Lenox - The Last Temptation of Mirza: a montage of original comedy and personal reflection featuring Shazia Mirza, the internationally renowned Muslim stand-up comic, comes to the Berkshires as part of the "Voices from the Edge" speakers series; sponsored by What is Enlightenment? magazine.
On Monday, February 14, 7:30pm at Foxhollow Forum, Route 7, Lenox, MA. Tickets: $12, students $5, available at the door. For more information log on to www.wie.org/voices or call 413.637.6000. Reservations strongly recommended since space is limited.
Shazia Mirza is available for interviews through Hope Cohen, 413.637.6060 or hcohen@wie.org.
The world’s premier Muslim comedienne, Britain's Shazia Mirza, is making her Berkshire debut performing her stand-up act "The Last Temptation of Mirza," which highlights her unique experience as an observant Muslim woman and comic. Presented by the Voices from the Edge speakers series, this event is a rare opportunity to engage with Mirza in an intimate setting. The evening will begin with a stand-up performance, followed by an audience question/answer period, and then end with a reception.
2004 was the "Year of Shazia Mirza." Exploding onto the international media's radar screen, she was: chosen as one of the Women of the Year by The Guardian, one of England's most prestigious daily newspapers; picked as one of the Women to Watch by Marie Claire magazine; interviewed by Ed Bradley on CBS's 60 Minutes; and featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and dozens of international magazines, newspapers, and TV programs around the world. Why all the attention for the 27-year-old British-born Pakistani comic? The answer is obvious once you meet her.
Shazia Mirza is not your ordinary stand-up comic. She's a practicing Muslim, devoted to her traditions and culture. She's also, like many women her age, a devotee of popular music, pop culture, and fashion. Then again, unlike most people her age—let alone any stand-up comic—she maintains Islam's strict prohibitions against drinking, smoking, and dating before marriage.
Directing her deadpan observations not only at her own cultural traditions and faith, but also at the stereotypical views of Muslim people that entered the Western psyche post 9/11, Shazia has a unique appeal to both East and West. Her ability to embody paradox and still be wildly funny and outrageous is why Mirza is a rising star.
This is also the reason she was invited to be a “speaker†for Voices from the Edge. The international speakers series, sponsored by What Is Enlightenment? magazine, presents thought leaders and visionaries from all walks of life with a mission to challenge their audience to stretch beyond familiar ways of thinking.
"I was struck by Shazia's fearless candor. She is walking an edge between Islam and the West as a young Muslim woman doing stand-up comedy,†says Mary Adams, director of the Voices from the Edge series. “Although she is not a 'speaker' as such, I feel she is definitely a 'voice from the edge'."
Mirza’s routines are an original combination of cultural observations, commentary and comedy.
About the male gaze: "I was walking past this building site in Mecca when a group of
Muslim builders shouted, 'Show us your . . . face.' "
About arranged marriages: "My friend Julie says, 'How can you sleep with someone you don't know?'
-- but she does it all the time."
For more information about Shazia's Berkshires appearance visit the Voices from the Edge website at www.wie.org/voices or call Foxhollow Forum at 413.637.6000. For more information about Shazia Mirza and her upcoming 2005 tour of Pakistan, Australia, USA, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, visit her official website at www.shaziamirza.org.
"The packed crowd always explodes with laughter and applause…"
Aliza Marcus, The Boston Globe
"In the global menagerie of comedy Mirza is that rarest of rare creatures…"
Marshall Sella, The New York Times Sunday Magazine
What Is Enlightenment? magazine (WIE) is published quarterly by What Is Enlightenment? Press, a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to a revolution in human consciousness and culture. WIE also sponsors the Voices from the Edge speakers series which offers an annual calendar of lectures and seminars featuring innovative thinkers and prominent leaders in various fields of expertise. WIE has an international readership of 75,000 and is celebrating its thirteenth year in print. www.wie.org
Foxhollow Forum, the international base for Voices from the Edge, is an elegant turn-of-the-century speaking venue. Drawing to the podium those pathfinders who are expressing the visions and values of an emerging global culture, The Forum also functions as a conference center for events related to the work of author and evolutionary philosopher Andrew Cohen, founder of WIE magazine and the Voices speakers series.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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