MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Aug. 28-Sept. 3
10:33AM / Friday, August 28, 2015
Print | Email  

Office of Cultural Development | City of Pittsfield
 
 

 
It's our birthday! Going into our 9th year of building community through exceptional coffee and sustainable food, all day long we will be giving away Dottie's Gear and merchandise. Come and celebrate. We love and thank all of you that have been supporting us for so many years. Join us for a dance party with DJ BFG from 9-11Click here for more information.  
  
Friday, August 28 | Dottie's Coffee Lounge | 444 North Street | 413-443-1792 | NO COVER


This is the opening reception for a solo show of photographs by award-winning photographer John Stanmeyer. Powered Narratives includes 15 large-scale images from diverse locations: Turkey, China, Indonesia, Uganda, India. The photographs take us to the far reaches of the world and passionately communicate complex issues we face on this planet. Stanmeyer's voice as a photojournalist is forceful, dynamic, and compelling; he creates visual narratives that fuel stories about topics that matter.  The show will be on display through Sunday, November 8.   

Friday, August 28 | 5:30pm-7:30pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $10 adult, $5 child, free for Museum members

 
This is the last weekend of this play.  Based on actual historical incidents culled from both written and oral history sources, I Am Pittsfield: The Immigrant Century explores the struggles and triumphs of successive waves of ethnic immigrants - Irish, African-American, French-Canadian, Polish and Italian - who arrived and settled in Pittsfield during the period 1840 - 1940. The play is set in Pittsfield locations ranging from the city's  Underground Railroad Network to Pittsfield's burgeoning mid-nineteenth century woolen and cotton mills, to family homes in ethnic Pittsfield neighborhoods. "I Am Pittsfield" honors the achievements of the city's diverse founders, both famous and obscure.
 
Friday & Saturday, August 28 & 29 | 7pm | Arrowhead | 780 Holmes Road | 413-442-1793 | $15-$25

 
It's summer in New England and every weekend is someone else's engagement party. The wildflowers, specialty cocktails and artisanal appetizers are perfectly Instagram-ready. When reality looks this good, who cares if it's all an illusion? Definitely not Lauren,  the unforgettable anti-heroine of this pitch-black anti-romantic comedy, a midsummer night's dream about the conflicted Millennial generation.
 
Friday-Sunday, August 28-30 | Fri 7:30pm Sat 4pm & 7:30pm Sun 3pm | Barrington Stage Company | St. Germain Mainstage | 36 Linden Street | 413-236-8888 | $40+

 
In this adaptation of the autobiographical writings of Arab-Israeli author and journalist Sayed Kashua, gifted Eyad, a Palestinian Israeli boy, is given the chance to go to a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem. As he desperately tries to fit in with his Jewish schoolmates and within Israeli society, Eyad develops a friendship with another outsider, Jonathan, a boy suffering from muscular dystrophy, and gradually becomes part of the home Jonathan shares with his mother, Edna. After falling in love with Naomi, a Jewish girl, he leaves school when their relationship is uncovered, and he discovers that he will have to sacrifice his identity in order to be accepted. Faced with a choice, Eyad will have to make a decision that will change his life forever. 
 
Friday- Monday, August 28-31 | Fri - Mon 7:30pm, Sat 10am, Mon 1:30pm | Berkshire Museum | Little Cinema | 39 South Street |413-443-7171 | $5 Museum Members, $7.50 Museum Non Members


Editor Walter Burns will do anything to find an ace reporter cunning enough to scoop a story in the cutthroat Chicago press world, even if that means turning to his ex-wife, Hildy Johnson, who comes back to the newsroom one last time before leaving the game for good. In Guare's adaptation, the play takes place in 1939, the day before war breaks out in Europe, which adds a political framework to the otherwise antic proceedings.
 
Friday-Sunday, August 28-30 | Fri 2pm & 8pm Sat 8pm Sun 5pm | Barrington Stage Company | Boyd-Quinson Mainstage | 30 Union Street | 413-236-8888 | $20+

 
Come get fresh with us! Get your weekly fill of pasture-raised meats, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, baked goods, coffee, wine, cut flowers, plants and more. Leanne Yinger, from Kira's Kitchen will join us with a chef demo and tasting... come see what she is cooking up! At noon we will play a bit of trivia to find out how well you have gotten to know our vendors... and there will be prizes! From 11am to 1pm live music by Sam n' Andi. Shoppers will find pasture-raised meats, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, baked goods, coffee, wine, cut flowers, and plants, as well as beautiful artisan wares. The Market will run rain or shine.  SNAP (EBT/Food Stamps) accepted.

Saturdays through October 31 | 9am-1pm | The Common | 1st Street and Eagle Street | info@farmersmarketpittsfield.org | NO COVER


You're invited to the Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity ReStore GRAND OPENING at the new location, with a ribbon cutting at 9:00 am, treats, and celebratory deals every hour until 5:00 pm.

Saturday, August 29 | 9am-5pm | Berkshire Habitat ReStore | 399 Hubbard Ave | 413-443-2106| NO COVER 


This 5k (wet) run or 1 mile walk benefits the community programs to reduce heroin and substance abuse risk for our youth. There will be at least 1 water "attraction" each mile of the 5K course to "refresh" you!  Raffle prizes for participants including a pair of Boston Bruins Tickets!

Click here to pre-register.

Saturday, August 29 | 9am | Pittsfield High School | 300 East Ave | 413-344-4472  | $25 general admission, $10 students


Try out an instrument in our Instrument Petting Zoo. Meet our inspired and talented faculty. Visit a sample class for kids and our Suzuki string program. Bring your friends and those you know would benefit from more music in their lives. Refreshments and FREE.
 
Saturday, August 29 | 10am | Berkshire Music School | 30 Wendell Ave | 413-442-1411  | FREE


Gary Smith, co-curator of Immortal Present: Art and East Asia, will give an illustrated slide lecture exploring how the ideal of personal expression in art began in Asia hundreds of years earlier than in the West as seen in works by Van Gogh and Jackson Pollack. By the 11thcentury, Chinese literati artists had developed a theory and practice of painting in which execution and brushwork were seen as means through which artists expressed their personal character, feelings, and thoughts. Smith will review the history and development of Chinese ink painting in this mode, in works by Ni Zan, Wang Meng, Shitao, and others, as well as compare it to the expressionist movement in Western art.

Saturday, August 29 | 10am-11am |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with museum admission


Join us for science fun with wacky and wild experiments. All experiments are kid safe and can be recreated using items found in almost any kitchen. Each session will feature different experiments. Seating is limited, so reservations are requested: call 413.443.7171 ext. 360. Included with regular Museum admission.

Saturday, August 29 | 11am-12:15pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with museum admission


Works of art from $1-$2000, from etchings to monotypes to block prints to figure drawings to ink drawings to photo prints, cards, leather rings, bookmarks and, of course, hand bound books. Come by, get a tour of the studio, enjoy a cold beverage, bask in the company of good people, and buy some art.

Saturday- Sunday, August 29-30 | 12pm-5pm | MVB Studio | 703 West Housatonic Street| NO COVER

 
Help prepare enticing feasts for the turtles, fish, chameleon, and even the blue-tongue skink in the Aquarium!
 
Saturday, August 29 | 12:30pm-1:30pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with museum admission


Arlo Guthrie will be signing copies of his newest children's book, "Old Bill the Famous Moose." Illustrated by Kathy Garren, the book tells the story of the moose who roamed the Berkshire Hills and became a legend. Copies of the book will be available to purchase in the Museum Shop.

Saturday, August 29 | 1:30pm-2:30pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with museum admission


The pleasures and perils of the third chapter in plays, poems, prose, and song. A Theatrical Collage by Annette Miller, featuring Joy Franz, Annette Miller and Joan Coombs. Musical direction by Matti Kovler. All proceeds of this event benefit BTG's scholarship program.

Saturday, August 29 | 7pm | Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $25


Stateless is a poignant documentary that tells the story of thousands of Soviet Jews who left the former Soviet Union only to find themselves stranded in Italy for months until finally allowed entry into the USA. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with local community members and emigres who were part of the Berkshire Jewish Community's resettlement effort. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshire in collaboration with the Berkshire Immigrant Center.

Sunday, August 30 | 2pm-3:45pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5 


On Sunday, August 30 at 2pm, Town Players of Pittsfield will present two readings at the Whitney Center for the Arts. The first will be a romantic comedy, "Thread Count" written by Lisa Soland. What could possibly instigate a love match between a NYC luxury linen sales clerk and a practical, down-to -earth woman from North Dakota?
 
The second will be a story written and read by Richard Matturro from his collection "Porch of the Maidens". "Electra" is about a young woman who, after the death of her beloved father, seeks the destruction of her mother.
 
Sunday, August 30 | 2pm | Whitney Center for the Arts | 42 Wendell Ave | 413-443-0289 | $5

 
Go behind-the-scenes in some of Hancock Shaker Village's most significant historic buildings, including the Laundry & Machine Shop and the Brick Dwelling. Learn about Shaker architecture and material culture as you explore rarely seen areas of the Village.
Sunday, August 30 | 2:30pm | Hancock Shaker Village | 1843 West Housatonic Street | 413-443-0188 | $30, 27 for members, includes general admission


Folk songs from Woody Guthrie to David Byrne. You first saw David as the musical virtuoso in Southern Comfort. Along with Andy Teirstein and Helen J. Russell, two other multi-talented musicians, this trio will rock the cabaret with some of the best 20th century folk music. "Rehearsing is cheating" is the mantra of this banjo-stringing, harmonica-playing trio. Fiddilicious good times guaranteed. Join us afterward for an informal roof-raising hootenanny!

Sunday - Monday, August 30 - 31 | 8pm | Barrington Stage Company | 36 Linden Street | 413-236-8888 | $35


The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires' Connecting with Community series welcomes Maggie Bittman, therapist, as she leads and facilitates a group discussion about "The Process of Aging."  These discussions are opened to anyone interested in sharing in this universal topic.  This is a monthly program, and the discussions broadly range from "Should I Remain in My Home or Downsize" to "Aloneness" to "Staying Active in Your Community".  Suggestions for topics are welcomed.  This free program is part of the Federation's Connecting With Community Series and will be followed by a kosher hot lunch.

Monday, August 31 | 10:45am-12pm | Temple Anshe Amunim | 26 Broad Street | 413-442-5910 | FREE

 
Town Players of Pittsfield will be holding auditions on Tuesday, September 1 and Wednesday, September 2 for a staged reading of "Professor's Roth's Will", a drama written by Joe Starzyk.
 
Needed for principal roles in the cast are two males and two females between 40 and 55. Additional roles are available for males in their 40s and 50s and females in their 30s and 40s. This staged reading will be presented on Sept. 27.
 
Tuesday & Wednesday, September 1 & 2 | 7pm | Whitney Center for the Arts | 42 Wendell Ave | 413-443-0289 | FREE


Get cuffed, Berkshires! The Berkshire Health Systems Community Outreach Van visits at the library's Wendell Avenue entrance and professional staff on the van offer free Blood Pressure Screenings. No appointment necessary. Sponsored by Berkshire Health Systems and the Berkshire Athenaeum.
 
Wednesday, September 2 | 10am | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Ave | 413-499-9480 | FREE

 
Learn to dance salsa, merengue and bachata while you have fun, make new friends and lose weight as you learn to dance or brush up on your skills and learn new moves. If you are looking to learn how to dance in a friendly, structured and consistent format, then this course is for you.
 
Wednesday, September 2 | 8pm | Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness | 55 North Street | 413-418-4001 | $10 per class, $70 for 8-week cycle

Thursday: Knitting Circle at Dotties

 

Meet with like-minded knitters at this open circle. All levels are welcome. This group meets every Thursday, from 2pm-4pm.

 

Thursday, September 3 | 2pm-4pm | Dottie's Coffee Lounge | 444 North Street | 413-443-1792 | NO COVER


The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires' Connecting with Community series will be joined by nutritionist, Deb Phillips, who will speak about maintaining healthy eating habits. Focusing on summer in the Berkshires, Phillips will show how local residents are fortunate to have opportunities to eat locally, support sustainable agriculture, and to buy foods from local farm markets that are situated throughout the county. 

Thursday, September 3 | 10:45am-12pm | Congregation Knesset Israel | 16 Colt Road | 413-445-4872 | FREE
Fan Us On Facebook!        Follow Us On Twitter!

 

Comments
More Featured Stories
Pittsfield.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 106 Main Sreet, P.O. Box 1787 North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2008 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved