Hancock Shaker Village Upcoming Summer Events
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hancock Shaker Village’s 50th anniversary celebration continues through the summer with major special events, including a festive Gala and family-friendly Charter Day, the newly designed "A Young Shaker's Tour - For Kids Only!” and “Attic Access Tour,” woodworking workshops, and the “Return and Learn” series of lectures and workshops on a variety of Shaker-inspired topics. Other events include a book signing by author Ilyan Woo and a Limited Edition Shaker Button Box Signing by master artisan Steve Grasselli.Hancock Shaker Village is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for self-guided visits through Oct. 31. Hancock Shaker Village members and children 12 and younger are admitted free of charge. Admission for adults is $17 and youth visitors age 13 to 17 are admitted for $8. On Ten Dollar Tuesdays, admission for adults is $10. For more information, call 800-817-1137 or go to www.hancockshakervillage.org.
Special Events
Hancock Shaker Village 50th Anniversary Gala
Aug. 7, 5 p.m.
The celebration will honor the founders and friends who have been associated with the village during its first 50 years, and will look to the living history museum’s future. The evening kicks off with a preview of the exhibition "Simple Gifts: Contemporary Artists Celebrate the Shaker Legacy" in the Poultry House, and Shaker-inspired performances by Shakespeare and Company’s founder Tina Packer and the Cantilena Chamber Choir, with guest artist mezzo-soprano Deborah Rentz-Moore, in the Round Stone Barn. There also will be a Shaker-themed dinner catered by Savory Harvest Catering, followed by dancing to the music of The Brethren, a swing and jazz band featuring Jeff Link and Charlie Tokarz. Tickets range from $125 to $500 and may be purchased by calling Hancock Shaker Village at 413-443-0188, ext. 115.
Charter Day
Aug. 21, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Charter Day will be a family-friendly celebration of Hancock Shaker Village’s official "birthday" as living history museum. The day will include lawn games, wagon rides, Shaker story time and musical concerts for children by Mister G. Charter Day will also feature the world premiere of "Clara and Claire," a short play for young audiences written and directed by Juliane Hiam and conceived by Sharon Smullen. Two local 12-year-old actresses, Rebecca van der Meulen and Harper Glantz, will play girls from different places in time who have a magical, accidental meeting at Hancock Shaker Village.
Additional activities will include ongoing historical artifact and contemporary art exhibits, a community slideshow and a display of the founding documents, as well as regular daily tours and demonstrations. On Charter Day, admission is half-price ($8.50 for adults and $4 for youth visitors ages 13 to 17) and free for members and children 12 and younger.
New Tours
A Young Shaker's Tour - For Kids Only!
10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily
July 19 through Sept. 3
Rates: $10 for Non-HSV members/ $8 members
Children can now see the village through the eyes of a Shaker child - how they lived and played to where they went to school. This kids-only tour conducted by our senior interpreter for Child and Family Activities, includes a make-and-take craft, visits to areas of the village that show how Shaker children lived, including the Dwelling, Schoolhouse and Barn Complex. Children will be returned to their parents with a framed photo of them in Shaker costume. For children 6 to 12 years old.
Attic Access Tour
July 31, Aug. 14, Sept. 18 and Oct. 16
Rates: $27 for Non-HSV members; $24 for members
Presenters: Todd Burdick, Education Director, and Lesley Herzberg, Collections Manager
Ever want to go beyond those "Museum Staff Only" signs and see what's behind closed doors? Sign up for this special tour and you'll get to peek into the nooks and crannies of rarely seen areas, normally closed to the public, which feature unique Shaker architectural details and design styles well ahead of their time. The tour will also explore curatorial storage areas and view furniture and artifacts not on view to the general public. Tour runs approximately 90 minutes and includes upper floors and basements of three highlight buildings. Space is limited and reservations are required. Participants must be able to negotiate multiple sets of stairs (up to six stories); proper footwear required.
Book Signing And Limited Edition Shaker Button Box Signing
Book Signing and Reading
July 24, 1 p.m.
Ilyan Woo, "The Great Divorce"
The Great Divorce is a scandalous true tale involving a distraught mother, her errant husband, their missing children and the Shakers—a utopian society that is now best known for their furniture, but was something quite different in the formative years of American history. There was a time when married women had few rights of their own. In 1815, Eunice Hawley Chapman fought back, taking on her husband, the law and a reclusive religious sect known as the Shakers. She made history. This, for the first time, is her story. Published by Grove Atlantic. Paperback, $25.
At 2 p.m. following the book signing, there will be a dramatic reading of excerpts from "The Great Divorce" in the Brick Dwelling.
Limited Edition Shaker Button Box Signing
July 25, 3:30 p.m.
Steve Grasselli, Limited Edition Button Box Signing
Master box maker and artisan-in-residence Steve Grasselli will be dating, numbering and signing a limited edition of 50 Shaker button boxes created in honor of Hancock Shaker Village's 50th anniversary as a living history museum. The boxes are painted in an especially distinctive and significant “Antique Rose,” which was the color of the Horse Barn at Hancock Shaker Village from 1880-1905. The "pink barn" is noted in a number of Shaker journals of the day, and is being returned to its historic color this summer. This is a unique piece and supplies are limited; contact the Village Store at 413-443-0188, ext. 246 to reserve a signed and numbered work of Hancock craftsmanship and art. The box is $100.
“Return & Learn” Events
Lecture: "Integrating Shaker Style into Your Home"
July 29, 2 p.m.
Presenter: Gladys Montgomery, Editor, Berkshire Living Home and Garden Magazine
The Shakers were famous in the 19th century for their creativity, design, simple style and quality craftsmanship, and the Shaker aesthetic is still appealing to the world’s people today. Not only are original Shaker artifacts highly sought after in the antiques marketplace, but a wide variety of replicas, reproductions and adaptations of Shaker design are available as well. This session will help guide you as you learn about and discuss various approaches and ways to incorporate Shaker design and style into your home. Free to members or free with admission.
Lecture: "Modern Day Intentional Communities"
Aug. 4, 2 p.m.
Presenter: Daniel Greenberg, Executive Director, Living Routes
“Intentional Community” is an inclusive term describing a group of people who choose to live and strive together with a common vision. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Hancock Shaker Village is hosting a series of panel discussions with contemporary intentional communities.
Living Routes, based in Amherst, creates opportunities to purposefully live and learn within an international network of human-scale communities called “ecovillages”. These communities are based on a holistic view of sustainability, and “consciously strive to live well and lightly.” This presenter will give an overview of the goals, practices, mission and vision of Living Routes and the many different eco-villages. Free to members or free with admission.
Lecture & Book Signing: "The Locavore Way"
Aug. 8, 1 p.m.
Presenter: Amy Cotler
In this conversation with renowned culinary professional and farm-to-table advocate Amy Cotler, she will discuss the Locavore movement, which emphasizes the many benefits of local eating and seasonal cooking. A recognized pioneer in the field, Cotler was the founding director of Berkshire Grown, an early local farm and food advocacy organization that has become a national model. Copies of her recent book, The Locavore Way, will be available for sale and signing.
Tour: Metal Ware
Aug. 18, 2 p.m.
Presenter: Lesley Herzberg, Hancock Shaker Village Collections Manager
This “curator’s tour” offers a rare opportunity to examine up-close some original artifacts from the Hancock Shaker Village collection. Hand-forged iron hardware, copper kettles, tin ware, kitchen implements, cast iron woodstoves, and all types of hand tools…these are some of the heavy and not-so-heavy metal artifacts, designed and crafted by the Shakers, that you will learn about in this session. The tour will also include accounts of the Hancock Shakers’ iron ore mining operations, and a visit to the Village forge to talk with blacksmiths as they carry out their craft in the authentic setting. Free to members or free with admission.
Workshop: Sing like a Shaker (Family Fun!)
Aug. 27, 1 p.m.
Presenters: Todd Burdick, Hancock Shaker Village Director of Education, and HSV Staff Interpreters
Shaker worship has always intrigued the world’s people, since it incorporated not only praying, speaking and singing, but also dancing – called “exercises” and “laboring” by the believers themselves. Through motions and movements, such as bowing, bending, turning, marching, and shaking, the believers would “labor before the Lord.” This enthusiastic and energetic worship is what earned them the name Shaker. This program, great for all ages, will be held in the Meeting House, the authentic Shaker Sunday worship location during the warmer months. Led by Hancock Shaker Village staff dressed in Shaker costume, you’ll learn Shaker songs with accompanying motions, and be invited to sing-a-long with some Shaker tunes, including the well-known “Simple Gifts.” Free to members or free with admission.
"What’s it Worth?" An Informal Appraisal of Your Antique
Aug. 30, 2 p.m.
Presenter: Charlie Flint, Charles L. Flint Antiques Inc.
Ever wonder about the history, craftsmanship, and background of that antique harvest basket you use in your garden? Could that old framed painting you picked up for a song at a tag sale years ago perhaps actually be a hidden treasure? Did your grandma hand down to you an old, early American country-style ladder back chair, and have you wondered ever since if it could be Shaker-made? Bring in your item, whether Shaker or not, and this antiques expert will look it over, comment on it, and informally appraise it for you. Free to members or free with admission.
Workshops
Workshop: Shaker Oval Box Making Basics
Aug. 7 - 8 or Oct. 9 - 10, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day, maximum 10 students
Tuition: $200 HSV members / $220 nonmembers
Make your own nest of four boxes while learning to carve swallow tails, bend the box and install tops and bottoms with instructor Steve Grasselli. A great weekend for woodworking beginners to get a good start, and for experienced woodworkers to develop a new skill. No previous experience required. Tools and materials provided.
Workshop: Classic New England Side Table
Aug. 28 – 29, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day, maximum three students
Tuition: $585 HSV members / $650 nonmembers
A tapered-leg one-drawer stand, this design was utilized throughout New England and fits well in any home décor. This class offers the opportunity to learn two skill sets: building the table and hand dovetailing the single drawer. Your completed cherry side table will stand two-feet tall, 20 inches wide, and 16 inches deep. This course utilizes both machine and hand tools.
