During the workshop, guest choreographers Becky and Jamal Ahamad, Community Works alums and creators of the dance troupe dysFUNK, will show how movement tells a story.
Tag: Columbia County
Alan Chartock: Carmi Rapport, THE lawyer
I am sure that everyone reading this will know someone who has made an indelible impression on their community and their lives.
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Greylock expands to Hudson; Downtown Pittsfield ambassadors; Villages of the Berkshires grant; Jacob’s Pillow commission; new Mezze co-cowners
Villages of the Berkshires is launching an effort to provide volunteer services such as friendly visitors or companionship, local transportation, technology support, and basic household repairs and assistance to seniors in the Berkshires.
Bits & Bytes: ‘Corona Diary’; Crystal Radio Sessions Upstate; Wild Air movies
The featured reading is “Too Young for The Blues” by Chatham-based playwright and author Wesley Brown.
Bits & Bytes: Gedney Farm sculpture show; Hershey Felder livestream; photography workshop; intergenerational conversation series; virtual staged reading
Gedney Farm exhibits sculpture by artist Susan Clinard New Marlborough — On Saturday, July 11, from 1 to 8 p.m., Gedney Farm will host an opening reception for “Reflection on Our Times,” a show of sculpture by New Haven, Connecticut, artist Susan Clinard. Award-winning artist Clinard’s emotionally provocative work has been exhibited in public domains
‘Horrific’: Neighbors alarmed at proposed Egremont cannabis store
Some attendees were also concerned that their property values would decline if a cannabis store was located near them, or that long lines would be difficult to manage.
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Grant for the Mount; tree planting at Hawthorne Valley; Rogers joins VIM; Salisbury Bank promotes MacArthur; new BCC staff
As mission chief to Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cape Verde, Burundi and Eritrea, Rogers led IMF’s financial negotiations and annual country consultations, and helped design economic and financial policy frameworks to promote sustainable economic growth.
Bits & Bytes: Drop-in yoga; graphic novel workshop; Young Writers’ Contest winners; BCC dean’s list
The contest was open to writers in grades nine through 12 attending schools or homeschooled in Columbia County as well as Berkshire County in Massachusetts.
Bits & Bytes: ‘Unfinished Business’ at Bernay Fine Art; Berkshire Museum’s ‘Visual Voice’; garden design talk; traditional music concert
The illustrated talk will focus on practical techniques for creating and managing naturalistic plantings at a size that’s feasible for the home gardener in terms of both labor and expense.
Forced out as fire chief, fined by state ethics panel, Skorput seeks to reclaim seat on select board
In the last 12 months, some of the board’s meetings have been standing-room-only and the manners among some attendees have been anything but mild.
Bits & Bytes: virtual Wild Thing trail race; BSC Bash; ‘Real People, Real Stories: Redux’; Virtual Act-Athon for Kids
Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary’s Wild Thing trail race Lenox — Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary’s fifth annual Wild Thing 5K/10K trail race and 5K walk Wednesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 28. The format of this year’s race has changed due to COVID-19, making it possible for racers to participate from wherever they are. The 5K
Deadly Berkshire copperheads
If people are terrified of snakes, they report all kinds of bogus nonsense in the event that they encounter one.
Bits & Bytes: Juneteenth virtual reading; RYSE in October; ‘Ride for Roots Rising’; virtual staged reading
To help support the market, Roots Rising has launched the socially distant bike ride challenge “Ride for Roots Rising.”
West Stockbridge voters have a choice to make on June 29
In a letter to the editor, Roger Kavanagh writes, “As a project manager and team leader, I worked with diverse groups from all organizational levels who often had conflicting agendas.”
BUSINESS BRIEFS: ‘Reimagining America’ series; COVID-19, mental health webinar; HDC artist funding; Olmstead Awards for schools
Williams College has announced its 2020 bicentennial Olmsted Awards for Faculty and Curricular Development.
David C. King, 86, of Hillsdale, N.Y.
David was an award-winning author of more than 80 history, biography and culture studies books for children and young adults.
Remembering the ‘great’ Great Barrington tornado 25 years later
The National Weather Service reported that debris was carried more than 45 miles to the northeast in Belchertown, where a fairgrounds racing ticket was found along with white corrugated plastic roofing material.
Alan Chartock: I Publius. The wonder of Tanglewood
Tanglewood, of course, is not the whole story. COVID-19 is killing the arts scene in the Berkshires.
Stolen car in Great Barrington involved in three crashes
Around 7 a.m. the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in New York notified authorities in Massachusetts that a damaged vehicle matching the wanted car had crashed into a culvert in Hillsdale.
Bits & Bytes: ‘In the Meantime’; IPPY Award for Bergman; virtual staged reading; young playwrights program
Mac-Haydn Theatre launches ‘In the Meantime’ webcast series Chatham, N.Y. — Mac-Haydn Theatre has announced the launch of “In the Meantime,” a weekly webcast series hosted by producing artistic director John Saunders, as part of the Mac-Haydn Online virtual programming initiative. The series will premiere Friday, May 22, at noon and continue subsequent Fridays at
BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on The Sweetish Baker, opening a retail bakery in Great Barrington
While Jensen will miss her Saturdays at the farmers’ market, she is excited for the next chapter and the flavors of spring.
Bits & Bytes: Frontline workers video; Mass Audubon Bird-a-thon; Olana Eye skycam
Participants will select bird observation spots such as windows, backyards or green spaces within short walking or biking distance from their homes.
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Successful People’s Pantry fundraiser; NPC Breakfast Club; GBHS grant; McReady joins Lever board; new Hawthorne Valley school director
The award will allow Great Barrington Historical Society to address needed repairs to windows in the main farmhouse as well as an entry door and windows in the wagon house addition.
Light at the end of the quarantine tunnel?
The Massachusetts state government has asked camps to hang tight and wait for all the guidance to be finalized before making decisions about opening or closing, and Gov. Baker has said his administration’s guidelines will be out by Monday, May 18.
Orioles in the Berkshires: An embarrassment of riches
Local orioles are hard to miss, even when they streak by your window and all you see is an orange blur.
Bits & Bytes: Shakespeare book launch; #ArtWeekAtHome; Mother’s Day video series; virtual staged reading
The reimagined format replaces the original ArtWeek, which would have featured almost 800 creative events in over 170 communities across the state, including many free events for families, children, residents and visitors.
Hummingbirds have arrived in the Northeast
Their ability to fly backward and upside-down at the same time puts these birds in a class apart from all other avian species.
Bits & Bytes: ‘Branches’ livestream; ‘Home Is 2020’ call for art; virtual staged reading
Since it is not currently possible to gather at the museum due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the workshops have been reimagined and the public is invited to make art on the meaning of home while they are at home.
Bits & Bytes: Online poetry reading; ‘Birds in Crisis’ talk; virtual open mic night
The presentation will explain some of the factors behind the 30% drop in bird numbers since 1970, the prognosis for birds in the face of future climate change, and the things that can be done to help birds cope with the challenges they face.
Bits & Bytes: Pet food drive-through; Virtual Staged Readings Series; tranquil music for the community
The pet foodbank is one of the programs Berkshire Humane Society offers to help keep pets in their homes and out of the shelter.
April showers bring May flowers: Amongst downpour of bad news, kindness blossoms
Kindness has been as contagious as spring fever.
EDITORIAL: We are all in this together
It has been said before that a crisis brings out the best and the worst in people. We see it in our leaders in Washington, some of whom are using the COVID-19 pandemic for their own political benefit, while disreputable online retailers are engaging in price gouging on critical supplies. But there are also acts