Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Jan. 11-17

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Poetry Workshop at Moments House  

Friday+:  Poetry Workshops 

Facilitated by Carol StrollMoments House offers a free workshop in poetry to help those impacted by a cancer diagnosis in any way cope. There is no judgment and no expectations during these workshops. Poetry can serve as a guide to self-knowledge; this workshop is meant to help utilize that.

Fridays in January | 3pm-4pm | Moments House | 194 Fenn Street | 413-443-6800 | Free


In Another Country  

Friday-Monday:  In Another Country at the Little Cinema

In Another Country stars legendary French actressIsabelle Huppert in the first English-language film from South Korean master Hong Sang-soo.  In a triptych of overlapping stories, three different French women (a filmmaker, an adulterer and a divorcee — Huppert, Huppert and… Huppert) visit a small Korean resort town and encounter a flirtatious director, a lovestruck lifeguard and far too much soju.  In Another Country is an effortless, laugh-out-loud comedy that plays like a lost French New Wave classic.

Friday-Monday, January 11-14 | Fri-Mon 7pm + Mon 1:30pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5


Sweater Chop Shop  

Saturday:  Sweater Chop Shop at Shire City Sanctuary

There are a couple spots open for the Sweater Chop Shop, taught by renowned artist and green entrepreneur Crispina ffrench. Leave with a sweater that you made from start to finish in JUST ONE day! Tuition includes the use of all tools and materials. No experience necessary. Pre-registration required.

Saturday, January 12 | 10am-4:30pm | Shire City Sanctuary | 40 Melville Street | 413-441-9766 | $175


BMS Open House  

Saturday: Berkshire Music School Open House

Toot your own horn during the free Open House atBerkshire Music School.  There will be an opportunity for you and your children to check out all kinds of instruments at the instrument petting zoo, see what music classes are available and meet some of the faculty members. Refreshments will be served.

Saturday, January 12 | 10am-12pm | Berkshire Music School | 30 Wendell Avenue | 413-442-1411 | FREE


Young Artist Open Mic  

Saturday:  Young Artists Open Mic Night at Marketplace Cafe

The Marketplace Cafe  hosts its monthly young artist night each month, inviting any and all local talent 21 years old and younger to share their performing skills in its intimate environment for many to listen to and enjoy. Come check out the talents of the next generation! Katherine Winston will emcee.

Saturday, January 12 | 6:30pm–8:30pm | The Marketplace Cafe | 53 North St. | 413-358-4777 | No cover


 

Saturday:  Live Bands at Chameleon's 

Virginia's Americana Alex Culbreth & the Dead Country Stars make their first Berkshire County appearance, they're joined by Leap the Dips(formerly Deafened By Love) and Albany'sReaLation. 18+ with ID (no exceptions)

Saturday, January 12 | 8pm  | Chameleon's Nightclub | 1350 East Street | 413-499-2582 | 21+ $5 18-20 $8


90s Dance Party  

Saturday:  Back to the Nineties at Underground Pub

Come in and get your nineties groove on.  DJ Stylus &DJ Sen-Gee will be spinning the nineties tunes all night long, with ½ price appetizers until 9 pm.

Saturday, January 12 | 9pm | Underground Pub | 1 West Street | 413-553-2257 | $5


The Blend  

Saturday:  The Blend at Spice Dragon

Come in and warm up in the Spice Dragon Lounge. The Blend will be playing live music.  Doesn't that make you want to dance? Best of all, no cover!

Saturday, January 12 | 9 pm | Spice Dragon | 297 North Street | 413-443-1234 | NO COVER


Chandler Brothers  

Saturday: The Chandler Brothers at Flavours

Enjoy a trio of bar room rockers mixing up rock, blues, country, funk and soul. Their full sound comes out with high energy danceable rocking covers, along with originals that will have you shaking your tail feathers.  For adults 21 and over.

Saturday, January 12 | 9:30pm | Flavours of Malaysia | 75 North Street | 413-443-3188 | $5


Whiskey City  

Saturday: Whiskey City at the Back N9ne

The Back N9ne, located inside the General Electric Athletic Association, presents Berkshire County's own Whiskey City. This country-rock band consists of six members of Berkshire County musicians with a total of 20 years of touring and performance experience. Click HERE to learn more about Whiskey City and sample their music.

Saturday, January 12 | 9:30pm-1am | General Electric Athletic Association | 303 Crane Avenue | 413-443-5746 | $5


Sleeping Beauty Ballet  

Sunday & Tuesday:  The Sleeping Beauty at Little Cinema

First staged in St Petersburg in 1890, The Sleeping Beauty is the pinnacle of classical ballet: a perfect marriage of Petipa's choreography and Tchaikovsky's music and a glorious challenge for every dancer onstage. It is also The Royal Ballet's signature work.

Sunday & Tuesday, January 13 & 15 | Sun 2pm Tues 7pm | Berkshire Museum | Little Cinema | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $12.50 Members $14 Non-Members 


 
Tai Chi  

Mondays:  Tai Chi at Knesset Israel

The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires presents Energize with Tai Chi — A Workshop,with certified traditional Tai Chi instructors Kathy and David Crowe.  These workshops are open to the public.

Mondays, January 14 & February 4 & 25 | 1pm | Congregation Knesset Israel | 16 Colt Road |413-442-4360 x15 | $3


Jim Horsford Pottery  

Tuesdays+ or Thursdays+:  Pottery Classes at the Lichtenstein

The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts hosts a series of pottery classes led by Jim Horsford. This six-week program will take people of any experience level through a step-by-step process on how to create pots, mugs and bowls using clay. Click HERE for a weekly breakdown of the pottery program.Choose from either Tuesdays beginning January 15 or Thursdays beginning January 17.

Tuesdays or Thursdays, beginning January 15 or 17 | 6:30pm-9pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renee Avenue | 413-499-9348 | $220


Gabriel Squailia  

Tuesday: Writers Room Open Mic Hosted by Gabriel Squailia at y Bar

It's back! This open mic hosted by Gabriel Squailia is for those who wish to share poetry or short prose, either of their own or of others. In-person signups begin one hour prior to the event – first come, first served.

Tuesday, January 15 | 8pm | Y Bar | 391 North Street | No Phone | No Cover


Rocket Ship Lego  

Wednesday: Lego Club!

The Berkshire Athenaeum invites any school aged LEGO enthusiast to share ideas and creative energy during the monthly LEGO Club. Meetings are on the third Wednesday of the month, and this month's theme is rocket ships and outer space.  Enjoy an hour of socializing with other LEGO fans, listening to music, using your imagination and sharing your ideas with your peers. 

3rd Wednesdays of month | 3:30pm-4:30pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Avenue |413-499-9480, ext.5 | FREE


Eskimo and the Oil Man  

Wednesday: Author Bob Reiss at Berkshire Museum

Local author Bob Reiss spent three years traveling to the US high north to tell the story of The Eskimo and the Oil Man. It is told through the eyes of two men, one an Inupiat Eskimo leader on Alaska's North Slope, the other the head of Shell Oil's Alaska Venture, which seeks to drill for oil offshore in 2013. Their tale is set against the background of an undersea land rush in the Arctic, of Russian bombers appearing off Alaska's coasts recently, of rapid changes in ice that will effect millions of sea mammals and affect the day-to-day lives of every American.

Wednesday, January 16 | 7pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-230-7321 | $5/ students free


Art Journal  

Thursday+:  Art Journal Workshop 

Moments House offers an Art Journal Workshopas a way to express oneself through writing and art at the same time. This creative process pulls together a variety of materials to create mixed-media art including, drawing, doodles, collage, paint, stamping. Free and open to anyone impacted by a cancer diagnosis in any way, at any time. No previous art experience needed.

Thursdays in January | 1pm-3pm | Moments House | 194 Fenn Street | 413-443-6800 | FREE


Ryan Foss  

Thursday: Ryan Foss at Marketplace Cafe

Ryan Foss has been described as an "old soul” with youthful exuberance who plays in the tradition of the poet troubadour. His songs are filled with layers of chords, combined with hooks and rhythms, plus tinges of afro-beats and jazzy surf riffs.  His musical influences range from Woody Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan to Jack Johnson, Wilco, and David Gray.

Thursday, January 17 | 6:30pm-8:30pm | The Marketplace Cafe | 53 North St. | 413-358-4777 | NO COVER


 

 

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State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires

STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
 
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well. 
 
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
 
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
 
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
 
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
 
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
 
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