The Becket Arts Center will present a weekend of events including an outdoor performance by soulful rock band Sample the Cat, ‘Impress’ opening, and the ‘Becket Bash’
Becket— On Saturday, August 26th at 5 p.m., the Becket Arts Center will present an outdoor performance by soulful rock band Sample the Cat. Sample the Cat is an up and coming original soulful Berkshire-based rock group that brings a fresh, energetic groove across the region and beyond. Their music grooves with a sweet fusion of punchy yet roaring guitar lines, warm melodic tones on keys, funky grooves on drums and heartfelt lyrics. It engages a musical exploration of blues, funk, and soul as well as a lyrical exploration of young adult love, identity, pain and pleasure.
The concert is on Saturday, August 26th at 5 p.m. at the Becket Arts Center on Brooker Hill Road in Becket. Simon Ruiz Guthrie will also perform. Admission is free, although donations are welcome. Lawn chairs, coolers, snacks, and kids are welcome. In case of rain, the performance will move to the Federated Church on Main Street in Becket. The event is part of the BAC’s Music Brings Communities Together Program, which is supported by local cultural councils. More information can be found online.
On Saturday, August 26th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.,the Becket Arts Center will hold a reception for artists selected for the fourth juried show of the season, “Impress”. “Impress” will feature the works of Roger Duffy, Gail Gelburd, Douglas Gilbert, and Deb Lohmeyer. The opening reception is on Saturday, August 26th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Becket Arts Center on Brooker Hill Road in Becket. Admission is free. The exhibit will run through September 11th. More information can be found online.
On Sunday, August 27th at 5 p.m., the Becket Arts Center presents multi-talented musician and Berkshire favorite, Jack Waldheim as the headliner of the “Becket Bash”, the center’s annual fundraiser. In addition to Waldheim’s performance, the “Becket Bash” will include dinner by Savory Harvest Catering, dancing, a raffle and lots of fun. The bash is on Sunday, August 27th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Camp Watitoh on Main Street in Becket. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum presents “The World of Mary Dickerson, Dressmaker and Activist”, a tea and talk with Theresa Guzman Stokes
Lenox— On Tuesday, August 29th at 4 p.m., Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum presents “The World of Mary Dickerson, Dressmaker and Activist”, a tea and talk with Theresa Guzman Stokes.
Theresa Guzman Stokes, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society will speak about Mary Dickerson (1830-1914). Mary Dickerson owned a “Fashionable Dressmaking Establishment” located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, and created dresses for the prominent people of Newport during the Gilded Age. She was an accomplished businesswoman who parlayed her popularity and money to establish the first federation of African American Women’s Clubs in Rhode Island as well as several other regional and local clubs. She was a strong advocate for the rights of women, and worked tirelessly on behalf of her race.
Writer, mother, historian, community activist, editor, feminist, veteran, and storyteller, Theresa Guzman Stokes inspires and illuminates the complex and woven narratives of African heritage, Latin American, and Jewish diasporic histories. Utilizing the tools of history, genealogy, and cultural preservation of the Guatemalan heritage, Stokes is fiercely committed to bringing to light the untold stories of the State of Rhode Island.
The talk is on Tuesday, August 29th at 4 p.m. at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum on Walker Street in Lenox. A tea will follow her presentation. Tickets are $35 on the day of the event, $30 in advance, $30 for members, and $22 for students age 22 and under. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. Reservations and more information can be found online or by calling 413-637-3206.
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Mahaiwe to screen Disney’s ‘Up’ in Spanish
Great Barrington— On Sunday, September 3rd at 7 p.m., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center and SCAN, the Mahaiwe’s Spanish-language Community Advisory Network, will screen Disney’s “Up” (2009) in Spanish with English subtitles.
Rated PG, Disney’s Up is an animated adventure story about two unlikely travel companions, Carl (voiced by Ed Asner), an elderly widower, and Russell, a local scout troop member. Carl inadvertently brings Russell aboard his balloon-powered, makeshift flying house, and the two embark on an expedition to South America, learning a thing or two from each other along the way.
The screening is on Sunday, September 3rd at 7 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street In Great Barrington. Admission is free but registration is required. Register online or by calling 413-528-0100. Phone hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
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Hudson Hall presents “David McIntyre: Walking”, photographs of David McIntyre
Hudson— Now through October 8th, Hudson Hall presents “David McIntyre: Walking”, photographs of David McIntyre.
In his last published work, “Walking”, Henry David Thoreau presented an ecocentric worldview that advocates protecting the natural world for its own sake. This is the message at the heart of Hudson-based photographer David McIntyre’s new solo exhibition of the same name. Meditating on the power and beauty of nature while emphasizing the importance of preserving it as an act of service without attachment to the outcome, McIntyre reminds us that nature is not a resource to be exploited but a living ecosystem that deserves respect and protection.
David McIntyre is a Scottish-born photographer, filmmaker, and artist residing in Upstate New York. He began his career as a photojournalist and has since worked extensively in portraiture and fashion photography. His photographs have been featured in some of the world’s most prestigious publications, including Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, the Guardian, and the Sunday Observer.
If you are keen to discover your own inner Thoreau, McIntyre offers recommendations of his own is favorite walks in the Columbia County and Berkshire areas including the Greenport Conservation Area, Hand Hollow Conservation Area, Monument Mountain, Sojourner Truth State Park, and the Poets’ Walk Park.
The exhibit runs through October 8th at Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House on Warren Street In Hudson. More information can be found online.
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The Lenox Library presents ‘Pain Killer’ author Barry Meier in conversation with Martin ‘Marty’ Baron
Lenox— On Tuesday, September 5th at 5:30 p.m., the Lenox Library presents “Pain Killer” author Barry Meier in conversation with Martin “Marty” Baron.
The Pulitzer Prize winners will discuss “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic”, Meier’s landmark book that first chronicled the saga of OxyContin and how its reckless promotion by a company owned by one of America’s wealthiest families, the Sacklers, unleashed the greatest public health crisis of the 21st century, the opioid epidemic. Netflix released a dramatic series based on Meier’s book, “Painkiller”, starring Matthew Broderick, Uzo Aduba, and Taylor Kitsch on August 10th. In the first four days after its release, the series was viewed 7.2 million times and became the #1 Netflix show in the U.S. and 53 other countries worldwide.
Barry Meier was a member of the New York Times reporting team that won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. He is also a Pulitzer finalist and a two-time winner of the George Polk Award. During a 28-year-long career at the Times, his work concentrated on the intersection of business, medicine, and the public’s health. He exposed the dangers of various drugs and medical products, including a defective heart device and a generation of flawed artificial hips, and he was the first journalist to shed a national spotlight on the abuse of OxyContin.
Martin “Marty” Baron retired in 2021, after eight years as executive editor of The Washington Post. News staff under his leadership at the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Miami Herald have won a combined 18 Pulitzer Prizes. The Academy Award-winning movie “Spotlight” was based on his team’s investigation into the Catholic Church’s concealment of clergy sex abuse.
This conversation will be on Tuesday, September 5th at 5:30 p.m. at the Lenox Library on Main Street in Lenox. It is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Books will be available for purchase and signing. More information can be found online or by calling 413-637-0197.
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The OLLI at BCC Special Events Committee presents ‘Baseball in the Berkshires!: A Private Visit to the Berkshire Baseball Museum’
Lee— On Tuesday, August 29th at noon, the OLLI at BCC Special Events Committee presents “Baseball in the Berkshires!: A Private Visit to the Berkshire Baseball Museum”.
The OLLI at BCC Special Events Committee presents “Baseball in the Berkshires! A Private Visit to the Berkshire Baseball Museum” Did you know that the first broken window bylaw in 1791 referring to baseball happened in Pittsfield? Did you know that Berkshire County baseball history includes 40 men born, raised or settled here played in the major leagues? Did you know that when the first collegiate baseball game in 1859 between Amherst and Williams happened in Pittsfield? Join OLLI to listen to director, Larry Moore, take you through Baseball History at this new museum open only in the summer.
The visit is on Tuesday, August 29th at noon at the Lee Premium Outlets on Premium Outlet Boulevard in Lee. Tickets are $10 for OLLI members, $12 for guests/non-members, $8 for youth, and children under age five are admitted free. Hot dogs and popcorn will be served and attendees are asked to bring a folding chair. Register online or by calling 413-236-2190.
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Bud Wobus guides presents the history of the granite slabs that comprise the Clark’s Manton Research Center and Clark Center
Williamstown— On Tuesday, August 29th at 5:30 p.m., the Clark Art Institute offers a geology presentation and walk around its campus led by Bud Wobus, professor emeritus of geology at Williams College.
Wobus guides visitors through the history of the granite slabs that comprise the Manton Research Center and the Clark Center. Discover how the minerals and patterns, art forms in themselves, can be interpreted to trace the granites of the grounds beyond the Manton Research Center’s fifty-year anniversary.
The presentation is on Tuesday, August 29th at 5:30 p.m. at the Manton Research Center at the Clark Art Institute on South Street in Williamstown. The event is free, but advanced registration is required and capacity is limited. Registration and more information can be found online.
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Dewey Memorial Hall hosts a free ice cream social to welcome neighbors old and new
Sheffield— On Tuesday, August 29th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Dewey Memorial Hall hosts a free ice cream social to welcome neighbors old and new.
Dewey Hall invites South Berkshire neighbors new and old to a free meet and greet ice cream social with live music, lawn games, and door prizes, a chance to celebrate community and meet new friends. The first 50 households to arrive will receive a Blue Q bag filled with treasures from Sheffield and Berkshire businesses and High Lawn Farm ice cream will be available for free as long as it lasts.
The free social is on Tuesday, August 29th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Dewey Memorial Hall on Main Street in Sheffield. Rain will move the event inside the hall. More information can be found online, by calling 413-429-1322, or by emailing deweymemorialhall@gmail.com.
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Copake Falls 2023 Community Harvest Festival
Copake— On Saturday, September 9th from 5 p.m. to 7: 30 p.m., the historic Church of St. John In The Wilderness announces the 2023 Community Harvest Festival to be held at its beautiful property in Copake Falls. The festival raises funds towards preserving the historic grounds, graveyard, rectory and church.
The event will feature food and drink, a silent auction, and live music from the Great American Songbook with husband and wife duo David Shenton and Erin Shields.
“With this event, we celebrate the community. As we open our hearts and our campus to friends and neighbors, we get to spend time outdoors celebrating the talents of our congregation and the beauty of fall,” said Fr. John Thompson, Rector of St. John’s (Episcopal). “Recent upgrades to the grounds: new landscaping and parking improvements, will make the day even more special.”
From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., NYC husband and wife duo of Erin Shields and David Shenton, whose numerous concert credits include Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, will perform music from their show, “The Great American Songbook: Retold”. These popular songs, that everyone knows and loves, will be presented in fresh and entertaining ways. Erin Shields is a lovely and versatile vocalist, and pianist David Shenton, who records on the Steinway label, is an ace in many styles.
The concert will be followed by a buffet of hearty appetizers served with tables and chairs arranged under the big tent. The menu will be prepared by Wendy Langlois.
The festival is on Saturday, September 9th from 5 p.m. to 7: 30 p.m. at the Church of St. John in the Wilderness on NY-344 in Copake Falls. Tickets are $75. Tickets and more information can be found online or by emailing pjwann23@gmail.com.
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Berkshire County Walk to End Alzheimer’s returns
Adams— On Saturday, September 30th, Berkshire County residents are invited to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Berkshire County Walk to End Alzheimer’s at the Adams Visitor Center.
Held nationally in more than 600 communities across the country, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. On Walk day, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden Ceremony, a mission-focused experience that signifies our solidarity in the fight against the disease.
In 2022, more than 200 participants and 50 teams joined the Berkshire County Walk to End Alzheimer’s, raising over $72,000 towards research and care and support programs for individuals living with Alzheimer’s, their families, and caregivers. This year, the Berkshire County Walk aims to raise $80,500.
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a leading cause of death in the United States. In Massachusetts alone, there are more than 130,000 people living with the disease. “We’re closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s,” said Jim Wessler, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter. “We hope that everyone in our community can join us by starting a team to help the Alzheimer’s Association raise awareness and funds for families facing the disease today and take more steps toward treatments and finally ending this disease.”
The walk is on Saturday, September 30th at the Adams Visitor Center on Hoosan Street in Adams. The Promise Garden Ceremony begins at 9:45 a.m. and the walk will begin at 10 a.m. Participants can start a team, join a team, or walk as an individual. Registration and the latest updates can be found online.
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The Congregational Church of Salisbury, UCC, announces auditions
Salisbury— The Congregational Church of Salisbury, UCC, announces auditions for “The Butterfingers Angel, Mary and Joseph, Herod the Nut, and the Slaughter of Twelve Hit Carols in a Pear Tree”.
Written by Broadway legend William Gibson, this rollicking “Christmas Entertainment” features a beleaguered angel, a mysterious and scary adversary, a fiercely independent Mary, and a smitten Joseph along with louts, animals, and magi.
Pastor John Nelson and Music Director David Baranowski will direct. Roles for adults and children are available, and auditions are open to all. Auditions will be held on Sunday, September 17th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesday September 20th, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Congregational Church on Main Street in Salisbury. Rehearsals are in October and November. Performances run November 30th to December 3rd. For more information, email butterfingers.angel@gmail.com.
Participation is open to all regardless of race, ancestry, class, gender identity, physical and mental ability or sexual orientation. Congregational Church of Salisbury, UCC commits to work toward ending ignorance, fear, hatred, prejudice, and discrimination against any person. Whoever you are, and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome.
