Eighth annual Berktoberfest
Pittsfield — Brewers from near and far will open their taps from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 3 at the 8th annual Berktoberfest. Located at the McKay Street parking lot in the newly designated Upstreet Cultural District, Berktoberfest will include samples of some of the finest beers from the northeast and beyond, live music, great food, and games to play. Berktoberfest is a family friendly event that welcomes designated drivers and children of all ages.
In addition to the beer, Berktoberfest is about bringing the community together for charity. In the last seven years, more than $10,000 dollars in proceeds has been donated to area charities through Berkshire Brewing Heritage, a nonprofit educational organization created by Berktoberfest’s organizers.
Area brewers participating in the event include Forthill Brewing, Brewmaster Jack, Lagunitas, Barrington Brewery, The People’s Pint Paper City, Glass Bottom Brewer, Baxter Brewing Company, Big Elm Brewing, Lefty’s Brewing Company, Wandering Star, Berkshire Homebrew Association, Westfield River Brewing Company, Element Brewing Company, Downeast Cider.
Tickets for Berktoberfest will cost $26 at the door with this year’s proceeds to benefit Elizabeth Freeman Center and Moments House. Children under 16 are free and designated drivers’ entrance is a suggested donation of $10. Music will be provided by B.A. Dario. For more information email info@berktoberfest.com
–E.E.
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Online auction to feature art and more
Great Barrington — Congregation Ahavath Shalom will host an online auction beginning October 12. Items are already up for online preview and Congregation Ahavath Shalom will host a live sneak preview to showcase some of the items on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
A selection of artworks by Chagall, Miro, Vasarely, Bernard Buffet, and Gunter Grass as well as by local artists such as Paul Graubard, Arthur Hillman, Ilene Spiewak, Donna Tukel, Barbara Barron, and Roselle Chartock will be offered. Other items in the auction include an upright piano, a two-night stay at a local inn, jewelry, collectibles, artisan works, Judaica, gift certificates for many local restaurants and services, and many more unique items.
Part of the proceeds from this fundraiser will help to support Artsbridge, Inc., an organization that develops partnerships among American, Israeli, and Palestinian youth through dialogue and visual arts.
–E.E.
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Presentation by Simon’s Rock professor explores folk conservation
Pittsfield — The final lecture of the year in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s (OLLI) 2015 Distinguished Speakers Series is an illustrated exploration of how Chinese villages protect their local landscapes. Dr. Chris Coggins, a professor of geography and Asian Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock will discuss his research on village sacred landscapes in the Tibetan and Han culture regions of western and southern China. The talk will take place at Berkshire Community College (BCC) on Saturday, October 3, at 10:30 a.m.
The author of The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature, Culture, and Conservation in China (University of Hawaii, 2003) and co-editor with Emily Yeh of Mapping Shangrila: Contested Landscapes of the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands (University of Washington, 2014), Coggins has been conducting field research in rural China since 1990 and is currently engaged in a study of village-protected fengshui forests with a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
Registration is $10 for OLLI members, $15 for non-members, and free to BCC students and staff and youth 17 and under. For more information call (413) 236-2190 or email olli@berkshirecc.edu. The talk will be held at Berkshire Community College’s Koussevitzky Arts Center, in the K111 lecture hall.
–E.E.
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Sounds and Tones Records releases new CD by Izzy Heltai
North Adams — Pittsfield-based independent record label Sounds and Tones Records will be showcasing its talent on Saturday, October 3 at a record release for Black Sheep, the new EP by recently signed folk singer/songwriter Izzy Heltai.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts student Heltai signed to Sounds and Tones in August. He’ll be joined by Sounds and Tones artists A Day Without Love, Heart of Gold, and label founder and poet Christopher Hantman, as well as Wyndwood, a side project of the A Day Without Love members.
The show is free and begins at 7 p.m. at the Parlor Café. For more information email soundsandtones@gmail.com
–E.E.
