Berkshire Grown Winter Farmers Market Season Begins!
Great Barrington— The first in the season of six indoor Winter Farmers Markets will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Housy Dome (Housatonic is a village of Great Barrington) on Saturday, November 19, and run through Saturday, April 15, 2023. The North Adams/Williamstown Winter Farmers Market will take place at Greylock WORKS on Sunday, November 20 and Sunday, December 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
We are extremely grateful to our Winter Farmers Market sponsors: the Berkshire Food Co-op, Jane Iredale, Rolling Rock Salt, Ed Herrington, Inc., the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives at Williams College, Berkshire Property Agents, Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, Lee Bank, Marty’s Local, MountainOne, and the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies. We also thank the Town of Great Barrington for its support in our use of the Housy Dome as a market venue, and Greylock WORKS for hosting the North Adams/Williamstown Winter Farmers Markets, and deep appreciation to the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture for its support of the Winter Farmers Markets.
All markets feature locally-grown and produced foods. Admission is free. Current Covid-19 regulations require social distancing. Masks encouraged. SNAP and HIP Benefits are accepted at all markets. 1:1 Market Match is available up to $25 at each market.
Visit https://berkshiregrown.org/public-engagement-events/winter-farmers-markets-2022-2023/for updates on Winter Farmer Markets, including returning and new vendors.
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Flying Cloud Institute Appoints Liliana Atanacio as Afterschool Educator
Great Barrington— Flying Cloud Institute (FCI) has hired Liliana Atanacio as an Afterschool Science and Art Educator. In this role, Liliana will lead afterschool Girls Science Clubs and MakerSpaces, as well as in-school residencies, and work with the FCI team to inspire the next generation of artists and engineers. She brings a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of multiple disciplines and the ability to analyze systems and incorporate critical thinking to create positive and inspiring change.
Flying Cloud Institute’s mission is to inspire young people and educators through dynamic experiences with science and art that ignite creativity. FCI offers an array of programs in the arts and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) that serve over 2,000 youth and local educators annually. More information can be found at flyingcloudinstitute.org.
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MCLA Appoints Dr. Jean Clarke-Mitchell, Ph.D., to the Board of Trustees
North Adams— MCLA announces that Dr. Jean Clarke-Mitchell ‘00, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Lesley University has been nominated to the MCLA Board of Trustees. She is also in her second term on the MCLA Foundation Board.
Dr. Clarke-Mitchell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), who served as the Clinical Director of the Elizabeth Freeman Center, and an Outpatient Clinician at The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. With over 20 years of experience in the clinical field and over 10 years in academia, Dr. Clarke-Mitchell looks forward to participating on the board. Dr. Clarke-Mitchell has an extensive resume in social justice activism and working with community organizations including the Rights of Passage and Empowerment (R.O.P.E.) Program as a senior mentor.
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Lenox Library Awarded Grant
Lenox— Community One Stop for Growth is a single application portal that provides a streamlined, collaborative review process of 12 state grant programs that fund economic development projects related to community capacity building, planning and zoning, site preparation, building construction, and infrastructure. Altogether, this round of the One Stop is awarding more than $143 million in grant awards to support 337 local economic development projects in 169 communities.
The Rural and Small Town Development Fund Awards Celebration took place on November 9 in the Lenox Library Reading Room, attended by Secretary Mike Kennealy, Undersecretary Ashley Stolba, Assistant Secretary Juan Vega, Lenox Town Manager Christopher J. Ketchen, and other state and local officials. Lenox Library has been awarded a grant to upgrade the library building and systems.
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Silver Therapeutics Rebrands
Williamstown— Silver Therapeutics, a New-England based cannabis company with stores in Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, announces today a full-scale rebrand to reflect the expansion of the brand into more retail locations, their state-of-the-art cultivation operations in Maine and Massachusetts, and a new cannabis education center coming in 2023.
Silver Therapeutics of Massachusetts operates three dispensaries in Williamstown, Palmer (opening Spring 2023) and in late 2023, will open City Farm, a retail dispensary and social equity campus that will provide a platform for folks to learn every component of a vertical cannabis business. The company will open one of the first recreational dispensaries of Vermont in Bennington in late 2022.
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Lenox Library Association Seeks Book Donations for 2023 Annual Book Sale
Lenox— The Lenox Library Association is accepting book donations for its next book sale, to be held Labor Day weekend of 2023. Each year, the sale offers more than 7000 books in over 30 categories. All proceeds benefit the Lenox Library’s many services and programs. The community’s support through donations and volunteer hours is greatly appreciated.
The book sale committee welcomes hardcover and paperback books in very good condition, as well as CDs. Due to space limitations, the committee asks that donors review its guidelines, which describe what can and cannot be accepted; the guidelines can be found on the library’s website at lenoxlib.org/support/booksale.
Donations can be dropped off at the book sale donation space at the Lee Premium Outlets (Store 450, across from Tommy Hilfiger) on Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon.
For complete information, visit our Book Sale website page, pick up a flyer at the main desk of the Lenox Library or contact Nancy Cohen, Book Sale Director, at 413-652-1327 or nancycohen1112@gmail.com.
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Housatonic Water to Hold Informational Meeting on Manganese Pilot Study
Great Barrington— Housatonic Water Works invites customers to join an informational Zoom meeting on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. to hear an update on HWW’s manganese removal pilot study.
The meeting will also include information about issues affecting levels of haloacetic acid that have been detected in the HWW water system.
The meeting link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88339634831. To join by phone: (929) 205-6099. The webinar ID is 883 3963 4831. The meeting can also be accessed on the HWW website here.
To simplify meeting access, the town has also posted the event on the town calendar with live links to log-in information.
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Salisbury Bank Starts Annual “We Believe” Toy Drive
Salisbury— Salisbury Bank announces the start of its “We Believe” Toy Drive and asks the community to join them in bringing holiday magic to children. Together, we can help make this a very special time of year for local children who would otherwise not experience the joy of the holiday season.You can drop off new, unwrapped gifts at any of Salisbury Bank’s fourteen offices by December 9th.
Gift ideas include, but are not limited to, sports equipment and balls, books, board games, hand-held electronic games, backpacks, building sets, craft kits, purses, and cosmetics. Additionally, gift cards to local retailers are always an excellent option.
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Mac-Haydn Theatre Awarded $10,000 in Recovery Funding From New York State Council on the Arts
Chatham— The Mac-Haydn Theatre has received a Regrowth and Capacity grant of $10,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts. The grant will go toward the organization’s COVID-19 costs, as the Chatham theatre continues its ongoing recovery from pandemic challenges.
After shuttering for the entirety of its 2020 season, the Mac-Haydn reopened in July of 2021 and recently concluded its first full, 4-month season back since 2019 this past summer. COVID-19-related expenses have ranged from PPE, to company-wide weekly antigen testing, to COVID Compliance Officer Certification Training.
For more information on the Mac-Haydn and its current projects, please visit www.machaydntheatre.org.
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Greylock Promotes O’Neil to Vice President, Market Manager
Pittsfield— Greylock Federal Credit Union is proud to announce the promotion of Jennifer O’Neil to the role of Vice President, Market Manager. In this position, she will oversee a number of branches in the southern Berkshires and Columbia County, New York.
Jennifer joined Greylock in 2003 as a Member Services Representative and most recently served as the Lee Branch Manager. She attended Salve Regina University and currently volunteers as the Vice President of the Lee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
