Parties & Openings
June 7 - Great BarringtonBerkshire Playwrights Lab new Season |
June 8 - RhinebeckCelebrating Empire State Pride Agenda |
June 8 - StockbridgeEnchanted evening with Norman Rockwell Museum |
Pride Of The Empire (State)
Scott Baldinger reports from Rhinebeck. Literally billions of cicadas were screaching out liberated mating calls all around the glorious Stanford White designed Astor Courts on the evening of Empire State Pride Agenda‘s Hudson Valley Engagement on Saturday, June 8. Their deafening sound only occasionally disturbed the event indoors, a jam-packed celebration of the gains that have been achieved for LGBT equality and justice, both throughout the state and the nation, and much with the help of ESPA. On hand were a whole bevvy of Empire State Pride officials and volunteers, supporters and underwriters, and guests thereof. Specially honored was New York State Senator Stephen Saland (pictured at left with his wife of 48 years, Linda), whose swing vote was essential in getting marriage equality approved in the state.
Jerry Pagliari and realtor Peter Amendola; Hector Lozada, interior designer Michael Van Nort, and David Merrill.
Kendra Hutchinson, Empire Pride deputy executive director Lynn Faria, Adam Drawve, Empire Pride executive director Nathan Schaefer, and Alexandra Berk.
RI’s Wandering Eye columnist, designer Carey Maloney and husband, architect Hermes Mallea, both of M(Group); Chelsea Streifeneder and Andrew Mackenzie of Body Be Well Pilates of Red Hook and Catskill.
Alberto Aquilano and architect Alan Wanzenberg; Pride Agenda director Sheilah Sable and The Chatham Courier’s Sesame Campbell.
New York State Senator Terry Gipson and wife Michelle Donner; Stacey Sinclair and Alex Channing.
Kevin de l’Aigle of Armani Exchange, an underwriter of the event, with Tim Farrell, Daniel Vincent, and Stephen Borboroglu.
Career counselor Andrea G. Eisenberg and compensation consultant Martha J. Glantz; Mitchell Klein, Rob Warner, MD, and Joseph S. Grabaz, Jr.
Yoga instructor Dwayne Resnick and “Mr. Modern,” Mark McDonald; Susan Coffin and Alisa Costa.
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 06/11/13 at 08:32 AM • Permalink
The Wright Stuff: Berkshire Playwrights Lab Gala Celebration Of New Works
Rachel Louchen reports from Great Barrington. The Berkshire Playwrights Lab summer season kicked off at The Mahaiwe on Friday, June 7, with a 90-minute performance showcasing new works (and newcomers) as well as notable talents. Entering its sixth season, BPL began as a way for local playwrights to develop and present new plays. (This summer it will present its first-ever workshop performance, Anna Ziegler’s Life Science, at Simon’s Rock.) The evening began with a short film, starring Treat Williams, written by Richard Dresser and directed by Co-Artistic Director Joe Cacaci, and shot on location at Berkshire School, and continued with live performances by actors including Ned Eisenberg and Amy van Nostrand and a preview of Life Science. The night’s big laughs came from Tony Shalhoub, who, in a playlet written for the gala by Joe Cacaci, played a politically incorrect presidential hopeful butting heads with his more reserved campaign manager. Following the performances, guests gathered next door at Castle Street Cafe for wine and hors d’oeuvres, as well as a chance to meet the performers, including the affable Shalhoub. With performances and a Staged Reading Series beginning in the coming weeks and running through August, the evening served as an exciting taste of what’s to come. At left, Dr.Michael Lee, Tony Shalhoub, and Berkshire Playwright Lab’s General Manager, Lori Bashour.
The cast of Life Science: Julian Leong, Arielle Lever, Jess Jacobs, and David Kremenitzer.
Treat Williams, with wife, Pam Van Sant, opened and closed the evening with performances; Mahaiwe founder Lola Jaffe and Don Buchwald.
Gala Co-Chair Tracy Foster, Henry Strozier, and Mona Kanin; Berkshire Playwright interns Evelyn Dumont and PJ Grisar, with actor Ned Eisenberg, and intern Elise Lockwood.
Barbara Bonner with her son, Charles Socarides, who performed with Tony Shalhoub in Hat In The Ringer.
Artist Gil Eisner with David Warmflash and wife, Andrea Marks; Jonathan Hankin, board member Chris Blair, and Berkshire Grown’s Barbara Zheutlin.
Co-Artistic Director Jim Frangione, Sandy Cleary-Wade, and Founding Artistic Director of Berkshire Actors Theatre, Clover Bell-Devaney; Anne Cathcart and Ellen Ring.
Author Kate Wenner, Co-Artistic Director Michael Penn, and wife, actress Candace Brecker.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 06/09/13 at 09:21 PM • Permalink
Norman Rockwell Museum’s Enchanted Evening
Fiona Breslin reports from Stockbridge.
To honor the 75th anniversary of Walt Disney’s first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Norman Rockwell Museum (NRM) hosted an enchanted evening on June 8th, to coincide with the opening of their new exhibit “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic.” The exhibition features 200 works of original drawings, early character studies, detailed story sketches, and more, organized by the Walt Disney Family Museum. On site was director of marketing at Disney Libby Garrison and Lella Smith, creative director at Walt Disney Company Animation Research Library, to explain the story of this classic film’s development. Also in-house was Walt Disney’s eldest daughter Diane Disney Miller, a member of Norman Rockwell Museum’s National Council, and legendary dancer Marge Champion (above with NRM director Laurie Norton Moffatt). Champion collaborated on the film, beating out hundreds of other young dancers, to serve as the live reference model for the main character, a thirteen-year-old girl. The night commenced with an auction, cuisine, and dancing on the lawn overlooking Norman Rockwell’s studio, upon which the image of bluebirds were projected as an homage to Snow White. The exhibition will remain on view through October 2013.
Ani Shaker, Isabel Tonelli, Bea Kiggen and Sofia Tonelli; Lynn Benson and Martha Booth.
Animator Kristen McCormick and Karen McMenamy; The Red Lion Inn’s Anne Curtain Nardi and Amy Butterworth.
Creative director at Walt Disney Company Animation Research Library Lella Smith with Frederick Keator and Renee Keator.
Aaron Wood and The Red Lion Inn’s Stephanie Gravalese-Wood; Georgianne Valli-Harwood, marketing director at Iredale Mineral Cosmetics Sarah Steven, and architect James Harwood.
David Logan and Jessica Oakley; New England Public Radio’s Janet Egelhofer and John Egelhofer.
The dinner scene inside the tent.
David Glodt, Al Jaffe, Marita Glodt and Kathleen Jaffe; Snow White and the Evil Queen.
Deryck Tonge and Sonya McNair; Susan Peisner, Patricia Hubbard and Elizabeth Olenbush.
Bluebirds on Norman Rockwell’s studio.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 06/09/13 at 08:18 PM • Permalink
Fade Out On the Berkshire International Film Festival
Sarah Todd reports from Great Barrington.
Was there any doubt that the stars would align for the Berkshire International Film Festival‘s eighth year? The celebrated four-day festival drew to a show-stopping close on Sunday, June 2. Frances Ha director Noah Baumbach (left, with BIFF founder Kelley Vickery) and the film’s co-writer and star Greta Gerwig swooped into the Mahaiwe for a Q&A on the festival’s closing night flick. “It’s not a love story, but it feels like a love letter,” moderator Gregory Crewdson observed of the portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-woman tale. The film creators’ response could hardly be heard over the audience’s resounding applause. Later, locals mingled with film producers, composers, and cinematographers at the Castle Street Cafe afterparty. Revelers found that picking their favorite festival feature was as difficult as selecting just one hors d’oeuvre from the plates circulating the room. The evening’s tagline: “I loved them all.”
Gail Shalan and projectionist Ben Parson; producer/director Jay Vinitsky with BIFF’s Lauren Ferin and SEVEN salon.spa’s Maurice Peterson.
Triplex’s Larry Steinberg with Triplex and Beacon founder Richard Stanley; Allium’s Johanne Kesten with Berkshire Coop’s Michele DiSimone.
Fitness guru Jill Fleming with Berkshire HorseWorks’ Hayley Sumner; composer Brian McOmber and producer Alex Lipschultz.
Production designer James Boxer, real estate agent Barbara Schulman, Sotheby’s Anita Schilling, and Susie Weeks.
Shakespeare and Company’s Elizabeth Aspenlieder with writer Jeremy Goodwin; Lawyer Joel Kalodner and Benchmark Real Estate’s Nancy Kalodner.
Triplex General Manager John Valente with Blue Q’s Jenny Valente and Blue Q co-founder Seth Nash; Consultant Philip Deely and Simon’s Rock theater department head Karen Beaumont.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 06/03/13 at 10:25 PM • Permalink
Fast Cars Under the Stars: Annual Gala for Community Mental Health Affiliates
Rachel Louchen reports from Lakeville, Ct. It didn’t take a car enthusiast to appreciate the beauty of Lime Rock Park on Saturday, June 1, with the racetrack nestled between rolling mountain views. The venue was the setting for “An Evening Under the Stars: Jazz and Chrome,” the annual gala for Community Mental Health Affiliates (CMHA), which provides mental health and family services to children, adults, and families in Litchfield County. The nonprofit provides substance abuse and behavioral health treatment to more than 8,300 individuals a year, many of whom are unable to pay for treatment themselves. This year’s theme was the glamorous fun of the 1950’s and 1960’s, with guests able to browse and enjoy classic cars of the era such as a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado and a pink, 1967 Jaguar. Live and silent auctions helped raise proceeds for the organization, while attendees enjoyed drinks, a sit-down dinner, and dancing. The highlight of the night, however, was the opportunity to take a spin on the famous track with a professional driver in a BMW race car, the noise from which was sweetened somewhat by the live jazz band. At left, renowned auto journalist Don Klein served as co-chair, with the park’s owner and operator, Skip Barber.
Committee members Mimi Harson, Bunny Donahue, and attorney Bill Riiska ; Jeff Jacobson and wife Gail Jacobson.
Larry Union and Maryland Grier of Connecticut Health Foundation, one of the event’s sponsors, with advisory board member Hugh Hill; Sponsor Dr. Irving Smith and Cathy Denault.
Zoe Harson, Mimi Harson, committee member Juliet Moore, and CMHA’s Carol Mack, who coordinated the event, pose in front of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air.
Sponsor Ralph Carbone and Lauren Carbone; car enthusiasts Meg Begley and her husband, Paul Begley, pose next to a Lotus.
Sponsor Allison Guzowski and Margaret Guzowski; Terry Bogle and Gardner Bogle of NYC.
CMHA’s Vice Chairman Michael Lynch with Carol Lynch in front of the rolling hills and fast cars below.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 06/03/13 at 08:22 PM • Permalink
Like the Temperature Outside: Ellsworth Kelly Hits Ninety
Dale Stewart reports from Chatham, NY.
On Friday, May 31, one of the hottest days so far this year, intrepid gallery-goers packed shoulder to shoulder into the small Thompson Giroux Gallery on Main Street in Chatham to get a rare peek both at the art and actual person of Ellsworth Kelly for his 90th birthday. (He is pictured to the left with gallery owners Bill Thompson and Marie Claude Giroux.) A painter, sculptor, printmaker, and granddaddy of the Color Field and minimalist schools of painting, the Spencertown resident has also become a generous patron to the arts. Recently, through his Ellsworth Kelly Foundation (EKF), he has given $1.7 million to the school systems in Columbia County, education enrichment funds for the arts through the auspices of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. The show at the gallery, Happy Birthday Ellsworth!: A Collection of Prints by Ellsworth Kelly (with additional work by the EK Boys, Jack Shear, Nick Walters, and Joseph Yetto) will be on exhibit through June 30.
Tom and Sarah Crowell with their daughter Caroline; Painter Bob Newman with Susan Fenton.
Stephanie Henckle and Jordan Crane; Denise D’Agostino and Jed Cleary.
Ryan and Kat McClellane with Alice Corbalis.
Pablo Hortons, Lana Morrison, and Steve Blair; Seth and Catherine Labo with Jack Shear.
Ken Kraus and Anna D’Onokrio; Chris Shaver and Lauri Ondriska.
Artists Tatiana Klacsmann and David Franck with ceramicist Mary Ann Davis.
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 06/02/13 at 09:04 AM • Permalink
Columbia Land Conservancy’s Country Barbecue: Come Rain or Come Shine
Dale Stewart reports from Livingston, NY.
The threatening skies and fall-like weather muted the attendance at the Sunday, May 26, Columbia Land Conservancy’s Country Barbecue, the 26th annual event at David Rockefeller’s Clum and Patchen Farm. Those who did venture out were rewarded with the sounds of The Spurs USA (who covered country classics), and amused by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, with their stunning carnival feats. Touted as “a celebration of rural culture,” attendees watched while Ralph Hartzell, pictured left, held court over both of his two-ton oxen, while children loomed over hay mazes, pet miniature horses, baby bunnies and chicks, painted backpacks, and watched a birds of prey demonstration. Eventually, the sun beamed down and the oncoming summer could be felt in a late-day warm up as guests snacked on local food provided by Carlucci-Simons Catering, and tasty adult beverages such as Chatham Brewing’s “Summer Hummer” cream ale. The fun poured into the parking lot, where guests were ferried to and from their cars on a horse-drawn trolley for additional views of the majestic 400-acre farm.
Nanon Balloch and Ian Gilrest snuggle bunnies; actress Winsome Brown and Marie d’Orginy.
Gail Witterwer-Laird and Amy Barr: IMBY‘s John Isaacs and Enid Futterman.
Retired NBA player Eric Williams and Farm On’s Tessa Edick; Gabrielle Cater with her brother Jasper.
Charles Jenkins and Jim Dixon with daughters Marie and Katy.
Architect Kathleen Triem with philanthropist Judy Grunberg; Vicky Cohn and Kathleen Thorsey.
Katy Cashen and Robin Andrews; artists Jack Millard and John Cooley.
Architecture Omi director Peter Franck with artist David Franck; Chris Sansbury with CLC’s Tom Crowell.
Olana’s Sarah Griffin with sister/architect Kate Johns and attorney Jason Shaw.
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 05/29/13 at 07:20 AM • Permalink
Curtains Up on Summer at the TriArts Sharon Playhouse
Sarah Todd reports from Sharon.
At the annual fundraiser and season-opening party for TriArts Sharon Playhouse, held on Saturday, May 25, the mood was as bubbly as the chilled glasses of champagne that greeted guests at the door. Executive director Alice Bemand (left, with race car driving legend Skip Barber) circulated a room packed with theater professionals and the arts supporters who love them. The evening featured preview performances of summer shows like Damn Yankees and Neil Simon/Marvin Hamlish joint They’re Playing Our Song, as well as Youtheatre production 13 The Musical. After a rapid-fire live auction featuring prizes such as an idyllic stay in a South France villa, guests were treated to performances by Broadway stars Jason Tam and Meg Bussert, who regaled the audience with behind-the-scenes tales from the stage in between songs.
Broadway and television actors Jason Tam and Eric Morris charmed the crowd; TriArts board member Anna Traggio with Jessica Fowler and Cathy Riley.
Actress Christy Olson and Marcus Olson, director of theater at The Hotchkiss School; TriArts board member Deborah Reyelt and artistic director John Simpkins.
Real estate broker Pat Best, TriArts vice-president Carol Kalikow, sommelier Sophie Portale, and Gotham Bar and Grill chef and partner Alfred Portale.
Composer and pianist Caleb Hoyer with actress Danielle Gimbal; Norman Kappler and Rusty Chandler.
Carol Lynch and Gary Vycus; TriArts office administrator Audrey Brooks with TriArts chairman and Broadway producer Bill Suter.
TriArts staff Casey Hagwood, Josh Lutton, Jesse Hoyer, and Brad Berridge.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 05/25/13 at 10:18 PM • Permalink
Grown in the Berkshires Gala
Amy Krzanik reports from Williamstown.
Tuesday, May 21, turned out to be a balmy night as the Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC) celebrated its second-annual Grown in the Berkshires Gala Fundraiser at the Orchards Hotel. BCAC CFO Maggie Sheehan (far left), Board Vice President Michael Bedford (middle), and Executive Director Deb Leonczyk (near left) greeted guests and pointed them toward the delicious array of food on tables flanking the room. The Orchards’ own Executive Chef Chris Bonnivier offered up an appetizer made with melt-in-your-mouth Rawson Brook Farm goat cheese wrapped in bacon and garnished with a pickled ramp, while Red Lion Inn’s Brian Alberg put the finishing touches on a good-looking and great-tasting Zehr Farm mushroom and Wolfe Spring Farm asparagus conserva. Williams College chefs Mark Thompson and Molly O’Brien brought an array of goodies, including a cool treat for the hot night — fresh berry gelato made with cream from High Lawn Farm. As guests enjoyed specialties from restaurants like Wild Oats and Firefly, local brewers and wine distributors including Wandering Star Brewery, MS Walker, and Garardi Distribution kept the libations flowing. All food and services were donated by the participating restaurants and chefs, and all proceeds go toward BCAC’s efforts to address emergency services in the community.
Kyle Whalen, Elizabeth Connor and Christina Monska from Senator Ben Downing’s office, and Zachary Gordon; Sous Chef Bill Sheridan and Executive Chef Chris Bonnivier.
Dan and Iona Smith; Pat and Stephanie Ricchi with Claudine Preite.
Nicole Palma and Michelle Tyer; Joshua Needleman and his amazing chocolates.
Brian Alberg; North Adams City Councilor Lisa Blackmer and husband Bill Blackmer.
Tim Ohearn, Tracie Bailey, and Karylee Doubiago; McCann Tech culinary students Emily Wilusz and Nathan Reiter serving up Purple Pub’s pulled-pork sliders.
Steve Green and Sue Walker; Jeremy Trager supplies wine with a smile.
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Chase; Head of BCAC’s Project Reconnect Bryan House, Aleta Moncecchi, Stephanie Ricchi, Deb Leonczyk, and Chairman of the Board for BCAC Mark Lincourt.
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Posted by Amy Krzanik on 05/25/13 at 12:46 PM • Permalink
VIM’s 7th Annual Chefs’ Dinner
Fiona Breslin reports from New Marlborough.
It is always an honor to report on events for Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), the Great Barrington-based organization that provides top medical, dental, mental, and other healthcare for uninsured residents of the Berkshires. On Monday, May 20, VIM underwriters, contributors, and friends gathered at The Old Inn on the Green for the 7th Annual Berkshire Chefs’ dinner. The evening rounded up local culinary leaders Peter Platt and Shirl Gard of The Old Inn On The Green, Shelly Williams of Haven Café and Bakery, Adam Zieminski of Café Adam, and Daire Rooney of Allium Restaurant & Bar, to prepare an elegant menu for the evening that serves to recognize VIM’s accomplishments and helps prepare the organization for the year ahead. While state efforts to close gaps in health insurance continue, demand for VIM services are expected to as well, as thousands in Massachusetts remain without adequate coverage. (Above, VIM board members: vice chair and co-medical director Matt Mandel, Ellen Rowntree, MD, and Jeff Blake, MD.)
Designer Wendy Darling and her daughter Lana Carron; Garrett Sadler and David Schecker.
Artist Betsy Dovydenas, event committee member Catherine Mandel, and Olga Weiss.
Larry Hazzard, Berkshire United Way president Kristine Hazzard, and VIM board member Marion Simon; Rita Kasky and VIM board member Elizabeth Goodman.
Pat Salomon, MD, with Elise Richman, and Julio Rodriguez; Bruce Rudin and Jerry Sugar, MD.
BIFF founder Kelley Vickery and Catherine Mandel; VIM development staff member Lesley Rubinger, realtor Mary White, and VIM board member Michael Richman.
Event chair Vicki Bonnington, David Schecker, VIM board member Robert L.W. McGraw, Lana Carron, and Wendy Darling.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 05/22/13 at 12:25 AM • Permalink
The Berkshire Museum Celebrates Wine and Wisdom
Amy Krzanik reports from Pittsfield.
On Saturday, May 18, guests raised their glasses (and their auction paddles) to help The Berkshire Museum celebrate its ninth biennial Wine Gala and Auction. The Ellen Crane Memorial Room was turned into an eden of hors d’ouevres from local favorites Haven Cafe and Bakery, Mission Bar and Tapas, Marketplace Kitchen Caterers, and both Mazzeo’s Meat and Seafood and Mazzeo’s Ristorante. The partygoers sipped a selection of wines as they bid on silent auction items like rounds of golf, one-on-one painting lessons, and Brooklyn art crawls. Champagne and a live auction followed in the theater, as auctioneer Marie Keep led the bidding on big-ticket items including luxurious vacations, seats to sought-after sporting events, and dinner at local restaurants. Guest of honor Riccardo Illy (shown near left, with Jim and Heidi Nejaime and Illy Marketing Director Myra Fiori) donated Illy coffee and Mastrojanni wine for both auction lots and the post-auction dinner served by Savory Harvest Catering. The night’s proceeds benefit education programs for local students, as The Berkshire Museum celebrates its 110th anniversary in the community.
Veronica and Christopher Fenton of Lenox; Mary Ellen Giffels, Berkshire Museum Trustee Buzz McGraw, and Gala Chair Wendy Gordon.
Executive Director Van Shields with Honorary Chair Mike Chefetz; Renee and Steven Erenburg with Committee Members Gideon Argov and Alexandra Fuchs.
Ranjit and Naveena Shastri with Joe and Laurie Gallagher; Trustee Eric Korenman and Committee Member Marianna Poutasse.
Carol Rabin and Lauren Spitz; Thomas and Diane Leavitt with Managing Director of the Berkshire Museum Board Bill Hines and Jen Hines.
Mike Huth and Trustee Mary Huth with Committee Member Mike Mazzeo; Keith and Judy Edwards.
Jonathan Feuer and Gala Chair Peter Gordon; Martha Piper and Reba Evenchik.
Milana Agaev, Elaine Sollar Eisen, and Khagai Agaev; Committee Members Stacy McCann and Allen Hamlin.
Sadie Peno and Katherine Oberwager; Mary Ellen Giffels with the night’s auctioneer Marie Keep and husband Jonathan Keep.
Noah Elkin and Barbara Krauthamer; Committee Members Hannah and Mark Gross of Richmond.
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Posted by Amy Krzanik on 05/19/13 at 08:22 PM • Permalink
Trade Secrets: Shopping and Socializing for a Worthy Cause
Dan Shaw reports from Sharon, CT:
It was one of those picture perfect spring mornings that the organizers of the 13th annual Trade Secrets rare plant and garden antiques sale had been praying for. More than 60 dealers—including Richard Lambertson and Suzanne Cassano (photo left) of Privet House in New Preston, CT—and over one thousand shoppers descended on Lion Rock Farm in Sharon, CT, for this extravaganza benefitting the worthiest of causes, Women’s Support Services, which aides victims of domestic violence (both women and men) in northwestern Connecticut as well as the adjacent towns of Massachusetts and New York As always, the volunteers in their signature Trade Secrets aprons, including many from the nearby Hotchkiss and Indian Mountain Schools, had as much fun as the shoppers, creating an unrivaled sense of community spirit crossed with casual country chic.
Pat Fili-Krushel, the chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, and screenwriter Maria Nation of Good Dogs Farm; Pine Cone Hill founder Annie Selke and PCH’s Jaime Kelly.
Trade Secrets stalwart Martha Stewart with the Manhattan florist Zezé.
Trade Secrets chair Deb Munson with her husband, Brian Munson; garden writer Jane Garmey with interior designer Matthew Patrick Smyth.
Dana & Joan Osofsky of Hammertown Barn; Jonathan Bee of Hunter Bee.
Trade Secrets committee chairs Mari Consolini and Christine Owen, who wore matching shirts by coincidence.
Private art dealer Susan Lorence with curator and Rothko expert Ruth Fine; Trade Secrets garden host Lee Link with Trade Secrets founder Bunny Williams.
Artist and designer Clifton Jaeger with his daughter Louise; student volunteers Abby Quinn and Ciara McElroy.
Interior designer Philip Gorrivan with his son, Charlie, and Harrison Dubin.
Sally Wilburn & Joy Martorell of Robin Hood Radio; Trade Secrets host Elaine LaRoche with Pete Hathaway of Ragamont House.
One of the booths set up at Lion Rock Farm in Sharon, CT.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 05/18/13 at 09:42 PM • Permalink
Construct Inc. Brings Out the Community
Rachel Louchen reports from Great Barrington. It seemed as if just about everyone in the Berkshires gathered at Crissey Farm on Monday, May 13, for Construct Inc.‘s annual fundraiser, Mayfest, which raises money so that the organization can continue to provide housing, financial aid, and other multiple forms of support to those in need in Southern Berkshire County. The packed room included more than a dozen local restaurants, which ran the gamut from Aroma, The Great Barrington Bagel Co., tacos from Gedney Farm, and sweet treats supplied by Klara’s Gourmet Cookies. This year, a large portion of the evening’s proceeds will go towards an addition to Contruct’s main building — a community center called Priscilla’s Room, where women can safely gather for educational as well as recreational classes. At left; Property Manager and Administrative Assistant Lisa Henriques, with Executive Director Cara Davis.
Rich Petrino of Great Barrington with his wife, Elaine Radiss; Marilyn Lebowitz of Alford and former board member Elaine Silberstein.
Barney Stein and Maureen Phillips of Greylock Federal Credit Union, one of the evening’s underwriters; Barbara Vossbergh and Caren Mercer .
Bill Ryan and his wife, Deb Ryan, supported the event as underwriters.
Sherri Gorelick with her cupcake pops; Cyril Dray and Dayne Kelly, owners of Cyril & Dayne.
Fiori’s Executive Chef Rachel Hunter and Bar Manager Jesse Watkins; Board members John James and Marcia Lawrence Soltes.
Former Construct board member and realtor Barbara Schulman, with Anita Schilling, and artist Kerry Millikin.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 05/13/13 at 08:41 PM • Permalink
CATA Celebrates 20 Years of Making Art
Amy Krzanik reports from Lenox.
Despite the rain, spirits were high on Saturday, May 11, as Community Access to the Arts (CATA) celebrated its 20th anniversary in style at Shakespeare and Company. The night’s festivities included cocktails, silent and live auctions, a gourmet dinner, and a dance party with DJ BFG to close out the gala. But the highlight of the evening came as 50 CATA participants took the stage at the Tina Packer Theater. Founder and Executive Director Sandra Newman (second from left, with Roselle Chartock, CATA Board President John Whalan, and Alan Chartock) spoke about the nonprofit’s mission and wonderful successes, and then let the evening’s performances speak for themselves. Both teachers and students acted, sang, rapped, tapped, danced, juggled, and serenaded their way into the hearts of the delighted audience. Congratulations, CATA, and here’s to 20 more years of helping Berkshire County’s adults with disabilities be “a part of art.”
Caitlin Nash, Annie Selke, Chris Masiero, and Kelly Vickery; CATA Board Member Catherine Mandel and supporter Nancy Kalodner.
Cory and Tony Schifano; Paula and Andy Miller with Andrew Beckwith.
Terry Wise, Nancy Nirenberg, and Jay Wise; CATA faculty artists Lara Gonzalez and Yael Shacham.
Tyler Weld and daughter; Ana Suffish and CADA Co-chair Linda Cooper.
Gala Committee Member Trisha Killeen and husband Brian Killeen; Pete and Jen Salinetti with children Noelia and Diego.
Board Member Elaine Radiss with Hope Davis; Board Member Melissa McGarrity and Gala Committee Member Margaret Keller.
Hester Velmans and Edith Velmans; Donors Vicki Bonnington and David Schecker.
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Posted by Amy Krzanik on 05/13/13 at 11:27 AM • Permalink
Ladies (and Gentleman) in Red: Rites of Passage Fundraising Gala
Rachel Louchen reports from Pittsfield.
Guests were told to dress to impress in red on Friday, May 11, for a fundraiser gala benefiting Rogue Angel Theater at the Whitney Center, which was transformed into a festively decorated room with rose petals strewn on the floor, red lighting, and Moroccan style drapery hanging from the ceilings. Hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and chocolates were served, while crimson-clad guests enjoyed music and had the opportunity to bid on the silent auction and visit a tarot card reader. The gala was held to raise money for the upcoming Rites of Passage performance piece, which will be staged inside the Whitney, formerly the Women’s Club of the Berkshires, with each room of the stately brick edifice representing a different stage in a woman’s life from childhood to old age. The event will run for four nights in June and involves dozens of people, aged 1 to 90. The evening’s spectacular turnout was more than encouraging for theater director Pooja Ru Prema, at left with Laura Geilen, who will be performing in the upcoming production.
Amy Warner, Katie Hagel, and Julia Erickson.
Amy Tanner of Housatonic with longtime Rogue Angel supporter Jennifer Clark; Kelsa Summer and Chenoa Pelligra of Hillsdale.
Jocelyn McEwan with Nadine Hottat; Michael Bushy and Gabrielle Senza, who will perform in the “Hysteria Room” during Rites of Passage.
Susan Bryan of Otis and Beth Bacon of Great Barrington; Walter McTeigue and Caroline McTeigue.
The evening auctioneer, Helsinki Hudson’s Cameron Melville with friend Lizzy West; Ty Elliston and Ronja Geilen of Alford.
Christine Root, playwright Elizabeth Blackshine, and Maris Nichols.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 05/12/13 at 10:38 PM • Permalink
Ramp Fest: Third Time’s Still the Charm
Dale Stewart reports from Hudson.
If the line snaking out to the parking lot of Basilica Hudson on Saturday, May 4, was any indication, the third annual Ramp Fest was a wild success. And the lines didn’t stop at the parking lot: Some foodies piled up three deep to sample spring’s first forageable delicacy, as interpreted by standouts like New Lebanon’s Blueberry Hill Market Café and Milan’s Another Fork in the Road. Ramps, a perennial member of the onion family known to be plentiful in the Hudson Valley, took center stage with twenty participating restaurants serving up ramps and live music. The Fest is the brainchild of Jeff Gimmel of Swoon Kitchenbar and stationery maven Alison Riley, pictured left.
Mikhaila Simeon, Roema Rotondo, Lena Deleo, Derek Dillinger, and Mike Rotindo.
Helsinki Hudson’s Hugh Horner, Sean Elliott, and Riley Murkett; Fish and Game’s Zakary Pelaccio and Jori Jayne Emde.
Ca’Mea co-owner Max Cenci takes an Italian interpretation of the ramp.
Lynn Galluscio and Erika Clark; Basilica Hudson’s Nancy Barber and William Stone.
Carrie Leonard and Lara Gorton; Zia Anger and music producer Steve Durand.
Deborah Au-Yeung, Carol Gillard, Annie Mayer, Kip and Saadia McConville.
Nicholas Nicoletti, Michael Williams, and Katharine Umsted; gallerist Marianne Courville and Hudson Wine Merchants’ Michael Albin.
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 05/07/13 at 10:57 PM • Permalink
A Fabulous First: The PS21 Gala
Amy Krzanik reports from Chatham.
On Saturday, May 4, PS21 (Performing Spaces for the 21st Century) held its first-ever gala benefit at the beautifully decorated Cady Hall in Chatham. PS21 President Judy Grunberg (shown left, between friends Chris and Jim Warren) and Board Member James Kraft welcomed guests who ventured out on this warm spring evening to dine, dance, and mingle. Carlucci Simons Catering served wine, delicious appetizers, and a dinner buffet prepared using many locally sourced ingredients. Local bakers provided a dessert bar. Before and after dinner, partygoers were treated to dance interludes by members of the TAKE Dance Company, a PS21 past performer and area favorite. The gala, and the night’s quilt raffle courtesy of artist Melissa Sarris, support PS21’s annual summer season held at their venue just outside Chatham. From June through August, PS21 hosts concerts, dance and theatre performances, workshops for children and adults, and weekly films including a film festival.
Jim and Patti McKay; TAKE Dance Director and Choreographer Takehiro Ueyama, Eve Mykytyn, Denise Henkind, and Charles Rosen.
Gloria Kaufman with architect Paul Miller and Elizabeth Miller; PS21 Board Member James Kraft, Linda Mussmann, and Duke Dang.
Maurice and Paige Bowerman; Leslie Bedford, Sue Cohen, PS21 Board Member Paula Forman, and Roberta Todras.
David Stocks, Michael Carter, and sculptor John Cooley; Karen Malina, Warren Collins, and Susannah Marks.
Melanie Brandston, Howard Brandston, and Gwen Gould; Wayne Shelton, Judy Albert, and Julie Kabat.
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Posted by Amy Krzanik on 05/05/13 at 11:02 AM • Permalink
In the Shed: Berkshire Botanical Garden Reception
Sarah Todd reports from Stockbridge.
Avid gardeners are constantly thinking of ways to up their backyard’s “wow” potential, from heirloom rose bushes to koi ponds. But although the humble potting shed is as much a part of the landscape as any trellis or azalea shrub, it often gets overlooked. That oversight was handily remedied at the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s opening reception for “Down to Earth” on Saturday, May 4. On display were six state-of-the-art potting sheds donated to the Garden by local architects, each built with an eye to aesthetics and the environment. Highlights included John Carchedi’s elegant wood-slatted shed, which drew inspiration from Hawaiian surf shacks and Japanese cha-shitsus; Clark and Green‘s interactive shed with sliding walls; and Aaron Dunn‘s DIY structure, which children would help build the next day using cob — a mixture made from mud, straw, and stone. Board Chairman Matt Larkin (left, with landscape designer Jonathan Keep, Coast of Maine’s Sue Lavallee, and Andrea Austin) welcomed guests to an evening that had all the ingredients of a great outdoor party: magnolia trees in bloom, modern design galore, and a wheelbarrow filled with chilled white wine and cocktail mixers, which followed guests down idyllic dirt paths.
Medical illustrator Catherine Delphia and Grant Larkin’s Aaron Dunn; lawyer Beau Buffier with Garden trustees Ian Hooper and Michael Beck.
UMass Architecture and Design students Della Donahue and Jess Caruso; Clark and Green’s Scott Henderson with Allegrone Construction’s Joe Lewis.
Walter Maxwell, Lisa Maras, Silo Bed and Breakfast’s Tom Murphy and Marion Jansen, and Jackie Maxwell.
JK Custom Furniture and Design’s Josh and Kristen Kanter; medical student Abigail Shrang and Steven Rufo.
Gary and Beverly Igleburg with architect John Carchedi; magnolias frame a sumptuous spread.
Rebecca Turner and Darrell Turner with Clark and Green’s Glenn Goble and his daughter Kate Goble.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 05/04/13 at 09:35 PM • Permalink
IS183’s Inaugural Berkshire Arts Educator Award
Fiona Breslin reports from Pittsfield.
In an academic world devoted to testing and sitting at desks, the art room is and always has been a haven for students. We are lucky that the RI region values creativity, and to acknowledge all K-12 arts educators in Berkshire County, IS183, art school of the Berkshires, hosted its first ever Arts Educator Award and Art Educator Reception, Thursday, April 25, at The Colonial Threatre. More than 200 teachers were nominated by the community for the award, 20 were selected by a panel of judges, and in the end, it was my own former art teacher, Krista Kennedy, of the memorable room K01 at Monument Mountain Regional High School who received the first annual Berkshire Arts Educator of the Year award. Kennedy (above with fellow Monument teacher and nominee Linnea Mace) started teaching at Monument when she brought her art portfolio to the interview rather than a curriculum. This was exactly what the school wanted, and Kennedy has fostered creativity there ever since. “We live in a time where the school culture is about testing and creativity is not well thought upon,” said Kennedy in her thank you speech. “This is a really important time for us to push problem solving and creativity, that’s our job as art teachers.”
Hoosac Vally’s Alexa Bermudez with Elizabeth Kick; IS183’s Cecilia Hirsch and Amy Butterworth.
IS183 executive director Hope Sullivan and Megan Whilden, panel member and director of cultural development, city of Pittsfield; Judith Pomerantz, Katie Malone Smith, and Clinton Smith.
Award nominee Michael Vincent Bushy with art teacher Mary Beth Eldridge, award nominee Barbara Patton, and award nominee Lisa Ostellino.
Valerie Zantay, Lynda Mulvey, and Tyler Malik; Neel Webber, award nominee and art department supervisor at Monument Mountain, Krista Kennedy, and award nominee Linnea Mace.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 04/30/13 at 03:43 PM • Permalink
RSYP Cooks Up a Storm at John Andrews
Fiona Breslin reports from Egremont.
It was one of the first warm nights of Spring, Wednesday April, 24, and couldn’t have been a better evening to celebrate Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP) and its spring culinary interns Table Dinner at John Andrews Restaurant . Under the tutelage of chef Dan Smith, five students curated and prepared a creative and mouth-watering tasting menu of house-made ricotta fritters, black olive puree, ravioli with spring greens, meats, cheeses, desserts, and more, which they served to a sold-out house. RSYP helps Berkshire youth by supporting activities to encourage self-worth and responsibility; its culinary apprenticeship program offers students the chance to learn from local top chefs — gaining valuable work skills or, possibly, a job a with a local business. As guests dined, the young chefs were presented their certificates of completion and a raffle was drawn for dinner at—John Andrews, of course!
Berkshire Rental Properties Claudia Laslie, Georgia Karbelnikoff, and Rebecca Bruun; RSYP board member Barbara Manring, Cheryl Raifstanger, and RSVP board vice president Gery Rybacki.
RSYP board member and realtor Barbara Schulman with Freddy Friedman and Mary Jo Friedman; Mark and Caren Rosengren.
Builder Lou Boxer, RSYP board member Beno Friedman, and Stephanie Blumenthal; Phil Timpane, Sugar Timpane, and Paul Clark.
RSYP board member Barbara Manring, RSYP executive director Ananda Timpane, and RSYP board member Barbara Watkins, winner of the evening’s raffle.
Lyn Yonack, RSYP clerk Eric Bruun, Rebecca Bruun, and Anya Van Wagtendonk; RSYP alumni Kirsten Thorn with Caitlin Harrison.
Lou Boxer, realtor Nancy Kalodner, and Molly Boxer; party planner Amy Rudnick and artist Ben Hillman.
Students from the RSYP culinary apprenticeship program with John Andrews chef/owner Dan Smith.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 04/28/13 at 05:21 PM • Permalink
Spring into Art: Reception for the Annual Community Arts Exhibition
Rachel Louchen reports from Stockbridge. The 2nd Annual Community Arts Exhibition hosted its juried show on Saturday, April 20, at the Sohn Fine Art Gallery in Stockbridge. Benefiting Chesterwood, a National Trust Historic site, 19 artists (professional and amateur) were featured, providing an array of photographic genres from hand-colored mixed media to more traditional city-street scenes. Juried by Sohn Fine Art owner and photographer Cassandra Sohn along with Donna Hassler, Director of Chesterwood, and Kathryn Price, curator of Special Projects at Williams College, first place was awarded to Gene Elling, with his photograph “Industrial Lullaby,” depicting a baby crib inside a mechanic’s garage. Helping the nonprofit was a no-brainer for Sohn, who noted that this event brings together local artists to merge community and culture. At left, Leslie Shatz with her friend, Elaine Radiss, who also contributed two photographs to the exhibition.
Denise Chandler of Lenox with her People’s Choice-winning photograph “Dancing Poppy;” Annie Unger of Great Barrington with Mildred Smith of Sheffield.
One of the event’s jurors, Kathryn Price and Anne Cathcart, Associate Manager of Collections & Programs at Chesterwood; Great Barrington residents Rachel Brier and Phil Pechukas.
Winnie Walsh, Gladys Montgomery, and juror Donna Hassler.
Rich Petrino of Great Barrington with Sandra Newman; Karin Watkins of South Egremont and Liz Hogan of New Marlborough.
Jules Titelbaum with wife, Susan Titelbaum; Gabriel Squailia with his daughter.
The nights Jurors; Donna Hassler, Kathryn Price, and Sohn Fine Art owner Cassandra Sohn.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 04/21/13 at 08:31 PM • Permalink
Filling A “Blank Planet”: Opening at Ornamentum Gallery in Hudson
Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. The young contemporary jeweler Alexander Blank may hearald from Munich, Germany, where he studied his art at the university level. (He is pictured here to the left of Stefan Friedman and Laura Lapachiy, owners of the Ornamentum Gallery, where his work is being displayed under the rubric Blank Planet). But like a lot of Europeans, he is obsessed with American culture, and the show of his work at the Hudson gallery reflects that. At the opening reception on Saturday, April 20, steadfast Ornamentum admirers viewed Blank’s sparse, sometimes surrealist oeuvre, the focal feature of which were pendants modeled after Chuck Jones’ Looney Tune characters — Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, The Tasmanian Devil among them — only this time in postmortem skeletal form. The “joke” (ah, the Germans!) was actually giggle-inducing, and so the reception attendees, much of them creative jewelers themselves, responded in kind.
Jewelers Atsuko Bauman and Satoru Bauman, with SUNY New Paltz professor Kerianne Quick; Alexander Blank with Our Town‘s John Issacs.
Jeweler Maija Neimanis with Nina Scheff; fine art jeweler Kevin Hughes and Jessica Hughes.
Hudson clothier Paul de Marchin with Verdigris baker Regina Simmons; Susan Marme and Michael Marme.
Café Omi chef Robin McKay and contractor Stuart Farmery; Helen Suter and Kasimir Suter Winter.
Realtor Peggy Polenberg, artist Myron Polenberg, and Nora Peck; Taz, Blank’s version of the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil.
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 04/20/13 at 12:15 PM • Permalink
Close Encounters with Music (and Romance) at Blantyre
Sarah Todd reports from Lenox.
The romance of salon music—intimate and dramatic, ideally accompanied by fluttering lace fans and curlicued mustaches just barely masking bold passion—isn’t often on display in this day and age. So it was all the more remarkable to behold on Sunday, April 14, at Close Encounters with Music’s annual luncheon musicale benefit at Blantyre. Under the leadership of artistic director Yehuda Hanani (left, with executive director of Berkshire Film and Media Commission Diane Pearlman and Jeff Diamond), the organization brings live chamber music to audiences with the goal of creating a close-knit, participatory musical experience. On Sunday, soprano Sarah Wolfson and pianist Renate Rohlfing bewitched a small crowd with swoon-worthy love songs in honor of springtime. The program included American classics like “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” along with selections from Carousel and Follies. The highlight, though, was Wolfson’s mesmerizing rendition of Joaquin Turina’s Poema en forma de conciones, Opus 19. With her rich, expressive vibrato, Wolfson gave the kind of performance that burrows deep into your bones. Afterward, dazzled guests shuffled into Blantyre’s kingly dining room for another kind of transportive experience: lunch prepared by Blantyre chef Arnaud Cotar.
Pianist Renate Rohlfing and vocalist Sarah Wolfson; Barrington Stage artistic director Julianne Boyd, Close Encounters With Music board president Marcie Setlow, and Nancy Kalodner of Benchmark Real Estate.
Attorney Allan Streichler and artist Ronnie Streichler with Dr. Faanya Rose, the first woman elected president of the Explorers Club; Kentshire Galleries directors Fred Imberman and Marcie Imberman.
Ilona Weisman and Close Encounters with Music vice president Hannah Hanani; Georgeanne and Jean Rousseau of Lenox.
Michele and Steve Mestman; Hancock Shaker Village board chairman Ron Walter and law professor Marilyn Walter.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 04/15/13 at 07:55 PM • Permalink
Neumann Fine Art & McDaris Fine Art
Dale Stewart reports from Hillsdale and Hudson. From the country to the city, art aficionados got their fill from Hillsdale to Hudson, with openings at the venerable Neumann Fine Art in Hillsdale and the uber-hip McDaris Fine Art in Hudson on Saturday, April 13. A subdued Berkshire/Columbia County crowd packed into Neumann Fine Art to focus on two artists: Oil painter Bob Crimi and furniture maker Joel Mark. Crimi hails from a line of classic fresco muralist/easel painters, but identifies more with the beats of the late 50’s/early 60’s Manhattan. His soft-dreamy, muted oil paintings complemented Mark’s fine museum-quality furniture, meticulously crafted pieces using both modern and traditional woodworking techniques to create fine architectural studies. Meanwhile, artgoers spilled into the city streets in an effort to get a glimpse of “The Mystic Line,” featuring works by Brooklyn-based Danielle Ezzo (pictured left with gallerist Wendy McDaris), French-born Laetitia Hussain, and musician/DJ Logan Visscher. The three artists shared a cohesive feel: Mezzo’s series of subtle salt prints document complex geometrical shapes from constellation maps, while Hussain’s laid swatches of transparent plaid over panoramic landscapes lend order to the outside world, and Visscher’s hand-drawn regimented lines serve as a sort of Rorschach test for the ruler set. The two-person show at Neumann Fine Art runs through June 2; the McDaris show runs through May 19.
Jamie Larson, Cheryl Jones, and Dana Kahn.
Artist Bob Crimi with his gallerist Jeffrey Neumann; artist Joel Mark and Wolf Jakubowski.
Jenna O’Brien, Allison Neumann, and Russell Farber; Dave Watson and Trudette Crimi.
Look Hudson’s Marie Balle, Jonathan Osofsky, and musician Stephin Merritt.
Community activist Sam Pratt with artist Laetitia Hussain; Inn at Hudson’s Windle Davis and IMBY’s Enid Futterman.
Artist Nicholas Kahn, Charlotte Marek, and artist David Franck; Hudson Alderwoman Sarah Sterling, Marie Balle, and Terri See.
Neumann Fine Art
65 Coldwater Street, Hillsdale, NY
McDaris Fine Art
623 Warren St Hudson NY
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 04/14/13 at 05:43 AM • Permalink
MASS MoCA Celebrates in 3-2-1!
Amy Krzanik reports from North Adams.
On Saturday, April 6, MASS MoCA marked the conclusion of its Oh, Canada show and the opening of three new exhibits with the 3-2-1! Celebration, a night jam-packed with events. The evening commenced with a cocktail party in the galleries and a silent auction in the lobby, where attendees could bid on art by Sanford Biggers, Mark Dion, and Moyra Davey, among others. The artists who created the night’s three debut exhibits — Life’s Work: Tom Phillips and Johnny Carrera, Mark Dion: The Octagon Room, and The One Minute Film Festival — were on site to discuss their work. Artist Johnny Carrera (near left) and Center for Book Arts founder Richard Minsky are shown in front of one of Carrera’s works. A benefit dinner followed under Xu Bing’s fabulous, large-scale Phoenix project in Building 5, and the night culminated in a dance party with Canadian DJ King Khan, a self-described “spiritual guru,” spinning a blend of vintage soul, R&B, garage rock, and funk. All proceeds from the evening support new work made at MASS MoCA.
Jonathan Swartz, Kim Cushman, Lisa Cushman, Bruce Armentrout, MASS MoCA’s Jodi Joseph, and Michael Cushman; Shawna Boles and Krishna Jain.
Johnny Carrera’s mom Mary Jeanne and mother-in-law Katherine Waldman wear outfits emblazoned with Carrera’s art; CAC Cincinnati curator Steven Matijcio, Mary Beth Johnson of SECCA, and Sienna Patti.
Sean Blane, Jennifer Campbell, and David Rosen of the Canadian Consulate in Boston; DJ King Khan with Lickety-Split cafe owner Cathy Rayls.
Ali Benjamin and MASS MoCA’s Blair Benjamin with Christy and Rob Abel; Sophie Ash and Kate Grumbacher wearing Carrera’s art.
Dana Sherwood, artist Mark Dion, and David Borawski; Liz Richards with Alison Hart of Jacob’s Pillow.
Molly Kerns and Cornelia Alden; Alexander Pirdy, Athena Mahler, Nora Bates Zale and Synphany Bates Zale of The Academy at Charlemont in front of work by Tom Phillips.
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Posted by Amy Krzanik on 04/08/13 at 01:33 PM • Permalink
Turkish Delights at Olana
Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. In 1868, Hudson Valley master painter Frederic Church and wife Isabel went to Constantinople, and they just couldn’t get it out their heads after they left. The couple went on to build their Hudson manse, Olana, in a Moorish style, and at the center of it is a large parlor with a proscenium where they entertained guests with the melismatic music most likely heard on that Ottoman trip. This experience was recreated Friday, April 5, (in that very same parlor) with members of the Dünya Ensemble (Robert Labaree, Cem Mutlu, and Mehmet Ali Shanhkhol) playing dulcet Turkish pieces representative of what the Church’s no doubt were entranced by, charming a packed audience of Olana supporters and visitors, who were then fed Turkish-ish tidbits courtesy of Tivoli’s Panzur Restaurant.
Olana community relations director Paula Rickborn and Olana site director Kimberly Flook; Owen Davidson and Olana board member Margaret Davidson .
Green Farms Academy’s upper school principal Russel Hatch and Michael Morrissey; Lisa Vahradian and John Tillotson of Claverack.
Photographer David Hamilton with event organizers Andrew Appel of Four Nations Ensemble and Olana education coordinator Shelly Ley.
Members of the Olana Partnership Patricia and Jim Wann; Eileen Ordu with Laurie Hafner and Ralph Hafner.
Visiting Brooklynites John Rutigliana and Eric Salas; Olana President Sara Johns Griffen, Janet Schnitzer, and Martha McMasters .
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 04/07/13 at 07:39 PM • Permalink
Opening Benefit Concert for New Amenia Music Hall Performance Space
Fiona Breslin reports from Amenia. When it comes to building a music scene, Amenia — of all places — is becoming a destination. With DIY venues including The Lantern and the Wasssaic Project already drawing in acts from Dutchess County, the Hudson Valley, and beyond, Peter Cascone of Peter Cascone Productions, is adding Amenia Music Hall to the roster. On Sunday, March 31, Cascone launched an opening benefit concert to support the renovation of Amenia Music Hall, a planned performance space currently housed within Amenia Town Hall. Cascone — a music lover and Amenia resident himself — says Amenia Music Hall has become a music venue just by inviting people to perform at it. The evening featured a variety of acts including local guitarist Jonathan Fritz and NYC-based Indie Pop artist Marc Farre, and fans of all ages — including a notable number of interested local twenty- and thirty-somethings — were in attendance. “There is tremendous spirit with sophisticated music,” said Cascone. He couldn’t bear to see a space this good go to waste.
Evening maître d’ Brian Saltern and Christine Fritz, whose son Jonathan performed during the benefit; Amenia Music Hall media consultant Joan Daidone, musician Jonathan Fritz and Christine Fritz.
Amenia Music Hall founder Peter Cascone with Barry Fox and Laura Grag; Delango Automotive’s Larissa Delango and Mike Delango.
Kate Cascone, Dave Herman, Reuben Traite, and Jaya Blakeslee.
Lubuscas, El Capitan, and Rouben Madieians; Wassiac Project co-director Bowie Barnett-Zunino with daughter Gilvey and Cassie Carello.
Indie Pop musician Marc Farre and drummer Tom Curiano; musicians Ryan Saldarriaga, Luke Palladino, and Pete Scholes.
Calsi’s General Store’s Bill Kroeger and Sharon Kroeger flank Kenneth Liegner; Lynn Schultz and Cascade Mountain Winery’s George Cafiero. Cascade Mountain provided wine for the evening.
Music lovers from the hamlet of Wassaic showed their support for Amenia Music Hall.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 03/31/13 at 08:31 PM • Permalink
Kristen Panzer Always Gets Her Book
Rachel Louchen reports from Millerton. Bookworms and wine connoisseur’s both gathered at No.9 Restaurant in Millerton on Friday, March 29, to listen to author Kristen Panzer (at left) read from her new book, Thea Gallas Always Gets Her Man. Thea Gallas, a self-published novel, follows the life of a lactation consultant and mother, pregnant with her fourth child, who suspects a murder in her Boston neighborhood. The book took 25 years to write, Panzer says, adding, “My kids are freaked out because they think this is autobiographical!” (Panzer and her novel’s heroine share the same occupation.) The guests who attended the reading included friends, family, and even mothers who have used Panzer’s services. Curious readers peeked in as well. Panzer is already planning her next work, teasing everyone in the room, “My next book will be hotter. I held back this time.”
Hillel Lowinsky with the author’s husband, John Panzer; Nikki Johnston, Amanda Forbes, and No. 9 owner, Taryn Cocheo, who hosted the event.
Gallery Arts Guild co-director Alexis Savage and boyfriend, Sam Lundeen, of Amenia Union; Millerton resident Olivia Runge with Bob Beach.
Kristen Panzer with her copy editor, Robin O’Connor, whom she credited for her professional and emotional help with the book.
Maddie Fuller and Gina Fuller came out to support their longtime friend; the author signs a copy of her book for reader Bowie Zunino, founder of the Wassaic Project.
One of the evening’s hosts, Mimi Ramos Harney, with Breanne Trammell and Betsey McCall; graphic designer Alana Mulligan with Kyle Ellis.
Richard Lanka, Rick Trabucco, and Jonathan Bee.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 03/30/13 at 08:20 PM • Permalink
“Making Space” at Thompson Giroux Gallery
Dale Stewart reports from Chatham, NY.
A mostly local crowd packed into to the Thompson Giroux Gallery on Saturday, March 23, for the opening reception of the group show: Slow Down Make Space. The exhibition is the gallery’s twelfth in nearly two years and is centered on the theme of taking time to appreciate the world around us through connectedness to place, a simple awareness and deep understanding of our own environments. Which are things that the crowd that showed up appeared to be doing to the hilt that night. The show will run through May 5 and features six international and local known artists, including Gabrielle Senza, pictured here to the right of gallery fan Nan Wile.
Linda Aron and Kym Snyder; Gwenn Mayers with architect Steve Axlrod.
Gallerist Marie-Claude Giroux with artists Gabrielle Senza, Monica Miller, Joseph Yetto, and gallery co-owner Bill Thompson.
Gallery manager Mary Young and her niece Amanda Young; Amanda Walton with Aaron Gaylord.
Ida and Matt Drake; artist Monica Miller and Kathy Frank.
Bob Allen and Gary Terpening; David Cudaback, Diane Hersey, and Gordon Brawn.
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 03/26/13 at 07:35 AM • Permalink
Berkshire Grown’s March Maple Dinner Taps Into Syrup Season
Sarah Todd reports from Lenox.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single person in possession of warm maple syrup must be in want of some pancakes. But on Monday, March 18, the six celebrated chefs behind Berkshire Grown’s March Maple Dinner proved that the earthy, amber syrup is deliciously versatile. The annual fundraising dinner for Berkshire Grown, an agriculture non-profit headed by executive director Barbara Zheutlin (left, with Bob and Karen Youdelman), rang in the start of sugaring season at Cranwell Resort. A five-course menu by chefs with ties to Wheatleigh and Blantyre showcased maple in all its lip-smacking variations — from Michael Roller‘s cheddar biscuits with roasted maple ham and whipped maple butter all the way through Shirl Gard‘s showstopping caramel-glazed maple banana parfaits. Diners reported that the pork belly by Brian Young was luscious and buttery, while the tender, flaky cod by former Top Chef winner Hung Huynh was a melt-in-your-mouth experience. Toward the end of the night, guests bid on two plum auction prizes. An eight-course wine dinner by The Old Inn on the Green’s Peter Platt sold to two separate bidders for $2,000 apiece, while a one-week stay at Casa Miel, a home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, had guests gazing at the snowflakes falling outside the window and dreaming of a more equatorial atmopshere.
Landscape designer Karen Shreefter, Trice Atchison, Berkshire Co-op board chairman Daniel Seitz, and former Berkshire Grown president Laury Epstein; Al Frazzini and Decades of Health founder Margaret Lively Frazzini with Rob Leab.
Jayne and Jonathan Hirsch; caterer Kate Baldwin with Jim Finnerty and Heirloom Meals’ Carole Murko.
Canyon Ranch’s Tom Leblanc, Cranwell’s Carl Deluce, Wheatleigh’s Nick LaDuke and Jeffrey Thompson, and Brian Young of The Chef at Your Table.
Pediatric doctor Siobhan McNally, Berkshire Grown board member Ariel Bock, and Dr. Mark Liponis; Chris Blair and Berkshire Grown board member Annette Grant.
Barry and Marjorie Shapiro with Holly and Joseph Poindexter; The Old Inn on the Green chef and co-owner Peter Platt.
Back in the kitchen, the chefs prepare Shirl Gard‘s caramel-glazed maple banana parfaits.
Sylwia Orczykowska and Cafe Adam’s Adam Zieminski dig into Jeffrey Thompson‘s variations on Muscovy duck; Berkshire Mountain Distiller’s Jon Height and Courtney Ivey enjoy Hung Huynh‘s miso-maple bourbon Alaskan cod.
Chocolate truffles and turtles by H.R. Zeppelin Chocolates; Carey Beckwith and MS Walker Wines’ Bruce Beckwith sip Chris Brooks’ garlic and potato soup with maple-cured bacon.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 03/19/13 at 06:27 PM • Permalink
Hudson Children’s Book Festival Fundraising Cocktail Party
Dale Stewart reports from Ghent, NY.
On Saturday, March 16, the Red Barn Roadside Bistro played host to the Hudson Children’s Book Festival Fundraising Cocktail Party. Teachers served prosecco and passed canapés and rice balls to the attendees, who’s contributions went towards helping a young student who might not be able to buy a book (or two) at the upcoming Hudson Children’s Book Festival on May 4th. “The Festival also provides a free book for every child that attends so that they can have the special experience of buying a book and having it autographed by the author,” says Red Barn owner and “Hudson Reads” reading mentor Chris Jones, pictured left with Lisa Dolan, Jennifer Clark, and Susan Simon.
Joan Castle, literacy coach Lisa Dolan, and Betsy Miller; Pam Domino and David Ripp.
Wenny and Michael DeWitt with Hudson Common Council President Don Moore and wife Ginna; attorney David Sharpe with Democratic Commissioner Virginia Martin.
Hudson blogger Carole Osterink and Janet Schnitzer; Victoria Rowan and Mark Decker.
Owen Davidson, food blogger Susan Simon, Olana Landscape Curator Mark Prezorski, and Red Barn’s Chris Jones.
Paul Poux and David Gerard; Judge Richard Koweek and Toni Koweek.
Helen Peets, Sarah Louie, and realtor Deborah Kinney; Marty Davidson and Ken Harnett.
Teachers Kristen Lent, April Ordway, Kathy Ferrusi with student Taylor Huemmer-Harnett.
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 03/18/13 at 07:51 PM • Permalink
The Berkshire Award 2013 at Berkshire Museum
Fiona Breslin reports from Pittsfield.
The Berkshire Museum, which has advocated for art, history, and education across Berkshire County for more than a century, held the first ever Berkshire Award on Friday, March 15. The award served to recognize those who promote the artistic, natural heritage, and history of our region. With that in mind the evening drew in artists, writers, activists, teachers, friends, and more to support this year’s recipients: Berkshire County philanthropists The Crane Family, Community Access to the Arts (CATA) founder Sandra Newman (pictured left with CATA board president John Whalan), and naturalist, teacher, and former Berkshire Museum Natural Science Curator Thom Smith. The evening was a full plate: first a cocktail reception and then a light dinner that followed the award ceremony itself — a presentation in which museum director Van Shields screened three short films by West Tenth Media. The beautifully shot cinematic portraits focused on each of the honorees and their valued contributions to the community.
CATA Board of Directors Heather Wells-Heim with Margaret Keller; Kim Kinne, museum director Van Shields, and Berkshire Museum board president Bill Hines.
Carolyn King, Chris King, and Berkshire Creative’s Cathy Deely; Steve Blanchard and reporter Seth Rogovoy.
Berkshire Museum board president Bill Hines and museum director Van Shields with the Berkshire Award 2013 evening honorees: The Crane Family, Sandra Newman, and Thom Smith.
CATA’s program and artistic director Dawn Lane, Kate Whalan, and event planner Amy Rudnick; Casting director Elissa Myers, Shelly Friedman, VIM’s Matt Mandel, and Catherine Mandel.
Museum trustee Eric Korenman and Marianna Poutasse; Berkshire Museum director of interpretation Maria Mingalone with Equinox Farm owner Ted Dobson.
Berkshire Museum trustee Mary Huth and jeweler Stephanie Iverson; Berkshire Museum’s digital media marketing manager Jenn Gomez and filmaker James Sylvia.
Blue Q’s Seth Nash, education consultant Mary Nash, filmmaker Ben Hillman, and Amy Rudnick.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 03/15/13 at 10:33 AM • Permalink
IS183’s Annual Gala: Ground Control to Major Fun
Sarah Todd reports from Lenox.
On Saturday, March 9, hundreds of arts supporters broke out their best bubble helmets, space rays, and electric tutus and embarked on a swinging space odyssey. Blastoff came courtesy of the Big Bang at the Energy Vortex, a benefit for IS183, the Berkshires’ non-profit community art school. IS183’s annual costume gala was headed by executive director Hope Sullivan (left, with fellow IS183 staff member Amy Butterworth, the Red Lion Inn’s Brian Butterworth, and IS183 committee members David Schecker and Vicki Bonnington). The evening was a testament to the wildly creative minds that help make the Berkshires one of a kind. A dedicated team of volunteers transformed Chocolate Springs’ roomy warehouse into a one-night-only art installation, complete with glittery stars, cardboard robots and space ships, silver UFO-inspired table centerpieces, and video projections of a hypnotically twirling energy vortex. Guests provided plenty of eye candy on their own with inventive costumes that ranged from Victorian-era time traveler to intergalactic Jackie O. The evening kicked off with cocktails and the chance to wander through a maze littered with prizes for IS183’s silent auction. Choice picks included a Jane Iredale makeover, a week-long workshop at the Hamptons’ Art Barge, and an overnight stay at the Wheatleigh Hotel in Lenox, complete with a champagne toast and French breakfast. After a mouthwatering retro-gourmet dinner, curated by the Red Lion Inn‘s Brian Alberg, revelers moonwalked their way onto a packed dance floor. From atop a makeshift Mount Greylock, DJs kept revelers spinning late into the night.
The gala’s rental queen Anne McLaughlin, cookbook publicist Carrie Bachman, and auction committee volunteer Marc Bachman; Gwen Davis and the Bookloft’s Mark Ouillette.
IS183 vice chairman Andy Foster with Mass MOCA director Joe Thompson; Emporium owner Carrie Wright and photographer Bill Wright.
Bob Mercer, Nick Jarvis, and Kelly Dolan; IS183 artists Dina Noto and Lucie Castaldo.
Jacob’s Pillow board director Hunter Runnette with the Red Lion Inn’s Sarah Eustis; Jake Taylor and Laura Mueller.
Video projections flash across a crowded dance floor while DJs spin from on high.
Chocolate Springs owner Josh Needleman with research analyst Julie Zhu; Simon’s Rock staff Margaret Keller and Brendan Mathews flank Carolann Patterson.
Anesthesiologist Dr. Mark Vanden Bosch with Made in the Berkshires’ Hilary Somers Deely and Philip Deely; Berkshire Country Day School’s head of school Paul Lindenmaier with designer Margaret Lindenmaier and Camelot Farm and Stables’ Emily Bernard.
Molly Elliot and Mark Elliot, Giovanna Hennessy, and cardiologist Georgianne Harwood; Tony Patterson with Mary Bauman of Garnish Design Co. and Compuworks’ Alan Bauman.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 03/10/13 at 11:17 PM • Permalink
Taste of Community: Feeding the Soul
Rachel Louchen reports from Great Barrington.
Guests noshed for a great cause on Thursday, March 7, for the third annual Taste of Community at Berkshire South in Great Barrington. The event raised proceeds for the Community Supper Program, which serves 125 people once per week with meals prepared by chefs from local restaurants. Established in 2009, the program gives these chefs (from eateries such as Castle Street Cafe and Aroma) $250 per week to prepare wholesome meals for community members in need, from senior citizens living alone to families with young children. At the party, local businesses and volunteers mingled with guests as they enjoyed fresh salads from Guido’s, beer from Big Elm Brewery, and ice cream from SoCo Creamery, among other delights. The turnout of 200, which far surpassed years past, assures that the donation-based program, which served more than 3,500 meals in 2012 alone, will continue to keep members of the community well fed. At left, Home Sweet Home Doughnut Shoppe’s Debbie Scalia and husband, John Scalia with their granddaughter, Lexie.
Lynne Posner with her husband, Jerry Posner of Sheffield; Cord Kenyon and Sarah Edward of Canaan, CT.
Chris Sayers with his wife, Marketing Manager Jaime Sayers, and Amie Hall; Dan Smith of John Andrews Restaurant.
Melissa Beeson Higgins, Executive Director Jenise Lucey, and Jaime Higgins.
Kathy Roy and Tom Roy, of Great Barrington; Jacon Kuhn, Erin Connor, and Plaza Package General Manager Jennifer Andersen.
Barbara Manring and husband, Roger Manring of Great Barrington; Alice Reilly of Lee, George Ryan of Great Barrington, and Tom Blauvelt of Great Barrington.
Chez Nous Bistro owners Franck Tessier and Rachel Portnoy.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 03/08/13 at 01:18 AM • Permalink
For Mothers and Others: Opening Night of the Berkshire Festival for Women Writers
Rachel Louchen reports from Sheffield.
Great mothers and great writers packed the house for the opening night of the Berkshire Festival for Women Writers on Friday, March 1. Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others, also celebrated the book launch of An Anthology of Babes compiled and edited by Suzi Banks Baum, who, along with six other women, spoke about their sometimes difficult journey through motherhood and how parenting impacts their writing in the process. Mixing equal parts humor with sorrow, the audience was enthralled with each story from Michelle Gillet’s observations of her daughter becoming a nervous parent to Jenny Laird’s heartbreaking experience in the NICU when her newborn son was ill. More than 150 woman will volunteer their time and talents for the third year of the festival, which continues over the course of the month. Director Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez says the goal of the festival is to “create a nurturing, warm, and supportive space for women in the Berkshires to open up with what’s in their hearts.” Considering the night’s theme, that mission statement rang true. At left, Artist Gabrielle Senza and Amy Taylor.
Carol Parrish of New Marlborough with Sarah Nicholson of Egremont; Ed and Judy Kaplan of Great Barrington plan to attend many of the festival’s events.
Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez and festival committee member, Judith Nardacci;Naomi Blumenthal with friend, Christine Casarsa.
Three of the participants; Alana Chernila, Janet Reich Elsbach, and RI’s Nichole Dupont.
Michelle Gillet and Jenny Laird each touched on difficulties of motherhood; Becki Rozhon and daughter, Drew Rozhon look on.
Christine Casara with Trice Atchison; Stephanie Campbell, started off the night performing a song, here with audience member Jennifer Clark.
Andrew Krouss with his wife, festival representative Lorrin Krouss, and Michelena Mastrianni with her mother, radio host Serene Mastrianni.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 03/04/13 at 11:39 PM • Permalink
Jacob’s Pillow Preps for Summer 2013 at Stonover Farm
Fiona Breslin reports from Lenox.
The Jacob’s Pillow 2013 season hasn’t started quite yet, but that didn’t stop fans and supporters of the historic dance festival from singing its praises on Thursday, February 28. The Pillow and Stonover Farm, inn owner Suky Werman (pictured left with poet Gabriel Squailia), and her husband Tom Werman, hosted a friendly cocktail reception for the Pillow community and business partners, with Pillow staff in attendance. The evening offered a preview of the 2013 festival season, which features tap, modern, jazz, and ballet performances from worldwide talent, including Brazil’s Compagnie Käfig, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Los Angeles-based Bodytraffic, and more. The evening also offered guests the chance to learn about Jacob’s Pillow and its numerous free youth and adult community programs, and interact with fellow friends and supporters of the beloved, longest running dance festival in America. Select tickets for summer performances are on sale now.
David Schecker and Vicki Bonnington; Pillow director of marketing and communication Mariclare Hulbert and Pillow board member Hunter Runnette.
Pillow director of preservation Norton Owen and Hugh Black; Sue Dunlaevy with Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Jill Cancellieri and vice chair Bill Dunlaevy.
Director of development at Jacob’s Pillow Dona Lee Kelly, the Pillow’s general manager Connie Chin, and gallerist Sienna Patti.
Pillow management director Alison Hart and Valerie Locher; furniture designer Josh Kanter and Kristen Kanter.
Pilates & gyrotonic Instructor Donna Rainone gets a lift from Berkshire Money Management’s Allen Harris; realtors Nancy Kalodner and Mary Jane White .
Gallerist Lauren Clark and Berkshire Magazine’s Anastasia Stanmeyer; pastry chef Sonya Bougouin with Tonio Palmer.
Peter Greer, Becket Arts Center board president Sally Soluri, and Pillow director of development Dona Lee Kelly; photographer Edward Acker and Stonover Farm innkeeper Tom Werman.
Lawyer Giovanna Fessenden, Suki Werman, and attorney Christopher Hennessey.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 03/04/13 at 07:51 PM • Permalink
Berkshire Creative SPARKS! at the Red Lion Inn
Fiona Breslin reports from Stockbridge.
Berkshire Creative’s SPARK! can be described as a night time networking event that feels more like the most perfect cocktail party. It is always hosted in a new and different divine atmosphere among the eclectic company of interesting and talented individuals with a charming and enthusiastic host (Berkshire Creative board chair Cathy Deely, left, pictured with gallerist Lauren Clark, underneath a wall of art deco, Vintage T.V. Lamps) there to greet you. The Tuesday, February 26, SPARK!, was no exception. The always free event was hosted at the newly renovated Maple Glen house, at the Red Lion Inn and included hors d’oeuvres, an educational speed-speaker series from potter Daniel Bellow , G + R Consulting’s Michelle Gillett, and artist Ken Green of Museum Facsimiles. There was also the opportunity for guests to peek around the rooms and chat, which unfolded naturally as everyone from local writers, designers, business owners, and more were in the house to learn and participate in the event that aims to SPARK! community and collaboration among Berkshire creatives.
Britney Daniels, Brittany Gabel, and The Red Lion Inn’s Stephanie Gravalese-Wood; Tom Whitman and Maya Baron.
Artist Peter Dudek and Rena Zurofsky; Denise Chandler, arts journalist Leo Mazzeo, and Margaret Kerswill.
Terry Wise, graphic designer Abby Tovell, Robin Catalano, and gallerist Cassandra Sohn.
Interior designer Carol Newton Rumph with Scott Harrington and Maya Baron; actor Lisa Avery and Cathy Deely.
G + R Consulting’s Nina Ryan and Michelle Gillett; Nikki O’Neil and Derrick Holt.
Artist Michael Vincent Bushy and Allan Phoenix; Abby Tovell and Richard Briarcliff.
Nina Ryan, Rena Zurofsky, and communications consultant Ellen Lahr.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 03/02/13 at 02:00 AM • Permalink
New Horizons: Opening of Hallam+Bruner in Hudson
Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson.
Landscape designer and professor David Dew Bruner and realtor/antiques dealer Jonathan Hallam, partners in life, kept separate identities as antiques, art, and design retailers on Hudson’s Warren Street. Bruner had his eponymous store on the bustling 600 block and Hallam’s was formerly in the relatively quiet 400 one. They decided to join forces a bit off the beaten path, way up on Columbia Street (across from Columbia Memorial Hospital) in the carriage house of a vacant 1910 Beaux Arts Victorian mansion, rumored to have once been built for an Astor and last used as a funeral parlor. The newly opened Hallam+Bruner is located in a stunning space, and opening night on Saturday, February 16, brought a crowd as lofty as the wooden rafters dramatically framing the antiques and art on view (drawings by Bruner, sculpture by Ben Bishop). At left: guests Logan Goodman, renown stage and screen actor David Strathairn, and jewelry artist Gabrielle Kiss.
David Dew Bruner, painter Rudi Molacek, and Bob Mechling; Colin Stair and Jonathan Hallam.
Larry Mauro and ceramicist Bob Pesce; independent curator Richard Roth, Benjamin Wilson, and realtor James Male .
Artist Monica Mechling and gallery owner Carrie Haddad; Geoff Leibovitz and Andrea Elliot of Elliot Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.
Mark Wurm, Mark Ciecko, and Steve Hanlon; Kasimir Suter Winter and Claudia Stedge.
Landscape architect Susan Kaplan, Mike Jepsen, wife Stephanie Jepsen, and Jackie Krass.
Historic restoration architect Marilyn Kaplan and painter Tony Thompson; lighting designer Jeff Snider and curator Mason Klein.
Jessica Bavier and David Dew Bruner; Roby and Rob Whitlock and painter Randall Schmit.
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 02/24/13 at 03:23 PM • Permalink
“Manifest Destiny” Embraced at Hotchkiss
Dale Stewart reports from Lakeville, CT.
On Friday, February 22, the Tremaine Gallery at the Hotchkiss School hosted a reception and artist talk with photographer Leigh Merrill, pictured left, and about 60 staff, students, and local artists. The show, Manifest Destiny: Photographic Works by Leigh Merrill, is an exhibition of new photographs and videos. The exhibition is a collaboration between gallery directors Greg Lock and Terri Moore and Melissa Stafford of the Albany-based Stafford Contemporary, which represents artists working in a wide variety of artistic approaches. Featuring a selection of Merill’s works from three different yet connected series (“Into the Sunset,” “Delphinidin,” and “Mockingbird”), the show explores her fascination with themes of beauty, control, class, and romanticism. The exhibition will remain on view through March 8.
Sergei and Zoe Fedorjaczenko; Donna and Jeffrey Fitzgerald.
Artist Matthew Slaats and Sarah Anderson Lock; Hannah Rosenthal and gallery co-director Terri Moore.
Editor Arliss Paddock and her daughter Madeleine Paddock; artist Brad Faus with gallery co-diretor Greg Lock.
Kim McLean and curator Melissa Stafford; Hotchkiss Photo and Film Department Chair Robert Haiko and student Danielle Jacobs.
David Thompson and Della Xu; Colleen MacMillan, artist Leigh Merrill and curator Melissa Stafford.
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 02/22/13 at 09:39 AM • Permalink
10×10 RAP (Real Art Party) at Berkshire Museum
Fiona Breslin reports from Pittsfield.
The 10×10 RAP (Real Art Party) opening reception, held on February 20, at the Berkshire Museum, was the embodiment of why our region can prove to be so stimulating. On an otherwise quiet night on North Street, the opening was a commingling of more than 70 artists and their eye-catching works of 100 pieces. Ten-inch-square artwork hung across a wall on the museum’s first floor gallery — drawings, prints, textiles, photography, and ceramic art, depicting everything from a portrait of Dick Tracy to a still-life film portrait of the rural woods of western Massachusetts. The evening included a drawing for the artwork (MC’d by Berkshire Bank’s Mark Tomasi, pictured above, with Lawrence Klein) that continued until every piece had been selected. While, with some exceptions, the Berkshires has yet to be dubbed a mecca for the visual arts, 10x10 more than challenged that notion, visible evidence that there’s definitely something starting to brew in every nook here.
Lucas Jones and Sam Barnes; exhibiting artists Mark Mellinger, Susan Geller, and Barbara Schmick.
Lil Tobin and exhbiting artist Jesse Tobin; Sydney Najimy and Kylie Taikowski.
Exhibiting artist Michael Vincent Bushy, Berkshire Museum’s Jenn Gomez, Mark Pedrotti, and Danielle Steinmann.
Scott Plante and Amy LaCrosse; exhibiting artists Autumn Ni Dubhghaill and Michael Vincent Bushy.
Museum director Van Shields with Mark Tomasi and artist Peggy Rivers; NYU student Alexa Green and exhibiting artist Ken Green.
Joseph Bongini and Holly Leskovitz; exhibiting artist Anne Pasko with Jeff Roudabush and Laura Roudabush.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 02/21/13 at 09:38 AM • Permalink
Spencertown Revels
Dale Stewart reports from Spencertown, New York.On Saturday, February 16, love was in the air at this year’s Spencertown Revels Movable Feast. The event, which boasted a Be Our Valentine theme, was a benefit for The Spencertown Academy Arts Center, and also served as a much needed mid-winter break for the 100-plus people who packed the auditorium. Patrons snacked on risotto balls and shrimp cocktail served by the Academy’s exceptional, all-volunteer catering crew, Let’s Eat, and were serenaded by NYCSubwayGirl, aka Cathy Grier. Before guests spread to nine locations for private dinner parties throughout the county, Academy Executive Director Mary Anne Lee, pictured left with Chef David Wurth and Edouard Vavel, toasted the third decade of Revels, explaining to the crowd that the feast perfectly demonstrates "how we come together around the idea of art, community, and friendship.”
Cathy Grier, Karen Halverson, and Michele Steckler; dinner party hosts John and Denise Dunne with Lydia Kukoff.
Builder Chuck Weinlein and writer Shawn Hartley-Hancock; K.K. and John Zutter with Ann Vartanian.
Ed Mangers, attorney Luis Harper, and Carsten Otto; garden writer Madaline Sparks, David Highfill, and Marian Krauskopf.
Dinner party hosts Rae and Bob Gilson; Ralph Loffredo with Donna Nadeau.
Greg Olsen with DeWayne Powell; Michele Chase, Debbie Collins, and Sandy Suk.
Let's Eat, Spencertown Academy's all-volunteer catering crew. (0) Comments
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Posted by Dale Stewart on 02/20/13 at 02:27 AM • Permalink
Lit: The Clark Lights Up For Electric Paris
Rachel Louchen reports from Williamstown.
At the opening - night gala “Exposition Universelle,” held on Saturday, February 16, for Electric Paris, the new exhibit at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, guests were greeted by a giant projection of an illuminated Arc de Triomphe. A fitting entranceway for the exhibit (it runs through April 21), which celebrates how the newly invented phenomenon of artificial light affected artists at the turn of the last century. Inside, not far from an accordion player who provided appropriate Gallic melodies, was a giant Eiffel Tower, the very icon of the newly modern world the city embraced at the time. As the night waned, the gallery remained packed, with guests continuing to ogle the luminescent paintings by Degas, Bonnard, Prendergast, and others, until minutes before closing. And who can blame them? There’s nothing like Paris, lights on or off. Above, The Clark’s Kathy Morris and Sarah Lees.
Nancy Maier of Williamstown with Andy Williams, and his wife, The Clark’s Lisa Williams; Lydia Ross and Steve Nesterak of Williams College.
Tom Merrill, Anne Roecklein, and Derek Parker, all of North Adams; Daniel Selgrade with Williams College student, Thadeus Dowed.
Julia Hore of Brooklyn, Kyle Hoffman, curator Holly Clayson and her son, James Cogbill, also from Brooklyn.
Michael Foster and The Berkshire Eagle‘s Laura Lofgren; Julia Moffet with curator, Camran Mani.
Karen Jackuback with member, Anders Carlson; Kathy McKnight and Phillip McKnight of Williamstown.
Artist Joe Goodwin and Claudia Perles.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 02/17/13 at 04:17 PM • Permalink
Inspiration by the Decades at 10x10 On 10
Lisa Green reports from Pittsfield.
What inspires you most at this decade of your life? That’s the question curator Diane Firtell (left) asked of each girl/woman who created a piece of artwork for the Alchemy Initiative’s art exhibit that opened on Saturday at Y Bar on North Street. Organized by decade, with works ranging from that of a nine-year-old to a woman of 93, the exhibit of 10” x 10” paintings, collages, photography, and ceramics conveyed a timeline of inspiration. As part of the second annual 10x10 Upstreet Art Festival, the Alchemy Initiative exhibit is a collaborative event with WAM Theatre, which mirrors the inspiration-through-the-decades theme with an original theater piece created by local writers and performed by an ensemble of local professional actors.
Contributing artists Roselle Chartock and Suzanne Stefanik; standing by her 10x10 entry is the youngest artist of the group, Collette Hartcorn, with her mother, Andrea Hartcorn.
The 10x10 On 10 organizers: The Alchemy Initative’s Diane Firtell and Jess Conzo (with son Wylder Vecchia) flank Sara Katzoff, co-founder and artistic director of the Berkshire Fringe, and who directed the theater piece, and Kristen van Ginhoven, artistic director of WAM Theatre.
Michael Durst, who is in the hospitality industry; Lorrin Krouss, a writing student of exhibit contributor Suzi Banks Baum, and Andrew Krouss.
Artist Collette Hartcorn checks out what inspires artists in their 50s; Amelia Wood, a contributing artist who works in museum education at the Williams College Museum of Art, is accompanied by Benjamin Wood and Scot Vighi, a Lenox-based natural healer and yoga instructor.
Artist Jordan Skowron’s inspirations includes her family, husband Nathan Keay, and children Harper and Asher Keay.
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Posted by Lisa Green on 02/16/13 at 02:28 PM • Permalink
Goin’ to Town: Townscape Valentine’s Party at Gilmor Glass
Fiona Breslin reports from Millerton.
Millerton’s Townscape Valentine’s Day Party had a special, grateful air; a grouping of the town’s lovers eager to finally get out on a Saturday night (February 9) post Nemo. The evening was, pardon the pun, chill, with everyone relaxing with a glass of wine. The cause, however, was grand: in support of the civic-minded organization Townscape (the beautification group that has volunteered to do everything from plant more trees on Main Street to fighting for state and national recognition of Millerton as a historic district). The party was hosted in the factory space at Gilmor Glass; work equipment was everywhere, as was bright red and blue colored glass by Dean Smiley, which contrasted brilliantly against the results of the blizzard outdoors. Given the improvised workshop environment, the night evoked a downtown artist’s loft gathering kind of mood. Live music, dinner, and friendly chatting also contributed to the arty vibe. Guests included Gilmor Glass owner John Gilmor, The Moviehouse’s Carol Sadlon, and Berkshire Taconic’s Jennifer Dowley (all pictured above).
Jenny Hansell, executive director at North East Community Center, and Alan Eisenberg; Townscape co-founders Jan Gilmor and Cathy Fenn flank Townscape president Christopher Kennan.
North East Community Center’s Christine Bates and Evelyn Garzetta; Louisa Yap, Camilla Mathlein, and David Brown.
Townscape co-founder Cathy Fenn, with The Moviehouse’s Robert Sadlon and Carol Sadlon.
Berkshire Show Stock’s Reinhard and Leslie Teetor; John Gilmor (right) talks with a friend.
The festive dinner scene; Associated Lightning Rod Co.‘s Tammy and Robert Cooper.
Paula Hirschel and Birgit Jensen; Christopher Kennan, Elizabeth Quartararo, and Catherine Kennan.
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Posted by Fiona Breslin on 02/11/13 at 02:12 PM • Permalink
At the Berkshire Museum, Nature Seen Anew
Sarah Todd reports from Pittsfield.
A heart cockle shell the size of a skyscraper. A desert sunrise dividing a sand dune into even slopes of light and dark. At the Berkshire Museum’s opening reception on Saturday, February 9 for exhibits by Ansel Adams and Andreas Feininger, striking, Modernist nature photography carried the day. In the room devoted to Feininger’s portraits of anglerfish teeth, carpenter ant carvings, and conch shells, curator Maria Mingalone (left, with mother Edie Mingalone) explained how the LIFE photographer played with close-ups and scale to reveal the detailed beauty of natural objects. “He makes seashells monumental,” she said. Next door, Adams’ dramatic photographs of Yosemite National Park, Sonoma Valley, Arizona’s Monument Valley, and other western wonders offered a welcome antidote to the piles of snow lurking just outside the Museum’s doors. In the reception hall, there were more provisions to help ward off winter chills: guests huddled around a crackling fireplace, grazed on cheese and olives, and warmed up with free cups of wine.
The Berkshire Museum’s Emma Kerr, Jenn Gomez, and Leanne Hayden; Berkshire Landmark Builders owner Jim Delorenzo and interior designer Karen Cedar.
Photographer Bill Wright and Shout Out Loud founder Jeanet Ingalls; Annie Brody of Camp Unleashed and landscaper Tamarack Garlow.
Potter Arla Bascom and Benjamin Downing; artist Peggy Rivers, Berkshire Museum’s Director of Campaign and Major Gifts Laurie Werner and Executive Director Van Shields, and museum board member Buzz McGraw.
Gladys Montgomery of Sotheby’s International Realty, artist Joe Goodwin, Casablanca owner Tony Chojnowski, and Megan Wilden, Pittsfield’s director of cultural development.
Museum Facsimiles designer Ken Green, Lenore Newman, who owns Soho vintage boutique Patina, and her husband Mark Newman; student-photographer Nick Teensma and his father, graphic designer Hans Teensma.
John and Chris Greenhut; jewelry and clothing designer Wendy Darling and film location scout Jennet Cook.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 02/09/13 at 07:11 PM • Permalink
Intensive Care: Columbia Memorial Benefit At Helsinki Hudson
Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. This observer has been bandaged, injected, medicated, and cuffed (for blood pressure) under the auspices of Columbia Memorial Hospital – but never served hor’s doeuvres or entertained by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus (Stephanie Monseu, seen at left on her trademark stilts), at least until attending the hospital’s Winter Blast Night of Wonder fundraiser on Saturday, February 2, at Helsinki Hudson. The place was packed, and the mood was as nonwaiting room as it could be, with wall-to-wall benefactors, personal and corporate, coming to give a leg up to the lifesaving Hudson institution.
Volunteer Eleanor Shade and Gail Lee: Frank Orlando and Mary Ellen Piero.
Kristen Lugen and Angelo San Diego; Monty Wallace and Chris Gorczynski.
Tate Cozza of Mane Street Hair Styles and Kyung Cozza; Jennifer Beichert, Dara Roberts, and Paul Beichert.
Trustco Bank’s Berkly Young, Marquita Reese, Diane Dratz, and “Hortensia” from Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.
Architect Jane Smith, Peggy Anderson, and Slowood Studios furniture designer Jules Anderson; rock goddess Melissa Auf der Maur with daughter River.
Carol Lavender, Jill Salerno, and Bobbi Bush from The Second Show thrift store; John Knott and Michael Schrom
Andrew Sedlock, Jim Brodsky, and John Fondas; Kristen Wogann, Jeff Damia, and Greg Mountain.
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 02/04/13 at 03:18 AM • Permalink
Honoring a Legacy at Hotchkiss Tremaine Gallery
On Saturday, February 2, Hotchkiss alumnus Raymond McGuire (class of ’75) returned to his former prep school as the guest of honor. He was there for the closing reception of “I Am,” a Tremaine Gallery exhibit featuring works by African-American photographers that spans a half-century. The artwork on display was close to McGuire’s heart for a number of reasons. For starters, he owned it.
An art collector as well as a philanthropist and Citigroup’s global head of corporate and investment banking, McGuire (left, with Hotchkiss head of school Malcolm McKenzie) lent the photography collection to his alma mater at the behest of his friend Pat Redd Johnson, the associate dean of admissions. Terri Moore, who curated the exhibit, said photographs by artists like Ernest Withers, Carrie Mae Weems, and Hank Willis Thomas wowed current Hotchkiss students with their power, activism, and sense of history. On hand for the reception was a crowd that combined past and present Hotchkiss students with faculty, local artists, and Lakeville residents out for an evening of culture.
Hotchkiss students Naomy Pedroza and Chamberlain Mathis; Terri Moore, who curated the exhibit, with artist and former Hotchkiss teacher Marjorie Reid.
Artist Allen Blagden and The Millbrook Independent‘s Carola Lott; documentary filmmaker Dennis Watlington, Hotchkiss class of ‘72, and his partner, writer Caroline Phipps.
Edith Rios, McGuire’s art assistant, and her daughter Victoria Carrasco; Hotchkiss Alumni and Development Chief Advancement Officer Joe Flynn and Poesis designer Robert Bristow.
Penny Michels and Berkshire Style co-founder Toni Tucker; Hotchkiss art administrator Sarah Lock and Director of Photography Gregory Lock, who also run the artist residency Rural Projects.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 02/03/13 at 02:17 PM • Permalink
Hitting Home: Benefit Rock Concert for Columbia County Habitat for Humanity
Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. Passive-solar housing for people of modest means is a very worthy cause for a number of reasons, both environmental and social. But it’s hard to imagine it generating as much heat as it did Sunday, January 27, at Columbia County Habitat for Humanity’s Home Bass benefit at Helsinki Hudson. The event, to raise money for eco -friendly housing designed by Dennis Wedlick Architects, brought together the town’s stellar resident rock luminaries: Melissa Auf der Maur, multi-Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello, and Tommy Stinson as well as other powerfully gifted performers such as Rapsutina and Dini Lamot (formerly of Human Sexual Response), all of whom had the audience transfixed for hours; it proved to be a tremendous kick for the morale of the town, and to the region as a whole. Pictured at left before the show: Tommy Stinson, Helsinki owner Marc Schafler, and actor Peter Santora.
Red Dot Restaurant’s Alana Hauptmann and Denise Keegan; Melora Creager, aka Rasputina, and fellow musician performing.
Lili and Danusia Jarecka of Skalar Modern; Barry Judd of Hedstrom & Judd, Hudson, and Michele Sodi.
Novelist Ira Sher and Lilthe Sebesta; Juan Cairelero and The Independent‘s US editor, David Usborne.
Relish Restaurant’s Dana Wegener, Cyntha Johnson, Amanda Lefton, and Jeanette Paletta.
RI contributors Robert Warren, Holly George Warren with son Jack; DABA Restaurant’s Daniel Nilsson and Anna Nilsson.
Angela Cardinali and Eva Marie; Morgan Jenness and author/Our Town editor Enid Futterman.
Mike “Chops” LaConte and Chris Neumann of The Rooftrees; musicians Joe Moore, John Rosenthal, and Ben Fondis.
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 01/29/13 at 05:50 AM • Permalink
People and “Stuff”: Carey Maloney Book Signing
Scott Baldinger reports from Hudson. “Tout Warren Street is here,” said the lovely couple at the book signing for interior designer Carey Maloney’s Stuff, held Saturday, January 26, at Stair Galleries. The auction house was all set up for an appropriately eclectic sale of Deco, Art Nouveau and mid-century furniture, combined with Phillipe Stark and lots of hiply deshabille contemporary photography. (Modern & Contemporary Exposition Auction, February 2 @ 11 a.m.) “And un peu de Union as well,” someone added. But that really only described a part of the gathering, filled with M (Group) friends and well wishers from as far as across the river and, all the other way around, to the eastern edges of Columbia County and beyond (Salisbury, CT). Maloney (pictured at left with Joan Davidson) proved to be quite the ambulatory book signer, and only occasionally used the large-scale desk provided to him for the purpose, autographing on ledges, cocktail tables, and what have you, but preferring most of all just to mingle right backatcha.
Pilates Hudson’s Nichole Meadors and Gary Keegan; Windle Davis and Kathy Packay of Relics Antiques in Hudson.
Joe Chang and Edmond Franco; Cynthia Lambert and Jovan Goff of Lotus Energy.
Craig Fitt, Hermes Mallea, and Bruce Shostak; Bob Gilles and Carey Maloney.
“Columbia County weekenders” Marty Salerno, Jim Finch, Tim Legg, and John Sare.
Ed Tivnan, RI‘s Marilyn Bethany, and Patrick Terenchin; Katrina Stair and John Dunn.
Designer Julia Hilbrandt and Cynthia Lathrop; interior designers Paul Siskin and Paul Mathieu.
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Jeanniezl Herstrand and Sioux Harris; Dorothy Heyl and writer, Bennington College professor Brooke Allen.
Photographer Peter Aaron and Stair Gallerie’s Jessanna Britton; antiques dealer David Petrovsky and realtor Mary Mullane.
Hermes Mallea, Colin Stair, and Carey Maloney; Jim Frederikson and Lisa Ford of Salisbury.
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Posted by Scott Baldinger on 01/28/13 at 05:08 AM • Permalink
At the Mount, A Literary Birthday with Cake and Quizzes
Sarah Todd reports from Lenox, MA.
After last year’s blowout bash celebrating Edith Wharton’s 150th birthday, the Mount took a low-key yet festive approach to honoring literature’s grand dame on Saturday, January 26. Free admission gave guests from Connecticut, New York, and the Berkshires open access to the stucco mansion that once played host to luminaries like Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt. Attendees’ self-guided tours included Wharton’s light-filled dining room, cozy library, and the airy boudoir where the great author wrote in bed each morning, letting pages drift to the floor for the maid to pick up afterward. In the drawing room, guests lingered by a French marble mantle, sipping Earl Gray tea and admiring a snow-covered landscape straight out of Ethan Frome. The junior set headed for the sewing room, where they paid tribute to Wharton’s daily writing practice by creating their own handmade journals with markers and construction paper. The inside pages, like Wharton’s stationary, were pale blue. Meanwhile, older bookworms attacked a vocabulary quiz with gusto, matching words like “dilettante” with their definitions in hopes of winning a free year-long membership to the Mount. Executive director Susan Wissler (above left, with Lenox Town Planner Mary Albertson), offered a toast to the lady of the hour. While Wharton couldn’t be there to blow the candles out, guests demolished a frosted cake with “Happy Birthday Edith” scrawled across the top in no time.
Pittsfield daughter-mother team Jessica and Tracy Kordana; Chautauqua Opera General/Artistic Director Jay Lesenger with children’s book author and illustrator Hudson Talbott.
Independent China business consultant Jill Bodnar with Eileen LaCasse, whose outfit was inspired by Edith Wharton; Ceramicists Lorene Nickel and Joe Detwiler.
Playwright Courtney Antonioli with attorney Peter Abare-Brown; the Mount’s Chief Development Officer Sara Hunter-Hudson with Albany family Sullivan Alois, Kate Alois, and birthday girl Dianne Alois.
John, who preferred not to include his last name, and writer Alexandra Tinari; attorney Catherine Chester and Matthew Chester.
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Posted by Sarah Todd on 01/26/13 at 03:05 PM • Permalink
Greening Up A Winter Day: Margaret Roach Book Signing
Rachel Louchen reports from Millerton. Gardeners and readers (many of whom were both) gathered at Oblong Books in Millerton on Sunday afternoon, January 20, to hear Margaret Roach speak about her new book, The Backyard Parables, as well as get their copies personalized. For the talk, the author read excerpts while touching on her transition from corporate life to the daily maintenance of her garden. After her reading, Roach fielded questions from the group: from how to prevent a fig tree from early blooming fruit to the extremely popular subject of the ethical removal of pests, a bane with which she is all too familiar. “There was a woodchuck that almost put me in the mental hospital” Roach said without a trace of a smile. The crowd, which included neighbors who have helped the author in her garden over the years to new faces who heard an interview on NPR and decided to come meet the green-thumbed goddess in person. “We’re all gardeners! Who here has a bad fingernail?” she asked, this time grinning.
Dick Hermens of Oblong Books with Jane Kellner of Salisbury; Terese Giammarco, Bill Birnbryer and Catherine Sangiolo of Garrison.
Paul Schlesinger with his wife, Phyllis Schlesinger of Hillsdale; Jam Ansboyro and Carole Clarin of Monterey.
The author signs a copy of her book for an excited guest.
Pieter Lefferts of Sharon with Steven Irving of Ancramdale; Rae Hart, Joan Syler, and Kathy Bartles of Pine Plains.
Claudia Cayne and Palmer Irving of Ancramdale; Meredith Glabman and Erin Edwards of Taghkanic.
Sheila Schwartz of Millerton with Darlene Rimer of Amenia.
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Posted by Rachel Louchen on 01/21/13 at 01:11 PM • Permalink
Scenic Hudson at the Hudson Opera House
David Franck reports from Hudson, NY.
On Saturday, January 19, an artful throng filled the historic hall of The Hudson Opera House for the opening reception of On Time and Place: Celebrating Scenic Hudson’s First 50 Years, an exhibition of photographs that uses the Hudson Valley as its muse. (Gary Schiro, Executive Director of Hudson Opera House pictured left with Didi Barrett, and Bob Burns, director of the Mattatuck Museum. Barrett was on her way to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration festivities.) The Scenic Hudson project received so many worthy applicants, but curator Kate Menconeri and a small board of A-list advisors (like photographer Annie Leibovitz and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Senior Curator of Photographs Malcom Daniel) culled the entries and chose 34 photographs by twelve artists to hang on display. Nearly 400 additional images are available on interactive iPad kiosks set up throughout the hall. The exhibit will be on display at HOH through February 16. From there it begins its journey, which will conclude at Grand Central Station by year’s end.
HOH Board President and designer Tom Froese with Olana’s Sara Johns Griffen; Roger Gorman and Sara Porter.
Local bloggers Carole Osterink and Dorothy Heyl; philanthropist Joan Davidson with curator Kate Menconeri.
Robert Strickstein, Jennifer Mclain, and David Simpatico.
Keith and Katherine Kanaga; Carole Clark and writer Rudy Wurlitzer.
Dana Faconti, photographer David La Spina, with Jamie and Eva Romm.
Susan Wildes, former dean of the School of Architecture a