Berkshire Opera Festival presents its second annual Berkshire Opera Festival community sing-along
Pittsfield— On Saturday, January 18th at 1 p.m., Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) presents its second annual Berkshire Opera Festival community sing-along.
Singers of all ages and abilities are welcome to sing opera choral classics from Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner alongside BOF choristers and members of the larger Berkshire singing community, including the Berkshire Concert Choir.
BOF’s new Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor Luca Antonucci will lead the sing-along. “If you love to sing, this event is for you! Please join us as we gather to sing three of the greatest opera choruses ever written in a fun, informal session. The event will be preceded by a brown-bag lunch social, where you can meet members of the team, and will be followed by time for mingling and making new connections with fellow music-lovers from around the Berkshires!”
The sing-along is on Saturday, January 18th at 1 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, located at 67 East Street in Pittsfield. Singers will be sent music and more information ahead of time, but no advance preparation is required. There will be a brown-bag meet-n-greet preceding the event. The event is free, but registration is required. Registration and more information can be found online.
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Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents a screening of the Japanese animated film ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’
Great Barrington— On Friday, January 10th at 7 p.m., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents a screening of the Japanese animated film “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989.)
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, this family favorite from Studio Ghibli features a young witch-in-training who leaves home to find her place serving a new city with her special gifts.
The screening is on Friday, January 10th at 7 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, located at 14 Castle Street in Great Barrington. ConnectorCare is accepted. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Berkshire Botanical Garden hosts a community reading of Jamaica Kinkaid’s ‘An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children’
Stockbridge— On Saturday, January 11th at 3 p.m., Berkshire Botanical Garden hosts a community read and facilitated conversation of Jamaica Kinkaid’s “An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children.”
“You only start to make a garden—growing things because they’re beautiful and inspire thoughtfulness and reflection—after you have enough to eat,” says Jamaica Kincaid. Best known for deeply personal works of lyric fiction, Kincaid reflects on the stories of the plants that have made up the colonized world in her book, “An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children.”
The free event is on Saturday, January 11th at 3 p.m. at Berkshire Botanical Garden, located at 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge. Registration is preferred. Registration and more information can be found online.
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Clark Art Institute presents ‘It’s Teatime!,’ as part of its ‘First Sunday Free’ series
Williamstown— On Sunday, January 5th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Clark Art Institute First Sunday Free series continues. January’s theme is “It’s Teatime!,” a celebration of the beginning of a new year with art, community, and fresh tea.
At 2 p.m., an all-ages, educator-led tour explores tea-related objects in the Institute’s collection. At 3 p.m., learn more about the production and cultural significance of tea in a guided tour led by Katheen Morris, Sylvia and Leonard Marx Director of Collections and Exhibitions and curator of decorative arts. Throughout the afternoon, tea tastings are provided by Heart’s Pace, a North Adams-based tea and healing arts lounge. Themed art-making activities and other exciting surprises will “infuse” this free afternoon at the Clark.
The free event is on Sunday, January 5th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clark Art Institute, located at 225 South Street in Williamstown. More information can be found online.
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Mass Audubon Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary to host a cats and canines tracking workshop
Pittsfield— On Saturday, January 11th from 10 a.m. to noon, Mass Audubon Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary will host a cats and canines tracking workshop at Canoe Meadows.
Search for tracks, scat, and other signs of the elusive wild cats and dogs that roam the fields and forests at Canoe Meadows. Focusing on long-legged creatures, you will dig deep into how they stealthily walk, lope, and gallop across the landscape and what you can learn from clues they leave behind.
The workshop is on Saturday, January 11th from 10 a.m. to noon at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, located at 309 Holmes Road in Pittsfield. Dress for the weather and enjoy a morning of winter tracking. This program covers up to a mile of level or gradually sloping trail. The trail surface could potentially be uneven or slippery due to snow, mud, or ice. Traction spikes or snowshoes may be available to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration and more information can be found online.
