greylocknews

MCLA AND STOCKBRIDGE LIBRARY TO PRESENT READING MAY 4

NORTH ADAMS, MA - –Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and the Stockbridge Library will present “African Americans and the Revolutionary War” on Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m. at the Stockbridge Library. The event is free and open to the public, with limited seating.

Featured speakers include Dr. Gary B. Nash, professor of history at the University of California in Los Angeles, and Dr. Graham H. Hodges, professor of history at Colgate University. Professors Nash and Hodges will read from their new book, “Friends of Liberty: A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and the Betrayal that Divided a Nation: Thomas Jefferson, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, and Agrippa Hull.”

Stockbridge Library is at 46 Main St., Stockbridge. For more information, or to reserve seating,
contact Barbara Allen at 413-298-5501 or [email protected].

Volunteers Needed to Staff North Adams Information Booth

North Adams, MA - The Mayor’'s Office of Tourism is seeking volunteers to help staff the Tourist booth on Union Street in the city. Volunteering for the booth is easy and a lot of fun and only requires answering simple requests for meals, lodging and directions from tourists. The booth is open from June 1 through October 13. Call 413.664.6180, 413.652.3246 for more information.

Megafaun & Greg Davis Play Cafe Latino May 3

North Adams, MA - Weirdo-inter-national independent rock music continues at Cafe Latino on Saturday, May 3 with Megafaun, joined by Greg Davis. Show begins at 10:00 PM. Latino is located at 1111 MASS MoCA Way. Call 413-662-2004.

Violinist & Composer Jenny Scheinman at MoCA May 3

North Adams, MA - Talented violinist and composer Jenny Scheinman will be at City of North Adams and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will team up for a good, old-fashioned Spring Cleaning, on Saturday, May 3. Registration begins at 9 am at the MCLA Church Street Center. Individuals, families, organizations or entire neighborhoods are encouraged to sign up to make North Adams sparkle. Refreshments will be served. Call 413-664.6180 or e-mail [email protected]

David McLaughlin Presents "Unfolding History of the Berkshires" May 10 at WordPlay

NORTH ADAMS, MA‹ Saturday, May 10, at 7:00 p.m. WordPlay, a monthly reading series co-sponsored by Inkberry and Papyri Books, will be held at Papyri Books, 45 Eagle Street. This month, the featured reader is David McLaughlin, the author of The Unfolding History of the Berkshires.

McLaughlin will discuss how he worked with scores of residents and local experts to uncover revealing facts, insider tips and captivating stories, and how the book¹s unique format evolved. He will also illustrate his commentary by projecting images and timeline segments from the book. McLaughlin is a widely published author who was born in Boston, grew up in Montague, and visited the Berkshires regularly as a young man.

Gail Burns of Williamstown will host the event for Inkberry.

After the reading, there will be a brief intermission, followed by the popular WordPlay open mic. Refreshments will be available, and admission is free and open to the public.
For additional information regarding Inkberry or these readings, contact Inkberry by phone at (413) 664-0775 or visit www.inkberry.org.

About Inkberry ­
Inkberry promotes the literary arts in the Berkshires with events and community partnerships that celebrate and support writing and reading. Inkberry is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

ReConnecting the Adams(es)

North Adams, MA - MCLA Gallery 51, Greylock Arts, and Turbulence are pleased to announce "Networked Realities: (Re)Connecting the Adamses," a series of exhibits and opportunities developed to artistically re-connect the Town of Adams and the

Look at Us will be on view July 1 through October 26, 2008. All submitted work must relate to or address the themes of the exhibit. Artists may submit up to 3 works no longer than 3 minutes in length on a DVD with a title menu that lists all video titles and running times along with a brief biography or resume.

All submissions should be sent to: Berkshire Museum c/o Maria Mingalone 39 South Street Pittsfield, MA 01201

All works submitted will be reviewed by a group of museum curators and staff. Artists will be notified of the museum's decision no later than June 2, 2008. The museum will return DVD's only if the artist includes a self-addressed, stamped envelope with their submission.

The submission deadline is: May 23, 2008.

Seeing the light on a Saturday along the Hoosic River

Caroline Scully ([email protected]) provides this report on an event she's helped organize:

NORTH ADAMS -- Members of the art community are hoping to welcome spring in a big way, as well as pay tribute to an historic waterway, this weekend with the first-ever Hoosac River Lights Project. The project stems from the mind of North Adams artist, writer, architect and entrepreneur Ralph Brill, who owns a gallery in the Eclipse Mill.

Brill enjoys the portion of the Hoosic River that flows behind his building and was troubled that the concrete flood chutes, which contain the water as it flows through the city, have diminished an important symbol of North Adams. His aim is to raise consciousness about the river, which is alternately known as the "Hoosac" or "Hoosick."

Brill spent more than a year getting clearances from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, who constructed the massive concrete flood chutes in the 1940s and 50s, built to stop flooding in the city. He also reached out to the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., for help in the construction of some of the proposed lighting for the river installation. Other artists also agreed to participate.

On Saturday (April 26), the public public was to be treated to light displays on and in the river opposite the Porches Inn. As the sun set at approximately 7:47 p.m., the light displays would be more visible and more spectacular.

In addition to the RPI display, which includes five ivory-covered, billowing bridges arching the spillway reflecting changing light displays, Los Angeles artist Sarah Michael will feature a light display spanning the flood chute between Mass MoCA and the Porches Inn. Accompanying Michael will be Bennington College art student Jazmine Raymond, who will feature a sound installation. From the Marshall Street Bridge, festivalgoers can see a display actually in the water, created by Emily Conrad and Jeffrey
Galusha of New York City.

On the other side of the Holden Street Bridge, Rikayo Horimizu and Inhye Lee from Tokyo will feature LED technology which will allow passers-by to send wishes into the river. Holden Street between River Street and St. Anthony Drive will be closed to vehicle traffic from approximately 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., which will afford pedestrians great views of the river stretching to the east and west.

For those arriving from out of town, parking is available in the St. Anthony Municipal parking lot as well as at other areas around the city. Info: 800-294-2811 or info @brillgallery109.com.