Cultural Pittsfield This Week: June 24-30

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June 24 - June 30, 2016
Urban Bush Women  

TONIGHT
FREE Lecture and Demonstration

SAT How We Got To The Funk Dance Party
 
Tonight, Urban Bush Women will offer a FREE lecture and demonstration at First Church on Park Square at 6 p.m.
 
On Saturday, The Crowne Plaza will host a How We Got to the Funk Dance Party at 7 p.m. that is free and open to the public. How We Got to the Funk will be led by Urban Bush Women's founder-director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. It is an evening of fun, dance and examining history through the lens of African American social dances from 1955 through the present. No experience needed. Come ready to boogie! View the full Urban Bush Women residency schedule.
 
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE


Methuselah Bar & Lounge will host Argentine Tango with Emiliano every Monday night, beginning this Monday at 6 p.m. with a free beginner's class. An intermediate class will follow, at 6:30 p.m., for $10. Dancing for everyone begins at 7 p.m.
Plus... 
FRI BerkshireFlirt Under-40 Singles Mixer & Dance Party at The A | FRI Mr. Doubtfire at The A | FRI Blue Light Trio at Rainbow SAT HipHop4Change Concert to benefit PCC at The Downtown Pub | SAT Shepards Crossing at The A SAT Dan Gingras at Rainbow | MON Red, Hot & Blue: Songs of Cole Porter at Colonial Theatre | TUE Rainbow Beer Club Meeting at Rainbow TUE-WED '60s Musicals Cabaret at Barrington Stage | WED Gruppo Mondo at Rainbow | THU Rev Tor Band on the patio at Mazzeo's | THU David Yubruh at Berkshire Athenaeum | THU Cards Against Humanity at Hotel on North
 
FAMILY FRIENDLY
Kids, teens and adults can all participate in the Summer Reading Programs at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Children will enjoy performances and sports-themed movies, and both children and teens can enter drawings for books, games, and gift certificates to the Beacon Cinema and Ayeleda. Teens and adults can fill out a BINGO card to track their reading and enter full cards to win prizes. Stop by the library and get reading!
Plus... 
SAT Kitchen Ka-Boom! at Berkshire Museum | TUE The Mighty Ducks movie screening at Berkshire Athenaeum | TUE Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum
 
WELLNESS
Radiance Yoga will host a free injury prevention and recovery workshop for runners of all levels on Saturday from 2-3:30 p.m. Karden Rabin, LMT and founder of Boundless, and Kent Lemme of the Berkshire Running Center will show you how to keep doing what you love, even after an injury.
 
Plus... 
WED Restorative Yoga with Thai Massage at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness
 
GET CREATIVE
Beginning Tuesday and running for five Tuesdays in total, enjoy art-making focused on nature with Marney Schorr in a private studio at NuArts, 311 North Street, from 1:30-3 p.m.
Plus... 
SAT Berkshire Broncos 4H Fundraiser at Berkshire Paint & Sip | SUN Wahconah Cheerleaders Fundraiser at Berkshire Paint & Sip 
 
PERFORMANCE
Winner of the prestigious Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play of 2016, this explosive world premiere drama by Christopher Demos-Brown examines our nation's racial divide through the eyes of an estranged, interracial couple (Tamara Tunie of Law & Order: SVU and Michael Hayden of Murder One). Over the course of an evening, the couple's disparate backgrounds collide as they confront an unexpected crisis involving their son, the police, and an abandoned car. Now - July 9 at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. 
Plus... 
ONGOING Kimberly Akimbo at Barrington Stage | FRI-SAT Win / Lose / Draw by The Town Players at The Whit TUE-WED Wedding Secrets II - Samantha's Turn Town Players auditions at The Whit
 
COMMUNITY

Barrington Stage Company's annual gala will feature a one-night-only performance by song-and-dance-man Tony Yazbeck, the Tony-nominated star of On The Town. He will give a tour de force performance of The Floor Above Me, which will feature his On The Town co-stars Clyde Alves and Katie Huff. 5 p.m.
Plus... 
 
LEARN
The OLLI Distinguished Speaker Series presents MCLA professor Michael Birch, who will speak on mental health stigma in the news and on social media. 10:30 a.m. at Berkshire Community College's Koussevitzky Arts Center, 1350 West Street. Admission is $10 for OLLI members, $15 for the general public, and free for BCC students, staff and those 17 years of age and younger.
Plus... 
SAT Photography Workshop at Shire City Sanctuary |
SAT
Rustic Berry Basket Weaving Workshop at Hancock Shaker Village |
MON
State Senator Ben Downing's Trip to Israel at Congregation Knesset Israel | WED Stories of Our Mothers at Temple Anshe Amunim | THU NEADS Service Dog Training Info at Congregation Knesset Israel
 
FILM
A Light Beneath Their Feet
at the Little Cinema

Emotionally raw and bracingly honest, this coming-of-age drama balances the pull of family obligation against personal aspirations.In a commanding performance, SAG-award-winning actress Taryn Manning (Orange is the New Black) plays a mother, wrestling with bipolar disorder and an imminent empty nest. Her dedicated daughter has a bright future ahead, but must decide if she will stay near home to care for her unpredictable mom or follow her own path.
 
 
Plus... 
What's Showing at The Licht
Pittsfield's city-owned community arts center, the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, features nine working artist studios, a ceramics studio, a community room and an art gallery with changing exhibitions, classes, performances + more! 

28 Renne Ave. | Wed-Sat, 11-4
 
I Am A Part Of Art
 
Beginning July 1, Community Access to the Arts (CATA) presents a celebration of its visual artists. The month-long exhibit features over 100 works created by artists with disabilities from across Berkshire County. The soft opening will take place on Friday, July 1 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during First Fridays Artswalk.  The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, is Thursday, July 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
 

 

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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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