Parties & Openings
Stockbridge - August 22 |
Lenox - August 25 |
Pittsfield - August 21 |
Celebration of The Written and Spoken Word at The Mount
The Mount, writer Edith Wharton’s magnificent property in Lenox (executive director Susan Whistler, at right), was the scene on Wednesday August 25 of a party celebrating the release of an audio book, Edith Wharton on Audio, Vol. 1, three stories by Wharton read by Shakespeare and Company’s Jonathan Epstein (The Winter’s Tale), Tod Randolph (Richard III) and Berkshire Theatre Festival’s Tara Franklin (The Guardsman). The project is a collaboration between The Mount Press and Berkshire Media Artists (BMA Studios). Why a mid-week celebration? So contingents from five theater companies (Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Barrington Stage, WAM, and the Wharton Salon) could attend.
The cast of the theatrical adaptation of Edith Wharton’s Summer: Alexander Sovronsky, Reilly Hadden, John Hadden, Catherine Taylor Williams, Rory Hammond
The Wharton Wednesday Reading preceded the party; Kate Maguire reading from Edith Wharton’s article “A Little Girl’s New York” published by Harpers Magazine in 1938.; John Humphrey and Maggie Leonard
Kristin Wold, Normi Noel, Tod Randolph and Tom Rindge; Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson and Ben Hillman
Bobbie Hallig and Betsy Spears; Colta Ives, comic artist Howard Cruse, MOCCA founder Lawrence Klein, Gary Ives
Ross Jolly, Bobbie Hallig and David Dashiell; Lew Scheffey and Joyce Sheffey
Kimberley Rawson, Jason Brown and Tod Randolph; Corinna May, Karen Lee and Kristen van Ginhoven
Jason Brown, Mary Paul Yates and Leah Yates Weisgal; Chris Bamford and Carol Stevens
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 08/30/10 at 07:30 AM • Permalink
Word X Word Festival’s Party on the Roof
It’s just four stories up from North Street to the rooftop of the Greystone Building, but you feel like you’ve been transported far from gritty downtown Pittsfield. With panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the inspiring steeple of neighboring St. Joseph’s lending a dramatic grace note, the roof is an unexpectedly magical setting for a party. That the Word X Word festival organizers sold out their opening night dance party with a diverse group of creative types (such as Jazu Stine and Thomas Winstanley, left) was proof that Pittsfield’s cultural renaissance is now in high gear. Once it was too dark to see and dance on the roof, the party continued downstairs at Mission Bar + Tapas, which is owned by Jim Benson, the hipsterpreneur and founder of Word X Word, which runs sthrough August 29 at nine venues in downtown Pittsfield.
Cultural journalist Jeremy Goodwin and Berkshire Contemporary’s Jay Elling; Lauren Cimini and DJ Ryan Brown.
Christine Ohlman and the Rebel Montez played dance music on the roof; Ohlman is the lead singer for the Saturday Night Live band.
Spoked word artist Taylor Mali, who is curating the poets at this year’s festival, with Pam Rich; Carrie Chandler with Blue Q’s Paul Boulais.
Carrie Wright of North Street’s Emporium with actress/journalist Carrie Saldo, who helped organize Word X Word.
Tom Rich of North Street’s anchor retailer, Paul Rich & Sons, with Lynne & Mike Mazzeo who runs the butcher shops at Guido’s; Mission’s Laura Brower and Rachel Parziek with freelance chef Daire Rooney.
Graphic designer Joe Wilk, Val Ryan and Greystone Building owner George Whaling.
Actress Stephanie Hedges with singer Pam Rich; Alicia & Josh Gattuso.
Kristen van Ginhoven of WAM Theatre, who was the assistant director for Absurd Person Singular at Barrington Stage with Laura Roudbush, BSC’s marketing director; April Burch & Dan Alden of Barrington Bra & Girl, which will be opening a second store in Pittsfield in the fall.
Berkshire Living‘s Mary Garnish, who designed this year’s logo for Word X Word, with Alan Bauman of CompuWorks.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 08/26/10 at 01:01 AM • Permalink
Volunteers in Medicine Goes Wild for the West
When VIM Berkshires held its annual fundraiser on Saturday, August 21, at the Wyantenuck Country Club in Great Barrington, every doctor in the house (and they were legion) could have passed for Doc Holiday. To do justice to the Old West saloon decor, attendees reached deep into their closets to bring forth enough bandanas, plaid flannel shirts, and fringed suede jackets to outfit the cast of an old Hollywood Western. As its name suggests, VIM Berkshires is a free clinic in Great Barrington that is staffed by volunteers and provides medical, dental, mental health, and optometry care to eligible patients.
Clara Londoner, Matt Mandel, Vice-Chairman of the Board of VIM Berkshires, Buzz McGraw, and VIM board member Robin McGraw
VIM Chairman Art Peisner. Renny Nachwalter, and Mike Nachwalter; Bridget Ford Hughes and Sandra King
Carolina Ayala, Jeff Blake, and Gladys Rave; Debbi Buslik and Jimmy Buslik
Dennis Saul and Suzi Wilson; event chair Dianne Salamon and Lenny Salamon
Douglas Shufelt and Nancy Kalodner; Elise Richman and Michael Richman
Lizbeth Yeager and Barbara Reitman; Jonathan Prince, Bridget Ford Hughes, and Catherine Mandel
Fern Portnoy-Goldman, Alan Salamon, Roger Goldman, and Karen Salamon; Hildi Black, Mike Simon, and Doris Simon
Julie Blake and Pat Conlin; Kris Hazzaard and Larry Hazzard
Lenny Salamon, Robert Kraut, Alan Salamon, and Michael Kay; Lenore Davis and Sandy Newman
Maureen Krentsa, Lisa Kuznick, Weston Hicks and Ann Hicks; Russell Glass, Bobbie Glass and Joe Glass
Zack Salamon, Sara Littauer and Oren Schwartz; Guildo’s Great Barrington manager Rick O’Neill and Karen O’Neill
Tom Rajala and Pat Rajala; VIM office manager Robert Olsen and trustee Jane Salamon
Rhonna Goodman and her sister Marion Simon, a VIM founder and board member (“it started in our dining room”); Ray Murray, Jesse Goodman and Liz Goodman, Pastor of the Monterey Church.
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 08/25/10 at 11:34 PM • Permalink
Berkshire Grown’s Mid-Summer Farm-to-Table Feast.
Jim Finnerty and Carole Murko (left with Maurice Peterson of Seven Salon) had an intimate fundraising dinner at Boulderwood, their historic Stockbridge home, to benefit Berkshire Grown, the organization that facilitates the farm-to-table movement in all sorts of ways. Murko, who is the creator and executive producer of Heirloom Meals, not only cooked the multi-course meal (with help from Christopher Blair), but also produced a small booklet of recipes for dishes such as Taft Farm Cold Corn Soup with Adobo, Leeks Vinaigrette and Whippoorwill Farm Maple Syrup Braised Shortribs. After dinner, singer-songwriter Emily Mure performed, which made the the Murko/Finnerty living room feel like a very hip coffee house.
Kate Morris and orthopedic surgeon Pier Boutin; Ali Ansari & Bernd Pegels.
Country Living Style & Market editor Natalie Warady, Country LIving editor in chief Sarah Gray Miller and garden designer Honey Sharp.
Seven Salon’s Mark Johnson with Caroline Finnerty; Functional Medicine guru Dr. Mark Hyman with Karen Lee of Pilates Central in Lenox.
Millerton lamp and lampshade maker Susan Schneider with Wendy and Rob Akroyd of Greylock Design.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 08/25/10 at 09:46 PM • Permalink
Isabella Freedman’s Feast in the Field
The Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT, which hosts workshops and retreats all year long, prides itself on being inclusive, according to executive director Ellen Carton: “We are all ages and allstreams of Judaism—we’re reform, maintream, conservative, liberal, renewal, post renewal, orthodox, orthoflex, spiritual, religious, secular, Zionist, atheist, Buddist, reconstructionist, non demoninational, post denominational, and environmental and queer and Hassidic and Kabbalistic— and that’s just me.” One common denominator is a love of food, which was celebrated at the annual Feast in the Field on August 15. Isabella Freedman runs an organic farm and a training program for twentysomethings interested in farming and environmentalism called Adamah, which organized the event. Almost all of the vegetables, eggs and goat cheese used to make Sunday’s lavish vegetarian brunch came from the Isabella Freedman’s farm, which also has its own CSA; makes pickles, kim chi and sauerkraut sold in grocery stores (including Guido’s); and donates weekly to a local food pantry in Canaan, CT, so clients get fresh vegetables along with their canned goods and pasta.
Development director Barbara Starr with executive director Ellen Carton; Adamah business manager Miriam Feiner with field manager Ellie Lobovits.
Megan Jensen and Shamu Sadeh, the director of Adamah.
Anna Hanan and Jaime Sadeh; Mira Schwartz who farms in Canaan, NY, with Dakota Miller.
Isabella Freedman cheesemaker Aitan Mizrahi and program coordinator Adam Sher.
Cindy Li and Jaclyn Schwanemann; Lizou & Charles Fenyvesi
Bonnie Wolf & Ayelet Singer; Shelley Levine and Galeet Dardashti.
The tent was set up adjacent to acres of organic crops.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 08/17/10 at 08:28 AM • Permalink
Berkshire Botanical’s Fête des Fleurs avec Voitures
Fleurs, voitures, despite the facile rhyme, flowers and cars generally don’t turn up in the same place at the same time. But on Saturday, August 14, at the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s summer party at the Pittsfield home of Ann and Dale Fowler, the hosts’ renowned collection of classic and vintage cars, and car-related memorabilia garnered nearly as many oohs and aaahs from the guests as did the equally exotic array of rare plants that were presented by uber plantsmen Bob Hyland of Loomis Creek Farm in Hudson and guest auctioneer Renny Reynolds of Hortulus Farm Nursery in Wrightstown, PA.
Lou Boxer, Beau Buffier, Jenny Buffier, Mike Beck, Lanie Grant, Joanne Cassullo, Matt Larkin, and the organizer of the plant auction Bob Hyland
Andrew Alpert and Laurie Alpert; Carol Williams and Skippy Nixon
Emma McGillicuddy and Claire Mitchell admire a classic Jaguar that belongs to event co-chair Jeannene Booher.
Honey Sharp, Carol Schulze and Renny Reynolds; Joy Howe and Bill Howe
Branding guru Kevin Sprague and his wife, the architect Kristine Sprague are flanked by Kristine’s former client, Botanical Garden trustee Mary Copeland, and her current client, Wendy Philbrick.
K.K. Zutter, trustee and event co-chair Jeannene Booher, and John Zutter; trustee Madeline Hooper and executive director Molly Boxer
Steve Weissman, Ana Weissman, Ed Parnes, and Elizabeth Parnes; trustee and event co-chair Judith Owens, Karen Carhart and Mary Ann Quinson
Max Aflalo, Leslie Reiche, Juergen Reiche, Jeanine Coyne, and Herbert Coyne
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 08/17/10 at 06:24 AM • Permalink
Hancock Shaker Village’s 50th Anniversary Gala
Fifty years ago, a few visionary people saw the “For Sale” sign on the corner of Routes 20 and 41 on the Hancock/Pittsfield border and decided that the old Shaker village might be worth saving. That 1,000 acres could be purchased for $125,000 in the era of urban renewal makes the story all the more remarkable, according to Hancock Shaker Village president Ellen Spear (left with Peter Hansen, who wore a Senegalese caftan to the gala on August 6.) Over a half a century, Hancock Shaker Village has restored many of its beautiful buildings, including the iconic round stone barn that has become an emblem of the Berkshires. On Saturday night, Hancock Shaker Village celebrated half a century as an outdoor museum with a multifaceted gala that began with the opening of Simple Gifts: Contemporary Artists Celebrate the Shaker Legacy, an exhibition that will be on view (and sale) through October 15 when the work is auctioned by Sotheby’s. Everyone then gathered in the stone barn for Shaker readings and songs by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Company and the Cantilena Chamber Choir. Afterwards, there was dinner and dancing in an enormous tent followed by fireworks that rocked the community known as the City of Peace.
Jaime Berg of the Winthrop Estate with her father, Gil Asher; sculptor Henry Richardson with Sarah Stranahan of the New Economy Council.
Hancock Shaker Village educator Danielle Steinmann with artist Eric Drury.
Chesterwood executive director Donna Hassler with Massachusetts Cultural Council executive director Anita Walker; Berkshire Creative director Helena Fruscio with Andrew Altsman and Hancock Shaker Village CEO and president Ellen Spear.
David Schecker & Vicki Bonnington in a vintage hat; Anne McLaughlin and Bruce Finn, general manager of the Red Lion Inn.
A table in the gala tent.
Nat & Betsy Bohrer; Bruce Freeman & David Rosso
Carol & Buzz Gray who helped design the tent’s decor.
Artists Jennifer Riley and Kelly Wilson who have work in the exhibition Simple Gifts: Contemporary Artists Celebrate Hancock Shaker Village’s 50th Anniversary; Peter Rentz, chairman of the HSV board Mary Rentz, and Nancy Goessel.
Gala chair Elyse Etling of the new Pronto cooking school in Lenox with Ann Jon of Sculpture Now in Lee; the after-dinner fireworks display.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 08/12/10 at 07:46 AM • Permalink
A Celebration of Modernism at Stonover Farm
Artists, artisans, art-lovers, craft collectors, and furniture fetishists from the Rural Intelligence region and beyond gathered at The Barn Gallery at Stonover Farm on Friday, August 6 for the opening of 20/21 Modern Style + Studio Craft. Innkeeper and gallery owner Suky Werman (left, with her brother-in-law Chris Sallom) engaged Sarah Archer of Greenwich House Pottery in NYC as a guest curator to create a series of domestic vignettes in her 110-year-old barn. The exhibit, part of the new ArtBerkshires initiative (spearheaded by Leslie Ferrin and Sienna Patti), blends mid-century modern art, decorative objects, and furniture with contemporary pieces to create a vision of a Berkshire bohemian hideaway. The show remains on view through October 17, by appointment only.
Paula Superti and Mark McDonald of the Mark McDonald gallery in Hudson with gallerist Leslie Ferrin; sculptor Joe Wheaton with his partner, Dick Lipez, and sculptor Susan Rodgers.
Lenox dancer and Pilates instructor Karen Lee with Berkshire Living‘s Mary Garnish; David Schecker & Vicki Bonnington.
Lenox art dealer Denise Ulick with Berkshire Museum communications director Jeremy Goodwin.
Photographer Kevin Sprague with curator Sarah Archer; not-for-profit consultant Philip Deely & actress Hilary Somers Deely.
Amy Zuckerman & Morey Brown with their daughter, Talia Rose Zuckerman Brown; Jewelry designer Melanie Bilenker with Ryan Hancock and their son Quinn.
Photographer and color consultant Paul Mutimear with Eliza Chase.
