Old Time Fiddle by Ear Workshop at Dewey Hall

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SHEFFIELD, Mass. — In this workshop Aaron Jonah Lewis will teach old time fiddle by ear on Friday April 22 with a workshop from 5:30 to 6:30 pm and a concert at 7:30. 
 
The old time fiddle styles of the Appalachian mountains are characterized by their syncopated bowing patterns and driving rhythms. The workshop will be spent discussing musical and technical aspects and learning a tune. 
 
This workshop is for people who can already play their fiddle/violin, but will be taught by ear so you don't need to read music.
 
Tickets can be purchased here.
 
The event will take place at Dewey Hall at 91 Main St.
 
About the Aaron Jonah Lewis:
 
Virtuoso banjo player and fiddler Aaron Jonah Lewis has involved in traditional American music since their first lessons at the age of five with Kentucky native Robert Oppelt. Their concerts include old time and folk music, with detours through ragtime and early jazz. 
 
Lewis has taken blue ribbons at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, W.Va., and at the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Va., the oldest and largest fiddlers convention in the country. They spend most of their time teaching, touring as a solo performer, with the Corn Potato String Band, the Lovestruck Balladeers, and other projects.
 
Lewis has appeared on dozens of recordings from bluegrass and old time to traditional jazz, contemporary experimental and Turkish classical music projects. They have taught workshops at the the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and at the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London. They also play and teach banjo, mandolin, and guitar and are currently based in Detroit.
 
Dewey Presents events are supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council through grants from the local cultural councils of Alford-Egremont, Sheffield, Mt. Washington, and New Marlborough Local Cultural Councils.
 
 

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First Eagle Mill Units in Lee to Open in Springtime

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Eagle Mills developer Jeffrey Cohen updates the Lee Chamber of Commerce as the project's phases, and the amount of heavy lifting to get it to this point. 

LEE, Mass. — More than 50 affordable units are expected to come online at the Eagle Mill this spring.

This is the first of several planned development phases at the former paper mill that dates back to the early 1800s, totaling more than 200 units. The Lee Chamber of Commerce hosted an information session on the project during its Business Breakfast last Wednesday. 

"We are here because we have a really big project that's happened for a very long time here in Lee, that, for myself, has provided a real sense of hope, and has has really defined this community as one of the few in the Berkshires that's really looking forward, as opposed to just being sort of stuck in the past," Chamber member Erik Williams said. 

The estimated $60 million development broke ground in 2021 after nearly a decade of planning and permitting. Hundreds of workers once filed into the 8-acre complex, producing up to 165 tons of paper a week. The last mill on the property closed in 2008.


Hearthway is accepting applications for 56 affordable apartments called "The Lofts at Eagle Mill" with expected occupancy in May. The housing nonprofit was also approved for 45 additional units of new construction on the site. 

Jeffrey Cohen of Eagle Mill Redevelopment LLC said the project dates back to 2012, when a purchase contract was signed for the West Center Street property. The developers didn't have to close on the property until renovation plans were approved in 2017, and the mill was sold for $700,000. 

It seemed like a great deal for the structure and eight acres on the Housatonic River, Cohen explained, but he wasn't aware of the complex pre-development costs, state, and local approvals it would entail.  Seven individually owned homes adjacent to the property were also acquired and demolished for parking and site access. 

"If I knew today what I knew then, I'm not sure we'd be sitting here," he said, joining the breakfast remotely over Zoom. 

Cohen praised the town's government, explaining that the redesigns and critiques "Could not have been done in a friendlier way, in a more helpful way," and the two Massachusetts governors serving during the project's tenure. The Eagle Mill redevelopment is supported by state and federal grants, as well as low-income housing tax credits. 

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