Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Valentine’s Day preview

Valentine’s Day preview

Looking for the perfect way to celebrate love this Valentine’s Day? Whether it’s music, food, or just some good old-fashioned romance, there’s something for everyone—because let’s be honest, we could all use a little more love!

Wednesday, Feb. 12
28th Annual Chocolate Fest. 3:30 p.m. at the Kent Center School Cafeteria (9 Judd Ave., Kent). Proceeds benefit the Kent Center School Scholarship Fund. Fill a plate for $5 with delicious chocolate creations. Email for more info: info@kcssf.org.

Thursday, Feb. 13 & Saturday, Feb. 15
Fleece Pillow Making Workshop at David M. Hunt Library (63 Main St., Falls Village) The DM Hunt Library is making heart pillows to give to seniors for ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ Week! Workshops will be held Thursday, Feb. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. or Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Learn to make knot-tie, no-sew pillows for local seniors. Use donated fabric and patterns or bring your own.

Thursday, Feb. 13
Senior Sweetheart Supper at Sharon Hospital (50 Hospital Hill Rd., Sharon) 3:45-5:0 p.m.– buffet dinner. 5 to 5:30 p.m. – Guest speaker Sheri Harrison, MD. Dr. Harrison is a general cardiologist, board-certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine. For reservations: contact Rebecca Moreira at Rebecca.Moreira@nuvancehealth.org or call (860)364-4237

Friday, Feb. 14
Friendship Bracelets at NorthEast-Millerton Library (75 Main St., Millerton) 3 to 4 p.m. It isn’t too late to make a last-minute Valentine present for a friend! Make bracelets with beads and/or embroidery thread. No experience necessary. All are welcome.

Friday, Feb. 14
Valentine’s Day Screening of Classic Romantic Film, “Roman Holiday” at The Triplex Cinema (70 Railroad St., Great Barrington)at 5 p.m. Starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, this beloved romantic comedy won three Academy Awards and was shot on location in Rome. Directed by William Wyler, the film is a timeless classic. Tickets at thetriplex.org.

Friday, Feb. 14
A Steamship Feast at Stissing House (7801 S. Main St., Pine Plains)Arrive between 6:30-7 pm; dinner starts at 7. No vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian options. Note allergies in your reservation or email feasts@stissinghouse.com. Enjoy snacks and drinks in the upstairs bar, followed by a long-table feast in The Barn with cocktails, punch, wine, and dessert.

Tickets are for two; email feasts@stissinghouse.com for group seating requests.

Friday, Feb. 14
Valentine’s Day Dinner Party at Ward’s Nursery (600 Main St., Great Barrington) After Hours, a new aged, community-centric outfit is hosting a Valentine’s Dinner at Ward’s Nursery. There will be a cozy, 7-course vegetable-forward feast served family-style in the greenhouse. Enjoy a cocktail hour, live music by Glori Wilder, and a vibrant winter escape! Reservations: www.afterhoursgb.com

Friday, Feb. 14
Valentine’s Day Dinner & Dance at Coe Park Civic Center (101 Litchfield St., Torrington) 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.Located at the Coe Park Civic Center, the Recreation Department is hosting a fun night of music and food for couples or friends. A buffet style dinner from Jimmy’s Store with desserts will be included in the price. Sequel, a fun jam band , will be playing music from all decades to get you in the right mood to sway your hips, clap your hands, and sing along. Reservations: (860)489-2274

Friday, Feb. 14
Jungle Love Dance Party at Stissing Center (2950 Church St., Pine Plains) at 7 p.m. Voted Best Band & Best Party Band in the Hudson Valley, Jungle Love is more than a band—it’s an experience. Fronted by award-winning singer Cher, this powerhouse group features musicians who’ve played with legends like The Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, and Ben E. King. Get ready for a high-energy journey through the best of Classic Soul, R&B, Motown, Disco, and Funk. This event is FREE.

Saturday Feb. 15
Love Letters at Sharon Playhouse (49 Amenia Rd., Sharon) at 7 p.m. Sharon Playhouse presents a special benefit reading of Love Letters by A.R. Gurney, starring Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire) and Campbell Scott (House of Cards), directed by Artistic Director Carl Andress. Experience this intimate, one-night-only event exploring love and connection. Proceeds support the Playhouse’s arts and education programs. Tickets: sharonplayhouse.org/love-letters

Saturday, Feb. 15
A Midwinter’s Night in the Village at David M. Hunt Library (63 Main St., Falls Village) from 6 to 8 p.m. Enjoy an evening of homemade breads, chocolate treats, poetry, and songs celebrating love. Live music by Galactic Overtones, plus wine, beer, and non-alcoholic drinks included. huntlibrary.org/midwinter | 860-824-7424

- In a world that could always use more love, here’s your chance to spread it—whether through music, food, laughter, or sweet treats. Enjoy!

Lakeville Journal

Latest News

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

A life reshaped by clay in “Matin”

Left to right: Hannah Wheeler, Matin Malikzada and Yonah Sadeh.

D.H. Callahan

On Monday, Oct. 26, a group of students, teachers and local residents gathered at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville for a screening of the new short documentary “Matin.” The film tells the story of Matin Malikzada, a seventh-generation Afghani potter making a new life in New Milford, Connecticut. The film was made by local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, creator of the Video Wall at the David M. Hunt Library, and Berkshires-based potter Hannah Wheeler, who were both present for the screening, along with Malikzada himself.

As a member of the seventh generation of his family to master the art of pottery, Malikzada had done things the way his family had for over a century. Istalif, the village where his family has lived for generations, was known throughout Afghanistan for its pottery, with wares sent across the country for use as everyday cups, bowls, plates and other vessels. The pottery-making families of Istalif gathered clay from the same mountain, about 30 to 45 minutes away by donkey. Every July, they would head north toward the Uzbekistan border to gather ishkar, a plant they processed by hand to make their signature glazes.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher finds her calling among the stacks

Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.

L. Tomaino

When Meg Sher came to Falls Village in 2006 from Old Lyme, Connecticut, where she grew up, she never imagined she’d someday be the executive director of the David M. Hunt Library.

Although, in hindsight, perhaps it makes sense.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Crescendo’s 23rd season speaks to the heart and mind

Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, conducts the audience at a performance.

Steve Potter

For Christine Gevert, founding artistic director of Crescendo, music from centuries past is anything but a relic. It is a living, breathing art form, full of drama, emotional complexity and, occasionally, surprises. As the regional choral and period-instrument ensemble launches its 23rd season, Gevert is once again bringing forgotten masterpieces into the present.

“Early Music has been my lifelong passion and the focus of my specialization in Europe and South America,” Gevert said. “Bringing this repertoire to our audiences in a nuanced way that does justice to its incredible depth, intensity, and beauty is deeply important to me.”

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music celebrates 35 years of musical discovery

Close Encounters with Music’s 35th season opens with “Saluting the Clarinet” featuring clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein.

Provided

For 35 years, cellist Yehuda Hanani has been inviting audiences to experience classical music in unexpected ways. As founder and artistic director of Close Encounters with Music, Hanani has built a concert series that goes beyond the music itself, exploring connections to literature, history, politics and the human experience.

This year, Close Encounters celebrates its 35th season with “Celebration & Discovery,” a seven-concert series that opens Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

Shinbone Alley brings spooky songs to Spencertown

Shinbone Alley brings spooky songs to Spencertown

Seeing isn’t always believing. Sometimes it’s the lack of a defined picture that can be the most compelling. And when Alex Harvey of Shinbone Alley sings his supernaturally charged sea shanties and street ballads, the unseen will be downright scary. On Oct. 30, the historically inclined storyteller and performer will create a spooky evening of forbidden tales and yarns through a carefully chosen series of songs at Spencertown Academy of Arts.

The repertoire for the performance is a bit fraught. Over the years, Shinbone Alley has explored the world of folklore through music. Though the group usually features two musicians, Harvey, a multi-instrumentalist and singer, will be performing solo. That is, of course, unless you include the spirits.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

Malian blues and Moroccan Gnawa meet in Sheffield

Malian blues and Moroccan Gnawa meet in Sheffield
Vieux Farka Touré
Proivded

Desert winds rarely blow into the Berkshires, but on Nov. 5, they will carry the Malian blues and Moroccan Gnawa music to Race Brook Lodge.

That evening, Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, often called “the Hendrix of the Sahara,” and Moroccan musician Samir LanGus will play at the lodge’s Event Barn in Sheffield, Massachusetts, at a benefit for the foundation Touré directs.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.