Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Oct. 10-16

Print Story | Email Story
 
 

Friday-Sunday: Made in the Berkshires Festival 2014

The 4th annual festival features cutting-edge theatrical works performed as staged readings, live music, film, short stories, and dance in a festival atmosphere like no other. New and innovative pieces as well as established work will be presented by local Berkshire County playwrights, actors, directors, musicians, and performers. Featured as performance blocks, Made in the Berkshires will allow audiences to enjoy the breadth and depth of the artistic talent that has landed in Berkshire County while celebrating the best in the visual and performing arts. The Opening Night Celebration will feature excerpts from many performances.  Click here for more information.

October 10-12 | Opening Night 6pm Art Show 7:30pm Show | Colonial Theatre | 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | Prices vary


 

Friday-Sunday: Guido's Truckload Sale

Save loads at Guido's famous truckload sale! Their Natural Foods buyers have been negotiating the best possible deals, so they can pass on substantial savings to you! Stock up on your favorite pantry staples at 40% OFF or more. Special wine case deals, too! Try sample bites and sips of many items before you commit to a full case.

Friday-Sunday, October 10-12 | Fri/Sat 9am-7pm; Sun 10am-6pm | Guido's Fresh Marketplace | 1020 South Street | 413-442-4984 | NO COVER


 

Friday-Sunday: Pine Cone Hill Columbus Day Tent Sale

The famous tent sale returns and takes place each day over the course of Columbus Day weekend, with 50–90% off retail prices on some exceptional products for the home. The Tent Sale will feature bedding,rugs in a variety of sizes, pajamas and loungewear, furniture and home accessories. Don't miss this chance to stock up and save on pieces from our fresh, lively signature collections!

Friday-Sunday, October 10-12 | 9:30am-5pm | The Outlet At Pine Cone Hill | 125 Pecks Road | 413-629-2314| NO COVER


Sherri Buxton  

Friday: Sherri Buxton Trio At Baba Louie's

The Sherri Buxton Trio performs at Baba Louie's as part of the tenth annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival. Please click here for more information.

Friday, October 10 | 6pm-9pm | Baba Louie's | 34 Depot Street |  NO COVER


 

Friday:  Berkshires' Homeless Woman and Children Silent Auction At The Whitney

Silent Auction to benefit the Berkshires' Homeless Woman and Children hosted at The Whitney Center for the Arts. Proceeds will be dedicated to opening a housing facility for homeless women, children, and teens. Restaurants, theaters, spas, antiques, paintings, hand-made quilts, crocheted shawls, plus opportunities for learning to dance & play the piano are waiting your bids. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, sweets, wine & punch in a lovely historic art gallery setting with beautiful piano entertainment.

Friday, October 10 | 6pm-8pm | Whitney Center For The Arts | 42 Wendell Ave| $20


 

Friday: Brass And Blues At Patrick's Pub

Brass And Blues performs at Patrick's Pub as part of the tenth annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival. Please click here for more information.

Friday, October 10 | 6:30pm-9:30pm | Patrick's Pub | 44 Bank Road | NO COVER 


 

Friday -Sunday: Maids in the Mills At Arrowhead

Back by popular demand, "Maids in the Mills” will again be performed this October. Members of the original cast reprising their roles include Sally Filkins and Rodelinde Albrecht, who will join Dyan Arduini, Kevin Wixsom and Delaney Ivas, among others.

Friday-Sunday, October 10-12 | 7pm | Arrowhead | 780 Holmes Road | 413-442-1793 | $25, $15 for students


 

Friday: Kelly, Green, and Bartley Jazz At Mission

Kelly, Green, and Bartley Jazz performs at Mission as part of the tenth annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival. Please click here for more information.

Friday, October 10 | 7pm-10pm | Mission Bar + Tapas | 438 North Street | NO COVER


 

Friday-Monday: Magic In The Moonlight At The Little Cinema

Set in the 1920s on the opulent Riviera in the south of France, Woody Allen's Magic in the Moonlight is a romantic comedy about a master magician (Colin Firth) trying to expose a psychic medium (Emma Stone) as a fake.

Friday-Monday, October 10-13 | Fri-Mon 7pm Mon 3pm | Berkshire Museum | Little Cinema | 39 South Street |413-443-7171 | $5 Museum Members $7.50 Museum Non Members


 

Friday: Heather & Rob Fisch with Special Guests At J.Allen's

Heather Fisch and Rob Fisch join forces for a special evening of jazz with special guests, Zack Danziger from Northampton, Pete Toigo (Chatham, NY) and Jeff McRae (Bennington, VT). Performing at J.Allen's as part of the tenth annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival. Please click here for more information.

Friday, October 10 | 7pm-10pm | J. Allen's Clubhouse Grille | 41 North Street | NO COVER


 

Friday+: An Enemy Of The People At Barrington Stage

By Arthur Miller, an adaptation of the play by Henrik Ibsen. This powerful drama explores the impact of polluted waters in a small town and the consequences of uncovering the truth. Follow the story of one man's brave struggle to do the right thing in the face of extreme social intolerance. Arthur Miller adapted Ibsen's classic play in response to the political climate fostered by McCarthyism in 1950, but the play is still shockingly relevant today.

Through October 19 | Weds/Thurs 7pm Fri/Sat 8pm Sat/Sun 3pm | Barrington Stage Company | Boyd-Quinson Mainstage | 30 Union Street | 413-236-8888 | $20+


 

Friday: "Dream Catcher” Fashion Show At F.A.M.E. Festival

Designer Indashio presents Dream Catcher an exhibition of innovative work by the internationally celebrated fashion designer that features new creations presented for the first time. For the last decade, Indashio has made his mark on the look of contemporary fashion with his avant-garde and cutting-edge designs. Pittsfield will be the very first venue for the Dream Catcher Exhibit of Indashio, the first international exhibition of his celebrated creations.

Friday, October 10 | 8pm | Virgilio Commercial Park | 10 Commercial Street | $20-$40


 
 

Friday-Saturday: No Place to Go featuring Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra At Mr. Finn's Cabaret

The company where he's worked for the past 10 years is moving to Mars, and playwright Ethan Lipton doesn't want to go. With his edgy brand of jazz/folk/alternative, frontman Ethan Lipton and his bandmates Eben Levy (guitar), Ian Riggs (bass) and Vito Dieterle (sax) deliver a hilarious, irreverent and personal musical ode to the unemployed.

Friday-Saturday, October 10-11 | 8pm | Mr. Finn's Cabaret | Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center| 36 Linden Street | 413-236-8888 | $15-$35


 

Saturday+: Pittsfield Farmers Market

There are just three more weeks to catch the Pittsfield Farmers Market this season.  Farmers, food producers and artisans bring locally grown and raised food and products into the heart of the community. Weekly market features fresh, locally grown food, local artisans, food trucks and much more.

Saturdays Through October 25 | 9am-1pm | First Street (across from the Common) | info@farmersmarketpittsfield.org | NO COVER


 

Saturday: Spark Lab Opening Day At Berkshire Museum

Spark!Lab, Berkshire Museum's newest hands-on creative laboratory to engage children in the process of innovation, features activities that challenge visitors to solve problems through their own resourcefulness. Create a soundscape, invent a new kind of moving vehicle, experiment with a vertical wind tunnel, and more! This educational, interactive space was developed at the Smithsonian Institution by the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History.

Opening Day Saturday, October 11 | 10am-5pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 x 10 | FREE with admission


 

Saturday: Butterflies Film Series: In the Company of Wild Butterflies at The Little Cinema

Spectacular close up photography reveals details such as the butterflies hatching from their eggs, smelling with their feet, and pushing their heads from their skulls in preparation for molting. You'll see butterflies growing new spines, flying while mated, and eating their skin. You'll discover the dozen ways butterflies use silk to survive in a hostile environment from building houses to spinning silk girdles, pads, and buttons.

Saturday, October 11 | 11:30am-12:30pm | Berkshire Museum | Little Cinema | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with admission

 

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.
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories