Cultural Pittsfield This Week: March 29 - April 4

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Good Friday: Disorientation  

Friday:  Good Friday Disorientation

A very different Good Friday reflection in song, silence and solidarity. Using the music of Arcade Fire, Portishead, the Cure, Glen Hansard, Delta Rae and others, musicians will share their take on how joy and sorrow often live together in a disorienting way. They will also be taking collections to raise money for the local emergency food program.

Friday, March 29 | 7pm | First Church of Christ | 27 East St | 413-447-7351 | Donation


Baritone Monk  

Friday: Claire Daly Quartet at Berkshire Museum

Claire Daly's Baritone Monk explores the work of the legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, and has been heralded as among the most important releases in the past year.  Her career has included anchoring the sax section in the Diva Big Band for seven years, freelancing in New York doing every imaginable kind of gig, recording a dozen CDs. She has appeared twice at the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival, headlining her own quartet at the Women in Jazz night (2007) and with the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra (2010).

Friday, March 29 | 7pm |  Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 x 10  | $15


You, Me & Us  

Friday & Saturday: You, Me & Us 

The Rendezvous with French Cinema showcase presents You, Me & Us. The tentative nature of relationships is explored in dazzling, three-dimensional fashion in this cleverly written and directed roundelay between current and former lovers. Aya, the mother of a bright young daughter, struggles to come to terms with the end of her marriage, while hoping to have a child with her new lover.

Friday & Saturday, March 29 & 30 | 7pm | Little Cinema | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $5


Greek Pastry Sale  

Saturday: Greek Pastry Sale!

Come enjoy a taste of Greece without the travel.  Purchase exquisite Greek pastries that are from traditional and family recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Yum!

Saturday, March 30 | 9am-2pm | St. George Greek Orthodox Church |  73 Bradford Street | 413-442-8113 | NO COVER


Vietnam Memorial Pittsfield  

Saturday:  Vietnam Veterans Day Ceremony

Mayor Daniel Bianchi will be the guest speaker at this annual ceremony honoring those who were lost in the Vietnam War. The National Anthem will be sung by Anthony Pastore and the Rev. Stephen Williams will give the invocation and benediction.  Additional participants include the Pittsfield Veterans Coalition Color Guards, Honor Guards, Dalton American Legion Riders Motorcycle Group Post 155, Pittsfield American Legion Post 68, Marine Corps League Detachment 137, and the Vietnam Veterans of America, James E. Callahan Berkshire Chapter 65, and other veterans' groups. 

Saturday, March 30 | 10am | Park Square | 413-443-9853 | Free & all are welcome


Easter Bunny  

Saturday:  Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble!

Here comes the Easter Bunny! Bring your children for the city's annual Easter Egg Scramble. This year's schedule: 10:30 am for 9 year olds; 10:40 am for 7 & 8 year olds; 10:55 am for 5 & 6 year olds; 11:10 am for 3 & 4 year olds; 11:25 am for 2 year olds.  The event is free and open to all Pittsfield children. One winner in each age group who finds the golden egg will receive a special prize.  Children are asked to bring their own baskets.

Saturday, March 30 | 10:30am | Morningside Community School | 100 Burbank Street | 413-997-4444 | FREE


Kitchen KaBoom  

Saturday:  Kitchen Ka-Boom!

Pretend to be a mad scientist performing thrilling and fun science experiments at the Berkshire Museum.  All experiments are kid-safe and can be recreated using items found in almost any kitchen. An adult must accompany children & reservations are requested!

Saturday, March 30 | 11am | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 x 10 | FREE with Museum admission


Aviva and the Flying Penguin  

Saturday:  Aviva and the Flying Penguins 

Aviva and the Flying Penguins can be found performing their inspiring and dynamic music throughout the country and recently completed their Big Apple Honey Jam Tour. Lead singer and writer, Aviva, is an award winning song writer and singer who has been playing piano since the age of eight and later added trumpet, drums, and guitar to her repertoire. Click here to listen to Aviva and the Flying Penguins.

Saturday, March 30 | 6:30pm | Marketplace Cafe | 53 North Street | 413-358-4777 | NO COVER


Jeff Link of T-Bone Daddy   Saturday:  Live Blues at Mad Jacks

To close out their month of blues music, MadJacks presents T-Bone Daddy, a rockin blues trio, featuring the MCLA Student Jazz Band. The jazz band will kick-off the night at 6 pm, followed by T-Bone Daddy, with Tyler Fairbank, Jeff Link and Lou Parreault.  From contemporary interpretations of iconic blues compilations to original material, T-Bone Daddy pursues a tone that is uniquely theirs. 

Saturday, March 30 | 6pm | Mad Jacks BBQ | 295 North Street | 413-442-2290 | NO COVER

Code Blue  

Saturday:  Code Blue at Spice Dragon

Scott and Kurt have been playing together for 12+ years. In their current incarnation as Code Blue they present a unique combination as an energetic musical duo which can transition, from acoustic music, to a full band sound using midi technology.

Saturday, March 30 | 8pm | Spice Dragon | 297 North Street | 413-443-1234 | NO COVER


Badmagick  

Saturday: Badmagick at Chameleons

Badmagick Is New England's tribute to Godsmack. They have been playing the east coast for six years now. Recently they've been throwing in some Nickelback, Motley Crue, Shinedown, Disturbed, and others. Come rock with them!

Saturday, March 30 | 9pm | Chameleons | 1350 East Street | 413-499-2582 | $5 advance/$8 at the door


Ballet's Greatest Hits  

Sunday & Tuesday:  Ballet Screening: Ballet's Greatest Hits at Little Cinema

Presented by the largest international ballet competition, and subject of the award-winning ballet documentary First Position, Youth America Grand Prix's Ballet's Greatest Hits is a special gala performance featuring some of the world's greatest and most exciting ballet stars.  Iconic roles are performed from classical repertoire including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Giselle, Flames of Paris and La Bayadere. Audiences will gain special insight from interviews with the artists and choreographers.

Sunday & Tuesday, March 31 & April 2 | Sun 2pm Tues 7pm | Little Cinema at the Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $14 Members $12.50


Bryan McPherson at Chameleons  

Sunday:  Bryan McPherson at Chameleons

Boston's Bryan McPherson plays Pittsfield for the very first time. If you caught the Dropkick Murphys recently, then you also had the chance to see and hear Mr. McPherson open the show. He also performed recently at Fuzz Records in Albany NY. Also making their second appearance just this year will be fellow Bostonians The Union Boys.

Sunday, March 31 | 7pm | Chameleons | 1350 East Street | 413-499-2582 | 21+ $5 18-20 $8

 


WXW 365  

Monday:  30/30 Poetry Challenge Kicks Off!

Sign up for the 3rd annual 30/30 Poetry Challenge from WordXWord. Every day in April (National Poetry Month of course!) you'll receive a poetry prompt - i.e. a word, phrase or topic to inspire your writing. You email back your poem - long or short, good or bad, doesn't matter! Last year over 2,000 poems were written in one month! Click here to sign up! And there's a special kids version too!

Begins Monday, April 1 through April 30 | Sign up here: http://3030poetry.com  | Free to participate!


 
BFWW  

Tuesday:  BFWW Festival Party at Y Bar

Celebrate the success of the 3rd annual 2013 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers.  Women writers of all ages and from many different walks of life were featured at venues all over Berkshire County throughout the month of March. Noshes & cash bar.

Tuesday, April 2 | 5pm-7pm | Y Bar | 391 North Street | NO PHONE | $10


Stevie Nicks Documentary  

Tuesday:  Stevie Nicks Documentary

Following the tremendous positive response to the Stevie Nicks documentary In Your Dreams at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival, the movie will screen for one night only at the Beacon Cinema & 50 other theatres nationwide.  It's an intimate portrait of one of rock's most enduring artists, an upclose portrayal of Nicks recording her critically acclaimed In Your Dreams CD in collaboration with Dave StewartClick here to see the trailer.

Tuesday, April 2 | 7pm | Beacon Cinema | 57 North Street | 413-358-4780 | $12.50


Spaghetti and Meatballs  

Thursday: Kids Place Pasta Dinner at ITAM

It's the second annual family dinner at the ITAM to benefit Berkshire County Kids' Place.  The meal will be prepared by the Pittsfield Chapter of UNICO.  The night features a lottery tree, door prizes, 50/50 raffle, a DJ and more!  Berkshire County Kids' Place and Violence Prevention Center, Inc. provides a safe, caring, home-like atmosphere & coordinates the combined knowledge of law enforcement, social service, medical, prosecutorial, and mental health agencies to ensure an effective response to childhood trauma. Clinical services are provided for free to victims of child abuse, children who witness domestic violence and their non-offending family members.

Thursday, April 4 | 6pm | ITAM Lodge | 93 Waubeek Road | 413-499-2800 | $25 adults; $10 children 12 & under


Dog Sense  

Thursday:  Dog Sense Book Talk

Gloria McClay, Berkshire author, trainer, kennel owner and breeder will discuss her book Dog Sense.  In the book, Gloria stresses the importance of "breeding better dogs” and offers advice on how to become responsible dog owners. She emphasizes the important reasons why dog owners need to establish a leadership role. Dog Sense offers sensible "soup to nuts” guidance for all dog owners and covers every aspect of training. Sponsored by the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum.

Thursday, April 4 | 7pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | 1 Wendell Ave | 413-499-9480 | FREE


April First Fridays Artswalk  

Mark your calendars for next Friday for the next First Fridays Artswalk!

Step out Friday for the first springtime First Fridays Artswalk of 2013! Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District will be abloom with new art for you to enjoy, from free admission to a new art exhibit opening at the Berkshire Museum, to a show of tattoo artists at the Berkshire Community College's Intermodal Gallery. Bring family and friends and make an evening of it upstreet! 

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


 

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

PEDA Site 9 Preparation, Member Retirement

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The redevelopment of Site 9 for mixed-use in the William Stanley Business Park is set to take off. 

Edward Weagle, principal geologist at Roux Associates, gave an update on the yearlong work to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority last week.

"It's been a real pleasure for me to work on a project like this," he said. "This is kind of like a project of a career of a lifetime for me, and I'm very pleased to see that we're just at the finish line right now. My understanding is that all the documents are in front of the commissioner, waiting for her to sign off."

Mill Town Capital is planning to develop a mixed-use building that includes housing on the site. Roux, headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., was hired assist with obtaining grant financing, regulatory permitting, and regulatory approvals to aid in preparing the 16.5-acre site for redevelopment. Approximately 25,000 cubic yards of concrete slabs, foundations, and pavements were removed from the former GE site. 

Once the documents are signed off, PEDA can begin the work of transferring 4.7 acres to Mill Town. Weagle said the closing on this project will make it easier to work on the other parcels and that he's looking forward to working on Sites 7 and 8.

PEDA received a $500,000 Site Readiness Program grant last year from MassDevelopment for Sites 7 and Site 8. The approximately 3-acre sites are across Woodlawn Avenue from Site 9 and border Kellogg Street. 

In other news, the state Department of Transportation has rented the east side of the parking lot for CDL (Commercial Driver's License) training. This is an annual lease that began in September and will bring in $37,200 in revenue.

Lastly, the meeting concluded with congratulations to Maurice "Mick" Callahan Jr. on his retirement.

Callahan is a former chair and a founding member of PEDA, dating back to when the board was established in the 1990s. He has also served on a number of civic and community boards and has volunteered for many organizations in the Berkshires. He is the president of M. Callahan Inc. 

"The one thing that's been a common denominator back is that you've always put others before yourself. You've served others well. You've been a mentor to two generations of Denmarks, and I'm sure many generations of other families and people within this city," said board Chair Jonathan Denmark. "We can never say thank you enough, but thank you for your services, for the creation of this board, your service to the city of Pittsfield, and to all the communities that you've represented and enjoy retirement." 

"It wasn't always easy to be in the position that you were in Mick, but you handled it with so much grace, always respecting this community, bringing pride to our community," member Linda Clairmont said. "I could not have accomplished many of the things I did, especially here for this business part, without you all of the Economic Development discussions that we had really informed my thinking, and I'm so grateful."

Callahan left the team with a message as this was his final meeting, but said he is always reachable if needed.

"I also have to say that a lot of great people sat around this table and other tables before the current board, and the time that I had with Pam [Green] and Mike [Filpi] sticking around, the leadership of this mayor [board member Linda Tyer], and it really, it was always great synergy," he said.

"So don't be afraid to embrace change. And you know, you got a business model. It's been around long time. Shake it up. Take a good look at it, figure out where it needs to go, and you're lucky to have leadership that you have here."

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