‘The Barrington Stage Experience’ celebrates 25 years of Berkshire theater history
Pittsfield — Barrington Stage Company has announce the opening of “The Barrington Stage Experience,” an interactive lobby exhibit that allows visitors to view highlights of the 25-year journey from its beginnings in Sheffield to the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage on Union Street and its new administrative offices at the Wolfson Theatre Center at 122 North St. Visitors can go behind the scenes, learn how a production is put together, and gain insight into BSC’s education programs and community engagement. Located in the Rhoda and Morris Levitt Lobby, the Barrington Stage Experience includes history, production highlights, interviews and more.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during daily operation hours of noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
–E.E.
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BCC to offer cannabis certificate program, info sessions
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College is launching a one-year cannabis certificate program designed to provide students with skills and knowledge to work professionally in the areas of cannabis cultivation, processing, preparation, retail and outreach. Prepared by foundational courses in business, communication, biopsychology and horticulture, students will receive specific training through cannabis-related labs and lectures as well as an accompanying practicum at Berkshire Roots, BCC’s educational cannabis industry partner.
BCC will host two information sessions about the new program: Thursday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 26, at 6 p.m. in Melville room 317 at the main campus. Classes begin Tuesday, Sept. 3. Students must be 21 years old to enter the program.
–E.E.
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Railroad Street Youth Project announces fall apprenticeships
Great Barrington — Railroad Street Youth Project has announced the fall round of opportunities in its Apprenticeship Program. The program offers local youth ages 14-25 the chance to get hands-on career experience while they have fun and make connections. The opportunities include:
- Animal care with Bow Meow Regency beginning Thursday, Sept. 12, for eight weeks;
- Photography with local artist Tamara Schlesinger beginning Friday, Oct. 11, for six weeks;
- Culinary arts at John Andrews Farmhouse Restaurant with chef Dan Smith beginning Monday, Sept. 30, for eight weeks; and
- Culinary arts at the Tap House at Shaker Mill with Main Street Hospitality Group beginning Tuesday, Oct. 15, for eight weeks.
For more information, contact RSYP apprenticeship coordinator Nancy Villalobos at nancy@rsyp.org.
–E.E.
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Salisbury Bank donates to Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Great Barrington — The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire has announced that Salisbury Bank has made a $5,000 grant to the CDCSB, funding its work building low-moderate income housing and creating jobs in the Berkshires. The grant will support the organization by growing its general fund to expand staff and further the nonprofit’s work helping families and individuals in the southern Berkshire region.
“There continues to be a need for affordable housing in our local communities and we are pleased to support the work of the CDCSB and similar organizations who are taking steps to meet that need,” said Rick Cantele, president and CEO of Salisbury Bank. “Reinvestment in our communities through contributions, sponsorships and volunteer work has been, and will continue to be, a vital part of who we are as an organization.”
–E.E.
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Hawthorne Valley welcomes inaugural Place Corps cohort
Ghent, N.Y. — The Hawthorne Valley Association has announced the launch of Place Corps, a collaborative initiative with the Good Work Institute. The first cohort of eight students recently arrived at the homestead at Hawthorne Valley Farm.
The program formally began at the end of June with the cohort taking part in the Omega Institute’s Ecological Literacy Immersion Program, which utilizes workshops, field trips and design processes led by multiple educators to look at the patterns and principles that underlie all living systems to address challenges in today’s world. Each participant received certification in permaculture design at the completion of the four-week course.
Place Corps is a gap year program with the mission to help students to know, love and serve their places. The curriculum is a mixture of practical hands-on courses like carpentry, sewing and fermentation; workshops and seminars on a variety of topics related to regenerative living; and independent study in an area of each student’s interest. The students also have the opportunity to develop the program’s homestead as they live and work together.
The Place Corps program seeks to have students learn in an organoleptic manner, that is, utilize all their five senses. Through practical work, creative practice, and academic study, the students will explore concepts and practices such as regenerative agriculture, mindfulness, zero waste, communications and whole-systems living.
–E.E.
