Berkshire Grown to hold holiday farmers’ markets
Great Barrington — Berkshire Grown has announced that it will hold six holiday farmers’ markets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Saturdays of Nov. 18, Dec. 16, Jan. 13 and Feb. 17 at Monument Valley Regional Middle School; and on the Sundays of Nov. 19 and Dec. 17 at Williams College’s Towne Field House in Williamstown.
The markets will feature fun activities for kids, food for lunch and music in addition to showcasing the Berkshires’ bounty of vegetables, fruits, locally raised meats, breads, artisan cheeses, honey, fermented foods, baked goods, jam and more. New this year is the availability of the Healthy Incentives Program, in which Berkshire Grown is one of 40 Massachusetts nonprofits participating. HIP matches SNAP purchases of fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets, farm stands, mobile markets and CSAs, providing SNAP customers with extra dollars to spend every month.
Admission is free and SNAP/EBT benefits and HIP are accepted at all markets. For more information, contact Berkshire Grown at (413) 528-0041.
–E.E.
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Audubon Sharon announces departure of director
Sharon, Conn. — Audubon Sharon board chair Alexandra Peters has announced the departure of Audubon Sharon director Sean Grace, who will leave the center in December to assume his new role as president of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Pennsylvania.
Grace has led the Sharon facility for the past three and a half years. During Grace’s tenure, wildlife rehabilitation has been a significant area of growth for the center: Between 2014 and 2017, the number of wildlife patients in the rehabilitation center has increased three-fold. In addition to rehabilitation, Audubon Sharon is energetically involved in conservation efforts and conducts a year-round education program that includes a summer camp. Said Grace, “We’re also reaching into neighboring secondary schools and community programs to engage young people in conservation, rehabilitation and ecological studies. We have formed lasting bonds with the Millbrook Garden Club, grown our annual fundraising programs, expanded our forestry program to have positive wildlife influence on over 150,000 acres and done habitat assessments on 114 individual properties.”
The Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the center of a worldwide network of scientists, educators and researchers dedicated to raptor conservation. Grace will assume the role of president Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.
–E.E.
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Dorset Theatre Festival expands year-round leadership team
Dorset, Vt. — Following the success of its 40th anniversary season, Dorset Theatre Festival is expanding its year-round leadership team. Producing director Will Rucker, general manager Marissa Hutton and marketing manager Natalie Redmond join artistic director Dina Janis to develop DTF’s artistic, financial and brand sustainability.
Rucker first came to the DTF in 2016 as a stage manager and returned in 2017 to stage manage for the DTF productions of “Downstairs” and “The Legend of Georgia McBride.” As a stage manager in New York City, Rucker’s various nonprofit, educational, and commercial credits include the Atlantic Theatre Company, the Working Theater and the Playwrights Realm. As a theatre educator, he has been a guest artist at the Yale School of Drama, New York City’s New School for Drama and has taught Shakespeare and improvisation in Virginia juvenile correction centers. He received a master’s degree in stage management from the Yale School of Drama, where he was an artistic director of the Yale Cabaret.
Hutton joined DTF for its 40th season as company manager. Outside of her work at DTF, Hutton is an arts professional and dance maker whose projects include “The Dead” at Irish Repertory Theatre; “The Hairy Ape” and “An Occupation of Loss” at Park Avenue Armory; and the FreePlay Project. Her recent performances and choreography includes “Hush Up Sweet Charlotte” at Performatica, Mexico; and “Do You Know These People” at Movement Research, “Super Natural” at Creators Collective and the Tank’s xyz nyc series in New York City.
Redmond has been with DTF since February 2017. She has previously worked in marketing departments at Trinity Repertory Company, Chautauqua Theater Company and Detroit Public Theatre. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and theatre from Rochester College in Michigan.
–E.E.
