Apr 26 Friday
Natural Manipulation brings together 8 artists whose work engages in a conversation about the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world. Ranging from ceramics and found-material sculptures to video, sound, painting and installation, the artists explore natural materials and organic forms. Adie Russell, Benjamin King, Bonnie Ralston, Carolyn Lambert, Jonathan Harris, Judy Hoffman, Stephanie Beck, Triona Fritsch, curated by Monika Zarzeczna and Stella Yoon. FRI 4-7PM, SAT + SUN 11AM-6PM, Opening Reception: Friday, Apr. 12 5-7pm
Artists: Cyndy Barbone, John DeSousa, Kathy Greenwood, Lori Lawrence, Joy Muller-McCoola, Mark Olshansky, Jess Stapf, Barbara Todd
Special Installation Artist: Victoria van der Laan
Dates: December 1- May 11, 2024
The Guthrie Center holds the Grand Opening of the “Check it Out” musical instrument loan library on Wednesday, January 10 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at 2 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington. Designed to serve people of all ages and all instrument experience levels in Berkshire County, MA, the collection offers a variety of instruments from strings to drums to electric keyboards. People can borrow for up to 30 days free of charge. The backup snow date will be January 17.
“Musical instruments should be played, not displayed,” said George Laye, Guthrie Center Director of Development and Founder/Director of the instrument loan program. “We are excited to imagine that future Beethovens or Beatles might emerge from our program and not fall through the cracks. Whether a beginner or professional, in school or retired, there’s an instrument for you.”
Lending Library Hours:Every Wednesday from 3:00-6:00 p.m.First Sunday each month, from 2:00-5:00 p.m.Second Tuesday each month, from 3:00-6:00 p.m.
The musical instrument loan program reflects Guthrie Center founder Arlo Guthrie’s commitment to meeting the needs of the community and supporting cultural preservation and educational achievement.
Through the generosity of donors, the Center has built a wonderful collection over the years. “Not everyone or every family can afford to rent or buy an instrument or is sure if they’ll stick with it,” said Laye. The lending program encourages fun and learning without any financial burden to borrowers.
Enjoy midway fun for the whole family with exciting rides and games for all ages and deep-fried treats, sweets, and other tasty carnival eats.
Admission and parking are free.
Unlimited ride wristbands (for riders 36" & taller) are $37 on-site ($2 cash discount) while supplies last or online at DreamlandAmusements.com before 5 pm Thurs., April 18 for $29 each, 2/$55 or 4/$99. (Guests under age 21 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian 21+.)
Ride tickets are also available at the carnival for $1.50 each, $32/20 tickets, or $62/50 tickets plus 1 free ride. ($2 cash discount. Rides take 2 or more tickets each.) Online pre-sale special: $45/50 tickets + 1 free ride
Visit the website for coupon savings on rides, food, and event updates.
Midway hours: 5-10 pm Monday - Thursday, 5-11 pm Friday, noon-11 pm Saturday, noon-10 pm Sunday
More information: 866-666-3247 or DreamlandAmusements.com
The game of baseball has a long and storied history in the Berkshires. From the broken window by-law of 1791, to the first college game ever played in Pittsfield in 1859, 60 years of minor league teams calling the Berkshires their home, to 40 major league players coming from the Berkshires (two of them are in the National Baseball HOF). Just when you think you have a grasp on those stories someone asks – how about Women’s Baseball and Black Baseball in the Berkshires? Well - going back to the late 1800’s both the history of women and people of color have some strong roots here. Baseball in the Berkshires newest exhibit “Not Your Ordinary Story of Baseball in the Berkshires” – an exhibit of the history of Black baseball and Women’s baseball in Berkshire County comes to the West Stockbridge Old Town Hall April 18-21. Sponsored by the West Stockbridge Historical Society the exhibit is open to the public. The exhibit opens on Thursday, April 18th for a sneak preview from 5-8 PM. On Friday the 19th the Opening Reception is from 5-8 PM with a presentation on the history of Black baseball and Women’s baseball at 6:30 by Larry Moore, director of Baseball in the Berkshires. Special guests on Friday are Bryan House, former Pittsfield Cub who spent seven years playing minor league baseball and Joe Bateman, Pittsfield native who had an eleven-year career playing professional baseball. The exhibit continues on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 12-4 PM. On Saturday an on-going “hands-on” presentation “Innovation in Baseball - What’s New?” will be featured and Sunday the presentation will be “Tools of the Trade – the History of Baseball Equipment”. Both presentations are appropriate for all ages and the exhibit is open to the public Thursday thru Sunday and there is no admission fee.
Join us on Friday, April 26 for a public reading and reception with Mason Currey, author of the Daily Rituals books. This event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are required.
In 2007, while procrastinating on a magazine article due the next morning, Mason Currey launched the Daily Routines blog, which, to his surprise, eventually attracted international press attention and thousands of visitors a day. In 2009, Currey shuttered the blog to research a book on the same theme. When it was published in 2013, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work was reviewed by the New Yorker, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, and the Believer and named one of NPR’s best books of the year. It has since been translated into 17 languages.
In 2019, Currey published a sequel, Daily Rituals: Women at Work, featuring profiles of the day-to-day working lives of 143 women writers, artists, and performers. Booklist said, “The spectrum of creativity is radiant, and each artist’s rituals of concentration and balancing act between art and life are revelatory and awe-inspiring.”In addition to compiling the Daily Rituals books, Currey was a design-magazine editor for ten years, working as the managing editor of Metropolis, the executive editor of Print, and a senior editor at Core77. His freelance writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, and Slate, and he has delivered talks on the creative process to art students, writers’ groups, and the partners of the design consultancy IDEO.
Naughty Bits is a dance-play set inside Juli’s memories that examines trauma while finding levity within the tragic. Through movement, text, song, projections and humor, Naughty Bits finds the forgotten bits, funny bits (and wobbly bits) of putting one's mind and body back together.
Her mission is to explore her own personal struggles through the medium of performance. In sharing her work, she creates space for audiences to access their own challenges or traumas. Her provocative, introspective autobiographical solo performance fuses movement, text, song, audience interaction and comedy to both acknowledge the gravity of her burdens as well as simultaneously laugh at their reality. Sara Juli has been described as a "skilled comedian, actress and dancer" and "a light of the downtown dance and theatre scene."
Please note: This piece explores one person's experience around trauma.
Apr 27 Saturday
The McNulty Veteran Business Center, the area’s preeminent Veteran entrepreneurship resource is partnering with the Rensselaer County Veterans Resource & Outreach Center at HVCC, Albany County, and Schenectady County Veterans Peer to Peer Program to offer the Veterans’ Service2Success Resource and Job Fair.
Veterans' Service2Success provides FREE access to entrepreneurship, employment, education and benefits information for veterans and their families. Veteran services providers, employers, academic institutions, and public/private entities will exhibit for this day-long event. Featured will be informational sessions for entrepreneurial resources, Veterans’ benefits assistance, a job fair, and networking opportunities with dozens of exhibitors, and includes lunch.
The Elder & Disability Law Pro Bono Society at Albany Law School presents Senior Citizens Law Day, to take place on Saturday, April 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This is a free event for seniors, soon-to-be-seniors, their loved ones, and caregivers. Participants can attend workshops on pressing legal, financial, and health issues facing older adults; schedule an appointment for a free one-on-one consultation with an attorney on Elder Law and Estate Planning issues; and hear from local advocates and attorneys.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Free parking will be available on campus.
Please register at https://alumni.albanylaw.edu/scld For assistance with registration, please call the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center at 518-445-2328.
We need you to help us plant the next generation of large-growing shade trees in Saratoga Springs! We are adding a number of large-growing shade trees to the urban forest on April 27.
Here’s how you can support our efforts:
VOLUNTEER to PLANT a tree with us on Saturday, April 27 (a family-friendly activity)
VOLUNTEER to SET UP and help with registration check-in on the day of the event
VOLUNTEER to WATER TREES during the summerDONATE to support our work
HOST A TREE — Request one for your property (taking requests for our 2024 planting)
Volunteer today and give a gift to the next generation!
Volunteer at https://sustainablesaratoga.org/tree-toga/Questions? Email trees@sustainablesaratoga.org