PITTSFIELD – The Berkshire Museum will offer the annual Festival of Trees Family Night on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The evening includes hands-on activities and live entertainment from the Silver Swimmers, Todd Reynolds and Yo-Yo People.
Family Night admission is $9 adults, $7.50 seniors ages 65 and up, and $6 children ages 3-19 ($5/$4/$3 for members). Families may pay a maximum price of $25 ($15 members) for the evening. Children under 3 are admitted free of charge. Tickets to the 7 p.m. performance by Yo-Yo People are included in admission and are available while supplies last.
The Festival of Trees "On the Move" is sponsored by Legacy Banks.
Throughout the evening, the Silver Swimmers will move through the festival, accompanied by the music of Reynolds. The Silver Swimmers are a roving street-type performance ensemble based in Western Massachusetts. Dressed in originally designed early 1900s-era swimming costumes and bathing hats, completely covered in silver body paint, they silently "swim" against the pressure of absent water.
The ensemble's premise is a crossover in dimensions: the Silver Swimmers live in a land in which the qualities of air and water are reversed and have broken through the fabric of reality to arrive in our world. Unaware of this fact, the swimmers seem unable to see the mesmerised crowds, and sometimes catch the passers-by in their "bubbles."
Violinist and composer Reynolds is known as an innovator of what he calls "present music." A longtime member of Bang On A Can and the Steve Reich Ensemble, Reynolds performs everything from avant-garde classical music to jazz to rock 'n' roll. He's toured nationally and internationally with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, John Cale, Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren, Kenny Werner and Betty Buckley.
Yo-Yo People will perform in the museum theater at 7 p.m. YoYo People are the husband-and-wife duo of John Higby and Rebecca Loomis Higby. Their show brings back the yo-yo, using old tricks such as Walk the Dog and Rock the Baby, then moves on to new and bizarre tricks, such as Boingy-Boingy and Iron Whip. Yo-yos attached to bouncy balls, yo-yos with 10-foot strings, and multiple yo-yos looping while hula hooping and unicycling are just some of their feats.
YoYo People have performed at hundreds of venues around the world. Their many television appearances include "The Late Show With David Letterman," Comedy Central's "Just For Laughs Gala" starring Tom Arnold, "The Slammer" on BBC and "America's Got Talent."
"On the Move" marks the 23rd year of the Festival of Trees. The exhibition this year will feature more than 200 trees from the community, all in the theme of transportation, as well as a model train display, tin windup toys, and antique modes of transport from the Museum’s own collection. The festival is open from Saturday, Nov. 17, to Monday, Dec. 31. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the museum's educational programs.
The museum is at 39 South St.(Route 7). The galleries are open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays noon to 5. For more information, (413) 443-7171, Ext. 10, or berkshiremuseum.org.
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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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