Cultural Pittsfield: Sept. 4-10

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Friday: Jump In! Opening Reception

Friday night, check out the wonderful new exhibition at the Lichtenstein organized by the Housatonic River Museum! Jump In! features photographs, paintings, sculpture and writing inspired by the waters in our region and the premiere of A Sound Map of The Housatonic, a commissioned sound installation by internationally recognizd Annea Lockwood. Water-related music and dance presentations, readings, talks and walks will complement the artful offerings at the gallery.


Friday, Sept 4 | 5:30-8pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renne Ave | 499-9348 | FREE

Click here to visit the Housatonic River Museum website and find out more!

Friday: Live Music From the Ladies

Rebel Sound Records brings us a female-focused punk night Friday, featuring Foreign Bodies, an excellent female-fronted punk band from Canada, the Boston band Foreign Objects, plus Gift Horse and the all-female Gimlet Slip.....let's show them Western MASS rocks!  Also on Friday night, see Kate Klim (pictured left) perform at Mission Bar and Tapas.  The Boston Herald called her "an angel-voiced balladeer and a best bet for folk-pop stardom."

Punk Show
| Friday, Sept 4 | 7pm | Rebel Sound Records | 146-A North Street | $7/$6-students w/ID
 


Kate Klim
| Friday, Sept 4 | 8pm | Mission Bar and Tapas | 438 North St | $10

Click here to visit Kate Klim's website.

Fri-Sun: Last Weekend of Freud’s Last Session

Freud’s Last Session is now the longest running play in Barrington Stage's history! This is your last weekend to see it, so  order your tickets now before they’re all gone! Don’t miss your last chance to see what Berkshire Fine Arts calls “an evening of genius.” Plus take home a piece of BSC history today! Bound copies of Freud's Last Session scripts are on sale now.  Scripts may be purchased at Stage 2 the night of performances or at the Mainstage Gift Shop for just $10. Copies signed by playwright Mark St. Germain, Mark H. Dold (C. S. Lewis) and Martin Rayner (Sigmund Freud) are available for $15. 

Friday, Sept. 4 at 7:30pm| Saturday, Sept 5 at 8pm | Sunday, Sept 6 at 3pm | Barrington Stage 2 | 36 Linden St
| 236-8888 | $25/$30-Sat
Click here to read the Boston Globe's feature on Freud's Last Session.

Fri & Sat: Bill Finn's amazing talent show!

Narrated by William Finn and sung by a cast of six, this is a Labor Day weekend celebration of extraordinary new songs and favorite Musical Theatre Lab numbers. Finn shares with the audience what makes a good lyric, why some work and others don’t—you’ll feel as if you’re in a master class in songwriting taught by the master himself. Two nights only—don’t miss out! A very special evening of great music, great songs and much merriment!

Fri & Sat, Sept 4 & 5 | 8pm | Barrington Stage Company | 30 Union St | 236-8888 | $35  

Click here to buy your tickets NOW for Barrington Stage productions this weekend.

Sat & Sun: Memory is the Mother of All Wisdom

Be one of the first in the world to see Memory Is The Mother Of All Wisdom, a two-person comic tragedy musical about the troubled relationship of a woman who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and her estranged daughter who moves back home to Brighton Beach to take care of her. "Funny and heartbreaking. Moving in many unimaginable ways. This is a story of a mother and daughter trying gamely to hold on to what they remember of each other. It's amazing how painful hilarious can be." - Bill Finn, Curator, BSC Musical Theatre Lab.  


Saturday, Sept 5 at 4pm| Sunday, Sept 6 at 7pm | Barrington Stage 2 | 36 Linden St
| 236-8888 | $15-suggested donation

Clcik here to read more about Memory is the Mother of All Wisdom.

Saturday: Northampton comes to Pittsfield

Saturday, the Storefront Artist Project opens RANGE, a group exhibition featuring Northampton-based emerging artists.  This artists’ exchange calls across the geographic divide between Pittsfield and Northampton – cultivating a new communication for each of the towns’ emerging art communities – to extend the physical area where their work is seen.

Saturday, Sept 5 | 6-8pm | Storefront Artist Project | 124 Fenn St | 442-7201 | FREE

Click here to read more about RANGE.

Sat: Acoustic Music Works concert

Acoustic Music Works hosts an evening with John Keller, who writes songs that have souls of their own and paints characters and images in your mind so clearly that it's almost like he draws the audience into the story. Acoustic Music Works, a production of Revolution 9 Media and Three Salamanders in conjunction with The Micro Theater, is on the first and third Saturday of every month in downtown Pittsfield.


Saturday, Sept 5 | 7:30pm | The Micro Theater | 311 North St | $5

Click here to visit John Keller's MySpace page!

Wed & Thurs: Pottery Classes @ the Lichtenstein

A new session of Jim Horsford’s very popular wheel throwing pottery classes begins September 9th and 10th! This 6 week session includes 12 hours of instruction on the potter's wheel, plus glazing!  One 2-hour class per week: four sessions to choose from.


Wednesdays and Thursdays | 3:30-5:30pm, or 6:30-8:30pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 243-3261 | $175 includes all materials

Click here to visit Jim Horsford's website

Wed: Tai Chi Classes @ the Lichtenstein

Learn the traditional Chinese martial art known as Tai Chi. Whether you would like to practice for good health, longevity, or just for fun, anyone is welcomed to come out and enjoy this martial art.  Jim Pullaro teaches Tai Chi classes on Wednesday nights for beginning and advanced students.  


Wednesday, Sept 9-Nov 25th| Beginner-5:30pm /Advanced-7pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 446-0534 | $144 for 12 weeks

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Thurs: Maggie Mailer Artist Talk

As a culmination of a two-month Berkshire Museum residency, artist Maggie Mailer discusses the work she made on-site in July and August, now on display in their BerkshireBase Gallery, with Berkshire Museum Director Stuart Chase. In 2002, Mailer founded the Storefront Artist Project, a literal and metaphorical interface between artists and the public. The project engaged artists to set up studio practice in commercial storefronts, which provided artists with a continuing presence in the public mind. 


Thursday, Sept 10 | 7pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South St |
443-7171 | FREE

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Lanesborough Passes FY 2027 Budget, Warrant Articles

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town meeting on Tuesday approved an almost $14 million fiscal 2027 budget, and approved bylaws for short-term rentals and signage, and for public safety vehicles. 
 
Of the 20 warrant articles, one, Article 7, to use free cash to pay prior fiscal year bills of $941.27 was indefinitely postponed by Moderator David Rolle because the bills were for the fire association.
 
Some 247 of the town's more than 2,600 registered voters filled Lanesborough Elementary School, debating articles during a meeting that lasted more than three hours. 
 
The town's 2027 spending plan is up more than 10 percent, with the main increases from higher enrollment in the regional schools and the McCann Technical School renovation project.
 
Voters approved the assessment of $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School. They also approved Article 11, which was the use of $16,298.48 in free cash for the McCann's roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. 
 
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. Article 5 asked the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses, which passed.
 
Fire Chief Jeff DeChaine spoke to the audience on his articles and the need for a new truck to replace the 1996 fire truck, listed on the warrant articles for a total $813,366, which includes a $100,000 contingency cost on whether a 2026 model-year chassis can be secured before new emissions standards in 2027. If they get the 2026 chassis, that contingency likely won't be needed.
 
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