Kids 4 Harmony Returns to Ozawa Hall

04:00PM / Wednesday, June 19, 2024Print Story | Email Story

LENOX, Mass. — 18 Degrees will host their Kids 4 Harmony Summer Gala Concert on June 25, 5:30 PM, at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood.

The evening will begin with a reception followed by performances starting at 7:00 PM. Over 50 Kids 4 Harmony students will be involved, and there will be a special piece featuring Boston Symphony Orchestra Cellist Owen Young.

Carolyn and Eli Newberger will be honored for their dedication to the program, in addition to the commitment they have made to child welfare and the power of music. The evening's program includes pieces by Bohm, Meyer, Price, and Couperin, as well as an original composition by one of the K4H student musicians.

The concert will close with a special performance of Che-Yi Lee's Dancing Strings by current students, alumni, and teaching artists.

Kids 4 Harmony, an after-school program based at Morningside Community School in Pittsfield and Brayton Elementary School in North Adams, is inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema, an ensemble-based musical approach with a social justice mission.

Through Kids 4 Harmony, students have access to music instruction, performance opportunities, and family support at no cost.

Tickets for the Gala, which include a catered reception at the Tanglewood Tent Club, and concert-only tickets are available on our website, www.18degreesma.org.

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Demonstrators Demand Home Depot Condemn ICE Activity

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Thursday, February 19, 2026

A counter-demonstrator showed up with megaphone and a T-shirt that read 'Don't Attack, Don't Resist, Don't Get Shot.'

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community members want Home Depot's leadership to take a stand against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids around their stores.

On Monday, Presidents Day, dozens of people approached the big-box chain in Berkshire Crossing with "ICE out" signs, chanting "Love not hate makes America great." They took a lap through the aisles and bought symbolic items such as ice scrapers, which they would later return.

Bob Van Olst, of Indivisible Berkshires, said Home Depot's corporate policy has been "very complicit" with masked border patrol agents. Activists say the company removed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from its website last year, and that ICE agents have been arresting tradespeople without due process in Home Depot parking lots.

"We understand that over 70 percent of these people have no criminal records, have no gang affiliation. They're just hard-working members of the community trying to make a living, being scooped up and sent off to who knows where," Van Olst said.

"So we're asking Home Depot to cease their cooperation with ICE."

Robin O'Herin, of Stand Up Berkshires, said that to protect immigrant employees, workplaces need "employees only" signs for restricted areas so that ICE can't enter.

"They have none of that. They refuse to put them up," she said. "… and their parking lot is private, and they are happy that Home Depots all over the country plan staging to grab hard-working people and disappear them from Home Depot parking lots."

ICE has focused on the home improvement stores because day laborers often gather there to pick up work, particularly in southern or western states. Home Depot has stated it does not cooperate with ICE, but also cannot prohibit federal officers from entering its stores and parking lots.

Van Olst can hardly believe that, at 78, he is still protesting against the infringement of civil rights.

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