OLLI at BCC Announces March Cultural Tours at Clark Art, MASS MoCA

03:05PM / Tuesday, March 17, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College (OLLI at BCC) will hold two educational events at regional museums on March 24 and 25.

The first event, "Music in Art at the Clark," takes place Tuesday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. Laura Dankner, a Clark docent and Associate Professor Emerita at Loyola University, will lead an exploration of works linked to music and musicians.

The tour will cover the biographical and historical backgrounds of pieces such as Alma-Tadema’s "Model D Pianoforte and Stools" and Gemito’s "Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi." Dankner, who holds graduate degrees in voice and librarianship, will use musical examples to supplement the viewing experience. Participants will receive a discography at the conclusion of the tour.

On Wednesday, March 25, the institute will host a "MASS MoCA Building Tour" from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Led by historian Nancy Seasholes, the 90-minute walking tour focuses on the construction and occupancy history of the museum's buildings. Seasholes is the author of "The Atlas of Boston History" and has previously taught at Harvard Extension.

The MASS MoCA tour is conducted on one level, though it requires standing and walking for the duration. The museum provides small stools for borrow.

Registration is required for both events through the OLLI at BCC website or by phone at (413) 236-2190. The Clark Art Institute event is $15 for members and guests. The MASS MoCA tour is $15 for members who already hold a museum membership and $37 for those requiring an entrance ticket.

Tags: BCC, Clark Art, mass moca,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Greylock Youth SummerFest

Come join in on the wealth building fun! August 3-8. Click for event details. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."

View Full Story