Stockbridge Library reopening celebration
Stockbridge — The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will hold its grand reopening celebration on Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The reopening follows the Library’s first complete renovation in nearly 80 years, providing expanded space and functionality, universal accessibility, and updated technology to better serve the needs of the community.
The ribbon cutting will take place at 10 a.m. at the Main Street entrance to the Library, with speeches given by Congressman Richard E. Neal, Representative William “Smitty” Pignatelli, Library Director Katherine O’Neil, Museum & Archives Curator Barbara Allen, and others. The day’s events will feature performances by Paul Sundberg and Jeff Stevens’ brass quintet at 10:15 a.m., Shakespeare & Company at 11:30 a.m., and Quintessential at 1 p.m. Children’s activities will include face painting with the Happy Face Painter, a make-your-own-book craft, and a scavenger hunt. An exhibit of photographs by Stockbridge resident Clemens Kalischer will be on view in the Library’s lobby.
Call the Library for more information at (413) 298-5501.
–E.E.
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Prescription drug take-back day
Berkshire County — The county-wide biannual prescription drug take-back day will take place on Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at eight locations across the county.
Those with unused, unwanted, or expired prescription, over-the-counter, and controlled medications are encouraged to dispose of them safely by visiting the Adams police station, the North Adams police station, the Berkshire Mall food court in Lanesborough, 510 North St. in Pittsfield, the Dalton CRA, the Lee Ambulance Service, the Lenox town hall at 6 Walker St. in Lenox, and the Stockbridge police station. Personal needles in puncture-proof plastic containers will also be accepted. Take-back day locations cannot accept thermometers, IV bags, blood or infectious waste, nebulizers, or oxygen tanks.
For those who are unable to participate in the take-back day but still would like to dispose of unwanted medications, there are 14 drop-off boxes across the county located inside police stations in Pittsfield, Adams, Dalton, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, North Adams, Sheffield, Williamstown, Otis, Sandisfield, West Stockbridge, and Stockbridge.
For more information about drug take-back days, contact Wendy Penner in North County at wpenner@nbccoalition.org, Nataly Garzon in Central County at ngarzon@berkshireunitedway.org, or Ananda Timpane in South County at ananda@rsyp.org.
–E.E.
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Big BOOM Bash to celebrate original music
Pittsfield — Berkshire Organization for Original Music (BOOM) will hold its kickoff event, the Big BOOM Bash, at the Whitney Center for the Arts on Friday, April 29. A reception will open the event at 4 p.m. followed by a party and concert from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Food and a cash bar will be available.
BOOM was formed by local musicians Tom Conklin, Sandy McKnight, Dar Maloney, and Liv Cummins, along with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts student Allison Gregory, as a way to promote and advance original bands and singer-songwriters in the Berkshires. Performing at the event will be local original musicians Jeb Barry and the Pawn Shop Saints, 8 Foot River, Robin O’Herin, Leap the Dips, the Matchstick Architects, Sherry Steiner, Christine Bile, the Chain Letter, Keep Her Warm, and Long Journey.
For more information, call (413) 243-4306.
–E.E.
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‘Understanding Bird Language’ workshop
Lenox – On Sunday, May 1, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Mass Audubon’s Berkshire Sanctuaries and Flying Deer Nature Center will present “Song of the Forest: Understanding Bird Language” at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.
Through storytelling, lecture, slideshows, outdoor activities and field exercises, participants will learn about bird language theory and put the ideas into practice during an observation and mapping activity. The kids’ group will learn, practice, and explore bird language on their own and then join the larger group at the end of the day.
The cost of the program is $50 for adults and teens and $40 for children. Participants should bring their own lunches and reusable mugs, and wear warm layers. Registration is required. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (413) 637-0320.
–E.E.
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Paint and oil collection set for South Berkshire
Great Barrington — On Saturday, April 30, from 8:30 a.m. – 11 a.m., the South Berkshire Household Hazardous Waste Collaborative will hold a paint and oil collection at the Great Barrington Recycling Center, 601 Stockbridge Rd., for the participating towns of Alford, Becket, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Richmond, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, and West Stockbridge. The Center for EcoTechnology will coordinate the collection.
Acceptable materials are oil-based paint, stains, paint thinners, spray paint and turpentine, as well as waste motor oil. No other type of oil or fuel will be accepted. Latex paint will not be accepted at this event. Empty cans can be recycled with scrap metal. Dried-up cans of latex paint can be disposed with regular trash, as can empty cans of oil-based paint, stains and solvents.
Registration is required by Friday, April 29, and online registration is available. For information about what can be brought to the collection or to register, contact Jamie Cahillane at Jamie.Cahillane@cetonline.org or (888) 577-8448 x14.
–E.E.
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Hotchkiss Dance Company to perform
Lakeville, Conn. — The Hotchkiss Dance Company will present its annual spring concert Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 1, at 2:30 p.m. in the Walker Auditorium at Hotchkiss School. New work, including “Divine Creature” and “Poem” by dance program director Alice Sarkissian-Wolf, will be featured, as will “The Station,” a commissioned work by 2015/16 artist-in-residence Liliana Candotti. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (860) 435-4423.
–E.E.
