Bits & Bytes: Botanical Garden art show; ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley;’ ‘Real People, Real Stories;’ Pajama Night at Lenox Library; Olga Dunn Dance concert

Botanical art show at Berkshire Botanical Garden

Stockbridge — Berkshire Botanical Garden is hosting an exhibit of botanical and landscape art featuring works by members of the Guild of Berkshire Artists, formerly the Richmond-West Stockbridge Artists’ Guild, through Friday, Dec. 29, in the Leonhardt Galleries of its newly renovated Center House. A reception will be held Sunday, Dec. 17, from 2 to 5 p.m.

The show encompasses more than 75 pieces in media such as photography, watercolors, giclée prints, oil on canvas and ceramics. The 29 regional artists whose work is included in the show are Amy Pressman, Ann Larkin, Anne Wickham Smith, Anne Auberjonois, Bernard Isaacson, Bill Graulty, Bruce Panock, Bruno Quinson, Carol Kelly, Carolyn Newberger, Dana Goedewaagen, Edward Winterhalter, Erin Potter, Harriet Wetstone, Howard Greenhalgh, Janet Pumphrey, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Karen Carmean, Keith Emerling, Ken Kelly, Lear Levin, Linda Mancia, Marilyn Orner (Cromwell), Michael Bufis, Marcie L. Kammel, Scott Taylor, Susan Pettee, Susan Sabino and Thomas Doane Perry III.

A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition will help support BBG’s education and horticulture programs. For more information, contact (917) 607-6955.

–E.E.

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Shakespeare & Company to stage ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley’

Madeleine Rose Maggio in Shakespeare & Company’s ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.’ Photo: Olivia Winslow

Lenox — Shakespeare & Company will present “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon and directed by Ariel Bock, Friday, Dec. 15, through Sunday, Dec. 17.

The imagined sequel to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” tells the story of the ever-dependable Mary Bennet, who is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings’ romantic escapades. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love. The family-friendly holiday performance will be a costumed staged reading featuring Lydia Barnett-Mulligan, Rory Hammond, Cloteal Horne, David Joseph, Zoë Laiz, Madeleine Rose Maggio, Rylan Morsbach, and Ryan Winkles.

Tickets are $22 for adults and $12 for students. Post-show collections from each performance will benefit the Elizabeth Freeman Center, the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires, HospiceCare in the Berkshires or the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Shakespeare & Company box office at (413) 637-3353.

–E.E.

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Ancram Opera House to present ‘Real People, Real Stories’

Ancram, N.Y. — The Ancram Opera House will present “Real People, Real Stories,” a storytelling series featuring local residents, Saturday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m.

The theme is “Crisis & Calamity” and performances will include tales of bungee jumping gone awry; a $3 parking ticket ballooning into a near contempt-of-court citation; a U.S. college student trapped in Czechoslovakia during the 1968 Soviet invasion; a big-city transplant to Columbia County who suspects her husband of embracing survivalism; and a corporate crisis counselor tangling with a difficult client. The storytellers will be Chris Atkins and Lauren Letellier of Hillsdale; Phil Halpern of Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Jan Hopkins-Trachtman of Gallatin; and Brett LaFave of Albany.

Tickets are $20. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Ancram Opera House at (518) 329-0114 or info@ancramoperahouse.org.

–E.E.

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Lenox Library to host Pajama Night

Lenox — The Lenox Library will host Pajama Night, a cozy evening of storytelling and singing, Saturday, Dec. 16, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Stories will be read by Lenox Board of Selectmen Chairman David Roche, Lenox Public Schools superintendent Timothy Lee, the Bookstore proprietor Matt Tannenbaum, Lenox Community Center youth services coordinator Michelle Messana and Lenox Library youth librarian Katie Wallick. The free event is appropriate for all ages and attendees are encouraged to wear pajamas. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the Lenox Library at (413) 637-0197 x105.

–E.E.

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Olga Dunn Dance Company to present holiday performances

From left: Olga Dunn Dance Company members Rosa Barnaba, Rebecca Robertson and Bea Kiggen. Photo: Peter Robinson

Great Barrington — The Olga Dunn Dance Company will present faculty and students in two family-fare holiday mini-shows titled “Nutcracker’s Russian, Spanish, and More!” Saturday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The first show will feature excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” a Russian waltz, previews of new works in progress, and a special dance performed by five- and six-year-olds. The second show will repeat most of the above but preview a longer version of Jamal Ahamad’s new hip hop piece in which he will also perform.

Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children ages 12 and under. The performances will include complimentary refreshments and a bake sale. For more information or to make reservations, contact the Olga Dun Dance Company at (413) 528-9674.

–E.E.