image description — Kurt Barbieri and Anne-Marie Lasher have been selling baked goods at farmers' markets under Barbieri's Odd Bird Farm for two years. Last, week they opened a bakery on Main Street.

Odd Bird Farm Opens Great Barrington Bakery

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
01:27PM / Saturday, September 27, 2025Print Story | Email Story

Fresh-baked bread at Odd Bird Farm Bakery.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Odd Bird Farm is taking its pastries off the road and into a more permanent home on Main Street.

Kurt Barbieri and Anne-Marie Lasher's pastries and breads have been flying out of farmers markets these past two years. Now patrons won't have to wait for a Saturday to pick up their favorite baked goods.

Barbieri has 30 years of experience as a pastry chef. He started Odd Bird Farm selling eggs on the side of the road in Housatonic about 10 years ago, and later at Taft Farms.

"I started keeping chickens, and I would take some in if somebody had some random birds or chickens they needed to get rid of for whatever reason. I would take them in and let them live out their lives," he said. "I worked at Daily Bread in Great Barrington before it closed. I was there for 18 years, and I was at the Marketplace for 10 years, and that is where I met Anne-Marie."

Lasher also has a background in the food industry, having worked as a chef and run a catering business while living in Philadelphia. She and her husband semi-retired to the Berkshires after wanting to do something different.

The two met in Marketplace Kitchen Table's pastry department and talked about what they would like to bake.

They'd joked about being a little frustrated in their ability to innovate. Wanting to be more creative with their recipes, they decided to try out their ideas at the local farmers' markets.

"It was such a large production kitchen, they had cafes in the store and catering," he said. "There wasn't a lot of creativity that you could do. And we got talking and then we decided to start doing the farmers markets last year, last spring, and we got such a great response from them that we decided to open a brick and mortar."

Their bakery at 490 Main St. used to be an office and a flower shop. They transformed the whole space into a commercial kitchen to be able to bake dozens more than what they could at Lasher's house.

"We were doing it in my house kitchen, which meant that our office was on my dining room table. My husband can't wait to be on the dining room table. Today was the first day that all of Odd Bird Farm is out of my house," she laughed last week.

The bakery is open for take-out only and will serve a variety of pastries, cookies, breads, breakfast sandwiches, soups, and more. The partners were excited and a little nervous about opening up.

"Very confident, like there's definitely that little bit of, I'm terrified because it's a new business, and you just don't know what to expect, right? But we also feel very positive. We've gotten we have a following already from the farmers markets," Lasher said.

The bakery is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tags: new business, bakery,

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Berkshire Bach Society Announces Two Organ Recitals

11:46AM / Friday, January 30, 2026

GREAT BARINNGINTON, Mass. — The Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) announces two organ recitals on historic organs in Housatonic and Great Barrington as part of its Organ Masters series.

The recitals take place on Feb. 7, 2pm, at the UU Meeting House in Housatonic, and on May 2, 3pm, at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington with master organists Renée Anne Louprette and Peter Sykes.

"We celebrate Bach and his circle in our Organ Masters series and give our audience a chance to hear two of today's most distinguished organists bring the repertoire to life on important organs in our region," said Terrill McDade, Executive Director of the Berkshire Bach Society. "For good reason we've called the 1893 Johnson Organ at the UU Meeting House in Housatonic a hidden gem and the 1883 great Roosevelt organ at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington a remarkable and innovative instrument that defies comparison. Both organs have escaped modernization and kept their original voices. They sound very much the way they did when new—and that provides a unique musical experience. Combine the authenticity of the instruments, the virtuosity of the organists, and interesting repertoire and we have a recipe for two very special events."

According to a press release:

On Feb. 7, Renée Anne Louprette presents The Baroque Dance Masters with works by Bach, Georg Böhm, Dieterich Buxtehude, and Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, one of the most remarkable composers of the Baroque era. To enrich the audience experience, Louprette provides commentary during the program, demonstrates thematic material, and conducts a Q&A session after the recital. Notably, her program includes the Chaconne in G minor that was one of two pieces recently attributed to a young J.S. Bach and added to the catalog as BWV 1179. The work dates from 1705 when J.S. Bach was 20 and is one of the earliest finished works by him to survive. It dates from the same year that he traveled to Lübeck to hear Buxtehude perform, which had a profound impact on his compositional style. Berkshire Bach is pleased to give our audience an opportunity to hear the work live.

Renée Anne Louprette is Assistant Professor of Music and College Organist at Bard College where she directs the Bard Baroque Ensemble. She has performed on important organs throughout the world and in 2022-2023 received a Fulbright research grant to document the restoration of historic organs in Romania.

On May 2, Peter Sykes returns to play the great Roosevelt Organ in a mixed program of French organ music. Beloved by many, the Roosevelt was the most important organ in America at installation in 1883 and is the largest example that survives in largely its original form by innovative organ builder Hilborne Roosevelt. Cousin to presidents Teddy and Franklin, Hilborne Roosevelt established Roosevelt Pipe Organ Builders in 1870 and built many of the largest organs in America in the period. He introduced electricity into the workings of his instruments and coincidentally contributed to aspects of the early telephone, including inventing the automatic switch hook. His Great Barrington organ remains a sophisticated and expressive example of his craft that, in the hands of master organist Peter Sykes, inspires awe and can literally shake the rafters with its majesty, power, and beauty.

Join Berkshire Bach for The Organ Masters at 2pm on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the UU Meeting House in Housatonic and 3pm on Saturday, May 2 at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington. Tickets: $45 Nonmembers | $40 Berkshire Bach Members | $85 Two-concert package | $10 Card to Culture. Children and Students under 25 with valid ID are admitted free. Visit www.berkshirebach.org/events for more information, including tickets and specific venue information.

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