Historical concerts
SHEFFIELD — The Sheffield Historical Society will present three Sunday afternoon concerts of historic recordings in the keeping rooms of three Sheffield 18th-century brick homes.
John-Arthur Miller, a professional musician and vice president of the society, has fashioned the programs on the salon musicales of the 18th and 19th centuries but with an interesting twist, presenting recorded music heard through early technology of Thomas Alva Edison.
Edison, born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847, started working on phonograph recordings and the machines to reproduce them in 1877. Although the technology started with cylinder recordings, the Edison disks or “re-creations†started becoming available in 1912, and all recordings ended with the demise of the company in 1929.
Miller said, “The opportunity to hear these recordings in the warmth of the keeping rooms in these homes allows people to experience history from across four centuries and two continents — a present-day gathering with the intimate feeling of the salon musicale of 17th-and-18th-century Europe in historic Sheffield homes of the same era, with musical technology of the early 20th century.â€
Light refreshments will be provided at each venue, which are as follows: Sunday, Jan. 18, 2 p.m., “Wine and Opera on the Old Edison,†recordings of operatic overtures, arias and ensembles from the early 1900s featuring Edison artists, including an aria rendition on the xylophone; Sunday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m., “Wine, Chocolate, and Love Songs with Your Valentine,†recordings of popular songs from the 1900s inspired by love and events of the times; Sunday, March 28, 2 p.m., “March Out Like a Lamb with John Philip Sousa,†recordings of some of the marches of Sousa as conducted by him with his orchestra, along with other military music of the times.
Ticket prices are as follows: minimum contribution for the three concert series, $75; minimum contribution for single concert, $30. Seating is limited. Reservations are recommended by calling 229-2694.
Informational meet
STOCKBRIDGE — The Stockbridge Community Preservation Committee will hold a public informational hearing at Town Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 6:30 p.m.
The committee will invite comments on the needs, possibilities and resources of the town regarding community preservation. It will also answer questions on its mission and the protocol for submitting proposals.
The Community Preservation Committee was established after Stockbridge adopted the state’s Community Preservation Act by ballot referendum in 2002. Its purpose is to oversee expenditures from the Community Preservation Fund, also established by adoption of the act.
The committee is authorized to make recommendations to town meeting, which must approve all expenditures. The fund budget for Fiscal 2005 is $150,000, a combination of money collected by the town and matched by the state.
Adult theater
GREAT BARRINGTON — Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, will host an experimental theater ensemble for adults (ages 18 and up) on Tuesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m., starting on Feb. 3 and continuing through April 27.
Bob Balogh will direct the group on an improvisational journey through experimental theater. Balogh, a veteran of the off-off-Broadway experimental theater circuit in New York, spent six years at Theatre 22 in Manhattan working as actor, director, producer, lighting designer and manager. In 2000, he earned the Sidney Armus Productions Award for his performance in “One Man Nixon†by Matthew Paris. He is currently a reporter for The Berkshire Record.
The goal of the program is to create an original play, with ensemble members developing characters and situations of conflict and resolution. The culmination of the ensemble’s work will be a live performance on May 4. The ensemble is free and open to the public, but advance registration is requested: 528-2810.
Coffee house
GREAT BARRINGTON — The Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire will present its second Brewed Awakenings Coffee House at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, at the United Methodist Church, 198 Main St.
Featured performers will be JoAnne Spies and the Bottom of the Bucket trio: Eric Martin, Stephen Enoch and Daniel Garrigan-Byerly.
Spies, who hails from Chicago, is a singer, songwriter, storyteller, guitar and accordion player. She has produced CDs of original blues, jazz and country tunes. She has also presented a multi-media show, “Me & Melville,†which has been performed in colleges and museums in the Northeast. Spies is on the Massachusetts Cultural Council Performing Roster.
Bottom of the Bucket musicians play traditional Irish, French Canadian, old-time Klezmer and New England music, as well as their own compositions on guitar, mandolin, penny whistle, bouzouki, foot percussion and more. They have been heard at Monterey Coffee House Series, Club Helsinki, local contra dances and various private venues. Their motto is: “You never know what you’ll find at the bottom of the bucketâ€
The evening will include an array of desserts, coffee, teas and cider. Doors will open at 7. The suggested donation is $10. A portion of the proceeds of this coffee house will go to the “Hands in Outreach†program, to which the meeting contributes funds. “Hands in Outreach†is a nonprofit educational sponsorship program for children in Nepal with a focus on helping female Nepalese and Tibetan children who, for cultural reason, are the least likely to have educational opportunities. Information: 528-4850.
Coat drive
LENOX —Twigs’ Kids in Lenox is collecting clean, reusable coats and jackets of all shapes and sizes to assist the One Warm Coat community service effort.
One Warm Coat is dedicated to distributing free usable coats directly to local children and adults. Coats of all sizes are welcome; children’s sizes are most needed.
Coats and jackets should be brought to Twigs’ Kids, 34 Church St., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. During the store’s winter hours, it will be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, through Jan. 31. The coats will be given to the Elizabeth Freeman Center in Pittsfield, a local women and children’s crisis center.
Since its inception in 1992, One Warm Coat has provided more than 90,000 coats to those in need. Twigs’ Kids specializes in clothing and accessories for sizes newborn to 14.
Correction
The air times of “Fun & Fitness with Delsie and Mary†were listed incorrectly in an item last week. The shows run on PCTV Channel 16 on Thursdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Fridays at 3:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
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Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
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