Biz Briefs: Tunnel City Coffee Opens Fall Art Show
Coffee and art
Sarah Sutro and Dorothea Osborn present their abstract paintings at Tunnel City Coffee in downtown Williamstown this fall, featuring rich watercolors and imaginative takes on scientific themes. Sutro's abstracted realist paintings recall memories of existence among peaceful landscapes, while Osborn's macro-paintings delve into life at the cellular level, sharing the beauty of biology’s smallest divisions. The show runs from the beginning of October through the end of December.
Influenced by artists Paul Klee, Georgia O'Keefe, and John Singer Sargent, Sutro finds inspiration in the outside world, oceanscapes and stratified sunsets, in evocative shades of every hue. Osborn lives and breathes her art, using oils, drawing materials, fabric, papers, and found objects to create pieces that reflect on modern global issues and relationships between the spiritual and physical.
BerkShares meeting
BerkShares will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event also will celebrate those featured as the BerkShares Business of the Month over the past year. RSVP by email.
The event is free and open to all, but new members of BerkShares, the democratically-structured non-profit organization that issues BerkShares Local Currency, are welcome. Membership in BerkShares Inc. is open to any resident of the Berkshires. (Note: this voting membership is distinct from registering as a BerkShares Business, which is free!) Membership dues are 25 BerkShares or $25 a year.
Food drive
The North Adams branch of NBT Bank on State Road is holding a food drive for the month of October for the local food pantry. For every non-perishable item a person brings in, they get one chance to win a Thanksgiving Basket. The basket includes all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner and a $10 gift card for Stop and Shop.
Hillcrest help
The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank has donated $18,000 to Hillcrest Educational Centers This donation directly supports the St. Marks Capital Campaign.
"The support that The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank provides is critical to maintaining the state of the art academic programming and quality that these vulnerable children deserve. We are thankful for their thoughtfulness and support of the incredible work that our staff, students and families perform on a daily basis," said Jerry Burke, CEO/President Hillcrest Educational Centers. J. Jay Anderson, president and CEO of the Pittsfield Co-op Bank, said, "Supporting our community is a hallmark of what we do. This support is a large donation among many commitments the bank provides."
The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank was established in 1889 and currently has four branches in the Berkshires. Those locations are: 70 South St. and 110 Dalton Ave., both in Pittsfield, 431 Main St. in Dalton and 325 Main St. in Great Barrington.
Assist this
The Berkshire Bank Foundation, in partnership with New England Sports Network, the television home of the Boston Bruins, is again sponsoring the Berkshire Bank "Exciting Assists Program" to support and highlight the great works of three, nonprofit organizations throughout the upcoming hockey season.
The Exciting Assists promotion will run from Oct. 3 to March 30, with the proceeds donated to the Mass Mentoring Partnership, Bottom Line, and the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. During a designated period, these worthy organizations will receive $100 from the Foundation for every Boston assist during the 2018-2019 regular-season. An assist occurs when a Boston player shoots, passes or deflects the puck towards a scoring teammate, or touches it in any other way which enables a goal, meaning they were "assisting" in the goal.
This is the third consecutive year that Berkshire Bank and NESN have teamed up to offer the Exciting Assists promotion in connection with NESN's broadcast of the Boston Bruins. Last year $50,000 was raised and shared between The Jimmy Fund, Bridge Over Troubled Waters and Boston Cares.
Sock game benefit
For the entire month of October, the Haddad Dealerships are bringing back the #HaddadSockGame to raise funds for the Pittsfield chapter of Shop With a Cop. To play, post a pic of you wearing your craziest socks to any of our seven Facebook pages with the hashtag #HaddadSockGame. On Instagram, snap a selfie, tag any one of our accounts and use the hashtags #HaddadSockGame.
For each original post, Haddad will donate $1 toward the Shop With a Cop campaign in Pittsfield. Shop With a Cop is a community outreach program created to foster positive relationships between youth and law enforcement. Elementary school students are selected and paired up with local police officers, led by Officer Darren Derby, to shop for Christmas gifts for their loved ones and themselves. The hope is to create a long-lasting relationship between the youth and officer, that would not have been possible in the past.
