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Cultural Pittsfield This Week: July 26-Aug. 1

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The Berkshires branch of the NAACP invites everyone to the 46th Annual Gather-In Festival at Durant Park (formerly Pitt Park) for a FREE, family friendly, fun, jam-packed day! Enjoy food, community vendors, kids' activities, music and more! 1-7 p.m.
 
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE
The Shaker Barn Music Series presents The Mammals: Ruth Ungar, Mike Merenda and a cohort of compelling collaborators on fiddle, banjo, guitar, organ, bass and drums. Calling themselves "subversive acoustic traditionalists" or a "party band with a conscience," The Mammals re-emerged from a hibernation period during which the band's founders explored new songwriting terrain. 7:30 p.m. 
Plus... 
FRI Blue Light Trio at Rainbow | FRI Dan Gingras at Rusty Anchor | FRI Jason & Trev at Proprietor's Lodge | SAT Latin Dance Party at The A | SAT The Rejuvenators at Mission | SAT Sky Full of Dippers at Rusty Anchor | SAT Jason & Trev at Friends | SUN Fall Springs Battle of the Bands at The A | MON WordXWord: News in America at Berkshire Museum | MON Jazz Night at Mission | TUE Open Mic Night at O'Laughlin's | TUE The Mastheads Annual Reading at Arrowhead | WED Live on the Lake: Whiskey City at Onota Lake | WED Gruppo Mondo at Rainbow | THU Jazz Vespers at Zion Lutheran Church | THU Apocalypstick Redd at Otto's | THU Poetry sCrawl at The Lichtenstein | THU Head-to-Head Haiku at Dottie's | THU Hotshot Hillbillies at Mazzeo's | THU The Picky B's at Mission | THU Riverside Brothers at PortSmitt's
 
FAMILY FRIENDLY

Follow the troupe of poor "Italian" actors (a.k.a. Ragtag Theatre) as they present a twisted musical romp through the fairytale Hansel and Gretel with PTA moms, a raccoon dressed as an owl and a cottage made out of Mucinex boxes. Done in the style of Commedia dell'Arte, the show is highly interactive, incorporating improvisation and loads of audience participation. Now through August 10 at Berkshire Museum. $20 adult/$15 youth.
 
Plus...
FRI WeeMuse: Adventures at Berkshire Museum FRI Designing with da Vinci at Berkshire Museum FRI Yoga for Kids at Berkshire Athenaeum FRI-THU Parenting Classes & Play Groups at 18 Degrees (formerly Berkshire Children & Families) SAT Book Fair to benefit Berkshire Athenaeum at Barnes & Noble SAT Kitchen Ka-Boom! at Berkshire Museum SAT Robbins-Zust Marionettes at Dottie's SAT Chow Time at Berkshire Museum SAT Designing with da Vinci at Berkshire Museum SAT da Vinci After Hours at Berkshire Museum SUN Discovery Tank Program at Berkshire Museum | MON Exploring Our World at Berkshire Museum MON Kindergarten Countdown at Berkshire Athenaeum MON Star Lab at Berkshire Athenaeum MON Stardust Cafe at Berkshire Athenaeum MON-FRI Summer on the Farm at Hancock Shaker Village TUE WeeMuse: Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum TUE Designing with da Vinci at Berkshire Museum TUE Science Tellers: Dreamcatchers at Berkshire Athenaeum TUE Screening of Meet The Robinsons at Berkshire Athenaeum WED Little Gardeners of the Galaxy at Berkshire Athenaeum WED A Very Harry Potter Birthday Party at Berkshire Athenaeum | WED Scavenger Hunts at Berkshire Museum THU Farm Friends at Hancock Shaker Village | THU Exploring Our World at Berkshire Museum THU Designing with da Vinci at Berkshire Museum THU Story Time at Berkshire Athenaeum THU Lego Lift Off at Berkshire Athenaeum THU+ Shrek The Musical at The Colonial THU Family Game Night at Berkshire County Arc
 
WELLNESS
Join certified personal trainer Thomas Davis for a 5-week Low Impact Strength, Core & Stability program held every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. and Saturday from 6:30-7:30 a.m. from July 30 to August 31 at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness. This class combines low impact movements with flexibility training, core stability, balance work and muscle toning to enhance daily living and overall well-being.
Plus...
FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Running Center | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Family YMCA | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness FRI-THU Various Classes at Radiance Yoga | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Salsa FRI-THU Various Classes at Pilates Fit | SAT Sunrise Yoga on the Deck at Rusty Anchor | SAT Barre Class at Onota Lake | SAT Goat Yoga at Hancock Shaker Village | TUE Restorative Yoga & Sound Bath at Zion Lutheran Church | THU Thursday MELTing at Pilates Fit | THU Yoga Class at Onota Lake
  PERFORMANCE
 
Passion. Deception. Power. Gertrude and Claudius is a love story for the ages based on the brilliant book by John Updike, and told through the uncanny lens of Mark St. Germain. A provocative prequel to Hamlet. At Barrington Stage Company's Boyd-Quinson Mainstage through August 3.
Plus...
FRI-SAT Time Flies and Other Comedies at Barrington Stage | THU+ If I Forget at Barrington Stage
  COMMUNITY
 
 
Come visit Moments House and learn about its programs and services. Make new friends, enjoy light refreshments, and meet the organization's new Director of Programs and Services, Sarah Suriner! 6-8 p.m.
Wellness Day at the Market will feature demonstrations, talks, local community organization info booths, giveaways and more! Learn about bees, watch a cooking demo, take a kundalini yoga class, make a free reusable bag, check your blood pressure and more. Plus, live music and FREE summer lunch for kids 18 and younger! 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the First Street Common.
Plus...
SAT Book Fair to Benefit Berkshire Athenaeum at Barnes & Noble | SAT Housatonic River Cleanup at Wahconah Park | SAT 10th Anniversary at O'Laughlin's | SUN Brunch w/Rick & Marilyn at Dottie's | SUN Sunday Brunch at Mission | TUE The Mastheads Annual Reading at Arrowhead
  LEARNING
Join the Berkshire Athenaeum as they celebrate Herman Melville's 200th birthday with free tours of its Melville Room and the dedication of a Literary Landmark plaque at 1 p.m. From 2-4 p.m., enjoy tours at Arrowhead and music by Woody Printz. The celebration culminates in a party at the Country Club of Pittsfield at 4:30 p.m. with heavy hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, a special program with Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Company, a Prosecco toast and birthday cake. Proceeds benefit the Berkshire County Historical Society.
Plus...
SAT Summer Art Retreat at NuArts | SUN Hadassah Scotch Tasting at Hilton Garden Inn | MON All the Rivers at Knesset Israel | MON Build a Strong Credit History at Tyler Street Lab | MON Reiki Level 1 Class at Wellness Underground | MON West African & Caribbean Drumming Classes at The Lichtenstein | TUE Chakra Tune-up Training at New Moon Gifts | WED The Act of Reading Screening at Arrowhead | THU Poems of Robert Frost w/Phil Holland at Knesset Israel
 
FILM
FRI-MON And There Was Israel at The Little Cinema
Romed Wyder's And There Was Israel returns to the origins of the creation of the State of Israel and looks at historical facts as they pertain to the responsibility of the Western world. Through the analysis of internationally renowned scholars and cinematographic archives, the film shows that in adopting the zionist project, Great Britain and other Western countries have been guided mainly by their own agenda. Thus, the West does not only bear a heavy responsibility in terms of the fate of Jews in Europe at the time, but also in terms of the fate of the Palestinians today.
Plus...
ONGOING See What's New at The Beacon | WED The Act of Reading Screening at Arrowhead
 
CALLING ALL ARTISTS!
 
Let's Go Pink is a cancer awareness exhibit that will be on view at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield throughout October, 2019. The opening reception will be Friday, Oct. 4 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. as part of that month's First Friday Artswalk. Twenty percent of sales will go to BTG PLAYS!, 15% to BMC Integrative Health Program's intuitive painting class for cancer patients, and the other 65% to the artist. Submissions accepted until Friday, Sept. 6. Artists will be notified of acceptance on or before Sept. 9. For more info, email the Let's Go Pink team: auntsessy1@gmail.com

 

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North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
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