Arts notes

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Two trios open Railway season NORTH ADAMS — The first Railway Café show of 2004 will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, and will showcase two trios — Girlyman and We’re About 9 — that were featured at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Girlyman, a Baltimore group, has been described as “a cross of Indigo Girls meet Paul Simon that creates something like Peter, Paul and Mary.” We’re About 9’s vocal blend has drawn comparisons to Crosby, Stills and Nash and Bare Naked Ladies. Chicago’s Song Circle said that Girlyman’s CD, “Remember Who I Am,” is “a record of subtle beauty that reveals more depth with every spin.” It described We’re About 9’s “Engine,” CD as full of “rollicking melodies and beautiful three-part harmonies, quirky lyrics full of SAT words, songs from the point of view of inanimate objects ... clever and imaginative.” Railway Café shows take place at St. John’s Parish Hall, 59 Summer St., next to the post office. Tickets are $10 if ordered ahead of time, $12 at the door. Students and seniors are for admitted $8. Doors will open at 7:30. Reservations: 664-6393 or railwaycafe@juno.com . Ahoy, playwrights HOUSATONIC — The Berkshire Art Theatre, a newly founded theater company dedicated to presenting innovative, never-before-produced plays and performance pieces, is seeking submissions to be considered for a possible production. All styles are welcome. Writers are requested to send their scripts, along with self-addressed stamped envelopes, by regular mail only to: Berkshire Art Theatre, P.O. Box 556, Housatonic MA 01236. Information: Berkarttheatre@aol.com . Gershwin evening PITTSFIELD — The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires has announced that “An Evening of Gershwin,” a musical cabaret with performers from the Columbia Civic Players, Ghent Playhouse, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, at Temple Anshe Amunim, 26 Broad St. The $15 admission fee per person includes coffee and dessert. The program will feature Gershwin favorites, including “Rhapsody in Blue,” “The Man I Love,” “Funny Face,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and “I Got Rhythm,” among many others. Performers will include Paul Leyden, Dianne Hobden, Brett Pelesz, Meg Dooley and Cathy Lee Visscher.” Information: 442-4360, ext. 21. ‘Cabin Fever’ LAKEVILLE, Conn. — The Morgan Lehman Gallery, 24 Sharon Road (Route 41) in Lakeville, Conn., has announced the opening of its first winter-long exhibition, “Cabin Fever,” to encourage the community to get out of the house and be active over the cold winter season. In the past, the gallery has closed for the winter, but this year it will remain open weekends in January, February and March. Local artists featured will include Terri L. Moore, Brendan O‚Connell, Jeff Perrott, Kezia Hearn and Judith Belzer. Works by New York artists Franklin Evans and Quentin Curry will also be on view. The 2004 season schedule, which includes seven six-week exhibitions, will begin in mid-April. Winter gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Information: Sally Morgan Oberbeck or Jay Lehman Horowitz, 860-435-0898, art@morganlehmangallery.com or www.morganlehmangallery.com Klezmatics concert PITTSFIELD — The Klezmatics concert originally scheduled for Dec. 6 but canceled due to inclement weather will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. at the Berkshire Museum. The Klezmatics, a New York group, perform traditional Jewish music in contemporary arrangements and compositions. Since 1986, the ensemble has celebrated the ecstatic nature of Yiddish music. It has reached millions of television viewers on PBS-TV’s Great Performances, CBS’s Nightwatch, FOX TV’s After Breakfast, the BBC’s Rhythms of the World, and MTV News. Advance tickets are $15 for members, $18 for non-members, and $21 at the door. Information and tickets: 443-7171, ext. 10. Art exhibit SHEFFIELD — The “Artist of the Month” program, sponsored by the Sheffield Art League and Banknorth, will highlight the paintings and collages of Ellen Livingston Murtagh in “Let’s Go to the Beach” an exhibition from Feb. 2 to Feb. 27 in the public areas of the Banknorth branch, 271 Main St., Great Barrington. The show, consisting of seven pieces, will feature collages of tumbling breakers, sunburned bathers, fishermen and a ubiquitous ghost freighter. It will be on display during regular bank hours. Viewers interested in purchasing any of the paintings will be asked to contact the artist directly. Murtagh studied at the Museum School in Boston, earned a bachelor’s of fine art at the Massachusetts School of Art and is doing graduate work at Simmons College. She has been awarded a number of firsts, seconds and “best in shows” from arts organizations throughout the region. She makes her home in Great Barrington, where she holds classes and makes art in her studio. The Sheffield Art League promotes the appreciation of fine art in the community. The league membership, now over 200, includes artists working in many media as well as non-artists who appreciate and support art in the community. Centered in Sheffield, league members live mostly in southwestern Massachusetts, northwest Connecticut and east central New York. Information: www.sheffieldartleague.org or P.O. Box 296, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Clark opening WILLIAMSTOWN – An old-fashioned New England pancake brunch and other public programs will celebrate the opening of the special exhibition “Sugaring Off: The Maple Sugar Paintings of Eastman Johnson” at the Clark Art Institute on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day weekend. The pancake brunch will be offered in the Clark café on Sunday, Jan. 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by an opening lecture about the exhibition at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. The cost for the buffet breakfast of buttermilk pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, sausage, bacon, juice, and hot beverages is $12 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under; $10 and $8, respectively, for members of the Clark. Dress is casual, and reservations are not necessary. Brian Allen, curator of American paintings and the exhibition, will give the lecture “Eastman Johnson, Winslow Homer, and Abolition.” The exhibition will be on view beginning at 10 a.m. on Jan. 18. Admission to the lecture and to the galleries is free. New play NORTH ADAMS — Main Street Stage will kick off its 2004 season in February with “Morning, Noon and Night,” a dramatic comedy by playwright Chris Newbound of Williamstown. Directed by Mira Hilbert, the play will feature Spencer Trova, Mary Guzzy and Mike Trainor. “Morning, Noon and Night” chronicles a day in the life of the Smight family during a visit from John (Trainor), a middle-aged son” about to make a move that will take him across the country. “Morning” takes place between Phil and Margaret (Trova and Guzzy), John’s aging parents, having coffee by their swimming pool before John wakes up. At “Noon,” John and his mother have a frank conversation about his father as they enjoy lunch and watch John’s children swim. At “Night,” John and his father smoke cigars by the pool as they try to connect with one another for perhaps the first and last time. The show will open for previews Feb. 5 through Feb. 7, with all shows at 8. Regular performances will be Friday, Feb. 13; Saturday, Feb. 14; Thursday, Feb. 19 (Community Night: Pay what you can); Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21. All performances start at 8. Information: 458-5234. Film series GREAT BARRINGTON — Berkshire South Regional Community Center will hold two free monthly film series from January through May in the meeting room of the center at 15 Crissey Road. All films are open to the public. “Wednesday Night Classics,” will feature famous movies with the word “Night” in the title. On Wednesday, Jan. 21, “A Night to Remember,” the 1958 historical drama about the Titanic, will be shown. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the film will be “It Happened One Night,” the 1934 Frank Capra romantic comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. On Wednesday, March 17, there will be a showing of “Night of the Hunter,” a 1955 noir thriller starring Robert Mitchum. On Wednesday, April 14, the film will be “Big Night,” a recent classic from 1996 with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub, directed by Tucci. On Wednesday, May 12, “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy” Woody Allen’s 1982 take on the classic by Shakespeare, will be shown. All films will run from 7 to 9 p.m. The second of the center’s series, “It Ain’t Easy Bein’ a Teen,” to be shown on Saturday afternoons from 2 to 4, will feature films about the awkward and confusing nature of being young. On Saturday, Jan. 31, “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” (1993) with Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, will be shown. On Saturday, Feb. 14, Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon star in “Harold and Maude” (1971). On Saturday, March 13, the film will be “Say Anything” (1989) with John Cusack and Ione Skye. On Saturday, April 17, “Rushmore” (1998), a film by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson starring Bill Murray, will be screened. Ending the series on Saturday, May 22, will be “Ghost World,” (2000) the offbeat comedy with Steve Buscemi, Thora Birch and Scarlett Johannson. The videos are courtesy of Impocco’s/Alice in Videoland.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
 
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
 
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
 
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
 
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
 
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
 
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