Weekend Outlook: Daffodils & All That Jazz
Berkshire County will be hosting a variety of indoor and outdoor events this warm weekend including festivals, dance parties, museum activities, and performances from world renowned performers.
Daffodil and Tulip Festival
Naumkeag, Stockbridge
Naumkeag is kicks off its 4th annual Daffodil and Tulip Festival this weekend that will run throughout the months of April and May.
The event will showcase more than 130,000 daffodil, tulip and minor bulbs across their 8 acres of land.
The 48-acre estate will be decorated with "with a variety of blooms, containers, displays and decorations against the backdrop of stunning views of Monument Mountain and the Berkshire Hills," according to the Trustees of Reservations.
Mixed bouquets, container plants, and a pre-sale of spring bulbs will be sold at a pop-up shop outside the greenhouse. Food and refreshments will be for sale at the outdoor snack shack. Admittance to the inside of the house will be permitted for self-guided tours of the first floor and to provide access to the museum's gift shop.
Tickets to the festival must be purchased in advance and will not be sold on site. Visitors must arrive during their arrival window and cannot be accommodated if early or late. The museum requests visitors limit their stay to one hour due to the high number of participants.
For more information on the Daffodil and Tulip Festival or to purchase tickets visit here.
ViewEscapes: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture
Naumkeag, Stockbridge
Naumkeag will also be opening the "ViewEscapes: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture exhibit this weekend which will run until Nov. 1.
The exhibit showcases 12 large sculptures outside and eight more inside the "cottage" along with three works of art.
This is not the first time Rickey has presented his work at Naumkeag. He had two exhibitions of sculptures, in 1994 and 1997. Naumkeag officials say the landscape blends well with the energy of his work in motion making it an ideal setting.
Pittsfield City Jazz Festival
111 South St, Pittsfield
The annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival is returning this weekend after two years of absence because of the pandemic.
Local and visiting artists will be performing jazz in many locations throughout Pittsfield. The festival kicks off Saturday with the Berkshire Jazz Jam at Mission Restaurant from 7 until 10 p.m. This event is the first form of "Jazz About Town." The second form is the Jazz Crawl, which is held next Saturday, April 30, at various venues in Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District.
The festival runs from April 23 until May 1 as part of Jazz Appreciation Month thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Feigenbaum Foundation and sponsorships from Berkshire Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, and WETF, the jazz station.
Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble
The Common, Pittsfield
Due to inclement weather the Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble was postponed to this weekend. This warm weekend is looking much more hopeful. The event will take place this Saturday morning from 10:30 until about 11:25.
Families will get a chance to meet and take pictures with the Easter Bunny before he hops back to Easter Island. Balloon creations and a hunt for Easter eggs will also be taking place with a chance for children to win an award for each age group.
Jack Ferver Gallery Pop-Up
Mass MoCA, North Adams
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art will be hosting a performance by writer, choreographer, and director Jack Ferver at 4 p.m. this Saturday when he will be discussing and performing an excerpt of their new upcoming solo work "Is Global Warming Camp? and other forms of theatrical distance for the end of the world."
The work will explore "the journalistic distance of the queer, weaponizing theatricality for vantage points ranging from intimate to cold in viewing our overwhelming global failures." Mass MoCA's website said.
The performance will take place in Marc Swanson’s exhibition on a stage purposely built for Fever inside the installation.
Swanson and Ferver have collaborated in the past including the "Chambre" performance in 2015 and the "Two Alike" performance in 2012.
The performance is free with admission to the museum.
Spring Break Weekend
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge
The Norman Rockwell Museum will be hosting an indoor family event this Saturday at 10 until 4.
The event will feature a children's guide throughout the gallery where kids will participate in a gallery scavenger hunt. There will also be drawing activities and a word game.
At 11 a.m. and noon there will be a story time in the gallery during which Rockwell's only children's book, "Willie was Different," will be read.
Children will take home their own stencil kit at the end. This event is free with admission to the museum.
South Berkshire Concert: Francesca Anderegg
Daniel Arts Center, Great Barrington
Violinist Francesca Anderegg will be performing at Simon's Rock College of Bard this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with admission free and open to the public.
Reservations are recommended and can be made here.
Vaccination certificates and masks are required.
Anderegg will be accompanied by pianist Matthew McCright. The program will include works by Clara Schumann, Gra'zyna Bacewicz, Hannah Lash, Jessie Montgomery, and also will include the Violin Sonata of Amy Beach. For further information, call 413-528-7212.
Anderegg comes from a musical family in the Berkshires and studied at Harvard University for her undergraduate degree and earned her masters and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School.
Tags: weekend outlook,
