First Fridays Arts walk to participate in ArtWeek
Pittsfield — The May 3 First Fridays Artswalk will feature 18 art exhibitions, opening receptions and special ArtWeek activities throughout downtown Pittsfield, including open studios, live demonstrations, a scavenger hunt and community-wide interactive artmaking from 5 to 8 p.m. The Artswalk will kick off with a free guided walking tour beginning at 5 p.m. at the BRTA Intermodal Center.
NUarts Studios and Gallery will host a poetry and music jam, community fabric weave with Marney Schorr, watercolors with Sally Tiska Rice, coloring and collage with Joan Rooks, a gouache painting demo with Ilene Richard, video animation with Dan Brody, mixed media with Kathy Gideon, abstract art with Peggy Morse and Caroline Kelley, and modality and materials painting with Karen Jacobs.
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. will host an original exhibition of all 39 photos that were submitted as part of its Pittsfield Photo Challenge, which encouraged entrants to capture photos that showcased the “Heart of the Berkshires.” The Berkshire Museum will host a community mural project creating a series of vivid mini-murals, to be displayed at the museum following ArtWeek.
Framework, Pittsfield Coworking will host works by the artists featured in Artscape‘s 2019 outdoor sculpture show with additional sculpture, drawings, designs and works by Paul Angiolillo, Joe Chirchirillo, Joe Gitterman and Bob Turan. Dottie’s Coffee Lounge will present “Food as Art: Make Your Baking a Creative Expression” from 5 to 7 p.m., with cake- and cupcake-decorating techniques and a microworkshop.
The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts will host its annual “Art in Our Schools Exhibit,” in which art from Pittsfield Public Schools students will be on display throughout the month of May. There will be artmaking during the opening reception and some artists from the studios housed within the Lichtenstein will have open studios and live art demonstrations.
More art will be on display throughout the month. For more information, contact Downtown Pittsfield Inc. at (413) 443-6501.
–E.E.
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TheatreFest@SaintJamesPlace to highlight new, original works by local playwrights
Great Barrington — Saint James Place will host TheatreFest@SaintJamesPlace Thursday, May 2, through Saturday, 4.
The festival will feature staged readings of eight original plays from presenting companies including Berkshire Playwrights Lab’s Berkshire Voices writers’ group, GhostLit Repertory Theatre and New Stage Performing Arts. The line-up will feature “Pterodactyls” by Nicky Silver, Nikki Wilson’s zany farce “Dial It Back,” Anne Undeland’s darkly hopeful comedy “The Sisterhood,” “Lunch With Dad” by Oppenheimer Award winner Michael Brady, and others.
Tickets are free with a suggested $10 donation. Seating is limited and attendees are asked to RSVP in order to ensure seating. For tickets and a full schedule of works, see the Berkshire Edge calendar.
–E.E.
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MMRHS to host Special Olympics
Great Barrington — Monument Mountain Regional High School will host Special Olympics Massachusetts’ 40th Monument Games Wednesday, May 1, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Monument Games event is a day of inclusive sports that will feature more than 300 athletes with intellectual disabilities from a dozen area schools and community programs. Volunteer roles for the event are filled by local high school students and community members.
In addition to students, the event will also serve as a qualifier for Berkshire County Special Olympics track and field teams, which have athletes ranging from school age to 60 or 70. These teams practice throughout the spring season and have an opportunity to qualify for the state Summer Games, which will be held in Boston in June. Local law enforcement members of Special Olympics Massachusetts’ Law Enforcement Torch Run program will be present for the 3-mile run from the Stockbridge Police Department to MMRHS carrying the opening ceremony torch.
Spectators are welcome. For more information, contact Vicky DiNatale at (508) 485-0986 x228.
–E.E.
