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This special performance will feature performances by violinist Yevgeny Kutik; Boston Camerata; Borromeo String Quartet; fiddler and banjo player Bruce Molsky; and a trio of Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, including pianist Nathan Ben-Yehuda, who will also perform solo piano music by Messiaen.

Berkshires Beat: BSO Going 'Into the Forest' for Pleasant Valley Concert

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Into the Forest

On Friday, Oct. 19, beginning at noon, the Boston Symphony Orchestra will collaborate with Mass Audubon, the BBC, and 99.5 WCRB in programming a special 150-minute performance to be broadcast live from the 18th century barn at Pleasant Valley in Lenox as part of the BBC's Radio 3's "Into the forest, In Tune." The live broadcast is available to a worldwide audience online. Limited outdoor seating for this broadcast may be available depending on the weather; check the Mass Audubon Pleasant Valley Facebook page on Friday morning, Oct. 19.

This special performance and live broadcast on BBC's Radio 3 will feature performances by violinist Yevgeny Kutik; Boston Camerata; Borromeo String Quartet; fiddler and banjo player Bruce Molsky; and a trio of Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, including pianist Nathan Ben-Yehuda, who will also perform solo piano music by Messiaen.

Hosted by Sean Rafferty, "Into the forest, In Tune," Pleasant Valley edition, also will feature segments on the natural history of forests and the intersection of forests, music, and the arts, with special interviews with Boston Symphony Orchestra Artistic Administrator and Director of Tanglewood Anthony Fogg, Mass Audubon President Gary Clayton, Berkshire Sanctuaries Director Becky Cushing and Mass Audubon scientist Tom Lautzenheiser. Berkshire-based writers and artists will provide additional commentary about the relationship between the arts and nature, with the environmental sounds of Pleasant Valley providing a special auditory backdrop to this unique and multi-faceted program.

The performance is the finale of a week-long residency for "In Tune," which celebrated great American musicians amongst the autumn forests of New England, alongside the BBC Radio 2's Autumnwatch, looking at the magical influence of the woods on music and the arts. 

 

Parade deadline extended

The deadline to enter the annual Pittsfield Halloween parade has been extended to Thursday, Oct.18. The parade will begin 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26 on Tyler Street. The entry form and additional parade information is available through a link on the home page of the city's website.

 

New 4-H Club

A new 4-H Club is forming in Lanesborough. An information session will be held for this new club on Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Lanesborough Community Room in the Town Hall Building, 83 North Main St.

This group will be geared for youth ages 8 to 16 with plans to focus on poultry, goats and reptiles. For more information, call Angelica in the 4-H Office at 413-448-8285.

 

Golfing for cancer


Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's Director of Oncology Services Jean Huntington, left, and Dr. Matthew Vernon, radiation oncologist at the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, right, stand with Mary Landon, a Southwestern Vermont Medical Center volunteer and a committee member of the Donna Taft Memorial Golf Tournament.

The Ladies League at the Lake Saint Catherine Country Club hosted the fifth annual Donna Taft Memorial Golf Tournament on June 16.

The event raised $2,200 to benefit the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Southwestern Vermont Health Care .

An additional, $2,200 donation was made to Rutland Regional Medical Center's Foley Cancer Center.

Generous sponsors included nearly 60 businesses, professionals and private citizens in the Bennington, Manchester and Rutland, Vt., areas. Donations will be used to support patients' needs during treatments and for assistance with transportation, food, utility, wig and home medical equipment costs.

For more information about next year's tournament, contact Rhonda Wade at 802-259-3902 or via email.

 

'Pittsfield Is My Home'

The Berkshire Athenaeum invites the community to share its reflections on Pittsfield with photos and short written submissions to its "Pittsfield Is My Home" project. The library is looking for photos that feature the many aspects of Pittsfield, from as many different viewpoints as possible.

Photos may be submitted for printing by the library by emailing the photos to info@pittsfieldlibrary.org. Materials are available for the public to post their own photos on the library's Community Bulletin Board. Cut-out shapes are available for jotting down thoughts or poems to be posted on the board.

Photos and writing will be displayed on the board through the end of December. For more information, please contact Andrea Puglisi at the Reference Desk 413-499-9480, ext. 202, or by email.

 

Adams ballots

Absentee ballots for the Tuesday, Nov. 6, state election are available in the town clerk's office. Residents may vote absentee if they will be absent from town on Election Day, have a physical disability that prevents them from voting at the polls, or cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs.



All applications for an absentee ballot must be made in writing no later than noon on Monday, Nov. 5. Family members of a person qualified to vote by absentee may request an absentee ballot on their behalf. It is important to request an absentee ballot as soon as possible, as the Town Clerk must mail the ballot to the voter.  A voter may also apply for an absentee ballot and then vote in the Town Clerk’s Office during the same visit. However, this process also has a Nov. 5 noontime deadline.

The deadline to register to vote and to change party enrollment for the state election is Wednesday, Oct. 17. The town clerk's office will remain open until 8 p.m. on that day. Voting will take place at the Department of Public Works Garage located at 92 North Summer St. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents with questions regarding the status of their voter registration or the absentee process should call 413-743-8300, ext. 176.

 

Lakes drawn down

The city of Pittsfield has announced that the annual drawdown of the city lakes is scheduled to begin on Monday, Oct. 15.  Both Onota and Pontoosuc lakes will be drawn down approximately 3 1/2 feet below their normal spillway elevation. Refill at each lake will begin in early spring 2019.  For questions regarding the upcoming lake drawdown, call 413-499-9344.

 

Holiday card contest

Local students in greades three through six are invited to design the Sen. Adam Hinds' 2018 holiday greeting card. Hinds sends almost 1,000 greeting cards by mail to friends, family, colleagues and constituents during the holiday season.

The contest is open to all students in grades three through six who live in one of the 52 communities within Hinds' Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden district. The winning image will be chosen by Sen. Hinds and used as the cover of his 2018 holiday greeting card. The printed holiday card will credit the student artist by listing their name, age, grade, and school

Contest entries must be returned to Hinds' Pittsfield office no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16. Entries may be dropped off Monday through Friday during normal business hours or mailed to Sen. Adam Hinds Holiday Greeting Card Contest, 100 North Street, Suite 410, Pittsfield, MA 01201.  Entries can also be scanned (in color) and emailed to him as well. 

 

Pine Cobble scholarships

Pine Cobble School has new scholarships; students from the northern Berkshires, southern Vermont, and eastern New York are encouraged to apply. The scholarships are open to new students entering grades K-9, cover a portion of the annual tuition (excluding activity fees), and will apply to the tuition for each academic year the student attends Pine Cobble School, providing the student remains in good standing.

Scholarships will be awarded to new applicants who demonstrate strong potential to live the principles described in Pine Cobble's mission: lifelong passion for learning, a strong sense of self-worth, and respect for others. The exact amount of each scholarship will be determined based on the total number of qualified applicants and the needs of students. These scholarships do not preclude additional financial aid; the school will make every effort to ensure that all qualified students are able to attend.

These scholarships require a formal application. For more information, contact Nicole Goswami, sirector of Admission and Marketing, at 413-458-4680 or by email.

 

Market money

The Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market has been given a $2,500 award from the Jewish Women’s Foundation to support the nutrition incentive program, Market Match, throughout the indoor season. The market's monthly indoor season runs each second Saturday of the month, November through April 9am to 1pm, at Zion Lutheran Church, 74 First St.

The Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market believes that when people can afford nutritious food, they buy it. Market Match was started to provide affordable access to healthy food for families who need it most. By matching nutrition benefits like SNAP, WIC and Senior FMNP spent at the market, the program doubles the purchasing power of the shoppers. Leveraging state and federal benefits, Market Match has already put over $50,000 worth of fresh food on the tables of families in need.

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

Ghost Tour at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass. — Join Robert Oakes, author of "Ghosts of the Berkshires," who will lead participants through the rooms and halls of Ventfort Hall sharing tales of its alleged hauntings.
 
The tour will take place at 8 pm on Saturday March 16.
 
Admission is $30 and minimum age to attend is age 12. Reservations are strongly recommended as tickets are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call at 413-637-3206. All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event.
 
This is not an active investigation.
 
Robert Oakes is an author, teacher, storyteller, and singer/songwriter originally from northern New Jersey and currently residing in the Berkshires.. Since 2010 Robert has led the ghost tours at Edith Wharton's The Mount in Lenox, and has represented the museum and its ghosts on Syfy's Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger's New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio. 
 
In 2020, Robert's debut book, "Ghosts of the Berkshires," was published by Arcadia Publishing and is on sale now in our gift shop. Robert's latest book, "Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey," was released in September 2022.
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