Berkshire Christmas Tree Will Be Used in Habitat Houses

01:32PM / Thursday, January 09, 2025Print Story | Email Story

A screenshot of the West Stockbridge tree from its lighting in December.

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The Norway spruce planted in their front yard in 1967 by Earl and Lesley Albert will end its run as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree on Saturday.

Carolyn Valli, CEO of Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, will light the tree in New York City for the final time on Saturday. That's because the lumber from the 74-foot tall spruce will donated to the nonprofit.

"We are so proud to be the recipient of the milled lumber from this year's tree," Central Berkshire Habitat posted on its Facebook page.

"We are also thankful to the Albert family of West Stockbridge for donating this beautiful gift and now we will pay it forward by incorporating the lumber into the homes we're building in Berkshire County."

According to Rockefeller Center, the trees have been donated to Habitat for Humanity International to be milled into lumber since 2007. They are usually Norway spruce, good for flooring, furniture and cabinetry.

After spending a few weeks covered with 50,000 LED lights to delight visitors, the trees are cut into large pieces and taken to a mill in New Jersey. From there, the wood is kiln-dried, milled and planed and then sent to the selected Habitat chapter.

According to the center, the wood's been used to build homes in Philadelphia and in Mississippi, and a beam from the 2013 tree has been used in Bridgeport, Conn., homes for several years.

In this case, the wood will go to Central Berkshire Habitat, which has been helping residents to become homeowners since 1992 in both Central and South County.

The decision to donate the trees was based on the children's book "The Carpenter's Gift," written in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. It's about a young boy and his father selling Christmas trees during the Great Depression to get by.

They give a tree to the workers building the Rockefeller Center in 1931 and the boy wishes on it for a warm home, which is provided by his friends and neighbors. Decades later, he donates a large tree he's grown from seed to the center, which in turn gifts the lumber to build a house.

This year's Berkshire spruce won't build a house but it will be used for stair treads in Habitat homes for years to come.

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Great Barrington Public Theater Appoints Artistic Director

09:57AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater announced that Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will now join Jim Frangione at the helm as Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.

"We at Great Barrington Public Theater are thrilled that Judy Braha will assume the role of Artistic Director alongside myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to help advance the interests of the theater as we move into the next phase of growth as the region's premiere developmental theater," Founder & Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Judy brings a tremendous amount of experience and value to our company and has, in just a few short years, grown and greatly enhanced GB Public Theater's signature program, Berkshires Voices, where playwrights develop their work, leading to public readings and in some cases workshops and full productions. I look forward to working more closely with Judy to select the next generation of plays to be presented under the GB Public banner. It's a "Bear" of a job! But we feel great about the direction of our theater."

Judy Braha joined the GB Public artistic leadership team in 2023 as the Associate Artistic Director after 2 years directing for the company. She has since then been collaborating with Founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione on the selection of new work for readings and full productions in the summer season. Her impressive portfolio of credits and accomplishments strengthened Great Barrington Public's creative programming and offered new perspectives to the body of works and events produced each year.

Judy Braha has been a career director, actor, teacher and artist for social justice for over four decades with directorial credits in theaters and universities throughout New England. She led the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University's School of Theater, retiring in 2022 after 29 years of service at BU.

"Judy has the strength of commitment, leadership and passion for theater and how it affects communities that fit hand-in-glove with our founding mission and core beliefs," Founder and Producing Director Deann Halper Simmons explains. "Her artistic integrity, sense of stage esthetic and ability to make important choices that craft life from the script continues to be a great asset to our company and growth."

"Judy's distinguished artistic voice has significantly contributed to the exceptional growth of GB Public in recent years," Managing Director Serena Johnson added. "We are truly excited to have her stepping into this leadership role in the 2026 season."

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