Weekend with Wildlife at Project Native
Housatonic — Project Native will present A Weekend with Wildlife hosted at the farm on July 24, 25, and 26. The weekend will showcase the native flora and fauna of Berkshire County as interpreted by Project Native’s education staff and visiting experts. Kicking off the weekend is Project Native’s third annual Native Butterfly House reception Friday, July 24 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. (raindate – Saturday, July 25). Following the reception, from 9 p.m. – 10:15 pm, commemorate National Moth Week and join Project Native’s environmental education interns for an ‘Evening of Exploration’ on the farm. Participants will learn about night vision, night hiking, constellations, moths and other nocturnal wildlife.
The following day, Project Native hosts the Caterpillar Lab Saturday, July 25 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. with naturalist, educator, and photographer Sam Jaffe. Project Native suggests a donation of $2 – $5 for this program.
On Sunday, July 26 Julie Anne Collier of Wingmasters will present North American birds of prey with programs beginning at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The workshops will feature six live raptors: the great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, barred owl, saw-whet owl, American kestrel, and peregrine falcon.
Programs will be offered free of charge; donations to support Project Native’s education program are greatly appreciated. Contact Project Native for more information at (413) 274-3433.
–E.E.
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Dewey Hall to present Ukuleles for Peace and Uncle Terry’s Swisch Wagon
Sheffield — Dewey Hall will present Ukuleles for Peace on Friday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m., Uncle Terry’s Swisch Wagon and Matt Heckler will appear. A BBQ dinner featuring local meats and vegetables will be available for purchase at the July 25 concert beginning at 6 p.m. Both shows take place as part of Dewey Hall’s summer concert series.
Ukuleles for Peace, an Arab/Jewish youth orchestra from Israel, has been playing and singing for peace for 11 years. Their music ranges from Arab and Jewish traditional music to Israeli contemporary music, jazz, rock, rhythm and blues, pop, and more. Their show at Dewey Hall is part of a summer tour of the U.S. and is their only Berkshires-area appearance. The show is co-presented by Dewey Hall, Music in Common, and the Magic Fluke. Tickets are a minimum suggested donation of $15 and available at the door only. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Maya Mortman, Andy Lundeen, and Ryan Williams, known collectively as Uncle Terry’s Swisch Wagon, have been making homegrown string band music since coming together a year ago. Their July 25th show will feature a host of special guests including Woodstock, N.Y., multi-instrumentalist Matt Heckler who will also open the show. In honor of Andy Lundeen’s 27th birthday that night, the Hall will be grilling up local meats and vegetables for a BBQ dinner beginning at 6 p.m. for $10. Admission to the show is a suggested donation of $10-$20. The show is sponsored by Big Elm Brewing.
For more information on either show, contact Dewey Hall at (413) 229-2357.
–E.E.
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‘Talmudic Rabbis and Jewish Sorceresses: Strange Bedfellows:’ Maggie Anton on her historical novels
Great Barrington — On Friday, July 24 at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will present novelist Maggie Anton who will talk about her new book Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda’s Daughter. Set in Babylonia and Roman Palestine during the fourth century, the historical novel focuses on rabbinic families struggling to establish new Jewish traditions in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem’s Holy Temple. Against this backdrop, women excluded from their religion’s hierarchy find power and esteem as sorceresses in the very land where the word “magic” originated.
This Knosh & Knowledge program begins at 10:45 a.m. and is open to the public. The presentation and Q&A session will be followed by a buffet lunch from Freund’s Farm. Admission is $11, which includes the lunch. Participants may attend the program only for $5. Advance reservations are required.
Maggie Anton is the award-winning author of historical fiction trilogy Rashi’s Daughters and new series Rav Hisda’s Daughter. The first volume, Apprentice, was a National Jewish Book Award finalist. A Los Angeles native, Anton worked for 33 years as a clinical chemist for Kaiser Permanente before becoming an author.
For reservations contact the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360, ext. 10 or email jfb.officemanager@verizon.net
–E.E.
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50 Years in an Indian Town: Reflection on the Stockbridge Experience
Tyringham — Bonney Hartley, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans, will give a talk on Saturday, July 25 at 10 a.m. entitled “50 Years in an Indian Town: Reflection on the Stockbridge Experience,” which will address the Mohicans’ time in Stockbridge from the perspective of the tribe today. Hartley’s talk will focus on how the short time living in Stockbridge – from 1735 to 1785 — forever changed the tribe, and how they carry many of the lessons or consequences from that experience with them as a tribe today in Wisconsin. Hartley’s talk is part of the Bidwell House Museum History Talks series.
Bonney Hartley works for the tribe in the Albany and Berkshire region in historic preservation. She is an enrolled member of Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation in Wisconsin, and holds a B.A. from Hanover College and a Masters of Social Science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
The Bidwell House Museum History Talks are held at Tyringham Union Church, Main Road, Tyringham. There is a suggested contribution of $15 for the general public and $10 for members of the museum.
For more information contact the Bidwell House Museum at (413) 528-6888.
–E.E.
