MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Berkshires Beat: Community Access to the Arts Show Celebrates Creativity
02:16PM / Monday, July 02, 2018
Print | Email  

Art by David Zahorian is among the works in CATA's 'I Am A Part of Art' exhibit in Williamstown and Pittsfield.

Part of it all

Community Access to the Arts presents its annual art show, "I Am a Part of Art," part of CATA's 25th anniversary year, in partnership with the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., and the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield, Mass.

The first exhibit runs from July 1-Aug. 19 at the Clark Art Institute’s Lunder Center at Stone Hill at 227 South St., Williamstown, MA, with a free "Meet the Artists" event on Aug. 2 from 1 to 2 p.m. The Clark Art Institute is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the course of the exhibit. Admission is free.

The second exhibit hangs at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts at 28 Renne Ave. in Pittsfield’s Upstreet Cultural District from July 5-31, with a public reception on July 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"I Am A Part of Art" showcases more than 200 original works of art, representing more than 125 artists with disabilities. Works are professionally matted and framed, and all pieces are available for sale, with proceeds providing commissions for individual artists. The curated exhibits feature a wide range of styles, including abstract and representational paintings and drawings, as well as work in printmaking, sculpture and collage, in a variety of media including acrylic, tempera, watercolor, oil and chalk pastel, charcoal, clay and mixed media.

This annual exhibit is the culmination of hundreds of visual arts workshops that CATA holds throughout the year across Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and Columbia County, New York, in day programs, residences, schools, elder care settings, and in the CATA Studio. Through these year-round workshops, CATA artists people with disabilities grow creatively, learn new techniques, and find community working side by side with others

 

Lifeguards on duty

The Pittsfield Department of Community Development Recreation Program has announced that lifeguards are now on duty at the public beach within Burbank Park. Lifeguards will be on duty Wednesdays through Sundays until Aug. 19.  Lifeguards will provide beach supervision from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on those days.

 

Leadership in action

Berkshire United Way held its 2018 Leadership Reception on Monday, June 11, at Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort.  Close to 150 people attended the event recognizing Berkshire United Way's leadership donors. Chris and Kim Mathews were honored with the 2018 Ruth P. and Nicholas Boraski Leaders in Philanthropy Award and Gene Dellea with the J Edward Dery Memorial Award.
 

Berkshire United Way created the Ruth P. and Nicholas Boraski Leaders in Philanthropy Award in 2005 to honor the individual, couple or group who, by their personal example as well as financial commitment, have demonstrated their dedication to improving the quality of life for everyone in our community regardless of their means. Nicholas Boraski, a long-standing supporter of Berkshire United Way and past member of its Board of Directors, attended the event to present the award to the Mathews.

The J Edward Dery Memorial Award was first presented in 1997 to honor the memory of Ed Dery who died very young but left a legacy of giving and caring for his community. Last presented in 2014, the Dery Award honors extraordinary commitment to the improvement of the quality of life for all in Berkshire County by an individual, foundation or organization.

Rounding out the evening, Christina Wynn, dean of enrollment management at Berkshire Community College and vice-chair, Berkshire United Way board of directors, announced the names of the 20 local businesses and organizations who achieved Pinnacle status in Berkshire United Way's workplace campaign this past year.  In addition, a parent participant in the Parent Child Home Program at CHP Family Services acknowledged leadership donors in attendance for helping her and her young family to develop the life-long tools and community connections they needed.

 

Basketball for kids

Sign-ups are under way for the 2018 Summer Neighborhood Basketball League hosted by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition. Boys and girls between 8 and 16 years of age are eligible to participate in this free non-competitive league that runs four to five weeks during the summer at various neighborhood playgrounds in North Adams. There will be an 8-  to 12-year-old division and a 13- to 16-year;old division with teams representing the Brayton Hill, Greylock, Mohawk Forest and UNO neighborhoods; however, you do not have to live in one of those neighborhoods to play.

To register, fill out a player form by contacting Liz Boland either by phone at 413-663-7588, by email or by visiting the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition at 61 Main Street, Suite 218, North Adams.

 

Watch your language

Children from all over the Berkshires going into fourth through sixth grades came to Ventfort Hall to learn a new language with Berkshire Lingua. By the end of the last week of June, they were able to describe their preferences about numbers, food, colors and animals - and many wanted a second week.

The students played games, sang songs, ran a restaurant, and on a rainy day played twister - all in the target language. Berkshire Lingua 40 years of combined experience in the classroom to share in new, engaging and exciting ways with young children. For more information, visit the website.

 

District Attorney candidates

Kimball Farms Life Care in Lenox will present a four-part series on the role of the district attorney's office, to include appearances by the three candidates for Berkshire County District Attorney. Those wishing to attend any of the events are asked to RSVP to 413-637-7000.

The first event on Monday, July 9, at 2 p.m. includes a discussion titled "The Importance of a District Attorney" by attorney Bill Newman from the Western Regional Law Office of the American Civil Liberties Union. Newman has worked as director of the Western Regional Law Office of the ACLU of Massachusetts since 1987, and as a practicing criminal defense and civil rights trial and appellate attorney with the law firm of Lesser, Newman & Nasser in Northampton since 1976.

On three Thursdays to follow, the candidates for Berkshire District Attorney will appear individually:

* Judy Knight: Thursday, July 12, 11 a.m. (RSVP by July 5). Knight has been in private practice in Great Barrington since 2006, after having worked for two other law firms from 1998 to 2006. Knight was an adjunct professor at Western New England School of Law from 1999 to 2005, served as an assistant DA in the Middlesex DA's office from 1988 to 1993, and worked in the Denver branch of the Colorado Public Defender's Office from 1987 to 1988.

* Andrea Harrington: Thursday, July 26, 11 a.m., (RSVP by July 19). Harrington is an attorney at Connor & Morneau LLP and has been practicing law for more than 15 years. She serves as a member of her local Affordable Housing Committee, School Council and as an advisory board member of the regional nonprofit BerkShares Inc. Harrington is a graduate of Taconic High School in Pittsfield, the University of Washington and American University's Washington College of Law.

* Paul Caccaviello: Thursday, Aug. 9, 11 a.m. (RSVP by Aug.2). Caccaviello is a 1982 graduate of Pittsfield High School and graduated from the Western New England School of Law in Springfield in 1989. After graduation, he was hired as an assistant district attorney by then-District Attorney Anthony J. Ruberto Jr., and continued to serve as an assistant district attorney under Robert J. Carnes, Gerard D. Downing and David Capeless.  Currently serving as district attorney, Caccaviello was appointed to the position after Capeless retired in March 2018.

 

Teen Night Out

Teenagers can spark their imagination and creative thinking on the First Friday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield for "Teen Night Out." Teens will be able to watch their inner and outer self blossom when they try their hand at art making with IS183 Art School
 
On July 6, teens will explore print with Michael Vincent Bushy. On Aug. 3, they will explore paper with Nicole Irene. And on Sept. 7, they will explore photos with Lucie Castaldo. Register online or call 413-298-5252, ext. 100.

 

Destruction of Records

Adams-Cheshire Regional School District is hereby notifying parents and students of the destruction of records of students who received special education services and withdrew, graduated, transferred or were released from services during the school year 2010-2011.

All records will be destroyed after Aug. 10. For more information or to schedule an appointment to obtain these files, call 413-743-2939, ext. 1107.

 

Calendar time

The city of Pittsfield's 2018-19 recycling calendar is now available on the city website. Hard copies also will be sent to residents who have requested to be on the city’s mailing list for this resource. Additional copies will also be available at the Department of Public Service and Utilities Office at 100 North St. and at City Hall (Mayor’s Office and City Clerk), 70 Allen St. For more information, call 413-499-9330.

 

The best medicine

The Capitol Steps, a Washington, D.C.-based comedy troupe that began as a group of Senate Staffers, will present a show based on songs from their current album "Make America Grin Again" at Cranwell’s newly renovated Harvest Barn.

The Capitol Steps have elevated political satire to an art form. Before The Daily Show, Full Frontal, and The Colbert Report, this Washington, D.C.-based comedy troupe gave audience laugh cramps with their bipartisan lampooning. The Capitol Steps began in 1981 as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize their employers, and they haven't let up since. If you've been keeping with the news, you know there's no shortage of material. 

The troupe is coming back to Lenox with a new show of musical and political comedy.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat, a snowflake or a deplorable: neither side is safe from the group that puts the "MOCK" in democracy! Performing nightly at 8 p.m., the 90 minute show runs daily through Aug. 31 except Tuesdays. Tickets are $49 each.  To purchase call 413-637-1384 or online.

Comments
More Featured Stories
Pittsfield.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 106 Main Sreet, P.O. Box 1787 North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2008 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved