery skills on Monday, August 28th at 10 a.m. and basic bread making skills on Monday, September 18th at 10 a.m. Both courses will be led by chef and butcher Aaron Oster, who is the Instructional Program Manager for Food, Culture & Local Economy at BCC.
Classes will be taught at BCC’s Berkshire Culinary Institute, located in the Susan B. Anthony Building Annex on the main campus. Classes are free for BCC alumni with a donation to the Alumni Board Student Scholarship. Participants should wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. To register for classes, or for more information, contact Caterina Penna, Director of Alumni Relations & Events, at (413) 236-3071 or cpenna@berkshirecc.edu.
