A Costume Lark at the Clark

The ice outside was rock solid but inside the Clark Museum in Williamstown on Friday, January 17, the Renaissance-style merriment flowed like mead. Men in doublets and women in farthingales feasted on suckling pig and trifle between outbreaks of boogieing to the strains of Abba and The Isley Brothers (you can take the period stuff just so far). In another room revelers were taking a class in sword fighting (minus actual weapons), while, in the hushed and near-empty galleries, those wishing a break from the hubbub could spend a moment (or several hours, if they liked) in a room-full of Renoirs, Constables, or Degas. The crowd included curators, Williams professors, elementary and junior high school teachers galore. a postal worker, a process server, a fashion designer, a carpenter, lots of students, and at least one pediatrician. The tie that binds: a love of dressing up.

Williams College art history teacher G.P. Lebourdas, Cynthia Way, Director of Education at Williams College Museum of Art, Alec Way, a carpenter, and friend.

Ye Olde Fashionista Bethany Perron, left, technical designer for women's clothing at Orvis, made her own costume and that of Kathleen McBrien, right; Kathy Morris of the Clark.

Kevin Coleman, Director of Education at Shakespeare & Company demonstrates the art of the sword-fighting. (Rule one: take care not to slice yourself in two.)

Danielle Steinmann, Assistant Curator of Education at the Clark, with Jon Isherwood and Karen Gover; Sarah Hammond of the Clark's curatorial staff.

Jamie Borkosky and Chris Rochon; Williamstown Elementary teacher, Jeanne Roy.

Berkshire Eagle reporter Jenn Smith and Amanda Rae Busch, Senior Editor at Berkshire Living Magazine; Marc McDermott, a pediatrician in North Adams with his brother Dave, a teacher at Mt. Anthony Middle School in Bennington.