Stop the Dumps walking tour of proposed PCB dump
Housatonic – A walking tour around one of the sites that GE has proposed to use for a PCB dump will take place on Saturday, May 7, at 10 a.m. All who are interested are welcome to attend. Please meet at the veterans’ memorial in St. Bridget’s cemetery at the corner of Van Deusenville Road and Oak Street. For more information, contact Diego Gutierrez at housyarch@outlook.com.
–E.E.
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OLLI to present Mum Bett lecture
Pittsfield — Ben Z. Rose, the author of the book “Mother of Freedom: Mum Bett and the Roots of Abolitionism,” will be the first speaker in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Berkshire Community College’s (BCC) annual Distinguished Speakers Series. The talk will take place on Saturday, May 7, at 10:30 a.m. in BCC’s K-111 lecture hall.
Rose will discuss the life of the Berkshires’ Mum Bett–who later changed her name to Elizabeth Freeman–the first black enslaved person to gain her freedom in a court of law based on the principle of general equality. Her case, tried by two attorneys 80 years before the Civil War, set in motion a sequence of events that would bring an end to slavery in New England.
Rose has presented in venues across New England. His writing has been featured in the Boston Globe, the Union Leader, and the Wallomsack Review, and he has been a guest on New Hampshire Public Radio and Vermont Public Radio.
Admission is $10 for OLLI members and $15 for non-members, and tickets are available at the door or by calling (413) 236-2190 to reserve. Admission is free to BCC staff and students and youth 17 and under. Forum credit is available for BCC students.
–E.E.
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Sohn Fine Art’s fifth annual juried photo exhibition
Lenox — Sohn Fine Art Gallery presents its fifth annual juried exhibition to benefit its Master Artist Series program. The exhibition will be on view through Sunday, June 5. An artists’ reception and book signing will take place Saturday, May 7, from 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. where the winners of the exhibition will be announced.
The exhibition showcases photographic work by April Aldighieri, Mark Bennington, Matthew Bialer, Debra Bilow, Steven Duede, Steven Edson, George Grubb, Erin Gordon, Jonathan Hankin, Steve Knight, Lear Levin, Allan Markman, Rebecca Moseman, Paul Murray, Kathryn Nee, Lori Pond, Eric Rennie, Richard Schatzberg, Brian Sesack, Sue Palmer Stone, Ken Tannenbaum, and Samantha VanDeman. Judging the exhibition will be the Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961’s Director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College John Stomberg, Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum Assistant Curator Hannah Blunt, and Center for Photography at Woodstock Program Associate Jan Nagle.
The book signings will include “Twenty Two North” by Rick Schatzberg and “Door Jams: Amazing Doors of New York City“ by Allan Markman.
For more information, contact the Gallery at (413) 551-7353 or info@sohnfineart.com.
–E.E.
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Folk-rockers Vetiver to play at Club Helsinki Hudson
Hudson, N.Y. – San Francisco-based Vetiver will bring its dreamy pop sounds to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, May 7, at 9 p.m.
Vetiver frontman Andy Cabic was born in Virginia and attended school at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He moved to San Francisco in 1998 and is a longtime collaborator of Devendra Banhart, having co-written songs and produced Banhart’s album “Cripple Crow.” The group’s local connections include Hudson-based drummer Otto Hauser, and the fact that Cabic co-produced Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion‘s album “Bright Examples.”
For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Club at (518) 828-4800.
–E.E.
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Showing Up for Racial Justice meeting
Lee – Multicultural BRIDGE invites the Berkshire community to its office at 17 Main St. on Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m. for a visit from Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) representatives in anticipation of the opening of a Berkshire chapter. The event will include updates on local race concerns and needed Berkshire activism, as well as presentations from neighbors in Hudson, N.Y., and the greater Western Mass. region on how to start the chapter, the purpose and mission of the organization, and how to mobilize locally, regionally, and nationally on policy.
SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability.
Those interested in attending the presentation are asked to RSVP. For more information or to RSVP, contact Multicultural BRIDGE at (413) 394-4029 or adminsupport@multiculturalbridge.org.
–E.E.
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Great Barrington Farmers’ Market to begin 26th season
Great Barrington — The Great Barrington Farmers’ Market will begin its 26th season on Saturday, May 7. The market will return to its downtown location at 18 Church St. and will run from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. every Saturday through October 29.
The 2016 season will include several community events celebrating local food and agriculture including a “Kids at the Market” day in May, multiple food-themed festivals throughout the summer, and food and cookbook swaps. Music throughout the season will be provided by the Lucky 5, Moonshine Holler, and Aldo Lavaggi.
The market welcomes SNAP/EBT as well as WIC and SFMNP vouchers. This year, due to a generous grant from the Berkshire Co-op Market, the farmers’ market will double all SNAP dollars up to $25 at every market. Eligible participants can visit the market manager’s tent before shopping to turn their $25 into $50.
To increase customer safety and traffic flow on Main Street, the intersection of Church and Main Streets will be closed during the market. Customers coming from the north can access the market from Pleasant Street, and those from the south can access the market from School Street. There is ample market parking on Pleasant Street, River Street, Church Street, and School Street, as well as behind the former Searles Middle School. The Jane Iredale headquarters lot and the former Harland B. Foster lot are also available to market customers. There will be designated spots alongside the market for those with special needs. It is requested that market customers do not park in the First Congregational Church lot.
For more information, vendor inquiries, and general questions, contact Market Manager Alana Chernila at alanachernila@gmail.com.
–E.E.
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Paul Green and Klezmer East at Spencertown Academy
Spencertown, N.Y. — Spencertown Academy Arts Center will present clarinetist Paul Green and Klezmer East on Saturday, May 7, at 8 p.m. The concert will spotlight traditional and contemporary klezmer favorites including Freilachs, horas, and hits from the Yiddish Theater. Directed by clarinetist Green, Klezmer East features Pete Sweeney on drums, Bruce Krasin on saxophone, and Alan Gold on piano/keyboards.
For those unfamiliar with the klezmer genre, Green and his band members will offer informal but enlightening details about the forms, rhythms, and origins of the tunes as well as humorous stories that have been passed down through the ages about the music and the old klezmer players.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for students. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Arts Center at (518) 392-3693.
–E.E.
