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Weekend Outlook: Art Walk, Musical Performances, and More

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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Berkshire County is having a variety of events this weekend including Art Walks, musical performances, and more. 
 
*Do you want your market or event included in the outlook? Email info@iberkshires.com.

Editor's Pick


The Lenox Spring Art Walk returns this weekend. 
Lenox Spring Art Walk 
Main Street sidewalk and Lilac Park, Lenox 
Time: Saturday 10 to 5 and Sunday 11 to 4. 
 
There will be a Spring Art Walk event that features a curated show of artists and artisans representing various mediums including paintings, drawings, photographs, ceramics, fiber arts, jewelry, clothing, and more. 
 
More information here

Friday

Summer Music Series
Town Hall, Great Barrington 
Time: 5:30 until 7:15 p.m.
 
Lay in the grass and watch as the Lucky Bucket Band and the Wanda Houston Band perform in the gazebo behind the town hall. 
 
The free concerts are held weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Performance line up here
 
Coral Moons
The Foundry, West Stockbridge
Time: 7:30 p.m. 
 
Retro-rock and surf-pop band Coral Moons will be performing. Tickets cost $$18 in advance and $20 at the door. More information here
 
Yoga 
The Proprietor's Lodge, Pittsfield
Time: 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
 
Novice and experienced yoga enthusiasts can participate in a yoga class to work on breath work, meditation and a variety of standing, seated and reclined postures. 
 
Increase your strength, flexibility and balance while quieting your mind and reducing stress. More information here

Saturday

A Night of Wonder Gala 2023
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge
Time: 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.
 
The museum will be having its  annual fundraising gala. 
 
The event theme is inspired by the art of Tony Sarg whose exhibition is featured this summer and fall. The event features performances by Tony, Academy Award, and Pulitzer Prize nominee Bob Telson and guitarist Jon Herrington and Friends. 
 
There will be food, drinks, parades, performances, and puzzles. Costumes that reflect flights of fancy and imagination are encouraged. 
 
Tickets range from $75 to $10,000 and support the museum. More information here
 
Paint And Sip
Big Elm Brewing, Sheffield
Time: 3 p.m. until  5 p.m. 
 
Have a drink and paint under the instruction of Andrea Tabor. Tickets cost $45 per person and include all painting materials , a canvas, and one free drink. 
 
More information here
 
Opening Lecture: Edvard Munch — Trembling Earth
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Time: 11 a.m.
 
Art Institute of Chicago Rothman Family Curator Jay A. Clarke will be introducing the clarks latest exhibit Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth with a free lecture. 
 
This is the first exhibition in the United States to reveal how Edvard Munch animated nature to convey meaning. It features approximately eighty paintings, prints, and drawings, organized thematically.  
 
More information here
 
Comedy @ Bright Ideas Brewing
Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams
Time: 8 p.m. 
 
Laugh over a drink at Bright Ideas located on the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts campus during the 90-minute event. The comedy evening is hosted every second Saturday of the month. 
 
This event is produced by Iconix Productions in collaboration with Bright Ideas Brewing. Tickets are $10 to $15 and can be purchased here
 
Opening Reception
112 Water St., Williamstown
Time: 5 to 7 p.m.
 
North Loop Gallery hosts "Patterning," which brings together practices considering pattern across a range of media including textile and painting, ceramic and printmaking. Features artists Lauren Luloff, Joiri Minaya, Alyssa Sakina Mumtaz, Padma Rajendran, Aparna Sarkar, Benedict Scheuer and Pallavi Sen. Exhibit runs through July 16. 
 
More information here
 
'Dear Jack, Dear Louise' Performance 
Shakespeare & Company, Lenox
Time: 6:30 pm
 
Shakespeare & Company will be having a performance of Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig’s "Dear Jack, Dear Louise."
 
The story follows the story of two strangers introduced through letters but who are kept apart by war. They are drawn together by sharing stories of their lives, hopes, and fears.
 
Tickets range from $22 to $62. More information here
 
Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend 
Lee Congregational Church, Lee 
Time: 7:30 p.m. 
 
Jazz vocalist Alexis Cole will be performing with the Amherst Jazz Orchestra. More information here
 
Boston Typewriter Orchestra
The Foundry, West Stockbridge
Time: 7:30 p.m.
 
The Boston Typewriter Orchestra is a collective endeavor using rhythmic typewriter manipulation combined with elements of performance, comedy and satire. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 
 
More information and tickets here
 

Sunday

Block Printmaking
Tourists, North Adams 
Time: 5 p.m. 
 
Carve intricate drawings into reusable blocks to create stamps for printing artwork. Tickets cost $40. 
 
Templates will be provided, as well as linocut tools, ink colors, handheld brayers, and cardstock. Take home finished prints and reuse your stamp.  
 
More information here
 
'Die Zauberflöte' ('The Magic Flute') Screening 
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Time: 12:55 until 4:25 p.m. 
 
There will be a high-definition cinema simulcast of the The Met performance of "Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)."
 
Tickets range from $7 to $22. More information here
 
Wes Buckley & Willie Lane
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown 
Time: 5 to 6:30 p.m.
 
Local guitarist Wes Buckley and Michael Hurley will be performing folk music for a free concert on the Lunder Center's Moltz Terrace. Bring a picnic and seating. 
 
More information here

In the Region

New York Capital District Renaissance Festival
Indian Ladder Farms, Altamont, N.Y.
Time: 11 to 6, Saturday and Sunday
 
The 9th annual festival returns with magic, jousting, sword fighting, music and food. More than 60 artisans will be selling wares from jewelry to pottery, weaponry to appropriate garb. 
 
Tickets are $18 daily or $30 for the weekend; children 12 and younger $5 daily. Specialty events have separate pricing. Runs rain or shine. 
 
More information here

Farmer's Markets

North Adams Farmers Market
St. Anthony Municipal Parking Lot
Time: 9 to 1
 
The North Adams market is open every Saturday and offers produce and baked goods from local retailers including Red Shirt Farm, Fahey Family Farm, Bohemian Nouveaux Bakery, Mon Artistic Pets, and more. 
 
More information here
 
Pittsfield Farmers Market
The Common, Pittsfield
Time: 9 to 1. 
 
Powered by Roots Rising, the market is open every Saturday rain or shine. 
 
Each week the market will have fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, along with meat, eggs, cheese, baked goods by local vendors. Participants can shop for flowers, and artisan goods while listening to music and participate in family activities. 
 
For more information, visit the website
 
Great Barrington Farmers Market
18 Church St., Great Barrington
Time: 9 to 1. 
 
The market is open every Saturday.  
 
Every week there will be locally grown food, flowers, and plants along with other local vendors. 
 
More information here
 
Berkshire Area Farmers Market
Berkshire Mall parking lot, Lanesborough
Time: 8 to 2
 
The market is open every Saturday and features produce and products from Western Mass farms. More information here.
 
Lenox Farmers Market
80 Church Street, Lenox
Time: 11 to 3. 
 
This market is open every Friday and features fresh produce, breads, artisanal & specialty foods and crafts, and more. The market accepts SNAP. 
 
More information here

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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