Bits & Bytes: The Gather-In; Riotous Youth at Shakespeare & Co.; Music at the Mansion; Book donation call in Spencertown

At the heart of the Festival of Books is a giant book sale featuring more than 10,000 used books. There’s a special Kid’s Corner for young readers and a media rack full of CDs and audiobooks.

The Gather-In, the Berkshires’ longest-running African-American community celebration, returns July 25

Pittsfield  For 43 years the Gather-In, the Berkshires’ oldest African-American celebration, has brought community members together for a day of entertainment, inspiration, and unity in Pitt Park in the city’s multi-ethnic West Side neighborhood from noon until 6 p.m. The daylong festival will return once again on July 25 to continue the tradition of community connection. The Gather-In is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union and the NAACP’s Berkshire County branch. Additional supporters include Berkshire Health Systems, City of Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development, and Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival.

The Gather-In’s lineup of family-friendly activities will include free pony rides, games, magic shows with Eric the Illusionist, face painting, and a bouncy house. Musical entertainment will include Misty Blues and 4 AM, as well as Joel Strutz, Sanye Williamson, Christine Bile, Shalia Billy. Other featured events will be spoken word from Lady Nakeida, a mini fashion show curated by Destiny Saunders, and a performance by Youth Alive. There will also be recognition of the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment, which declares the abolition of slavery. The event will also include an assortment of vendors, on-site community partners, and raffle drawings for a host of prizes.

Another key feature of this year’s celebration will be the return of the ever-popular girls and boys youth basketball tournament, with teams coming from across western Massachusetts and Albany. The tournament will honor the memory of Willie Frank “T-Bone” Sistrunk, who helped to organize the Gather-In, and Jahda Martin, a standout basketball player.

Greylock’s support will help to enhance the academic experience of recent graduates. The NAACP, in conjunction with the Women of Color Giving Circle of the Berkshires which held its 10th annual Graduates Event in June, will select five graduates at the Gather-In, each of whom will be awarded a $200 stipend toward their higher education pursuits and will also receive two Student Support Care packages during the school year.

For more information on the Gather-In, please visit the Berkshire NAACP’s Facebook page.

–E.E.

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Riotous Youth performances at Shakespeare & Company

Lenox Shakespeare & Company invites the public to its Riotous Youth performances in the Rose Footprint Theatre. The Riotous Youth program is designed to introduce young actors ages seven through 15 to the language, stories, characters, and ideas in Shakespeare’s plays in imaginative and playful ways. Classes incorporating voice, movement, and text enable students to explore Shakespeare’s works emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Students then create a performance piece based on their experience of the play, which they will share with family, friends, Company members, and the Berkshire community on the final day of the session. The performances will take place July 24, August 7, and August 21 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

–E.E.

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Music at the Mansion series at Ventfort Hall

Oakes Smith Sabine Vollmer von Falken
Oakes and Smith. Photo: Sabine Vollmer von Falken

Lenox  Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum will offer Thursday evening concerts on July 23, and 30 and August 6, 13, and 27. Berkshire folk duo Oakes & Smith and Berkshire concert artists Samantha Talora & Ron Ramsay return to the mansion to entertain on alternating Thursdays with a joint concert on August 27. Oakes & Smith will kick off the five-evening concert series on July 23 performing original and traditional folk with voices blending in close harmonies. They will return on August 6. New York City cabaret singer & pianist Ron Ramsay and vocalist Samantha Talora, both Berkshire natives, will perform classics from the Great American Songbook on July 30 and August 13.

Doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include complimentary snacks. Wine and craft beer will be available for purchase. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the museum. Contact Ventfort Hall at (413) 637-3206 for more information or to reserve tickets in advance.

–E.E.

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Spencertown Academy Arts Center Call for Book Donations

Spencertown, N.Y.  Spencertown Academy Arts Center announces a call for book donations for the Festival of Books which will take place over Labor Day weekend, September 4 through 7. The Festival, which began in 2006 as a book sale to raise funds for the Academy’s community arts programs, has grown into one of the biggest cultural events of the year, with readings and book signings by nationally known and local authors.

At the heart of the Festival is a giant book sale featuring more than 10,000 used books. There’s a special Kid’s Corner for young readers and a media rack full of CDs and audiobooks. A first-floor gallery features a handpicked selection of specialty books, limited editions, out-of-print books, and new books donated by leading national publishers.

Collection times at the Academy, with an attendant present, are each Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through August 23. In addition, there is a large bin in the parking lot behind the Academy where donors can drop off books 24/7 in boxes or sturdy bags — no loose books, please.

The Academy requests “gently used” books: please do not donate books with cracked spines or loose pages; books with stains; mildewed or musty books; books with mouse or insect damage; or with torn, yellowed, or brittle pages. The Academy also welcomes donations of book and music CDs and vinyl records in good condition, as well as DVDs.

Please note: The Academy does not accept textbooks, encyclopedias, magazines, or VHS or and cassette tapes.

–E.E.