Friday: Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade Benefit Show at Chameleons

Chameleons Nightclub hosts a benefit concert for Pittsfield's Independence Day Parade. Performances begin at 8pm with The Shane Daoust Project, continuing throughout the night with Amerikan Citizens, Fate Forgotten, Exovox and Suffer Die, among others. Best of all, it's open to all ages!

Friday, June 8 | 7pm | Chameleons | 1350 East St | 413-499-2582 | 21+ $5, under 21 $8

Friday-Monday: First Position at the Little Cinema

The Little Cinema presents the award-winning documentary First Position at the Berkshire Museum. Bess Kargman's First Position follows six young dancers as they prepare for a chance to enter the world of professional ballet, struggling through bloodied feet, near exhaustion and debilitating injuries while navigating the drama of adolescence. Click HERE to watch a trailer of First Position. Shown in English, Spanish, French & Hebrew with English subtitles.

Friday-Monday, June 8-11 | 7pm, Mon 2pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5

Saturday & Sunday: Oval Box Basics Workshop

Visit Hancock Shaker Village and make your own nest of four boxes while learning to carve swallow tails, bend the box, and install tops and bottoms with instructor Steve Grasselli. No previous experience required. Tools and materials provided.

Saturday & Sunday, June 9 & 10 | 10am–4pm | Hancock Shaker Village | 1843 West Housatonic Street | 413-443-0188 | $220

Saturday: Ballroom Dancing at the Masonic Temple

Berkshire Ballroom Dancers/USA Dance host this night of dancing, featuring ballroom dancing and a free, light refreshments. Music by DJ Bob Englert will kick off the dance party at 7:45pm. Englert will also provide free, basic cha-cha lessons prior to that at 7pm.

Saturday, June 9 | 7pm–11pm | Masonic Temple | 116 South Street | 413-684-1510 | $13, USA Dance members $9, students $5

Saturday: Relay For Life Dance Party

Methodists in Motion present a dance party to raise funds for Relay for Life at Bousquet Ski Area . DJ James Hall will provide music for the event, which will include free munchies and a cash bar. 

Saturday, June 9 | 7:30pm-10:30pm | Bousquet Ski Area | 101 Dan Fox Drive | 413-445-5918 | $10

Sunday & Tuesday: Peter Grimes at the Little Cinema

The Little Cinema presents Teatro alla Scala's production of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes at the Berkshire Museum. Set in a drab fishing village, Peter Grimes tells the story of a man accused by his neighbors of committing unspeakable crimes, and the question of whether those accusations and their consequences are just. Click HERE to watch a clip from Teatro alla Scala's Peter Grimes. 

Sunday & Tuesday, June 10 & 12 | Sun 2pm, Tue 7pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5

Sunday & Wednesday: Michelle Lewis & Tor Krautter at Mission

Mission Bar + Tapas presents folk performer Michelle Lewis and acoustic rock singer Tor Krautter, as part of its WordXWord Singer-Songwriters series of live music performances. Click HERE to listen to Michelle Lewis. Lewis (at left) writes intensely visual songs, rich with melodic texture and emotional depth. She performs with an unmistakable swagger, too refined to call folk and too personal to call pop. With the use of a looping unit, Krautter—who is the frontman for the popular local band Rev Tor—creates tasty yet infectious grooves allowing him to build the song and improvise over it as he goes.

Sunday & Wednesday, June 10 & 13 | 9pm-10pm | Mission Bar + Tapas | 438 North Street | No phone | No cover

Wednesday & Thursday: Fiddler on the Roof Previews!

Barrington Stage Company opens its 2012 season at its Mainstage with a production of Fiddler on the Roof, the Tony Award-winning American musical. This performance will make you laugh out loud and it will move you to tears, with songs like Matchmaker, Matchmaker; If I Were a Rich Man; and Sunrise, Sunset. Best of all, the tickets for the first two preview nights are just $15!

Wednesday, June 13 7pm & Thursday, June 14 8pm | Barrington Stage Company | 30 Union Street | 413-236-8888 | $15

Wednesday: Raekwon at The Colonial

The Colonial Theatre presents Raekwon,  member of one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time: the Wu-Tang Clan. Nearly two decades in the rap game, Raekwon is the bridge between legendary artists of the past and a new crop of MCs. With an ever-growing fan base, his music places him on the forefront of hip hop's elite. Raekwon has lent his talents to fellow rap artists Kanye West, Bun B, Fat Joe and even Justin Beiber. Currently, he is collaborating with Wu Brothers, Ghostface Killah and Method Man.

Wednesday, June 13 | 7:30pm | The Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $20-$55

Thursday: Classic Movie Night Fundraiser of Fourth of July Parade

The Pittsfield Parade Committee hosts a very fun fundraiser for the annual Independence Day Parade, featuring a screening of the classic film Casablanca at the Beacon Cinema (in homage to the parade's Movie Classics theme this year!) and the announcement of this year's Grand Marshal. Attendees will walk the red carpet with WBRK radio personalities Cheryl Tripp Cleveland and Rich Whitman as hosts, enjoy appetizers served by Brenda and Co. Catering, participate in a silent auction and more, all for a great cause.

Thursday, June 14 | 6pm | Beacon Cinema | 57 North Street | 413-447-7763 | $30 per person, $50 per couple

Thursday: PechaKucha Night #2

Berkshire Museum hosts the second installment of the only PechaKucha Night in the Berkshires. PechaKucha Night sbring creative minds together for a night of inspiration, networking and fun, plus snacks  & free beer provided by Pittsfield's own Wandering Star Craft Brewery! Expect lively presentations on a wide variety of subjects, and enjoy the ride!

Thursday, June 14 | 7pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5, museum members FREE

Thursday: Death and the Maiden

New Stage Performing Arts Center presents the acclaimed Death and the Maiden, a taught psychological thriller that deals with the scars left as a country transitions from tyranny to democracy. Death and the Maiden tells the story of Paulina, a woman who was tortured and raped by the old fascist regime. When her husband brings home a new friend, she knows instantly from hearing the man's voice that he was her torturer.

Thursday-Sunday, June 14-July 1 | Thur-Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm | New Stage Performing Arts Center | 55 North Street | 413-418-0999 | $20