RI Selects: This Weekend Williams College Is Where the Art Is

Composer Edgard Varèse (1883 - 1965)

We don’t like to play favorites, but according to our Cultural Correspondent Bess Hochstein, Williamstown is the place to be this weekend. “Besides Boldini at The Clark, the Williams College Museum of Art has a fantastic exhibition, Landscapes of the Mind,” says Hochstein. “On Saturday, there’s a symposium that brings together curators, neuroscientists and artists, which should be amazing. And the musical highlights are both classical—but not classical music as you’ve ever heard it before. On Friday, the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra focuses on Edgard Varèse. Just listen to the video on RI‘s music page and see if it sounds like anything you’ve ever heard on a classical stage. Then on Monday, “The Box” series presents Continuum, a global smorgasbord of cutting edge classical music.”

Parties: An Oscar Night Blow Out of Our Own

Not to be outdone by Hollywood, the Berkshire International Film Festival hosted an Oscar bash at the new Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield on Sunday night, drawing a crowd of film enthusiasts and even a few professionals, including internet “stars” Draven Star (far left) and Bella Vendetta. Attendees watched the show on the big screens, popping in and out during commercials to mingle and fetch drinks and snacks. They had been encouraged to dress big and most everyone complied. Cultural correspondant Bess Hochstein took in the glittering scene.

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Food News: Free Irish Boiled Dinner, No 4-Leaf Clover Required

Talk about the luck of the Irish. It’s not every day that a restaurant gives away free food, but then St. Patrick’s isn’t just any day. In the spirit of Erin Go Bragh!, Dream Away Lodge in Becket, MA is giving away the holy trinity—corned beef, cabbage, and potato— to any Tom, McDick and O’Harry who makes a reservation and shows up before 8:30 p.m—while supplies last.

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IS 183's Radioactive Bodega Dance Party

The Pittsfield art school’s annual costume bash last Saturday night brought out a mordant streak in even the most upstanding Berkshire County citizens, who have clearly stopped worrying and learned to love the bomb. Some opted for radiation-resistant gear; others looked as if the fall-out had already taken its toll. Not to worry; glowing in the dark, particularly when one smiles, turns out to be quite a fetching look.

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AgriCulture: Sheepish Grins and Other Barnyard Metaphors

To understand where phrases like “sheepish grin” and “dumb cluck” come from, blogger Peter Davies suggests, just hang around some livestock for a while. Barnyard metaphors abound in our language. And close observation only confirms the spot on accuracy of these descriptive terms. Pigs may be intelligent, for example, but to eat like a pig, so to speak, is, in fact, to eat like a pig.

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Red Lion Inn Hosts Two Spring Events

When the livestock start acting giddy, spring is in the air, even though the temperatures say it isn’t so. Another surefire sign: Berkshire Grown gives its annual Maple Dinner. The March 22 event will be held, once again, at the Red Lion Inn, with executive chef Brian Alberg hosting. A few days prior, Alberg and Red Lion sommelier Daniel Thomas will host another event, an intimate 10-course vegetarian feast with suitable wine pairings. Both dinners are likely to sell out, so reserve now.

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Local Architect Wins Coveted AIA Award

On February 22, this lovely building, designed by the Chatham architect James Dixon, received a Design Excellence Award, just one of three the Eastern New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects will grant this year. Virtually every designer and artisans involved in the project lives and works in the Rural Intelligence region.

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Kids & Adults: Stargazing in the Fields at Omi

This Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Omi International is giving a free star-gazing party in their Fields Sculpture Park in Ghent. Members of the Dudley Observatory and the Albany Amateur Astronomers will be on hand to illuminate what’s going on in the night sky. The new cafe in Omi’s visitor’s center will be open for those who need sustenance and a chance to warm up.

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