Hoopla Happening for World Hoop Day

By Joe DurwinPittsfield Correspondent
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World Hoop Day will be celebrated locally at the Berkshire Mall, where anyone can learn how to make a hoop or try 'hooping.'

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A hoopla of sorts will ensue in the Berkshire Mall's food court Wednesday night as local hoop enthusiasts join the 8-year-old international phenomenon of World Hoop Day.  

"I'm always looking for ways of tricking people into moving their bodies," said dance artist Stefanie Weber, who organized the local event. "Because it seems like that's what you kind of have to do.  Hooping has been a really great way to do that."

Weber is a "World Hoop Ambassador," and has received grant funding through the national World Hoop Day nonprofit to bring hoops to Kenya for a second year in a row later this month, as part of a dance outreach effort called They Dance for Rain.  

"In my sort of humble efforts to represent hooping in a whole other country, I thought it would be nice to have something here also, to kind of celebrate the day," she said.

Weber said the interest in hooping she's encountered here spans a wide age range.

"For an older generation, there are these memories of being a child, and things being fun, and life being light in the '50s and the '60s," said Weber, "And then there's a whole new generation of hoopers that are serious athletes and artists, and have really created a new contemporary dance form from it."



Weber previously had organized the Pittsfield City Hoopla events, held in the summer from 2009-2011, but said for various reasons it was not feasible to hold this year. The mall event for World Hoop Day, which has events this year in more than 60 countries, she said offered an opportunity to celebrate the art in a more organic way in a place that tends to be crowded during this time of the season.

"We'll just have some people hooping, and see what happens," said Webber, who will also have materials on hand to be able to demonstrate how to make a hoop. Hoops made by participants will travel with her to Nairobi, Kenya, for distribution next week.

"There's always people that are a little shy, don't necessarily want to hoop but maybe want to hang out and be involved, or are kind of crafty and want to learn how to do it."

World Hoop Day began on 5/5/05, and has shifted a month and a day each year to stay with the theme.  Weber said she's not sure how the organization will proceed with scheduling in future years, now that the celebration has reached 12/12/12.

The event is free and open to all ages, and will be held at the mall food court from 6 to 9 p.m.  

Weber said she is bringing along local photographer Monica Pizzichemi to document her upcoming dance ambassadorship, and the two will be looking for local venues for presenting the results of the trip when she returns in order to continue the circle of intercultural sharing about dance.


Tags: fun stuff,   hooping,   

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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