St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
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Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
Mt. Greylock Grad Featured at New Williamstown Gallery
By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff 01:38AM / Friday, January 02, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown Realty Group is joining the growing trend of offering up excess wall space for local artists.
It opens its new Upstairs Gallery on Saturday, Jan. 3, from 6 to 9 featuring works by Williamstown resident Alexis Rosasco.
Kim Burnham of Williamstown Realty said a conversation with a friend sparked the idea. The group already had the perfect location — a small finished loft space that wasn't being used.
"We're trying to focus on young emerging artists by giving them someplace to exhibit," said Burnham recently, standing in the space with Alexis Rosasco and her mother, Pam Rosasco. "We didn't need the space and that makes this doable ... It's better utilized as a gallery."
The mission of the gallery is to support up-and-coming artists in Williamstown by giving them a place to exhibit their work and cultivate an audience.
That means budding artists like Rosasco, a junior at School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Tufts University, have an opportunity to show their efforts to the wider community.
This will be 2006 Mount Greylock Regional High School graduate's first exhibit outside of school. Her featured works include photography, drawings and mixed media, but it's obvious that her inclination is toward charcoal and pencil works of animals.
Some of Alexis Rosasco's photographs at the Upstairs Gallery. Top, Rosasco poses with Boo
That's in part because of Boo, a pit bull who "fell into my lap," she said. Rosasco and her boyfriend found him a bad part of town. "He was in pretty bad shape so we took him to the hospital and then I took him home."
While Rosasco helped Boo, he helped her break through a difficult drawing block, providing her with inspiration that can be seen in her charcoal drawings "Play with Me" and "Fallen Angel."
"I really like working in charcoal, there's something really intimate about it," she said.
Rosasco works in still lifes, too, but animals appear most frequently in her drawings, reflective of her work as a wildlife rescuer and animal activist.
Her interest in drawing began in childhood ("I started at Friendly's with crayons and I refused to stay inside the lines") and she's planning a career in art, possibly in teaching or as a full-time artist. She's already sold some works.
While the reason for the gallery is to give young creative residents like Rosasco a leg up on reaching a wide audience, it's also a way to keep a prime location energized and complement Mezze Restaurant and The Browns next door. Not to mention draw people into the realty group's offices.
"One hand helps the other," said Burnham.
The gallery will be open weekdays from 10 to 4 during business hours; residents are invited to drop in. The group expects to feature on artist a month. Young Williamstown artists interested in exhibiting in the space should contact the realty group, which hopes to feature an artist each month.
The community is invited to attend the opening reception for Rosasco on Saturday.
"It's a way to celebrate artistry and gather people together," said Burnham.