Cultural Pittsfield This Week: April 17-23

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Office of Cultural Development | City of Pittsfield
 
 

Friday+: Baby Animals at Hancock Shaker Village

 

The popular and much-loved event -- celebrating newborn barnyard animals on the farm- runs every day, 10 am to 4 pm, through May 3, 2015. Eighteen of the Village's 20 historic buildings open for the season, staffed with crafts demonstrators and historic interpreters. The Village remains open seven days a week for visitors through November 1.

 

Through May 3 | 10am-4pm | Hancock Shaker Village | 1843 West Housatonic Street | 413-443-0188 | adult $20, 13-17 $8, 12 & under FREE

Friday: WeeMuse Adventures at Berkshire Museum

 

Little ones can explore the Aquarium and three Museum galleries! Each week features songs, stories, scavenger hunts, play time, and more. Check our weekly e-news for each week's theme. This program is geared towards children 18 months to 3 years. Older and younger siblings are always welcome!

 

Friday, April 17 | 11am-11:30am |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with Museum admission

Friday: A Special Luncheon with Congressman Neal at Crowne Plaza

 

Join the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce for a special luncheon featuring Congressman Richard E. Neal as the keynote speaker. He, along with some other surprise guests, will be addressing the local business community. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from our representatives on the state and federal level. Speakers include Congressman Richard Neal, Senator Benjamin Downing, Jay Ash- Secretary, MA Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and others! Questions?  Call (413) 499-4000 X126 or email dthomas@berkshirechamber.com.

 

Friday, April 17 | 12pm-2pm | Crowne Plaza | 1 West Street | 413-499-4000 X126| $45 members, $55 non-members

Friday: Welcome to Kindergarten at Berkshire Museum

 

This event is free to the public and is designed for children and their families who are preparing to enter Kindergarten.  There will be fun activities, music and games for children to explore. Professionals dedicated to the growth and development of young children will also be present to answer any questions families have about development milestones, kindergarten readiness and registration.

 

Friday, April 17 | 5:30pm-7pm | Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE

Friday: Cocktails With Purpose at Crowne Plaza

 

Join Shout Out Loud Productions for this evening of important panelists to further the cause, a silent auction to raise funds, and dancing to dance away the blues. The purpose is to raise funds to support projects related to the eradication of human trafficking.  These funds will be allocated to support and educate our state's law enforcement officials, health service providers and the community at large about how to recognize victims of Human Trafficking and connect them to resources for safety and recovery.  Part of this effort will help to implement training initiatives, protocols and create successful statewide collaborations between agencies to ensure that victims of trafficking and abuse will get the help and resources they desperately need.

 

Friday, April 17 | 6pm-12:30am | Crowne Plaza | 1 West Street | 413-499-4000 X126| $30

Friday-Monday: Leviathan at The Little Cinema

 

Kolya lives in a small fishing town near the stunning Barents Sea in Northern Russia. He owns an auto-repair shop that stands right next to the house where he lives with his young wife Lilya and his son Roma from a previous marriage. The town's corrupt mayor Vadim Shelevyat is determined to take away his business, his house, as well as his land. First the Mayor tries buying off Kolya, but Kolya unflinchingly fights as hard as he can so as not to lose everything he owns including the beauty that has surrounded him from the day he was born. Facing resistance, the mayor starts being more aggressive.

 

Friday-Monday, April 17-20 | Fri-Mon 7pm, Sun & Mon 1:30pm | Berkshire Museum | Little Cinema | 39 South Street |413-443-717| $5 Museum Members, $7.50 Museum Non Members

Friday & Saturday: Paint Parties at Berkshire Paint and Sip

 

Friday features the Boat on Beach painting.  All painting materials and light snack included for this 2 hour painting.  BYOB

 

Saturday's event is meant for families ages six and up.  They will be painting the Blue Feather Dove.  No BYOB for this event please.   

 

Friday & Saturday | Fri  7:30pm Sat 1pm | Berkshire Paint and Sip | 305 North Street |413-205-8346 | Fri $30 Sat $25  

Friday: Pittsfield Firefighters Presents Paul D'Angelo at The Colonial Theatre

 

Who is the comedian/writer/actor that The Los Angeles Times calls "...quite likely the funniest entertainer you've never heard of... yet"? Paul Murphy spent ten and a half years as an Assistant District Attorney, supervising several of Massachusetts' busiest courthouses, before becoming a noted criminal-defense trial attorney. The unexpected twist to this story is that, for nine of those years, under the pseudonym of Paul D'Angelo, Paul was simultaneously becoming one of the nation's top standup comedians.

 

Friday, April 17 | 7pm | The Colonial Theatre| 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $10

Friday: SummerSound Pre-Party at Dotties and Mission

 

Free shows featuring Summersound - Live at Tanglewood performers! Head over to Mission Bar + Tapas at 7:00pm to see Andy Wrba and members of The Whiskey Treaty Billy Keane and Tory Hanna!
Head down the street at 9:00pm to Dottie's Coffee Lounge to continue the night with DJ BFG!
There will be SummerSound ticket giveaways, free prizes, music and more!

 

Friday, April 17 | 7pm | Dottie's Coffee Lounge & Mission Bar + Tapas | 444 & 438 North Street | 413-443-1792 | FREE

 

Friday: Bread And Roses at South Congregational Church

 

Bread and Roses Coffee House will host a concert with proceeds benefiting The Kids Place in Pittsfield. Please join for an evening of magic with two of the Berkshires most unique musicians, Mark Kelso and Linda Worster as they entertain with a mix of old favorites and original music.

 

Friday, April 17 | 7pm | South Congregational Church 

| 110 South Street| Free Will Offering  

 

Friday: Last Dance with DJ Yung at Fairways

 

Featuring Music by the Shutdown's Team own DJ Yung. Doors open at 9:30 pm. Get in FREE before 11 pm, then $5 after 11pm. FREE giveaways while you dance the night away.

 

Friday, April 17 | 9pm-12:30am | Fairways at the A | 303 Crane Ave | 413-442-3585| $5

Saturday: Cuba at The Turning Point at Berkshire Museum

 

Sally Eagle spent three weeks traveling around Cuba in December 2014, photographing the everyday lives of Cubans from cities like Havana and Santiago de Cuba, to smaller villages like Baracoa and Remedios.  This program will present a visual journey of the evolution of politics, architecture, culture and society in a fascinating country that is going through yet another historic transition.

 

Saturday, April 18 | 10:30am-11:30am |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with Museum admission

Saturday: Full STEAM Ahead at Berkshire Athenaeum

 

Saturday morning Play & Learn with Jenn will include STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) presentations for families, caregivers and teachers. For infants to early elementary-aged students. No registration required.

 

Saturday, April 18 | 10:30am-12pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Ave | 413-499-9480 | FREE

Saturday: Chow Time at Berkshire Museum

 

Help prepare enticing feasts for the turtles, fish, chameleon, and even the blue-tongue skink in the Aquarium!

 

Saturday, April 17 | 12:30pm-1:30pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE with Museum admission

Saturday: Repair Cafe at St. Stephens

 

At the Repair Cafe on the 18th, in addition to the repairs, there will be great music with Ben Foley playing acoustic guitar until 2:00; the duo of Green & White playing from 2:00 until 3:30; and Alan

Monasch from San Francisco playing piano from 3:30 until 5:00And Berkshire Mountain Bakery will once again provide scrumptious pizza to go along with our other delicious and healthy snacks and drinks. You can bring clothing, chairs, lamps, vacuums, other electrical items, bicycles, knives & blades for sharpening, wood items, crockery, toys, cushions, bags, and more (up to 2 items per person).

 

Saturday, April 18 | 1pm-5pm | St. Stephen's Church Basement | 67 East Street | 413-212-8589 | FREE

Saturday: Icons and Iconography at St Nicholas Orthodox Church 


 The Art Gallery at Bagels Too and Nicholas Bobrovsky will present a free program about icons and iconography as a religious art form amid Bobrovsky's icons at St Nicholas Orthodox Church. Bobrovsky will talk about how he creates icons and cover their meaning, history and veneration; their use and placement; various, techniques, styles, subjects historically and in the present; iconographers' rules and responsibilities. He will show examples of his father's as well as his own iconography. He welcomes questions from his audience. Learn more about the traditional art of iconography from one of its few local practitioners.


 

Saturday, April 18 | 2pm | St. Nicholas Orthodox Church | 1304 North Street | 413-442-2669 | FREE

 

Saturday: Music At The Taft

 

Berkshire Music School faculty members Beth Craig, cello; Rahima Hohlstein, piano; and Paul Green, clarinet perform chamber pieces by Foss, Engel and Wyaskovsky; and special guests Eribeth Trio from Albany performing Alice Spatz's Grandmother Spider. Coffeehouse setting, admission includes desserts and coffee.
 

 

Saturday, April 18 | 4:30pm | Berkshire Music School | 30 Wendell Ave | 413-442-1411 | $15

Saturday: Katherine Winston at The Garage at The Colonial Theatre

 

American Idol contestant, Katherine Winston, is a singer/songwriter from the Lenox, Massachusetts, whose influences range from country to folk, or blues to pop. For the past few years, Winston has been playing out at venues all over the northeast, and then even down to Nashville, and over to Iceland. 

 

Saturday, April 18 | 8pm | The Colonial Theatre| 111 South Street | 413-997-4444 | $10 advance, $12 door

Saturday: Blackwater on Tap at Fairways

 

Dance to your favorite hits with Berkshire County's own Blackwater. Featuring a night of hard-driven' Rock, classic rock, rockin' country, southern rock and more.

 

Saturday, April 18 | 9pm-12:30am | Fairways at the A | 303 Crane Ave | 413-442-3585| $5

Sunday: Second Annual Cupcake Showdown at Dotties

 

10 bakers will battle it out to see if they have the sweets and the skills. Admission gets you 10 incredible cupcakes from the competitors and complimentary tea and coffee.

 

Sunday, April 19 | 3:30pm | Dottie's Coffee Lounge | 444 North Street | 413-443-1792 | $15

Monday: Animals Up Close: North American Birds of Prey at Berkshire Museum

 

Meet five live birds of prey with raptor rehabilitator Julie Anne Collier of Wingmasters. Visitors will learn about eagles, hawks, owls and falcons, their unique hunting adaptations, and their uncertain future in a rapidly changing world.

 

Monday, April 20 | 1pm-2pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $15 adult, $8 child, $5 Member adult, $3 Member child

Tuesday: The Creature Teachers Present Animals Around the World at Berkshire Athenaeum

 

Come take a trip around the world with us and find out where our animals come from. This program explores the diverse habitats of our planet and the animals that live within them. See why some animals are well suited for certain areas and why some are not. Free and no registration required.

 

Tuesday, April 21 | 1pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Ave | 413-499-9480 | FREE

Wednesday: Parent/Teacher STEM Session at Berkshire Museum

 

It's Little Inventors Day!  Explore Spark!Lab and have your photo taken with your newest invention or creation. Get your name, age and invention photo placed on our wall of fame.  This is geared for ages 2-4.  Reservations are required.   

 

Wednesday, April 22 | 10:30am-11am |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | FREE

Thursday: Play and Learn with Jenn at Berkshire Athenaeum


 Come hear stories, sing songs and play some games! For ages 1 1/2 - 5. No registration required. Children under age 10 must be accompanied by an adult, age 18 or older, at all times.

 

Thursday, April 23 | 10am | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Ave | 413-499-9480 | FREE

Thursday-Saturday: Sleeping Beauty at Berkshire Museum

 

The talented young performers of Berkshire Children's Theater present a family-friendly musical version of the classic tale Sleeping Beauty, adapted by and directed by Kara Demler.

 

Thursday- Saturday, April 23-25 | 11am & 2pm |Berkshire Museum | 39 South Street | 413-443-7171 | $15 adult, $8 child or $5 for adult Museum member, $3 for Child Museum member

Thursday: Sonny and Pearly perform 'Brazilian Romance' at Berkshire Athenaeum


 Join Sonny and Pearly in concert as they  perform  "Brazilian Romance:  The  Boss Nova Phenomenon". Free and no registration required. Sponsored by the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum. 

 

Thursday, April 23 | 7pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | One Wendell Ave | 413-499-9480 | FREE

 

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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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