Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Nov. 2-8

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Jesse Tobin Out of the Rubble  

Friday: First Fridays Artswalk!

You're invited to come out and explore Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District's shops, restaurants and galleries to check out artwork by dozens of talented local artists, including Jesse Tobin, pictured left! Click here for a map and the full list of exhibitors.

Friday, November 2 | 5pm-8pm | Upstreet Cultural District | 413-499-9348 | FREE


Wee Read  

Friday: WeeRead Pajama Party at Berkshire Museum

Wear your favorite set of PJs and get cozy at the Berkshire Museum for a night of storytelling and reading. Each gallery will feature a different storyteller. Special guest readers include Senator Ben Downing, State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and Berkshire Museum Executive Director Van Shields. Families will receive free copies of each book read, while supplies last. All ages are welcome, with their parents accompanying them.

Friday, November 2 | 6pm-9pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South St. | 413-443-7171 | FREE


Eagles Band  

Friday: Free Eagles Band Concert @ The Colonial!

The Eagles Band Wind Symphony celebrates 76 years of performance in Berkshire County with a free concert. The concert will feature the Eagles' 50-piece Wind Symphony and 16-piece Big Band.  Members of the band range in age from 12 to 85, with skill levels of intermediate to expert. Tickets to this event are free, but must be reserved in advance; it's a sellout every year!

Friday, November 2 | 7pm | The Colonial Theatre | 111 South St. | 413-997-4444 | FREE 


Jungle Work  

Friday: Jungle Work at Flavours

Jungle Work will be rocking the house at Flavours of Malaysia. The blues & funk power five-some features an eclectic assortment of musical backgrounds covering the dirtiest blues and funk and writing powerful original blues work. For adults 21 and over.

Friday, November 2 | 10pm | Flavours of Malaysia | 75 North Street | 413-443-3188 | $5


Entomology Workshop  

Saturdays:  Insect Workshop for Kids!

This three-Saturday Dr. Augie's Science Workshop allows students to explore the world of bugs by observing, dissecting, drawing and discussing live insects with the tutelage of Lisa Provencher, a professional entomologist. With the help of microscopes, participants will learn how to use dichotomous keys to identify insects and their kin.  For ages 8 to 14 years old.  All supplies included.

Saturdays, November 3, 10 & 17 | 9am-1:30pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renne Avenue | 413-499-0692 | $100 


Ballroom Dancing  

Saturday: A Night of Dancing at the Masonic Temple

Berkshire Ballroom Dancers/USA Dance host this night of dancing, featuring ballroom dancing and light refreshments. Music by DJs Esther & Irving Mindlin will kick off the dance party at 7:45pm. The Mindlins will also provide free, basic swing lessons prior to that at 7pm.

Saturday, November 3 | 7pm-11pm | Masonic Temple | 116 South Street | 413-684-1510 | general admission $5-$13, USA Dance members $9, students $5


Ronan Tynan  

Saturday: Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan at The Colonial

Irish audiences recognize him as a member of The Irish Tenors, while American audiences consider him most famous for his renditions of God Bless America at Yankee Stadium during important New York Yankees games. Ronan Tynan was a member of The Irish Tenors until he left to pursue his solo career in May 2004. In this same year, he sang New York, New York at Belmont Stakes and less than a week later he was at the Washington National Cathedral for former United States President Ronald Reagan's state funeral, where he sang Amazing Grace and Franz Schubert's Ave Maria.

Saturday, November 3 | 8pm | Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $30-$55


Brian Scolaro  

Saturday: ZipStohr Comedy Show!

ZipStohr's popular Comedy at the Plaza series is back after a five month hiatus.  Starring stand up comedian, actor and writer Brian Scolaro (pictured left), Last Comic Standing semifinalist Nick Cobb, and actor/comedian Tim Homayoon.  Advanced tickets are available at RJ Stohr Diamonds & Fine Jewelry.  For adults 18 and older with proper ID.  No admittance after 8pm. 

Saturday, November 3 | 8pm | Crowne Plaza 1 West Street | 413-822-2247 | $25


Wuthering Heights  

Saturday & Monday: Wuthering Heights at the Little Cinema

A fresh and radically distinct take on Emily Brontё's classic novel from British director Andrea Arnold, one of contemporary cinema's most unique voices. In this adaptation, Arnold forgoes period frills and a sweeping score and strips Brontё's story to the root of youthful passion, restoring its stark power for a contemporary audience. The LA Times says, "Andrea Arnold brings earthy realism, and a racial element, to Heathcliff and Cathy's tale with Solomon Glave and Shannon Beer making impressive debuts as the young pair.”

Saturday & Monday, November 3 & 5 | Sat 4:30pm & 7pm; Mon 1:30pm & 7pm | Little Cinema | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5


Potholder Rug Workshop  

Sunday & Monday: Crispina Potholder Rug Weaving Workshop

Learn how to weave Crispina Ffrench's thick and deliciously soft potholder rugs from recycled wool sweaters or tshirts. Crispina's unique clothing and home goods fashioned out of beautifully recycled materials are collected and sold internationally and have been featured in the New York Times, Cottage Living, the Los Angeles Times, New York magazine, Country Home and elsewhere. The use of all tools, materials, and lunch is included. No experience necessary! Pre-registration required as class size is limited.

Sunday &/or Monday, November 4 &/or 5 | 10am-5pm | Shire City Sanctuary | 40 Melville Street | 413-236-9600 | $160 per day


Shadows in Paradise  

Sunday:  Shadows in Paradise: Hitler's Exiles in Hollywood

The documentary Shadows in Paradise presents the story of the exiled German and Austrian composers and writers who fled Hitler and ended up in Hollywood, California. Director Peter Rosen will lead a post-screening Q&A. Presented in partnership with Close Encounters with Music.

Sunday, November 4 | 2pm | Little Cinema | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 x 10 | $15


Swan Lake  

Sunday & Tuesday: Swan Lake at Little Cinema

The battle between white and black swan unfolds in Swan Lake, surely the greatest of all Romantic ballets. Tchaikovsky's haunting music heightens the steps of prima ballerina Zenaida Yanowsky in this definitive production from the Royal Ballet on the big screen, with choreography by Marius Petipa and production by Anthony Dowell.

Sunday & Tuesday, November 4 & 6 | 7pm | Little Cinema | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 x 10 | $14/members $12.50 


Vote  

Tuesday:  It's Election Day!

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do that is by not voting.”  —Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Tuesday is Election Day!  Your vote counts so get out and do it.  Click here for Pittsfield polling locations. It's part of our American culture.

Tuesday, November 6 | 7am-8pm | Pittsfield Polling Locations | 413-499-9460


 
NaNoWriMo  

Tuesday & Wednesday+: NaNoWriMo!

November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo all over the country. Last year over 250,000 people particpated! In Berkshire County kick off the month at a NaNoWriMo Edition of the Writers Room at YBar,  followed by a series of write-ins at the Berkshire Athenaeum.  More than 90 novels begun during NaNoWriMo have since been published, including Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and Cinder by Marissa Meyer, all #1 New York Times best sellers.

Tuesday & Wednesday, November 6 & 7 | Tues 8pm Wed 1pm-7pm | Y Bar & Berkshire Athenaeum | 391 North Street & One Wendell Avenue | www.nanowrimo.org | NO COVER


Henry IV  

Thursday+:  Henry IV at Taconic High School

Taconic Theatre presents Henry IV, Part 1 as part of the Fall Festival of Shakespeare.  Henry IV, Part I depicts a span of history that begins with Harry "Hotspur" Percy's battle at Homildon against the Scots late in 1402 and ends with the defeat of the rebels at Shrewsbury in the middle of 1403.

Thursday & Friday, November 8 & 9 | 7pm | Taconic Theatre | 96 Valentine Road | 413-448-9634 | $7


If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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