‘The Barefoot Contessa’ in Great Barrington
Great Barrington – On Sunday, December 13 at 1 p.m., Food Network will air “A Barefoot Holiday,” a television special featuring the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten and shot on location in the Berkshires. The show will spotlight a holiday getaway to Great Barrington, where Garten and her husband Jeffrey kick off the holiday season with a weekend of festive food featuring a Berkshires-inspired lunch. Robin’s Candy will air the show on a large-screen TV provided by Tune Street and will offer complimentary samples of some of the sweets featured in the broadcast: sugar plums; hand-pulled, chocolate truffle-stuffed candy canes, dark chocolate Sicilian almonds, and more.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Concert Choir to present ‘Voices of Christmas’
Lenox — The women of the Berkshire Concert Choir will perform a Christmas program at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum on Sunday, December 13 at 2 p.m. followed by a Victorian tea.
Led by conductor Paula Nuss and accompanied by Aurora Cooper, the 18-woman ensemble of sopranos and altos will sing a wide range of songs including the 10-movement “Ceremony of Carols” by Benjamin Britten, “Ave Maria” by Jacob Arcadelt, “The Sleigh” by Richard Kountz, “How far Is It to Bethlehem,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Quem Pastores,” and “Silent Night.” The group has rehearsed for the last six months in preparation for the concert.
Tickets for the Tea and Concert are $22 in advance and $27 the day of the event. Reservations are recommended as seating is limited. For information or reservations, call Ventfort Hall at (413) 637-3206 or email info@gildedage.org.
–E.E.
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BHS’ third annual ‘100 Cats for Christmas’
Pittsfield — A grant from the Massachusetts Animal Coalition’s license plate program will support Berkshire Humane Society’s (BHS) “100 Cats for Christmas” on Thursday, December 17. “100 Cats for Christmas” is BHS’s largest and most successful low-cost spay and neuter effort for kittens and cats.
Residents of Berkshire County who are interested in participating must complete a registration form at BHS and pay a non-refundable $25 fee that includes surgery and a rabies vaccination. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
On the morning of “100 Cats for Christmas,” cats will be dropped off at pre-designated locations. BHS staff and volunteers will then drive the cats to their appointments and return them for owner pick-up in the afternoon. All cats must be in secure carriers with proper identification.
This year’s participating veterinarians include Pittsfield Veterinary Hospital, Greylock Animal Hospital, Lenox Cat Hospital, and South Street Veterinary Services. For more information about the program, contact Erin Starsja at (413) 447-7878 x124.
–E.E.
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BCC to host Western Mass. FIRST Tech Challenge League
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College (BCC) and Berkshire Innovation Center will host the first of several meets for the newly formed Western Massachusetts FIRST (For Inspiration of Science & Technology) Tech Challenge League on Saturday, December 12 from 9 a.m. – noon in the Berkshire Community College cafeteria in the lower level of the Susan B. Anthony Center. The First Tech Challenge (FTC) program builds on the success of the Berkshire FIRST Lego League Robotics program for 8- to 14-year-olds that has been running in Berkshire County for the past 17 years.
Each year FIRST releases a new game with fresh challenges to excite and engage students through hands-on robotics competition. The 2015-16 game, FIRST® RES-QSM, is modeled after actual rescue situations faced by mountain explorers all over the globe. Randomly selected two-team alliances are created and work together to score points by completing such tasks as “resetting” rescue beacons, delivering rescue climbers to a shelter, and parking in the rescue beacon repair zone or floor goal. Robots may also score points by retrieving debris from the playing field and placing it in mountain or floor goals or by hanging from a pull-up bar during the last 30-seconds of a match.
The western Massachusetts teams slated to compete include Mad McCannics of Charles H. McCann Technical School, Enginuity of Lenox Memorial High School, the Hurricanes of Miss Hall’s School, Eagle Empire and Higgs Bots of Mt. Everett Regional High School, and TLD Robotics of St. Joseph Central High School.
Deerfield Academy will host the second league meet on Saturday, January 9, 2016 and the final meet will be held at BCC on Saturday, January 23 2016.
Teams competing in the three meets of the Western Massachusetts FTC League will be qualifying to compete in state and regional tournaments in February and March with the hopes of participating in Super Regionals and the World Championship in March and April.
–E.E.
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Salisbury Bank’s annual ‘We Believe’ program
Lakeville, Conn. – Salisbury Bank is celebrating the holiday with its “We Believe” program. The program, now in its 30th year, aims to help children by collecting and distributing toys to the local communities served by the bank.
Salisbury Bank invites all who are interested to place new, unwrapped toys, books, or games for children aged 0 – mid-teens underneath the tree at any of its 13 offices by Tuesday, December 13 to be delivered by Christmas Day.
–E.E.
