To conclude the month-long exhibit “Jacob’s Pillow in Lee, Mass.,” hosted by the Lee Library, the Lee Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a closing reception with three speakers from Lee: Alex Heddinger, Vinny Vigilante, and Bill Yehle. They will lead a discussion on marketing, tourism, and business relations between Jacob’s Pillow and the Town of Lee.

Alex Heddinger is the Director of the Lee Chamber of Commerce and a past Jacob’s Pillow intern and staff member. Vinny Vigilante is Director of Facilities, Safety & Security at Jacob's Pillow, and Bill Yehle is a former Production Manager at Jacob's Pillow. They will be joined by Lee business leaders and staff from Lee Town Hall.

Each summer, the connection between Jacob’s Pillow and the town of Lee comes alive in ways both ordinary and extraordinary. Marketing interns walk up and down Main Street asking shop owners if they can hang posters. Vendors from Lee have provided a vast range of goods and services over the decades. Performers, students, and interns stop for coffee, a meal, or an ice cream cone. Local businesses advertise in the festival program, hoping to catch the attention of visitors who travel through Lee on their way to Becket. These everyday interactions, repeated year after year, have built a long and layered relationship between the Pillow and Lee. What began as a simple stop along the road to the festival has grown into a partnership that links art, commerce, and community.

The exhibit at the Lee Library was researched and curated by Joshua D. Bloom and is made possible, in part, through a grant from the Lee Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.