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Choral festival SHEFFIELD — The Berkshire Choral Festival will conclude its 23rd season on Saturday, Aug. 7, with “Requiem” by Antonin Dvorák. David Hayes, music director of the Philadelphia Singers, will lead soloists, the 220-voice Festival Chorus and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in the oratorical masterpiece by the composer of the “New World Symphony.” The 8 p.m. performance will be preceded at 6:45 by “Hope and Anguish in Dvorák’s Requiem,” a free pre-concert talk by Morten Solvik, professor of music at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna. Both events will take place in the Rovensky Concert Shed at Berkshire School. Soloists for Saturday night’s performance will be mezzo-soprano Jennifer Roderer, soprano Monique McDonald, tenor Charles Reid and bass Kevin Deas. A New York City Opera favorite, Roderer made her debut this season at Lyric Opera of Chicago in “Die Walkure.” McDonald recently performed at the New York City Opera as Serena in “Porgy and Bess” and Micaela in “Carmen.” In steady demand as a concert singer, Reid has recently performed Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” with the Nashville Symphony and Handel’s “Messiah” with the United States Naval Academy. Deas is internationally recognized for his portrayal of the title role in Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets may be purchased by phone, 229-1999, or at the festival’s box office at Berkshire School. Concertgoers are welcome to picnic on the campus prior to the performance. Information: 229-8526 or visit www.choralfest.org. First Friday NORTH ADAMS — First Friday will feature a movie, music and specials in the downtown on Friday, Aug. 6, beginning at 7 p.m. For the first time since the event started, a free movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean,” will be shown on the lawn of the First Congregational Church, 134 Main St. The movie was made possible by The Movie Gallery in North Adams. It will begin at dusk, and those attending should bring chairs or blankest. In case of rain, it will be moved indoors. Legacy, a craft and artisans shop on Holden Street, will celebrate its one-year anniversary during the evening. Owner Margot Sanger will sponsor live music from the “Eklikti Jam,” in addition to having other specials for shoppers. On Aug. 22, from 10 to 4, Sanger will host an antique appraisal fair. For $3, items will be appraised by members of the Cheshire Auction House, with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to Northern Berkshire Community Action, and another portion earmarked for the Williamstown “Meals on Wheels” program. Other live music Friday will include The Chapel Hill Band, blues and gospel singer Robin O’Herin, Ryc Powers Ward and local musician Tony Pisano. Other specials will include Tarot Card Readings at Galadriel’s Boutique, 105 Main St., “On-the-Road with the Berkshire Review” readings at Papyri Books, 49 Main St., cotton candy and more. First Fridays combine art, music, food and specials on Main, Eagle, Marshall, Holden and Ashland streets. Festivities are held on the first Friday of each month from 7 to 9. The project is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Members of the Infinite Capacity Partnership plan events, with support from the city and private sectors. Information: Papyri Books, 662-2099 or the Mayor’s Office of Tourism and Cultural Development, 664-6180. Paran concert NORTH BENNINGTON, Vt. — Music at Lake Paran will host its last concert of the summer season, with the husband and wife team of Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen, on Saturday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. Gillette is best known as a songwriter for numerous major artists, including John Denver, Garth Brooks, Linda Ronstadt, and Kenny Rogers. His skill on the guitar has been compared to that of Doc Watson. Mangsen is known for her compelling voice and her trio recordings with Priscilla Herdman and Anne Hills, as well as her solo albums. She adds guitar, banjo and concertina to Gillette’s guitar and fiddle. Lake Paran is on Houghton Street and is accessible to the handicapped. Those attending can bring a picnic and swim until 8. The suggested donation is $5 per person, $12 per family. Information: Lake Paran, 802-442-2422. Village Harmony LEE — Now in its 15th summer concert season, the world music youth singing ensemble Village Harmony will present its second summer 2004 concert program on Tuesday, Aug. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church. Led jointly by John Harrison, Fred Onovwerosuoke and Amity Baker, the program will feature traditional music from West Africa, American vocal jazz and gospel, traditional harmony singing from the British isles and Spanish renaissance songs. Suggested admission at the door is $8, $5 for students. Information: 243-1033. The teenage singers and instrumentalists of Village Harmony’s summer music camps have performed in every corner of New England and across an ever-widening swath of the globe. The group is one of nine different Village Harmony ensembles this summer, under the expert guidance of musical leaders from six countries, which will give concerts throughout New England and in Corsica and Caucasus Georgia. Raised in Ghana and Nigeria, and trained in both classical and traditional music, Onovwerosuoke is the leader for the St. Louis African choir and travels throughout the world teaching music from West Africa. He will lead Tswana dance and playsongs from Botswana, Damara, and Nama work songs from Namibia, Masaai chants and Safari folksongs from Kenya and Madinka initiation songs from Senegal. Harrison, director of Montpelier’s Community Gospel Choir and veteran Village Harmony leader, will lead classical quartet gospel songs, doo-wop, a aapella numbers and harmony arrangements from the British groups Coope, Boyes and Simpson and the Watersons. Baker, conductor of the Burlington, Vt. choir Social Band, will lead Spanish secular songs from the 16th century, with lively rhythm and catchy refrains. Wine classic LENOX — Tanglewood has again joined forces with the Nantucket Wine Festival to present the second annual Tanglewood Wine & Food Classic, Saturday, Aug. 7, from noon to 5 in Hawthorne Tent. Attendees can sample wines from all over the world, meet and interact with winemakers and enjoy food. Hourly cooking demonstrations by nationally acclaimed chefs will be held throughout the event. Select restaurants will serve up signature dishes, and regional artisans will show a variety of wine- and food-inspired art. Participants can also attend a Boston Symphony Tanglewood concert that evening, with world-renowned Yo-Yo Ma as soloist (separate ticket required). Among the chefs giving cooking demonstrations in the Viking kitchens will be Christopher Brooks, Blantyre, Lenox; Ian Just, Les Zygomates, Boston; Cliff Roy, Creative Gourmet, Lenox; Mark Allen, Le Soir Bistro, Newton Highlands; Raymond Ost, Sandrine's, Cambridge; J. Bryce Whittlesey, Wheatleigh, Lenox; Al Kovalencik, Company of the Cauldron, Nantucket; and Cyril Renaud, Fleur de Sel, New York City. Participating restaurants include Blantyre, Firefly, and Wheatleigh, all in Lenox; Old Inn on the Green, Gedney Farm, South Marlboro; Trattoria Rustica, Pittsfield; Company of the Cauldron, Nantucket; Fleur de Sel, New York City; Les Zygomates, Boston; and Sherlock 221, Old Lyme, Conn. Exhibitors include Viking, Great Cheeses of New England, iGourmet.com, Hogue Farms Creative Gourmet and Nejaime's Wine Cellars. Sponsors include Viking, Moet & Chandon, Samuel Adams, Home Goods, Cranwell Resort, S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna, The Great Cheeses of New England and iGourmet.com. Tickets are $95 per person. All ticket holders must be at least 21 years old; proper identification must be provided at the door. Painting exhibit GREAT BARRINGTON — An exhibition of paintings of the Housatonic River by Michael Filmus will be on view at the Library Atrium Gallery at Simon’s Rock College of Bard from Aug. 7 through Sept. 22. There will be a reception for the artist on Aug. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. The exhibit will include recent paintings depicting aspects of the Berkshire landscape. Filmus, who lives in Great Barrington, has painted his surrounding countryside in all of its changing moods and seasons. His work has been included in exhibitions all over the country and has been featured in several solo exhibitions in galleries in New York and Massachusetts, including the David Findlay and Hirschl and Adler Galleries in Manhattan. His work is also included in museum collections in Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis. Duffin Theatre LENOX — CocoJam Productions, in association with The Distinguished Artist series at The Duffin Theatre, will present the one-man show, “Zeno: Sacred Stories of the Desert,” Aug. 11 through Aug. 28. Adapted from the essays of Thomas Merton, in particular his work on the Desert Fathers, the show is set in 410 AD. Zeno tells the story of one monk who escapes the “shipwrecked” world for a more perfect relationship with God among the desert communities of ancient Egypt. Reflecting on his experiences and the unexpected trouble he finds himself in, Zeno looks at themes of sustaining one’s ideals in the face of a troubled and turbulent world. The show is written and performed by Marc Aronoff, who holds a degree in the interpretation of literature from Northwestern University. During his previous one-man show at The Dublin Theatre Festival in Ireland, he was described by the Irish Independent New as, “A performer of such undoubted talent. You will be hearing his name again.” Directed by Peter Bergman, performances will be Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8:30. All tickets are $15 and general admission. Information or tickets: box office, 841-1191. Museum tours PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Museum will offer “Presence of Light” gallery tours at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 6 and Saturday, Aug. 14. The exhibit “Presence of Light,” on display through Oct. 31, is an exploration into the way light is collected, harnessed and transformed, by nationally known and emerging artists. The tours are designed to provide a more intimate look at the surprising, fresh and unexpected approach to light from artists influenced by pioneers of light sculpture, such as James Turrell, Walter de Maria and Dan Flavin. The exhibition includes several site-specific works made especially for the Berkshire Museum. It was funded in part by the High Meadow Foundation. Information: www.berkshiremuseum.org. Book event MANCHESTER, Vt. — Northshire Bookstore will welcome novelists Karen Shepard and Allison Lynn to present two new novels about the complexity of marriage on Friday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. In "The Bad Boy's Wife," Williamstown, Mass., neighbor Shepard asks, "What happens when you marry the bad boy — the reckless, irresistible cowboy who steals your heart and whom you should have dumped after the first affair?" "Now You See It," by Lynn, is a drama of psychological suspense about a missing woman and her husband. Shepard is the author of the novel "An Empire of Women." She teaches writing and literature at Williams College and lives in Williamstown with her husband, novelist Jim Shepard, and their three children. Lynn has won awards from the Pirate's Alley William Faulkner Society and the Bronx Writers Center, as well as a fellowship from the Starlight Foundation. She lives in New York City. The authors will be available to take questions and sign copies of their books. Information on this and other events, 802-362-2200, 800-437-3700 or www.northshire.com. Concert, bash MANCHESTER, Vt. — Hildene’s 26th birthday bash was a casualty of the unpredictable weather this season and a rain date has been scheduled to coincide with another of Hildene’s free community events, the Thum Memorial Concert featuring the Woods Tea Company. On Wednesday, Aug. 11, gates will open at 5 p.m. for picnicking. Weather permitting, free Wilcox ice cream, pony rides for children and a visit with a few of Hildene’s farm animals will be at the event tent behind the main house until 7. All are welcome. Information: 802-362-1788 or e-mail info@hildene.org. Folk concert PITTSFIELD — The Hunger Mountain Boys and Bob Thistle will split a double bill at the Common Grounds Coffee House, First United Methodist Church, 55 Fenn St., on Saturday, Aug. 7, at 8 p.m. The Hunger Mountain Boys are an old-time, traditional duet featuring the sounds of guitar, fiddle, mandolin and dobro. Based out of the Great Barrington/Monterey area, the duet features Ted Weber on guitar, dobro and vocals and Kip Beacco on fiddle, mandolin, guitar and vocals. Bob Thistle hails from Pittsfield. He sings of broken hearts and “found love,” with the voice of a father, teacher, husband and working man, creating a world where, although life is not always fair, the passion is always equal to the endeavor. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children. To buy advance tickets, contact the church office, 499-0866. Tickets will also be sold the day of the performance beginning at 4 p.m. Common Grounds Coffee House offers an intimate setting to enjoy folk music in downtown Pittsfield on the first Saturday of each month. A selection of gourmet coffees, flavored teas, soft drinks and desserts are offered for sale. Proceeds from the coffee house support church programs, including Harvest Table, a weekly community dinner served Tuesdays at 5. Chamber music CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. —Hubbard Hall will present a Music from Salem piano, mezzo-soprano and viola concert on Friday, Aug. 6, at 8 p.m. Music from Salem pianists David Breitman and Nina Tichman will play four-hand pieces by Poulenc, Stravinsky and Debussy. Lila Brown will play viola, and Mary Nessinger will sing DeBussey’s “Chansons de Bilitis,” Brahms’ "Sapphische Ode" and other songs by Brahms. Tickets are $17 for Hubbard Hall members, $20, for non-members, and $10 for students and children. Reservations: Hubbard Hall at 518- 677-2495 Music from Salem is a chamber music festival that brings together accomplished musicians of international reputation each summer Information: www.musicfromsalem.org Hubbard Hall is an 1878 rural opera house at 25 East Main St. Information: www.hubbardhall.org. Love story LENOX — “If Ever Two Were One: A Victorian Romance,” a love story rediscovered by archivist Brian Sullivan, will be presented by him at the Museum of the Gilded Age at Ventfort Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 4 p.m. The lecture is a part of Ventfort Hall’s continuing lecture series and will be accompanied by a Victorian high tea and a book-signing session. As senior reference archivist at the Harvard University Archives in Cambridge, Sullivan made his discovery when he randomly opened a box of 19th-century student journals. The diary contained a lock of chestnut brown hair, pressed flowers and a handwritten poem of love and tragic loss. The caption beneath the lock of hair read, “Katie Loring’s hair, Jan. 22, 1857.” The poem, dated March 13, 1894, describes “a lovely girlish head, with falling tresses fair” and concluded with “a mother’s dying head/alone with a lock of hair.” The diarist was Francis Ellingwood Abbot, Harvard class of 1859. He had met the 17-year-old Kate Loring at a party in Concord in 1857 (“I thought of her all night instead of going to sleep. If there ever was a fool, his name is Frank Abbot”). The couple married two years later. Sullivan noted an entry from Dec. 25, 1856 (Abbot had started his journal the previous year when he entered Harvard as a freshman), which related the student’s lively conversation in Concord about poetry with Henry Thoreau, “somewhat known for his writings.” However, the main theme of the diary is of all-consuming love. Regan Books published the Victorian love story this year under the title “If Ever Two Were One: A Private Diary of Love Eternal Kept by Francis Ellingwood Abbot, 1855-1930,” which is a compilation of the diaries and of the hundreds of letters the lovers exchanged, from their courtship through 34 years of married life. Abbot became a teacher, minor philosopher and Unitarian minister. The couple had three children, and four others died young. One son, Edward Stanley Abbot, donated the student journal to the archives in 1941. Later, other family members donated 34 more journals and the love letters. On Oct. 22, 1903, 10 years to the day after his wife died at age 54, Abbot committed suicide by drinking poison on her grave in Beverly. Sullivan has been senior reference archivist at Harvard for the last three years. Previously he held the positions of reference archivist for four years and curatorial assistant for two years at the archives. The 2004 Ventfort Hall lecture series is partially underwritten by the Lenox Cultural Council, a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Admission for the lecture and accompanying tea is $15 per person, $12 for members. Sullivan will hold a book-signing session, and books may be purchased from the museum gift shop Reservations (recommended) or information: Ventfort Hall, 637-3206. The hall, built in 1893 by George and Sarah Morgan, sister of financier J. Pierpont Morgan, is at 104 Walker St. Spotlight talks NORTH ADAMS —The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is continuing its series of “Spotlight Talks” in its galleries every Thursday and Saturday at 3 with half-hour lectures by artists, free with museum admission. Chris Westhoff will present a talk on the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko today [Thursday, Aug. 5] and Saturday, Aug. 7. Wodiczko has two works in The Interventionists at Mass MoCA — his “Homeless Vehicle,” made in 1988 is the oldest piece in the exhibition —and, born in 1944, he is the oldest artist in the exhibition. On Aug. 12 and 14, Matt Levy will speak about “Lightning with Stag in its Glare” by Joseph Beuys. He’ll discuss Beuys’ life and work — his war experiences, political activities, and other major works — as well as the meanings of the components of this installation. He’ll also discuss how the work, which belongs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, ended up at Mass MoCA in a long-term loan. Westhoff will offer a talk on the collective The Atlas Group on Aug. 19 and 21. The group’s installation, “The Truth Will be Known When the Last Witness is Dead: Documents from the Fakhouri File,” presents “imaginary documentation” of the history of the Lebanese wars. Brianna Toth will finish the season on Aug. 26 and 28 with a talk about Ann Hamilton’s “corpus.” The enormous and very popular installation in Building 5 features 40 paper droppers installed in the rafters as well as horn-shaped speakers that slowly raise and lower. All talks meet at the “Ask Me” desk in the lobby. Information: 662-2111. Galleries are open from 10 to 6 daily. Admission is $10 adults, $8 students, $4 children 6-16, free for children under 6 and free for members at all times. Super Saturday PITTSFIELD — The artistic exploration of the Housatonic River will be the theme for Super Saturday, Aug. 7 from 1 to 3 at the Berkshire Museum. At 1, Jean Bousquet, museum docent, will lead an introductory discussion for families about artist and writers of the 19th century. They may then tour the galleries and learn how Hudson River School painters and writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville expressed the beauty of the area’s valleys and rivers. From 1:30 to 3, families may try their hand at creating landscapes, using the museum’s native gardens as a backdrop. The activity is limited; timed tickets will be available at the admission desk. Super Saturday is free with museum admission. Information: 443-7171, ext. 10. The program is presented in conjunction with Housatonic River Summer 2004. Information: www.housatonicriversummer.org. Ballet Manchester MANCHESTER, Vt. — Pilobolus is a sun-loving fungus that lives in cow dung. It’s also the name of a dance company that has mixed inventiveness with humor and has survived for more than 30 years. Pilobolus will perform “Tsu-Ku Tsu,” “Pseudopodia,” “WalkLyndon,” “Warm Heart” and “Megawatt” on Sunday evening, Aug. 15, at 7:30 in the Southern Vermont Arts Center. The company began in 1971 in a dance class at Dartmouth College. Allison Chase, its dance instructor, then 24, said its members thought it would be an easy A, but they were a disaster. Out of fear, they clung together for moral support as well as physical support, she said. Their signature since then has been the entangling of bodies — they employ the laws of physics to come up with something that seems impossible. Pilobolus has a repertoire of 85 original works. Charles Reinhart, director of the American Dance festival, said, “If you’re lucky, every decade or so you see an artist that makes you catch your breath because they are so totally innovative.” Five male dancers and two women dancers make up Pilobolus. Ballet Manchester’s Director, Marilyn Cavallari said ticket sales are moving and undoubtedly the performance will be sold out. Tickets are $38 reserved adult, $33 reserved child, $28 unreserved adult, $23 unreserved child. Unreserved tickets can be purchased at the Northshire Bookstore and the Bennington Bookshop. Reserved can be purchased by calling Ballet Manchester, 802-362-0759, with Mastercard or Visa. Harrison Gallery WILLIAMSTOWN —The Harrison Gallery will present an exhibition of Vermont impressionist Rebecca Cuming from Aug. 6 through Sept. 1. There will be a reception with the artist on Saturday, Aug. 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. The public is invited. Cuming’s paintings are soft, luminescent reflections of quiet New England landscapes. Her compositions are often derived to include the viewer as a part of the scene. Along with The Harrison Gallery, Williamstown, Cuming has been represented by the Thompson Park Museum, Lincroft, N.Y., Mary Bryan Memorial Gallery, Jeffersonville, Vt., and the Allan Stone Gallery, New York City. In 2002, 2001, 2000, Cuming received First Place Oil, “Art for Art’s Sake” in Stowe, Vt., and in 1990, she received First Place Juried Show, “Maine The First Generation” at the Summer School Museum and the U.S. Senate Building, Washington, D.C. The Harrison Gallery is at 39 Spring St. Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 to 5:30, Sunday noon to 5. Information: 458-1700 or www.theharrisongallery.com. SKH Gallery GREAT BARRINGTON — The SKH Gallery of Fine Art & Craft at the Train Station, 46 Castle St., will show the works of Bernd Haussmann and Don Maynard, “Border Crossings,” from Saturday, Aug. 7, through Thursday, Aug. 19. The public is invited to preview the exhibition at a gallery reception Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. Haussmann’s work has been exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Santa Fe, Seattle, Provincetown, Atlanta, Fort Worth and Lenox. His work is in several museums collections and is increasingly sought by American corporate collectors, such as Xerox and the Hyatt Regency Corp. He creates abstractions from nature, using an iconography derived from flora and fauna and working in series with common themes. The SKH Gallery will show his works on paper and mixed media paintings. Maynard, a Canadian artist, paints with encaustic, a centuries-old technique of working with molten waxes. His paintings become carefully built up surfaces — layer upon layer of texture — revealing subtle traces of symbols and graphic iconography. Various traditional and industrial materials create his highly textured surfaces. He has exhibited his work in both solo and group shows in Canada, New York and Lenox. He and Haussmann were previously represented by the Ute Stebich Gallery in Lenox. Future exhibitions will feature the work of Claude Carone, Ani Kasten, and Hyejeong Kim (Aug. 21 to Sept. 3) and Anna Shteynshleyger (Oct. 2 to Oct. 17). The Aug. 7 preview will coincide with previews of exhibitions at the Haddad-Lascano Gallery at 297 Main St. and The Geoffrey Young Gallery at 40 Railroad St. (second floor), part of “Gallery Walks in Great Barrington.” The SKH Gallery is open Monday through Friday and Sunday, 11 to 4:00; Saturday, 9 to 4, or by appointment, 528-3300. Gallery Night LAKEVILLE, Conn. — The town will host its first Gallery Night, a collaboration between the galleries of the community and the Lakeville Gallery Association on Saturday, Aug. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. Those attending can park at the public lot across from Morgan Lehman Gallery and walk to three galleries (the Tremaine Gallery is closed for the summer but will join the association for the September Gallery Night). The Tremaine Gallery at the Hotchkiss School has long been known for mounting museum quality exhibitions, but there had never been commercial venues for viewing contemporary art in Lakeville until the opening of the Morgan Lehman Gallery in May of 2002. The White Gallery opened in May 2003, and Argazzi Art opened in October 2003. Future Gallery Nights will be held Sept. 18 and Oct. 16. Information: 860-435-0898 Music festival NORTH BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Chamber Music Festival of the East opened its 59th concert season last week offering free concerts at Bennington College. The festival will present a seminar and performance, “"Inspiration, Text, and Music — Part I," tonight [Thursday, Aug. 5] at 7:30, by composer-in-residence Stephen Hartke (this year's winner of the Charles Ives Living Composer Award), soprano Carol Meyer, and the festival faculty at the Martha Hill Auditorium of the Visual and Performing Arts Center The festival will continue Saturday, Aug. 7, at 8 p.m. with a program that includes Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" aria for soprano, trumpet obligato and septet, plus Hartke's quartet "The King of the Sun," Jan Dismas Zelenka's "Trio No. 5 in F Major" for flute, oboe and bassoon, and the Brahms "Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 60." The concert will be performed at the Greenwall Auditorium of the Visual and Performing Arts Center. For driving directions, visit www.bennington.edu/main.htm On Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 8 p.m, the program' will include Mozart's "Divertimento No. 10 in F Major, K. 247" for two horns and five strings, "Schilflieder: Five Fantasy Pieces after Poems by Nicholas Lenau" (with no vocal part) by August Klughardt and Arnold Schoenberg's "String Quartet No. 2 in F# Minor, Op. 10" with soprano part for poems by Stefan Georg, also at the Greenwall Auditorium. The inclusion of poetry but the absence of a vocal part in the Klughardt composition, and the presence of poems and a vocal part in the Schoenberg string quartet will be discussed the next evening during the seminar on "Inspiration, Text, and Music — Part II,” at 7:30 p.m. at the Martha Hill Auditorium. It will be presented by violinist and music director Shem Guibbory, pianist Cynthia Adler, soprano Susanna Eyton-Jones and the festival faculty. Ghent auditions GHENT, N.Y. — The Ghent Playhouse will hold auditions for “Born Yesterday” on Monday, Aug. 9, and Tuesday, Aug. 10. Sign-in will be at 6:30 p.m, with auditions beginning at 7. There are 15 roles to be filled. “Born Yesterday” is scheduled to open on Oct. 1 and will run for three weekends, closing Oct. 17. Now entering its 30th season, The historic Ghent Playhouse is just off Route 66 on Town Hall Road, across from the firehouse. Information: 518-392-6264, or visit www.ghentplayhouse.org. Cambridge concert CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. — The Old Cambridge Outdoor Concert Series, organized by the Cambridge Valley Chamber of Commerce, will continue with the Cantaluna Duo on Sunday, Aug, 8. All concerts, presented at the Cambridge Guest Home park on South Union Street (behind the Cambridge IGA), start at 6 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Refreshments are sold. People are advised to bring blankets and lawn chairs. There are shady areas to sit under the trees that line the concert site. A free-will donation is collected at each concert to support the series, and there is a 50/50 raffle each week. In the event of bad weather, concerts are relocated to the Captain Maxson American Legion Pavilion on Route 22, just north of the Village of Cambridge. A sign will be posted next to Memorial Drive (the entrance to the Cambridge Public Library) by 5 p.m. on the day of the concert. The entrance can be used to access ample parking for the concerts. Featuring Richard Barbierri on accordion and Stephen Alcorn on guitar, the Cantaluna Duo will perform a selection of songs designed to highlight a unique blend of the English and Italian languages. Drawing from a wealth of universally acclaimed ballads (old and new), as well as a host of disarmingly personal, original songs, Cantaluna Duo promises an evening of thoughtful introspection, revealing stories, wistful reminiscences and joyous musical interaction. Future concerts this summer will include Reggie's Red Hot Feet Warmers (Aug. 15) and the "Foggy Mountain Jam Show" on Aug. 22 (note date change). The series is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, administered by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council. Information: The Chamber, 518-677-0887. Art lecture WILLIAMSTOWN – James A. Ganz will give a public lecture, “Masterpieces in Focus: Master Drawings from the Bruyas Collection,” at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute on Saturday, Aug. 7, at 2 p.m. Ganz is curator of prints, drawings and photographs at the Clark. He will focus on the drawings in the Clark’s current exhibition, “Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet!”: The Bruyas Collection from the Musée Fabre, Montpellier. Admission to the lecture is free. In addition to paintings and sculpture, “Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet!” features 18 drawings by such 19th-century artists as Eugène Delacroix, Jean-François Millet, Paul Delaroche and Antoine-Louis Barye. It will be on view through Sept. 6. The Clark Art is at 225 South St. Galleries are open daily, 10 to 5. Admission is $10 (members, students, and 18 and under free). Information: 458-2303 or www.clarkart.edu/courbet.
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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