Shaker Village offers huge country fair

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PITTSFIELD — Hancock Shaker Village's Country Fair and Crafts Festival featuring the New England Heritage Breeds Conservancy exhibition and sale of livestock is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25, and Sunday, Sept. 26, from 9:30 to 5. Craft sales and demonstrations, a quilt show, a parade of animals, wagon rides and hands-on farm activities will occur during the weekend. In addition to the traditional crafts demonstrated daily at the village, 40 of the region's top crafts producers will sell their wares and demonstrate traditional craft techniques throughout the weekend. Shaker and Shaker inspired craft artisans include Jim Bennet with Shaker furniture, oval box maker Steve Grasselli, Bob Casey making Shaker clocks and seed boxes, Dave Coleman of Shady Oak Workshop, basket maker Gerrie Kennedy, Stephen and Cheryl Barlow making Shaker style furnishings, Bob Raymaakers of Shaker Valley Woodworkers, Jim Bennett of Mount Lebanon Cabinet Makers and Pam Agostino making Shaker and Nantucket baskets. A special booth will feature items created by the staff and craft instructors of Hancock Shaker Village. A broad array of textile arts, from spinning and weaving to quilting and embroidery, will be represented by Elaine O'Donal, Mostrom and Chase Handweavers, Embroidery Guild of America Berkshire Chapter; Tom and Josie Speckert, Berkshire Weavers Guild; Amy Lund, Joselle Gagliano, quilters Karen Motyka and Frances McCauley; Susan Stapleford, and the Berkshire Hills and Dales Spinning Guild. Woodworking, from sign making to woodenware and furniture and chairs, will be demonstrated by Roy Gibson and Patti Exster, Trent Link, Jim Hartlage, John Witherbee, Lou DeMola, James Stewart, Bob Tobin, and Robin Booth. Metalware will be presented by tinsmiths Walter Fleming and John Santo, blacksmiths Jim Stapleford and William Senseney. Other craft artisans will be potter Peter Neff, noted stone carver Karin Sprague, broom maker J.P. Welch, Frank Disbrow making quill pens, soap making with North American Naturals, Deb Pierce creating scratch carved (sgraffito) eggs, Sue and Noel Strobino with salt and stone pottery; Debi and Cleon Grover with woodenware and 18th-century reverse paintings on glass, Diane Louise Paul with leather goods, Marilyn Paige with painted floor cloths, Angie Gray with hand-cut silhouettes and hooked rugs, Maria Holt Designs with fine decoupage, Allen's 19th Century Country Store & Folk Art Gallery, Scherenschnitte by Pamela Dalton and Cynthia Niven with herbal products. A farmers market will offer a variety of general farm produce, fruits, vegetables, maple syrup, dried flowers, herbs and more. Participants will include Ioka Valley Farm, Clover Hill Farm, Berkshire Harvest, Hillman Farm, Berkshire Soaps, Hands to Work Farm and Becky Webster. The weekend is an opportunity to see historic breeds of farm animals, presented by upwards of 60 exhibitors from throughout the Northeast in the New England Heritage Breeds Conservancy livestock exhibition and sale. The breeds shown at the event will represent a broad spectrum of rare livestock, including Poitou Donkey, Highland and Randall Lineback Cattle, San Clemente Goats, American Cream and Toy Shetland Horses, Gloucestershire Old Spot, Large Black and Tamworth Pigs and Cotswold, Karakul and Tunis Sheep. Poultry breeds expected to be shown include Dominique Chickens, Cayuga and Indian Runner Ducks, Narragansett and Bourbon Red Turkeys. Many breeders will allow spectators close contact with the animals. A parade of animals will be held each afternoon at 3, during which the animals will wend their way around the 1826 Round Stone Barn and farm yard. On Saturday, state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, will announce participants in the parade. Other activities will include cider making and grain thrashing, as well as working livestock demonstrations, in an effort to give visitors a feeling of what farm life was like in the late 19th and and early 20th centuries. The Hancock Shaker Village 4-H Club will provide hands-on farm fun and opportunities to meet the village's livestock. Visitors may view a variety of vintage and contemporary quilts in Field and Farm, a show featuring the work of local and regional quilters. Jack Sobon and Dave Carlon will conclude their five-day timber-frame construction workshop on Sunday. Children under 18 will be admitted free. Hancock Shaker Village is a 200-year-old, restored Shaker site. Its 20 historic buildings house the premier collection of Shaker artifacts. Daily talks, demonstrations, and first-person programs are designed to bring 200 years of Shaker history to life. Currently on exhibition is “With Hands to Work and Hearts to God: The Arts and Crafts of American Utopias.” Based on "The Communistic Societies of the United States," published by journalist Charles Nordhoff in 1875, the exhibition explores the arts and crafts of communal societies. Featured in the exhibition are artifacts from the communal villages of Old Economy, Pa.; Zoar, Ohio; New Harmony, Ind.; Bishop Hill, Ill.; Amana, Iowa; Oneida, N.Y.,Bethel, Mo.; Aurora, Ore. and Hancock Shaker Village. The village is on Route 20, just west of the junction of Routes 20 and 41. Information: 800-817-1137 or www.hancockshakervillage.org.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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