Latest News
Sam Gravitte returns to Pine Plains on Feb. 1.
Broadway star Sam Gravitte (“Wicked”) is returning to The Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Feb. 1 with his acclaimed cabaret show, “A Song for You,” a heartfelt evening of music and storytelling. He will be joined by renowned music director Jacinth Greywoode, whose works range from classical chamber pieces to Broadway-style theater music.
“I’m so excited to have Sam Gravitte return to Stissing Center,” said Stissing’s executive director, Patrick Trettenero. “We were fortunate to have him perform on our stage last year with his mom, Tony-winner Debbie Gravitte.”
Known for his standout performance as Fiyero in “Wicked,” Gravitte will once again bring his signature charisma and powerhouse vocals to the Stissing Center. The audience can expect a rich repertoire featuring legendary songwriters like Stevie Wonder and Stephen Sondheim, woven into a narrative exploring themes of love, hope, and connection.
“While we love that Sam has his own Broadway bonafides,” said Trettenero, “we are looking forward to his cabaret performance on our stage, which promises to show us his more personal side. Sam tells us that his show will explore themes of love, hope, and romance —perfect for the run-up to Valentine’s day!”
For tickets and more information, visit: thestissingcenter.org
Shirley Edgerton, local activist and NAACP Berkshires Board Member, leads a discussion with students from area middle schools after a screening of the film “Selma” at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students from W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School, Mount Everett Junior High School, Berkshire Country Day School and Richmond Consolidated School attended a screening of the movie “Selma” at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington Jan. 20.
The screening was held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was sponsored in part by the Great Barrington, Monterey, Stockbridge, and New Marlborough Cultural Councils.
“Selma” was released in 2015, 50 years after the marches from Selma to Montgomery. It recounts the struggles of African Americans to exercise their right to vote in spite of resistance from registrars of voters in Selma, Alabama. It shows the brutality encountered by activists and marchers and those just wanting to vote. The participants of the first march were met with tear gas, police armed with clubs and on horseback as they marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many among the marchers suffered injuries. After the first March, King called for clergy and others to join the next march.
Moderator of the question-and-answer period after the movie was Shirley Edgerton, a local activist and NAACP Berkshires board member. She asked the students, “Why do you think you were allowed to come here today?”
Answers included:
“History repeats itself.”
“To learn about the civil rights movement.”
“So, it doesn’t happen again.”
“It is a reminder of issues that are happening today.”
“What did you think about the movie?” Edgerton asked next.
“It was emotionally heavy when it got into what actually happened.”
“It was not just the story of Dr. King, but of Malcom X and John Lewis.”
“Your schools want you to understand history,” Edgerton said. She explained that she is a member of the NAACP which was founded in 1909 by a group including Great Barrington resident and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois. The NAACP is composed of “All folks who believe in addressing and disarming hate,” Edgerton said.
“All of us have biases,” Edgerton said to the crowd. The way to combat bias, she said, is to “Address issues and ensure that these issues don’t continue.”
She asked the students what issues they are facing today. “Abortion” said one, another said “Only two genders now.” “Human trafficking,” said another.
“What can you do as eighth graders about these issues?” asked Edgerton.
“We can grow up smarter and fix these issues.”
“Stop making fun of people who ID as gay, straight, non-binary.”
“Be kinder.”
“Support peers and take the knowledge of what we learned today and put it into our day-to-day base.”
In conclusion, Shirley Edgerton told the students, “You have to decide if you want to be part of change or not.”
The Lightsaber Toss competition was a hit at Hunt.
FALLS VILLAGE — It was a busy week at the David M. Hunt Library.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, a group of a dozen or so students from the Lee H. Kellogg School converged on the library around noon. The students had a half day at school.
Billed as the “Winter Olympics,” the library’s Brittany Spear-Baron said it was too cold outside for the bulk of the planned events.
So library patrons were greeted with the unfamiliar sight of tape on the floor, indicating directions and boundaries for such events as the Lightsaber Toss.
The children did venture outside with plastic bowls filled with water and assorted objects such as pine boughs, seeds, and a bit of twine.
The idea was to allow the bowls to freeze, thus creating an icy ornament. The twine was to facilitate hanging the ornaments outside, until they eventually melt.
Back inside the group indulged in bowling for water bottles in the stacks, and the Lightsaber Toss.
This is not an easy game. The lightsabers, also known as pool noodles — and sometimes as “javelins” — are light in weight.
Their long noodly shape resists attempts to propel them forward like a spear.
It takes a master hand to get more than a few feet per try.
On Saturday, Jan. 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., there was a reception for the young artists of the Kellogg School.
The show, “Home Sweet Home,” is comprised of cigar box art by Kellogg students. The show will be up through Feb. 7.
The artists, many of whom had other commitments such as basketball, drifted in in ones and twos.
Tracy Atwood was waiting to chat with the artists, having spent some time looking at the works.
He quizzed Dyani Nirschel, grade 4, on her triptych, wondering how she picked the elements in the piece. The answer: “Just random things.”
Running the trivia game were, from left, Dick Heinz, Meg Sher and Judy Jacobs.
FALLS VILLAGE — About 30 people came to the Center on Main for a Falls Village trivia night Saturday, Jan. 25, sponsored by the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society and the David M. Hunt Library.
Dick Heinz was the triviamaster, with assistance from Judy Jacobs and Meg Sher.
People drifted in and out, and arrived a bit after the start. The roughly 30 people sorted themselves into five teams.
Sample questions:
What year was the Town of Canaan incorporated?
And for extra credit: What year did the Town of Canaan split into two towns?
This was a tricky one: What year did the hydropower plant go online?
And this was a poser: What important iron product was manufactured in the Huntsville section of Falls Village?
People brought their own snacks and beverages, or bought something from the Lee H. Kellogg School eighth grade bake sale table.
It was a little on the chilly side in the Center, so people kept their coats on for the most part.
The prizes were gift certificates to the monthly book sale at the library.
Answers:
Canaan was incorporated in 1739. The split came in 1858.
The hydropower plant began producing electricity in 1914, but the dam and other infrastructure was built in the 1850s.
Iron ship anchors were made in Huntsville. Heinz surmised that this fact is obscure because there isn’t much of a local need for ship anchors, then or now.
