BTW Holiday Magazine2015 by BTWBerkshires

BTW Holidays

2015 Calendar of events in the Berkshire region and Southern Vermont

BTW Berkshires Editor: Kate Abbott Writers: Jess Gamari Brian Mastroianni Madeline Vuong Photographers: Rachel Barenblat Jess Gamari Susan Geller With thanks to Deborah, Laura, Stephen and Tony Abbott, Joan Entmocher, Stephanie Gold, Garrett Lang, Jay Miner, Kate Kroliche, Ethan Zuckerman and Mark Leymaster Cover photo: A visitor takes a close look at the ornaments at the Berkshire Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Festival of Trees. Photo by Susan Geller BTW Berkshires online Website: btwberkshires.com Twitter: @btwberkshires Facebook: BTWBerkshires This magazine is created solely by BTW Berkshires LLC, ÂŠ 2015.

Contents Woodwork ............................................................................... Page 4 Thanksgiving - Nov. 29 .......................................................... Page 6 Dec. 1 ....................................................................................... Page 8 Dec. 5 ..................................................................................... Page 11 Holiday music........................................................................ Page 18 Christmas Carol..................................................................... Page 20 Dec. 12 ................................................................................... Page 26 Dec. 19 ................................................................................... Page 32 Dec. 26 ................................................................................... Page 36 Jan. 1 ..................................................................................... Page 39 Page 2

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

btwberkshires.com

Artists and artisans will bring their work to local handcraft festivals and holiday markets, from hand weaving to hand-crafted soap. On page 2, a young visitor tries out awagon. Photos courtesy of the Alchemy Initiative.

Silver jewelry by Maureen and Michael Banner will appear at the Knox Gallery in the Monterey Library. Photo courtesy of Monterey Library

Skilled hands will make this season By Kate Abbott At the top of the stairs, in a room lined with wooden drawers, my mom would sit in a paintspattered shirt and jeans with her hair in a bandana and a bright light on. Coming into the room, I was coming into a secret, because she was making a gift for my sister. Under the light, on a strip of pumpkin pine or bass wood, she painted a brilliant yellow duckling with an orange bill and a brown downy stripe. Later she would draw borders on the back in pencil and cut them out with a jig saw. I have three wooden jig-saw puzzles she made me. The red and blue ball has three curved pieces, all much too large for a toddler to swallow. The painted turtle and the tiger cat came later, btwberkshires.com

and they have more intricate pieces, some with their own shapes: a scottie dog, a flying gull, a cat-tail. When I remember her painting her downy duck, my mom was a young woman with young children, building a new psychology practice and working with my dad to rebuild the old saltbox house that was crumbling when they bought it, after they both finished graduate school. And she took time to paint and shape those bright puzzles in the evenings. I think of her when the stories begin, this time of year, of a workshop with northern lights outside the window and elfin footprints in the sawdust. Workshops and workbenches have a lure, among the lathes and clamps and spatters and

smell of resin. With time and care and a little mischief, they yield up talismans and artifacts. And the night is gentle when you sit quietly, shaping a gift with your hands and thinking of the ones you make it for. I’ve never met the elves at the North Pole, and I’ve never wandered their aisles and leaned among their table saws and leather reindeer harness with my notebook open, sharpening a pencil with a pocket knife to write down where they come from, what they love, or what child belongs to that carved hedgehog or that wooden drum. But I have sat in the corners of a lot of workshops and asked questions. More than 10 years ago, in a studio on North Street, Storefront artists prepared for Christmas. A

Japanese ink-brush painter showed me how he could create, in a few sure strokes, a songbird alighting on a bamboo shoot. He called the painting ‘A bright, noisy day,’ and he gave it to me. Around me now, in many workshops smelling of new wood, many artists are whittling and sanding and wedging clay and cleaning paint brushes. Artists will open their studios this month and teach workshops. Handcraft festivals will bring them together with beeswax candles and lavender and leatherwork. Places like the Old Stone Store and Gallery 51 and the Monterey Library will show the work of painters and basket makers and ceramicists and silversmiths. Come out and meet the elves.

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Woodwork Coleen Curley of Pittsfield carves figures and ornaments from wood. Photos by Jess Gamari

By Jess Gamari

PITTSFIELD — Artist and wood carving instructor Coleen Curley of Pittsfield finds inspiration for her carvings in the small details of everyday life — a childhood toy or a curve of tree bark. “Sometimes little things happen during the day that are funny and they stick with me,” she said. “Inspiration is everywhere you look. I’m always coming up with ideas. … I could never use them all.” Before wood carving, Curley embroidered cross stitch shirts and sweatshirts for commission. She welcomed custom orders, she said, but customers often chose the standard colors and design. “I liked the design, but making 30 of the same ducks in a row was monotonous,” she said. With wood carving, no two pieces are ever truly alike, and that uniqueness drew her in. “Each piece is different by Page 4

virtue of the wood,” she said. “It’s a mix of how you’re feeling when you sit down to carve and what tools you use.” Curley is one of the many artists participating in the Berkshire Museum Festival of Trees 2015, the museum’s annual holiday show. This year some 100 holiday trees echo the themes of two winter exhibits on the American West. In keeping with the theme, Curley has created several Western ornaments and wood sculptures. Instead of the rugged look, her cowboys have a smoother effect. “I’ve been told my faces are the ‘pretty boy’ faces,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just the way I do faces.” Curley has taken part in the Festival of Trees since 1996. “[The Berkshire Museum] has always encouraged creativity,” she said. “It’s a great environment to set up work in and they

love to see what artists have. It’s always been one of my favorite things to do each year.” In past years, she has created wizards, dragons, leprechauns, witches and animals, and many variations of Santa Claus sparked by different time periods, different cultures and different body types. “I’ve been very inspired by the 1940s Santa for many of my ornaments,” she said. She has created Santa ornaments with icicle bodies and Christmas tree bodies, and some of her Santas wear purple or gold hats depending on her vision. “I see the finished piece in my head,” she said. “I have an idea and I just start carving.” While some artists like Curley can see a vision and tackle a piece head on, other artists prefer to sketch ideas on paper or on their piece. “Some people say, ‘oh I

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

can’t draw,’ and that’s okay,” she said. “There are other ways to come up with ideas and a design that works for you.” As a teacher for a wood carving class, Curley has found different ways to teach students who learn differently. “Some students need … words,” she said, “while other students just need some pencil markings on their blank and they’re good to go.” When students need more guidance on their sculpture, Curley says she doesn’t like to make carvings on their work. “The best way I can teach someone is with a pencil,” she said. “I’ll make a mark here or there and they can correct it, but once I lay a knife to it, it’s a collaboration, and it’s not theirs anymore.” She enjoys working with small groups of adults so she can help as they need it, she said. Classmates have become btwberkshires.com

close friends who work together instead of competing. “We were talking about it the other day, and we didn’t realize we had all been meeting together for 18 years,” she said. The class now meets at one of the students’ homes and votes on each new project, and although the students pick one idea, the final products are all very different, she said:“You can give a blank to 10 people and none of them will be alike.” Students use the ideas as a starting point, but Curley encourages students to change whatever they like and to incorporate personal touches into their pieces.Once she had them carve their pets into one of the Santa projects. In another, she suggested they carve their favorite childhood toys into Santa’s bag. “It’s fun to see what each student wants to do, and then they say, ‘okay, how do I do btwberkshires.com

this?’” she said. “A lot have their own ideas, they just need help getting it out of the wood. Each student has their own tools and sharpens them, and Curley provides the blanks used for each project. While she and many professional wood carvers use a standard set of Swiss carving tools, she said she also still uses the first set of carving tools she bought at a seminar many years ago. She tells her students to choose something that feels comfortable to work with. “The tool is an extension of the hand, and the better you feel, the better and longer you carve,” she said. She is a left-handed carver and has developed arthritis, but she has found tools which are comfortable for her to use. The class typically works with basswood, although once they created gnome houses out of curvy tree bark.

“We had a few different house examples ...,” she said, “and the students looked at each one and picked one that spoke to them. I taught them the basics, like how to make stairs and carve rocks. They were all saying ‘I can’t believe it’s coming out this good.’” She enjoys seeing the adults get as excited as children over something they made with their hands. “It felt incredible when I learned I could do this, and now I get to teach someone else,” she said. “It’s fun to see a bunch of adults creating and saying ‘I can do this.’ Though the class has met together for 18 years, Curley continues to learn. Over the years she has had students with different art backgrounds give insight into alternative methods, like clay sculpting and flat wood painting. “They taught me things

about painting I didn’t know,” Curley said. “Each person has something they contribute, and we all work together and encourage each other.” Even when students make mistakes in cutting the shape of the sculptures, Curley said there is “always another face underneath.” She recalled having a student who said he was carving a different animal each week, going from a wolf to a cat to a polar bear. From creating illusions of depth and playing with reflection and light, Curley believes the whole carving process is “pure magic.” “You have and idea in your head and you can put it into the wood,” Curley said. “What I wanted when I first took over teaching the class was to have the students get excited about the art of carving itself. After all these years everyone is still excited to learn.”

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Holiday calendar of events !

Nov. 30 to Jan. 1 Squashes pile up brightly at a local Berkshire farmers market. Photo by Susan Geller of Lenox.

shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org

Thursday, Nov. 26 Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, Nov. 27

Festival for the Holidays — 16th annual showcase of hand-crafted products by local artisans 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends through Dec. 20. Sheffield Historical Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7, Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org

Handmade Holiday — Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s pop-up shop 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with cards, ceramics, jewelry, quilts, cutting boards, knitwear, felted puppets, fired glass, baskets, paper crafts and edible delicacies made by dozens of Columbia, Ulster, and Berkshire area residents. Admission free. 790 Route 203, Spencertown, N.Y. 518-392-3693, spencertownacademy.org

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” Page 6

Dorset Gingerbread Houses — displayed throughout the Dorset community at local shops in Dorset, Vt., starting today. visitmanchestervt.com Dorset Tractor Parade — Lighted tractors leave H.N. Wiliams at 5:15 p.m. to circle the Green, Route 30, Dorset, Vt. 802867-5353 Hancock Shaker Village — Museum shop open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for end-of-season open house. Routes 20 and 41, Pittsfield. hancockshakervillage.org Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas today through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Wreath-making workshop — Mettawee Mill Garden Center, 10 a.m. Open house and farmers market to benefit Manchester

Food Cupboard through Nov. 29. 4977 Vermont Route 30, Dorset, Vt. 802-325-3006, dorsetvt.com Kids Paramount Theater — “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, the Musical” 2 and 7 p.m. 30 Center St., Rutland, Vt. 802-775-0570, paramountvt.org Theater Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 8 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org Mount Anthony Country Club — Black Friday Comedy Show 8:30 p.m. 180 Country Club Drive, Bennington, Vt.

Saturday, Nov. 28 Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” today through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Festival for the Holidays — 16th annual showcase of hand-crafted products by local artisans 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends through Dec. 20. Sheffield Historical Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7,

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org Handmade Holiday — Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s pop-up shop 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with cards, ceramics, jewelry, quilts, cutting boards, knitwear, felted puppets, fired glass, baskets, paper crafts and edible delicacies made by dozens of Columbia, Ulster, and Berkshire area residents. Admission free. 790 Route 203, Spencertown, N.Y. 518-392-3693, spencertownacademy.org Community Bennington Hometown Holiday – Downtown event with strolling carolers, street decorations, live performances of Christmas stories, Bennington Farmers Market, free gift wrapping, hot chocolate, homemade treats and activities throughout the day. betterbennington.com Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com btwberkshires.com

Hancock Shaker Village — Museum shop open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for end-of-season open house. Routes 20 and 41, Pittsfield. hancoc kshakervillage.org

Holiday Open House — Equinox Valley Nursery, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Christmas trees, wreathes, hot cocoa, popcorn and s’mores by the fire. Santa visits from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 1158 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 802-362-2610, equinoxvalleynursery.com

Manchester Vt. tree lighting — Holiday Tree Lighting with Santa and Mrs. Claus on the Town Green with cookie contest at 4:30 p.m., carols with Bruce White at 5 p.m. and Town Illumination at 5:30. Hot Chocolate, cider, coffee cookies. visitmanchestervt.com

Open house and farmers market — Mettawee Mill Garden Center, 10 a.m. to benefit Manchester Food Cupboard through Nov. 29. Santa 10 a.m.to 2 p.m., children’s holiday ornament workshops 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., food sampling noon to 4 p.m. 4977 Vermont Route 30, Dorset, Vt. 802-325-3006, dorsetvt.com

Northshire Bookstore — “Manchester: The Poet Is In,” 2 p.m. Inspired by an event at Grand Central Station, members of the Gossamer Stone Poets Group will offer poetry writing improv with human prompts: have a poem written on the spot. Free, donations to benefit Book Angels Program, giving holiday gifts to children. 4869 Main St., Manchester, Vt. Northshire.com

Salem Christmas Parade — Downtown event with horsses and carriages, 1 p.m., Salem, N.Y. salemnychamber.com

Ventfort Hall — Home for the btwberkshires.com

holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Film Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center — “The Wzard of Oz” on the big screen, 4 and 7 p.m. 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 413528-0100, mahaiwe.org Music Berkshire Bach Society — Messiah sing-in, 4 p.m. with Berkshire Bach Players on violins, viola, cello, trumpet and piano, free. First Congregational Church, 251 Main St., Great Barrington. berkshirebach.org Colonial Theatre — The Mary Verdi Christmas Show, 2 and 7 p.m. Berkshire singer/songwriter with her her band and Billy Keene, The Dalton Ballet Troupe, a Children’s Choir, Berkshire Music School Violinists, The Berkshire Concert Choir and Santa. 111 South St., Pittsfield. maryverdi.com Manchester Music Festival — Thanksgiving Concert 4 p.m., Chamber works by Haydn and Boccherini by Manchester Festival String Quartet (Deborah Buck and Joana Genova, violins, Ariel Rudiakov, viola and Benjamin Capps, cello) with special guest Brett Grigsby, guitar. United Church of Dorset and East Rupert, Dorset, Vt. 802-362-1956. Tickets at Northshire Bookstore. Troy Music Hall — Windham Hill: A Winter’s Solstice concert with pianist Liz Story, singer and instrumentalist Barbara Higbie and guitarist Sean Harkness, 7:30 p.m. 30 Second St., Troy, N.Y. 518-273-0038, troymusichall.org Theater Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 8 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org

Sunday, Nov. 29 Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” today through Dec.

29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Festival for the Holidays — 16th annual showcase of hand-crafted products by local artisans 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends through Dec. 20. Sheffield Historical Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7, Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org Hancock Shaker Village — Museum shop open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for end-of-season open house. Routes 20 and 41, Pittsfield. hancockshake rvillage.org

Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Kids Colonial Theater — Children’s holiday extravaganza with dysFUNK Dance Crew, Eric the Illusionist, Roger the Jester and carolers. Photo booth, clown, face painting and food including pizza, popcorn, snow cones and more. Raffles for girls’ bikes and boys’ bikes with helmets, donated by Berkshire Bank. Santa to give out children’s books donated by the Berkshire United Way and goodie bags. Reservations 413-9974444, 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org

Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com

Community Adams Holly Days — Free hayrides, hot cocoa, coffee and doughnuts 2 to 5 p.m., Santa at 3:30 with tree lighting at 4:30 p.m. at the Town Common, Adams. town.adams.ma.us

Music Berkshire Museum — Berkshire Hills Chorus Sweet Adelines will perform barbershop a cappella 2 p.m. with Festival of Trees. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org

Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org

Fort Salem Theater — The Singing Anchors Holiday Show starring Benita Zahn, Jessica Layton, and Jerry Gretzinger, 2 p.m. Salem, N.Y. salemny chamber.com

Holiday Open House — Equinox Valley Nursery, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas trees and wreathes, hot cocoa, popcorn and s’mores by the fire. 1158 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 802-362-2610, equinoxvalleynursery.com Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from

Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — Work off extra turkey with a four-mile hike through Dorothy Rice Sanctuary, Peru, Mass. Carl Filios, 413-442-8984 or Theater Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 2 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org

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Heritage breed turkeys strut in the sun at Hancock Shaker Village. Photo by Susan Geller of Lenox.

Monday, Nov. 30

Tuesday, Dec. 1

Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org

Clark Art Institute — Book sale opens today, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Dec. 6. Books about artists, art history, architecture, photography, gardening, decorative arts and other illustrated topics. 225 South St., Williamstown. clarkart.edu

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Page 8

Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Kids Paramount Theater — “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” 7 p.m. double feature following tree lighting in Depot Park. 30 Center St., Rutland, Vt. 802-775-0570, paramountvt.org

Wednesday, Dec. 2 Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.or

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Clark Art Institute — Book sale 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Dec. 6. Books about artists, art history, architecture, photography, gardening, decorative arts and other illustrated topics. 225 South St., Williamstown. clarkart.edu Community Bennington Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony — Vermont Veterans Home, 5:30 p.m. with live entertainment. betterbennington.com Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West.” 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org Holiday Open House — Equinox Valley Nursery, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas trees and wreathes, hot cocoa, popcorn and s’mores by the fire. 1158 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 802-362-2610, equinoxvalleynursery.com Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” btwberkshires.com

Seeking Santa

Apples brighten a holiday wreath. Photo by Susan Geller of Lenox.

costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Thursday, Dec. 3

Clark Art Institute — Book sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Dec. 6. Books about artists, art history, architecture, photography, gardening, decorative arts and other illustrated topics. 225 South St., Williamstown. clarkart.edu

Holiday Wreathmaking — D.I.Y holiday wreathes and bows with balsam evergreens, mixed aromatic greens including pine, cedar, juniper, boxwood and assorted pine cones. 1 p.m. Chatham Berry Farm, 2304 Route 203, Chatham, N.Y. 518-3924609, thechathamberryfarm.com

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show (art by local artists between 99¢ to 99$) opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. Show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated btwberkshires.com

trees in the galleries with “American West” photography and “Go West” show. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Bursting the Bubble of the Bubbe Meises of Chanukah — Exploring (and Exploding) the Myths of Chanukah with Rabbi Jan Caryl Kaufman. 10 45 a.m. Jewish Federation event at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield. Free. 413442-2200, jewishberkshires.org Holiday Open House — Equinox Valley Nursery, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas trees and wreathes, hot cocoa, popcorn and s’mores by the fire. 1158 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 802-362-2610, equinoxvalleynursery.com Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Music Jazz Vespers — Casual meal 5 p.m. and music 6 p.m. with Marisa Massery, voice; Katharine Wiencke, flute; Andy Wrba, bass; and Ben Kohn, piano; for an evening service filled with jazz, song, and community. Zion Lutheran Church, 74 First St., Pittsfield. zionlutheranpittsfield.org

On a cold morning nearly 200 years ago, just over the ridge, imagine a family in a city much like Pittsfield opening their morning paper. Over breakfast, children waiting eagerly for the holiday will read over their father’s finger, for the first time, a poem in a newspaper column: ‘... and all through the house not a creature was stirring ...” The classic is local. “In December of 1823, ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas,’ better known as ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ was first printed, anonymously, in the Troy Sentinel,” in Troy, N.Y., explains istorian Seth Kaller (on his website). Clement Moore, the man known as the writer, lived right around the mountain. Kaller believes that Moore wrote the poem, though a recent controversy has evolved, claiming that the poem belonged to another local writer, Henry Livingston. Kaller offers a vigorous conterargument, showing Moore in his own words — laughing in helpless delight at the force of his longing for the woman he will marry and the thought of his scholarly self looking for her at all hours, walking with her, trembling to hold her hand. Moore was professor of “Oriental and Greek literature,” scholar of Hebrew and son of an Episcopal Bishop in New York. He got his bachelor’s and master’s at Columbia (where his fatherwas president). He also, according to his poems, liked a romp with his children and a drink with his friends. And from his best-known poem, some argue, the U.S. gets much of its understanding of Santa Claus. Where did Moore get his understanding? I have been investigating, since I can’t do what any journalist would most want to: Sit down wth Moore and ask him. The original St. Nicholas was a bishop of Myra, a city on the coast of Byzantium, now Turkey, in 300 A.D. As a man, he lived through Roman persecutions of Christians and the founding of Constantinople. As a saint he traveled, in story,

north and west across Europe. Here he met the myths of Yule and midwinter — and of Odin, the Norse god, who traveled at Yuletide in a cart pulled by a goat. And Nicholas’ name became, in Dutch, Sinterklaus. Follow the Dutch settlers and stories to the Hudson River, where they settled to trade with the Mohicans and the Iroquois and chartered the city of Troy when Moore was 37 (in 1816). Some suggest that in writing his visit from St. Nicholas, Moore had in mind another wry and fluent New York man of letters: Washington Irving. In one of his earliest books, Irving wrote an ironic history of his home state: “A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker (1809).” Irving described a visit from Santa Claus as he appears to newly arrived settlers snoozing by a camp fire after a meal of oysters gathered from the river. Here is a St. Nick in rugged and comfortable clothing, a winter spirit who might curry muddy reindeer or tell stories in a Mohican village: “The good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, in that self same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children. and the shrewd Van Cortlandt knew him by his broad hat, his long pipe ... and he lit his pipe by the fire, and he sat himself down and smoked; and as he smoked, the smoke from his pipe ascended into the air, and spread like a cloud overhead.” Irving’s dreamer climbs a tree to see more clearly, and below him “the great volume of smoke assumed a variety of marvelous forms, where, in dim obscurity, he saw shadowed out palaces and domes and lofty spires, all which lasted but a moment ....” “... And when St. Nicholas had smoked his pipe, he twisted it in his hatband, and laying his finger beside his nose, gave the astonished Van Kortlandt a very significant look; then mounting his wagon, he returned over the tree tops and disappeared.” — Kate Abbott

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Berkshire Botanical Garden — Holiday Marketplace preview evening of refreshments, Art evergreens and entertainment 5 Bennington Museum — “Festival to 7 p.m. Garden-made wreaths, Reimagined” through Dec. holiday bulbs and centerpieces, 29: Local contemporary artists crafts, gifts from the garden, local reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, artisans and locally grown and the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main made foods. Routes 102 and 183, St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. Stockbridge. 413-298-3926, benningtonmuseum.org berkshirebotanical.org

Friday, Dec. 4

Gallery Of Wreaths — 30th annual celebration, noon to 4 p.m. Silent auction of wreaths made by local families, artists and organizations, holiday gift shop and family crafts, to benefit Columbia County Historical society, at Vanderpoel House of Histor, Albany Ave., Kinderhook, N.Y. cchsny.org First Fridays Artswalk — Art shows and open studios downtown and tree lighting at Park Square. Walk reception at BRTA galler, 5 p.m. Holiday Wreath Art Auction at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, preview 5 to 6:30 p.m., live auction 6:30 p.m. with Andy Kelly and Roy Burdick, singing auctioneers and catered by Big Elm Brewery, Mission Tappas and Balderdash Cellars to benefit the Pittsfield Food Pantries. 28 Renne Ave., Pittsfield. After walk party with live music by Ryder Cooley and the Dust Bowl Faeries from 8 to 10 pm at the Whitney Center for the Arts, 42 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 413-499-9348, discoverpitsfield.com, firstfridaysartswalk.com MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu Monterey Library — “4 Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group show, opening 6 to 7:30 p.m. Show to Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community Bennington Contradance — Final dance: Caller Fern Bradley, Music by Set Americain, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. All dances taught, beginners welcome, no partners needed. One World Conservation Center, Route 7, Bennington, Vt. benningtondance.org Page 10

Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Christmas in Cambridge Celebration — Santa Claus in a horse drawn sleigh at 6 p.m. with carolers, tree lighting and reading of the T’was Night Before Christmas at the Cambridge Public Library. Stroll Main Street, warming up at fire pits with s’mores and warm beverages. Many shops open late. Hubbard Hall hosts Youth Chorale performance at 7 p.m. and ornament-making in the Village Store. Cambridge, N.Y., 518-6770887, cambridgenychamber.com Chatham Winterfest — Holiday seekend kicks off when Santa arrives by firetruck to the gazebo, 6:45 to 8 p.m. Caroling, face-painting for the kids, refreshments available, and stores open late. Main Street in Chatham, N.Y., visitchathamny.com ‘A Chanukah Miracle’ — “From Atlantic City to Broadway” with Tony Award winner, playwright, lyricist, children’s author, television writer and theatre producer Eileen Bluestone Sherman, 10:45 a.m., Hevreh of Southern Berkshires, 270 State Road, Great Barrington. 413-4422200, jewishberkshires.org First Friday Christmas Stroll — Shops open until 9 p.m. with live music and treats, “LED Light Up!” lighting contest and Pub Crawl at Ye Olde Tavern, Gringo Jack’s, Thai Basil, Depot 62, Ponce, Al Ducci’s, Mulligan’s, Spiral Press, Christos and Seasons’ offering holiday fare until 10 p.m. Downtown Manchester, Vt. visitmanchestervt.com

Hildene — Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Lee Tree Lighting — Christmas tree lighting 6 p.m. at Church Park. Route 20, Lee. leechamber.org Lenox Light up the Night — 34 shops and galleries will welcome visitors with libations and light fare, free gift wraping, raffles holiday karaoke, 6 to 8 p.m. MacKimmie Co. singing of ‘Tanglewood Picnic’ book 5 to 8 p.m. Tree lighting in Lilac Park, 7 p.m.: Kickoff ot Making Spirits Bright, Santa arrives in a fire truck, caroling, families invited to Lenox Community Center for refreshments and gifts. Santa Bar Crawl, 7 to 10 p.m. holiday tastings to beneft Lenox Community Center. Downtown Lenox. lenox.org Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Pittsfield Tree Lighting — Taconic High School Chorus will perform carols before and after the 6 p.m. ceremony in Park Square. Santa and Mrs. Claus, free hot chocolate. Nonperishable food items that will be donated to the Christian Center’s food pantry. Downtown Pittsfield. cityofpittsfield.org Snowball Bazaar – Second Congregational Church, 6 to 8:30 p.m., Bennington, Vt. betterbennington.com Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Local farm stands and plant nurseries offer evergreens and red berries, and so do festivals like the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s and wreath shows in Pittsfield and Columbia County. Photo by Susan Geller.

Williamstown Holiday Walk — Holiday Concert 6:30 p.m. at Clark Art Institute: Williams College alumnus Jonathan Dely leads a jazz ensemble performing a wide selection of holiday favorites. Seasonal, three-course supper and dancing, 7:45 p.m. Book sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,books about artists, art history, architecture, photography, gardening, decorative arts and other illustrated topics. 225 South St., Williamstown. 413-458-0524, clarkart.edu Theater Dorset Players — “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” 7:30 p.m. The six rough and wild Herdman children get involved in the annual pageant with unconventional and powerful results. Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. dorsetplayers.org

Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 8 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy West Stockbridge Sparkles — tale. Written by The Pantoloons Downtown celebration with local and directed by Cathy Leeshops open downtown, Routes 41 Visscher. 6 Town Hall and 102, West Stockbridge. Place, Ghent N.Y. weststockbridgetown.com ghentplayhouse.org

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

btwberkshires.com

A young elf sings above in Mary Verdi’s annual holiday concert and performance at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield. At right, wooden ornaments decorate a holiday tree in Stockbridge. Photos by Susan Geller.

Saturday, Dec. 5 Art Bennington Museum — Holiday gala 6 to 10 p.m. “Festival Reimagined” today through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Christmas in Weston — Old Fashioned Christmas Festival with tours, horse drawn wagon rides, Santa, caroling and more at the Vermont Country Store, museums, the Old Parish Church and downtown shops and organizations, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to benefit the Weston Fire Department. Downtown Weston, Vt. weston-vermont.com Crafted in the Village — Townwide craft festival with open studios, craft booths at both churches, the Christmas Tree farms open and Santa. Ashfield, elmersstore.com Festival for the Holidays — 16th annual showcase of hand-crafted products by local artisans 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends through Dec. btwberkshires.com

20. Sheffield Historical Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7, Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org Gallery Of Wreaths — 30th annual celebration, noon to 4 p.m. Silent auction of wreaths made by local families, artists and organizations, holiday gift shop and family crafts, to benefit Columbia County Historical society, at Vanderpoel House of History, Albany Ave., Kinderhook, N.Y. cchsny.org Handmade Holiday Festival — Alchemy Initiative annual art and artisan fetistival, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 50 contemporary artisans and food producers — ceramics, woolen ornaments, jewelry, fine art, photography, woodworking, herbals and botanicals, knitted squid and more. Kids crafts with IS183 Art School. Free admission. Berkshire Community College, 1350 West St., Pittsfield. alchemyinitiative.org

fired glass, baskets, paper crafts and edible delicacies made by dozens of Columbia, Ulster, and Berkshire area residents. Admission free. 790 Route 203, Spencertown, N.Y. 518-392-3693, spencertownacademy.org

Handmade Holiday in Spencertown — Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s pop-up shop 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with cards, Holiday Maker Movement — ceramics, jewelry, quilts, cutting Design and make an own boards, knitwear, felted puppets, ornament or decoration with 3D

printing, 2 p.m. at the Bennington Arts Guild. Holiday art show on view through Dec. 31. 339 Main St., Bennington, Vt. benningtonartsguild.org MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

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Snowflake-like Paper sculptures burn at a winter festival. Photo by Susan Geller of Lenox.

Monterey Library — Holiday sale with local artists including basketmaker Wendy Jensen, ceramicist Ellen Grenadier, silversmiths Maureen and Michael Banner, artist and musician Joe Baker, artist and designer MaryPaul Yates and abstract painter Julie Shapiro, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org

Whitney Center for the Arts — “Whimsy” art exhibit opening reception 5 to 8 p.m. Show through Jan. 31. 42 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield

Wreath-Making Workshop — Using freshly cut boughs from Merck Forest, with with the tools, boughs, frame and ribbon provided. 1 to 4 p.m., Merck Forest and Farmland Center. Trails open, sleigh rides in season. 3270 Route 315, Rupert, Vt. 802-394-7836. merckforest.org

Community Berkshire Botanical Garden — Holiday Marketplace: Gardenmade wreaths, holiday bulbs and Page 12

centerpieces, crafts, gifts from the garden, local artisans and locally grown and made foods. Routes 102 and 183, Stockbridge. 413298-3926, berkshirebotanical.org Berkshire Museum — Learner’s Lab: Holiday Pastries, 10 a.m. Ashley Summers of Berkshire Bakes on making Hanukkah and Christmas sweets. Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 30 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Christmas in Cambridge Celebration — Cambridge Valley Art Tour at galleries and studios 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (cambridgevalleyart.org). Cambridge Central School Craft & Vendor Fair 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Child care and crafts at CUPC’s Breiman Hall while parents shop, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Performance of The Christmas Carol at CUPC with a Victorian Tea at intermission , 1 and 4:30 p.m. Tour of Village of Cambridge Mayor Carman Bogle’s home

decorated for Christmas, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hubbard Hall demonstrations 10 a.m. to noon. Hot beverages and goodies at the Embry United Methodist Church Stroll Main Street,10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas Craft and Bake Sale at Cambridge United Presbyterian before and after the performance noon to 5 p.m. All day, warm up at fire pits with s’mores and warm beverages. Many shops open late. Hubbard Hall hosts Youth Chorale performance at 7 p.m. and ornament-making in the Village Store. Cambridge, N.Y., 518-6770887, cambridgenychamber.com

Bookstore, 11 a.m.; free crafts for kids at Columbia Land Conservancy, 1 to 4 p.m.; Lost in the Woods, four-piece recorder and string ensemble, at Tracy Memorial Village Hall, winter holiday pieces 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.; Free screening of “The Polar Express” 2 p.m. at the Crandall Theatre; free live music at the Brewery 3 p.m.; opening for Carrie Waldman at the Joyce Goldstein Gallery, 4 to 6 p.m.; Ruth Reichl book-signing for her new book “My Kitchen Year” at the Chatham Bookstore, 5 p.m.. Downtown Chatham, N.Y., visitchathamny.com

Chatham Winterfest — Holiday sales throughout the village 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free activities for kids, live music, visits with Santa, an Artisan Fair at the Tracy Memorial Village Hall with blacksmith demonstrations, and Winterfest Word Hop. Horse and carriage rides 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside Morris Memorial; Santa Claus at American Pie 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.; Judy Staber reads “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at the Chatham

Dorset Historical Society — Holiday Open House and opening of the annual holiday exhibit, 1 to 5 p.m. Vermont Route 30, Dorset, Vt. dorsetvthistory.org

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Festival of Trees at Paramount — Live auction with catering and cash bar, 6 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 30 Center St., Rutland, Vt. 802-775-0570, paramountvt.org Hildene — Robert Todd Lincoln btwberkshires.com

Friends light candles and share latkes at Hanukkah above. Holiday lights shine at right near the Bershire Museum in Pittsfield. Photos by Susan Geller.

and Mary’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Open house at museum store in the 100-year-old Carriage Barn with apple cider, Vermont tastings and fresh cider doughnuts. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. Trails open; free bird walk 8 a.m. with Vermont Bird Place & Sky Watch. hildene.org

Hoosick Pop Up Holiday Shop — HAYC3 Armory event with artisans and crafters, holiday cheer 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Photos with Santa 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., ornament making 10 a.m., Sweet Sara’s Bakery 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Christmas Cookie Contest at noon, Tree trimming at the gazebo 12:30 p.m. Hoosick, N.Y. 518-686-9050, hayc3.org

Lenox Holiday Stroll — Shops and restaurants offer mulled cider and cookies, seasonal menus, Firefly chili station and hot chocolate bar Actors from Shakeseare & Co. and WAM btwberkshires.com

Theatre, photo boothCaroling by Cantilena Chamber Choir, Lenox High School and Berkshire Country Day School, Berkshire Christian School and Montessori students. Wine tasting party at Nejaime’s. Downtown Lenox. lenox.org Manchester Lighted Tractor Parade — Hooked on the Holidays celebration at the American Museum of Fly Fishing, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sixth Annual Lighted Tractor Parade wih dozens of floats from non-profit organizations and lighted tractors – parade departs the Dorr Farm at 5 p.m. LED Light Up! contest winner announced. Mancester, Vt. visitmanchestervt.com Naumkeag — Open weekends through Dec. 6. Gilded-age cottage dressed for the holidays, open house and holiday shop 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with hot chocolate. Part of house tour for Christmas in Stockbridge. 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge. 413-298-5200,

stockbridgechamber.org.

stockbridgechamber.org

Snowball Bazaar – Second Congregational Church, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Bennington, Vt. betterbennington.com Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas — 26th annual downtown celebration. Children’s story time 11 a.m. Holiday House Tour 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. self-guided through historic sites, inns and homes including Campbell House, The Rectory, National Shrine of the Divine Mercy Residence, Naumkeag, Windermere and Tanglewood Manor. Caroling 6 p.m. in front of Red Lion Inn, followed by luminaria walk 7 p.m. to First Congregatinal Church for holiday concert 7:30 p.m. by the Berkshire Lyric and the Blafield Children’s Chorus.

Williamstown Holiday Walk — 32nd annual festival with caroling, horse-drawn carriage rides, a Reindog Parade, ice carving, cookie exchange, Santa and the Reindog Parade at 3 p.m. Run with the Reindeer Fun Run at 9:30 a.m., holiday crafts, Souperbowl Chili and Soup Cook-Off with local restaurants, gingerbread cookie decorating. Showing of “Elf” at Images Cinema, ABC Jewelry Sale and Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Christmas Tree Showcase at the First Congregational Church, and the Penny Social Raffle and Nonprofit

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Fair at Lasell Gym. Music up and down Spring Street, hot chocolate and cookies and hay rides. Reading of A Christmas Carol by Scrooge and Marley at The Log. Followed by tree lightings. Clark Art Institute Book sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Dec. 6. 413-4589077, williamstownchamber.com Windham Hill Inn German Christmas Market — Local artisans and authentic imported German Christmas decorations and table linen from the Erzgebirge region, noon to 5 p.m. Restaurant serving traditional German fare noon to 3 p.m. Homemade Gluehwein and traditional Stollen available. Townshend, Vt. 802-874-4080. Dance Nutcracker — Celebrating its 41st Anniversary Tour of The Nutcracker, The Albany Berkshire Ballet and dance students perform 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. with Tchaikovsky’s music, telling the story of a young girl, Clara, and the magical dream she has one Christmas Eve, based on the tale by German storyteller E.T.A. Hoffman. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org Kids Berkshire Co-op Market — Make your own Snow Globes workshop 3:30 p.m. using old jars and old toys. 42 Bridge St., Great Barrington. 413-528-9697, ext.10 Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse A horse-drawn carriage gives rides on Spring Street in Williamstown at the annual Williamstown Holiday Walk. The andtoymuseumofvermont.com walk will return this year with music, luminaries and performances. Photo by Susan Geller of Lenox.

Great Barrington libraries — Make your own gingerbread house 1:15 to 2:30 p.m., supplies included, ages 6 and up. Mason Library, 231 Main St., Great Barrington. gblibraries.org Whitney Center for the Arts — David Grover performs original and favorite tunes, 10 a.m. 42 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield Music Bennington County Choral Society — Music of the French Cathedrals: Jules Massenet, Page 14

Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Fauré, talk 6:45 p.m. and concert 7:30 p.m., Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, Vt. bccsmusic.wordpress.com Berkshire Music School — Free Family Holiday Concert 1 p.m. Students and ensembles from BMS perform. Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. Free student recital from the studios of Bonnie McCubbin, violin and piano; Joe Rose and Rahima Hohlstein, piano, 2:30

p.m. at Berkshire Music School, 30 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. berkshiremusicschool.org Chatham carols — Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” at Second Space above the Chatham Bookstore. “Chatham Harmonie,” with Valerie Toenes, Deborah Phelps, and Sheri Bauer-Mayorga. Lincoln Mayorga, piano, performances 10:30 a.m., 11:15 and 12:30 p.m. Freewill donation. 29 Main St., Chatham, N.Y. visitchathamny.com

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Holiday Cabaret — Live music, St. Mary’s Academy, 6 p.m., 4 Parsons Ave,, Hoosick Falls, N.Y. hayc3.org Iron Horse — Delta Rae Winter Acoustic Show: A Holiday Celebration with Penny and Sparrow, an intimate show of stripped-down Delta Rae favorites, b-sides from Carry the Fire and After It All, the holiday songs they love most and surprises, 7 p.m. 20 Center St., Northampton. iheg.com btwberkshires.com

Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — Fourmile hike on Old Mill Trail, through old mixed woods and along part of the Housatonic River, past stonework andremnants of 19th century woolen mills. Bring liquids and snacks. Hinsdale. Hillary Filios, 413-442-8984 or sleuthusa@verizon.net Theater Dorset Players — “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” 7:30 p.m. The six rough and wild Herdman children get involved in the annual pageant with unconventional and powerful results. Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. dorsetplayers.org Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, humerous stories set to music with spoofs on well-known tunes: “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 8 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org Main Street Shakespeare Co. — “A Christmas Carol” 7:30 p.m. at Oldcastle Theatre Company, 331 Main St., Bennington, Vt. oldcastletheatre.org A family of brothers chooses a Christmas Tree at Crane Hill Tree Farm. Photo by Susan Geller of Lenox.

Sunday, Dec. 6 Happy Hanukkah! Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” today through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Crafted in the Village — Townwide craft festival with open studios, craft booths at both churches, the Christmas Tree farms open and Santa. Ashfield, elmersstore.com Festival for the Holidays — 16th annual showcase of hand-crafted products by local artisans 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends through Dec. 20. Sheffield Historical Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7, btwberkshires.com

Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org Gallery Of Wreaths — 30th annual celebration, noon to 4 p.m. Silent auction of wreaths made by local families, artists and organizations, holiday gift shop and family crafts, to benefit Columbia County Historical society, at Vanderpoel House of Histor, Albany Ave., Kinderhook, N.Y. cchsny.org Handmade Holiday Festival — Alchemy Initiative annual art and artisan fetistival, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 50 contemporary artisans and food producers — ceramics, woolen ornaments, jewelry, fine art, photography, woodworking, herbals and botanicals, knitted squid and more. Kids crafts with IS183 Art School. Free admission. Berkshire Community College, 1350 West St., Pittsfield.

alchemyinitiative.org

jewishberkshires.org

Handmade Holiday in Spencertown — Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s pop-up shop 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with cards, ceramics, jewelry, quilts, cutting boards, knitwear, felted puppets, fired glass, baskets, paper crafts and edible delicacies made by dozens of Columbia, Ulster, and Berkshire area residents. Admission free. 790 Route 203, Spencertown, N.Y. 518-392-3693, spencertownacademy.org

Williamstown Holiday Craft Fair — Ceramics, decorative fiber, jewelry, glass, mixed media, paper, wearable art, woodwork and more, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pancake breakfast 9 a.m. to noon to benefit sixth-grade trip. Williamstown Elementary School, 115 Church St., Williamstown. destinationwilliamstown.org. Clark Art Institute Book sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 225 South St., Williamstown, clarkart.edu

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Community Arlington Advent — Workshop: Holiday Crafts for Kids 2 p.m. at the Arlington Federated Church, Arlington, Vt. visitmanchestervt.com

Menorah Workshop — Learn to make a menorah 10:30 a.m. to noon at Home Depot, 555 Hubbard Ave., Pittsfield. Jewish Federation, 413-442-2200,

Berkshire Botanical Garden — Holiday Marketplace: Gardenmade wreaths, holiday bulbs and centerpieces, crafts, gifts from the

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Menorahs glow at Hanukkah at Congregation Beth Israel in North Adams. Photo by Rachel Barenblat

garden, local artisans and locally grown and made foods. Routes 102 and 183, Stockbridge. 413298-3926, berkshirebotanical.org

to 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church to create and decorate holiday hats and ornaments. 29 Main St., Stockbridge. nrm.org

Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org

Hildene — Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Open house at museum store in the 100-year-old Carriage Barn with apple cider, Vermont tastings and fresh cider doughnuts. Ramsay Eyre on cello at noon, Burr & Burton singers and ukuleles 1 to 3 p.m. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. Trails open. hildene.org

Christmas in Cambridge Celebration — Breakfast Buffet at the American Legion on Route 22, 8 to 11 a.m. Cambridge Farmers Market in the Freight Yard (behind Hubbard Hall) with Hubbard Hall Band playing Swedish songs, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Holiday Themed Storycrafters show presented by the Cambridge Public Library in partnership with and at Hubbard Hall, 2 p.m. Lions Memorial Tree Lighting in Memorial Park, 6 p.m. Warm up at fire pits with s’mores and warm beverages. Ornamentmaking in the Village Store. Cambridge, N.Y., 518-677-0887, cambridgenychamber.com Christmas in Stockbridge — Santa’s Workshop with the Norman Rockwell Museum, noon Page 16

Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas — Recreation of Norman Rockwell’s holiday painting noon to 2 p.m. with more than 50 antique cars (weather permitting), Roger the Jester,

photo booth, photo ops. with Norman Rockwell in a “Triple self portrait” selfie, step into a Norman Rockwell painting. Art and crafts with the museum downtown, holiday Music by Monument Mountain Regional High School, wagon rides by Clay Hill Farm, face painting and Santa. stockbridgechamber.org Ventfort Hall — Holiday tea and concert with tea cakes and cookies from “Tea at the Mansion” cookbook and piano music by Karen Tchougourian. Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Windham Hill Inn German Christmas Market — Local artisans and authentic imported German Christmas decorations and table linen from the Erzgebirge region, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Restaurant serving traditional German fare noon to 3 p.m. Homemade Gluehwein and traditional Stollen available. Townshend, Vt. 802-874-4080. Dance Nutcracker — Celebrating its 41st Anniversary Tour of The

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Nutcracker, The Albany Berkshire Ballet and dance students perform 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. with Tchaikovsky’s music, telling the story of a young girl, Clara, and the magical dream she has one Christmas Eve. The performance is based on the tale by German storyteller E.T.A. Hoffman. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org Kids Breakfast with St. Nicholas — Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales, 8 a.m. A holiday treat for kids. Bennington, Vt. betterbennington.com Brunch with Santa — Mount Anthony Country Club, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bennington, Vt. betterbennington.com Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouseandtoymuseumofvermont.com St. Nicholas Christmas Celebration — Wood Memorial btwberkshires.com

Families light menorahs at a Hanukkah gathering. Photo by Susan Geller

Park, 6 p.m. Hoosick, N.Y. 518686-9050, hayc3.org

Music Bard College at Simon’s Rock — Hopkinson Smith, Elizabethan music program for the Renaissance lute, 3 p.m. Music from 1580s and 1590s by composers John Dowland, John Johnson and Anthony Holborne. Kellogg Music Center, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington. simons-rock.edu

Bennington County Choral Society — Music of the French Cathedrals: Jules Massenet, Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Fauré, talk 2:15 p.m. and concert 3 p.m., Mount Anthony Union High School, Bennington, Vt. bccsmusic.wordpress.com

Berkshire Museum — The women of Berkshire Concert btwberkshires.com

Choir will perform Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and a selection of seasonal music, 2 p.m. Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 30 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Celebration Service — Spiritually inspired performance piece by Meredith Monk, merican composer and pioneer of interdisciplinary performance. Bennington ensemble performs musical and movement compositions and texts from the world’s great religions, 7 p.m. VAPA Greenwall Auditorium, Bennington College, 1 College Drive, Bennington, Vt. 802-4404510, bennington.edu Christmas at Trinity — Cantilena

Chamber Choir presents music of Bach and Anderegg andcarols with the Berkshire Children’s Chorus, 3 p.m. Trinity Church, 88 Walker St. Lenox. Cantilena choir.org, tickets at local Shops and Galleries. Iron Horse — Bill Kirchen’s Honky-Tonk Holiday Show, country, rock, 7 p.m. 20 Center St., Northampton. iheg.com Whitney Center for the Arts — Holiday jazz @ the Whit with the Gypsy Jazz Ambassadors: holiday favorites, music and dancing 6 to 9 p.m. No cover, food and beverages available for purchase. 42 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield. thewhit.org. Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — Sixmile hike on Under Mountain,

Paradise Lane and AT trails, steep and rugged at the summit, lunch at the top. Bear Mountain, Salisbury, Conn. Jill Oneglia, 860309-424, jaoneglia@icloud.com Theater Dorset Players — “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” 2 p.m. The six rough and wild Herdman children get involved in the annual pageant with unconventional and powerful results. Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. dorsetplayers.org Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 2 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org

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Solstice with Windham Hill By Brian Matroianni On a winter night, old friends gather in a warm room and connect through music. Plucked guitar strings complement a piano’s gentle notes as a vocalist sings along. Thanksgiving weekend at Troy Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., this kind of ensemble welcomed the holiday season with “A Winter Solstice” — a trio of three musicians who have all worked under Windham Hill Records, the legendary independent folk, acoustic, and new age record label. Saturday night’s concert came two days after Thanksgiving and about a month before the event it commemorates. The Winter solstice marks both the shortest day and longest night of the year, and has been celebrated through the centuries by people around the world. In fact, the Yule Barbara Higby, left, and Sean Harkness, right, performed a solstice concert with Liz Story at the Troy Music Hall holiday, a solstice celebration in Troy, N.Y., in honor of Windham Hill, the long-running acoustic record label. Photos by Irene Young and Taka. once practiced in northern Europe, inspired many playing together as an ensemble. everything from pieces for small is beyond any individual tune.” contemporary Christmas “One of the great things about ensembles to television scores She is now caring for her two traditions, including the Yule log. being on Windham Hill has been for ESPN, Nascar and ABC elderly parents and said that she For pianist Liz Story, guitarist the opportunity to develop the Sports. Story, equally has less time to perform Sean Harkness and singer and musical interaction and also have accomplished, jokingly refers to regularly. She said the multi-instrumentalist Barbara the relationships with other herself as a “three-time Grammy performances she can find time Higbie, the concert honored the musicians who have become loser.” Her first album, “Solid for are a gift for the heart. legacy of a music label that has great friends,” Story said. “Both Colors,” was released in 1983 “The Winter Solstice tours we brought together a diverse Sean and Barbara are very and made it to number 10 on the have shared are filled with all community of artists. experienced playing with groups, Billboard Jazz chart. Higbie, also kinds of arrangements of holiday “From my experience, Windand both of them have very material that are unique and a Grammy nominee, has ham Hill was the first of its kind,” special skills that I, as a soloist, inspiring,” she said, “and we each appeared on more than 100 Harkness said. It grew “in reaction don’t really have. They have play our own individualized albums, collaborating with artists to the over-produced pop and been the doorway for me to have compositions.” she said. “… Sean like Carlos Santana. She holds disco music of the late 1970s and the ensemble moments, which will play on some of my original the distinction of being the first explored the refreshing experare very special and I am so tunes — he is an incredible female instrumentalist to record ience of high fidelity recordings of grateful for, especially since they and compose for Windham Hill. improviser who can just come on extraordinary instrumentalists are such great musical spirits and These artists share a long-time the stage with me and start performing real music in real time totally wonderful friends.” friendship and mutual respect, playing on one of my tunes on acoustic instruments.” Harkness has seen the Harkness said. without weeks of rehearsal.” The then-husband-and-wife Windham Hill model copied by “Each of us have such distinct In an ensemble, artists need to team of guitarist Will Ackerman others over the years. The label’s musical characters that making learn from and listen to one and Anne Robinson founded the unique concept has been diluted arrangements together is kaleido- another. Harkness said the three label in 1976. After finding over the years by copycats, he scopic,” he said. “We can be spo- have shared this since first success over the next two said, until “an entire genre called ntaneous while having a good meeting one another years ago. decades, they sold the label, and ‘New Age’” grew in its place. idea of how the others will re“I was the new kid on the block it is now a subsidiary of Sony “It is difficult for the consumer spond. The chemistry is magic.” when I first met Liz and Barb, he Music Entertainment. While it no to make distinctions between Different groups of Windham said. “Performing solo was very longer releases new material, it those exceptional artists and Hill artists have performed vernew to me and I was quite frankly re-releases its old albums and what I call ‘deep thoughts on the sions of the Winter Solstice enterrified. Liz taught me to emcompilations of past work. white keys,’ ” he added. “This semble over the years. Story said brace panic, and to follow those The Troy performance brought lineup with Liz Story and Barbara musical ideas all the way down the one unifying point between both original compositions and the rabbit hole. Barb showed me each performance is that that Higbie — let me tell you, they’re “interpretations of a few holiday what comfort, mastery, and com“when an audience sees, feels the real thing.” favorites,”performing solo, ing from the heart can really look the energy of the musicians at Harkness composes and accompanying one another, and and feel like. I love them both.” such an amazing level, the show performs and has written Page 18

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Cabaret performers sing at the Whitney Center for the Arts, at right, and carolers sing in Lenox above. Choristers walk in procession in a holiday service, below. Photos by Susan Geller

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‘A Christmas Carol’ adapts

David Anderson performs Walking the Dog Theater’s one-man version of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Photo courtesy of Walking the Dog Theater

By Madeline Vuong

“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” Though it’s now more than a century old, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” has become a familiar tale. Scrooge, a wealthy businessman who cares only for profit, has no interest in keeping Christmas. He turns down his family’s invitations to Christmas dinner, docks his assistant a day’s pay for the holiday and refuses to help people in need around him. But on Christmas eve, confronted by three ghosts, Scrooge transforms, realizing that if he continues on the path he has chosen, he will die alone and unmourned. Performances of adaptations of the story have become an annual tradition in the region, from Berkshire Theatre Group’s largecast musical celebration in Stockbridge to Main Street Shakespeare Company’s staged readings at Oldcastle Theatre and Page 20

Dorset Playhouse. For the 10th year, Walking the Dog Theater (WTD) will present David Anderson, also the company’s executive artistic director, in a solo adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” at Solaris, 360 Warren St. in Hudson, N.Y. at 9 p.m. on Dec. 20, 22 and 23 and 3 p.m. Dec. 24. In keeping with the spirit of the show, admission is free. Walking the Dog Theater’s “Christmas Carol” uses Dickens’ original text, relying on the same cutting Dickens himself used when he came on tour to America at the height of his fame. Originally, WTD’s version of the story tried to replicate the feel of Dickens’ book tour, said Ted Pugh, the show’s director. Anderson dressed as Dickens and stood in front of a podium as if reading to a crowd, with a 19th century set and live music. Butover the years, the show has become more stripped down. “One year we were rehearsing and I said to David, ‘Just tell me

the story,’” Pugh said. “So he did, and I said, ‘I think this is the way we’re going to do it. You’ll stand up in your modern clothes on a bare stage and become the characters before our eyes. We don’t need anything else.” This year, the set will be a single chair, asking the audience to imagine all the scenes for themselves. The simple and immediate setting pulls the audience into the world of the story more than when they were given scenery and props, Pugh and Anderson agreed. The minimalism of the show requires Anderson to spend more of his attention interacting with each night’s audience, reading their moods and tailoring his storytelling in order to help them find their own way into Dickens’ world. Because of the intimacy of WTD’s adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” many people have made the show part of their Christmas tradition, returning each year to immerse themselves in the

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

journey of Scrooge. Tim Paholak, who has come to the show three or four times a year, every year, said that each telling of the show reveals something new to him. “It gets better every year,” he said. “I’ve never had another story that I could see that often and not get tired of. Each time I go, I find myself hanging on every word. There’s something magical about ‘A Christmas Carol.’” Paholak added that part of the show’s magic is that it seems to be just as relevant today as it was when Dickens wrote it. Poverty and greed have not disappeared and in some ways have only intensified with time. “You find yourself wishing that everyone could have a Scrooge experience,” Paholak said. “That they could be transformed in the same way and really change their ways, emerging like the radiant being that Scrooge becomes on Christmas day.” When “A Christmas Carol” was first published, the story not only btwberkshires.com

Samuel Schroeder is the Ghost of Christmas Present in Berkshire Theatre Group’s ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Photo courtesy of Berkshire Theatre Group

Sing in the streets

David Anderson performs a one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Photo courtesy of Walking the Dog Theater.

reminded people of the importance of generosity but gave many their first insights into the acute suffering of the poor, Pugh said. Before Dickens, much of the public had no idea how people were living in poverty and the extremity of their conditions. “People had gotten rather blasé about Christmas and had begun to think that it wasn’t so important after all,” Pugh said. “But Dickens’ story turned that around and made a difference in how they celebrated. Middle class — even lower middle class — people didn’t know what it was like to be poor, but his story exposed the terrible conditions [ the poor] were living in. Dickens felt a responsibility to the common man.” Since Dickens wrote his story, many things have not changed. People still starve on the streets. Young children still work in dangerous factories to support their families. The wealthy grow wealthier as the poor grow more desperate. There are more Tiny Tims than ever; according to Paholak, the “Scrooge mentality” is very much present today, so a story like “A Christmas Carol” can show that there is still work to be done — and perhaps the hardest work of all is recognizing that greed is not just a social problem, btwberkshires.com

but one close to home. “We think of [Scrooge] as an extreme character,” Anderson said. “But his inner world is not as far as you think. We all have Scrooge-like qualities with us — being selfish, narrow-minded, closed off to the world. Each time I do the show, I am reminded of how much further I have to go on Scrooge’s journey myself.” Each year, Pugh said,he is reminded of the many missed opportunities people have to look at and really see other human beings, as well as themselves. “But as the show goes on, the silence densifies, and something changes,” he said. “You feel it as everyone looks deeper into themselves and offers up their own hearts for examination.” And this is the real key to the endurance of “A Christmas Carol.” As Scrooge is revealed to himself by the ghosts of Christmas, we too are exposed, called to account for our moments of smallness and greed. Like Scrooge, this introspection offers us the chance to atone, to change. “The human experience is one of needing to transform oneself,” Anderson said. “And ‘A Christmas Carol’ reminds us of this eternal struggle inside ourselves to become something better.”

Light shone in the hall of the Congregational Church. Out on the wood floor, one man with a fiddle had the whole room in his hand. People danced in each other’s arms, and I had walked out of the snow into the music to stand by a row of chairs along the wall. On the chair beside me lay a wooden recorder, a fipple flute. I stared. I’ve played the recorder since childhood, and they’re rare in polite company. “Someone plays the recorder!” I called to the woman next to me. I vaguely knew her name. Recorders bring out an unusual glee in me. “It’s Julia’s,” she said. I had an idea who Julia was, so I went looking for her. “You play the recorder!” I said to Julia over the music. “We have a band,“ she said. “You should join us.” So in my junior year in college, not long before Christmas — almost exactly 15 years ago today — I discovered Rude Cider, a newly formed contradance band at Williams College. That band has given me more than I can count since that night. One most unexpected and beautiful thing it gave me only a few days after I began showing up in a Brooks Rodgers recital hall in the evenings to play slowly through Far From Home. We went caroling through the dorms. Most of the group were musicians from other backgrounds, and many of them could sight read and improvise

harmonies. One of our fiddles used to lead sing-a-longs with all of us tumbled into one room in his basement apartment. Our tap-dancing French horn player had a warm tenor. Someone had brought sheet music for a blaze of carols, so we all had copies, mostly with the same words. I would stand beside someone else singing alto and do my best to follow the part by ear. We ran and whispered down dorm hallways, and we knocked on friends’ doorways, and we sang for them. Some of the verses of the songs I had never heard before. I remember the cold, echoing stone in We Three Kings of Orient Are, and the way everyone wanted to give us cookies or cocoa, and the way they looked up from their studying and came to stand in their doorways. Some of them came along with us. Most of all I remember the antic gladness, the feeling of setting aside the rules and reaching out to grab somebody and join the dance, the abandoning of selfconsciousness. It’s the feeling I mean by holiday. People here don’t expect to hear singing outside the door. And outside choirs, people don’t often throw back their heads and sing for pleasure in the middle of public buildings. I wish we did. At least in this season carolers still gather among friends or on the green. Here are a few chances to join in. — Kate Abbott

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Menorahs glow on a festive table at Hanukkah. Photo by Susan Geller

Monday, Dec. 7 Happy Hanukkah!

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view Dec. 7 to 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Register to enter by Nov 30. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org

Stephentown Historical Society — Holiday potluck dinner 6:30 p.m. and Tom Kernan to speak on the origins of America’s Christmas. Dec. 25, an ordinary working day as late as 1805-1810, became a major holiday thanks in

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part to the New York Historical Society; learn about Christmas riots in old New York, of the influence of writer Washington Irving and more. Award for the most over-the-top holiday sweater. Free and all welcome; donations to benefit Stephentown Food Pantry. Heritage Center, Garfield Road (County Route 26), Stephentown, N.Y. Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Outdoors Hoffmann Bird Club — Monthly meeting 7 p.m. Bring 10 digital images and holiday sweets to share and sign up for the Christmas Count. Berkshire Life Insurance, 700 South St., Pittsfield. hoffmannbirdclub.org

Tuesday, Dec. 8

reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Holiday Wreathmaking — D.I.Y holiday wreathes and bows with balsam evergreens, mixed aromatic greens including pine, cedar, juniper, boxwood and assorted pine cones. 1 p.m. Chatham Berry Farm, 2304 Route 203, Chatham, N.Y. 518-3924609, thechathamberryfarm.com MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu Monterey Library — “4 Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. monterey masslibrary.org

Happy Hanukkah! Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” s btwberkshires.com

Actors raise a toast in the Berkshire Theatre Group’s annual production of ‘Christmas Carol.’ Photo by Abby LePage / Ccourtesy of Berkhire Theatre Group

39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org

Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Wednesday, Dec. 9 Happy Hanukkah! Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu Monterey Library — 4 Elements Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more,

through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. monterey masslibrary.org Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Manchester Community Library —The Greatest Generation Film Series presents “Holiday Inn,” 2

p.m., the holiday classic with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. 138 Cemetery Ave., Manchester Center, Vt. 802-362-2607, mclvt.org Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through January 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Thursday, Dec. 10 Happy Hanukkah! Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” through Dec. 29.

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Downtown North Adams fills up at a hometown event before the holidays. Photo by Susan Geller

Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Monterey Library — 4 Elements, Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Page 24

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org

Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s, with tree, lights and music. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org North Adams Library — Soft ornament workshop, 6:30 p.m., crafting felt ornaments in traditional heart and dove shapes with embroidered embellishments. Supplies and instruction, time to chat with neighbors. 74 Church St., North Adams, 413-6623133, naplibrary.com

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Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas with tree, ornaments and lights, through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Music Beer and Carols — Lively singalong of popular Christmas carols and songs, 7 p.m. in the back room of Baba Louie’s. Beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages for purchase. Free-will offering to support the PACC Emergency Fuel Fund. 34 Depot St., Pittsfield. zionlutheranpittsfield.org btwberkshires.com

holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s with tree, lights and music. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Manchester Merriment — Manchester’s Historical Society free walking tours of Bonnet Street and Main Street, 2 to 4 p.m., leaving on the hour from the Visitor Welcome Center. Shopping specials 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Route 11/30 Pub Crawl 6:30 to 10 p.m at The Perfect Wife, Ravens Den, Bistro Henry, Garlic John’s, Zoey’s Double Hex and Brasserie L’Ousteau offering holiday pub fare. visitmanchestervt.com Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas with evergreens and ornaments through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Carolers sing at a downtown holiday festival in Lenox.. Photo by Susan Geller

Friday, Dec. 11 Happy Hanukkah!

Holiday Shindy — More than 50 local artists and artisans at Crispina ffrench’s 26th annual event, from candles, fiber arts and screenprints to ceramics, woorworking and jewelry and more, ticketed preview 5 to 8 p.m. Shire City Sanctuary, 40 Melville St., Pittsfield. 413-2369600, shirecitysanctuary.com

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Annual Winter Dinner — Potluck latke dinner and Community Crib Collection, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Shabbat Service led by the Religious School and Youth Group with music. Collecting new clothing, books, toys, baby formula, diapers etc. for children aged 6 months through 18 years old for donation to through Christian Center to local groups. All welcome. Temple Anshe Amunim, 26 Broad St., Pittsfield. 413-4425910, AnsheAmunim.org

Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org

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Chanukah Party — Candlelighting and collection of wrapped gifts for a child in support of the many women and children affected by domestic and sexual violence and provided shelter by the Elizabeth Freeman Center. 5:30 p.m. 53 Lois St., North Adams., 413-6635389, cbiweb.org Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org Hevreh 40th anniversary party — Potluck Dinner starts 6 p.m. with plenty of latkes and gelt. Shabbat Service 7:30 pm. with Joshua Zecher-Ross as cantorial soloist accompanied by a 5-piece band. Music led by the Hevreh Choir. Premier viewing of Hevreh’s historical documentary created by Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative. All welcome. 270 State Road, Great Barrington. 413-528-6378, Hevreh.org

Kids Paramount Theater — “Elf the Musical Jr.” with Rutland Youth Theater, 7 p.m. 30 Center St., Rutland, Vt. 802-775-0570, paramountvt.org Music Troy Music Hall — Christmas with the Cadets of La Salle Institute and blues jazz ensemble, 7:30 p.m. 30 Second St., Troy, N.Y. 518-273-0038, troymusichall.org Theater Dorset Players — “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” 7:30 p.m. The six rough and wild Herdman children get involved in the annual pageant with unconventional and powerful results. Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. dorsetplayers.org Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 8 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org

Town Players of Pittsfield — “Christmastime in the City 2” holiday variety show, 8 p.m., Whitney Center of the Arts, 42 Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 413-443Lincoln’s home decorated for the 9279, townplayers.org

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Saturday, Dec. 12 Happy Hanukkah!

Art Bennington Museum — Family Day and Children’s Shopping Day 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visits with Santa, book signing with Will Moses, children’s shopping gallery and more. “Festival Reimagined” today through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org

Holiday Shindy — More than 50 local artists and artisans at Crispina ffrench’s 26th annual event, from candles, fiber arts and screenprints to ceramics, woorworking and jewelry and more, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Shire City Sanctuary, 40 Melville St., Pittsfield. Admission free. 413236-9600, shirecitysanctuary.com Farmers markets, bakeries and handcraft festivals offer baked goods for the holidays. Photo by Susan Geller

Notchview — Evergreen Craft Making noon to 2 p.m. with Aimee Gelinas of Tamarack Hollow. Balsam or Fraser fir trees available, hot chocolate and treats, noon to 3 p.m. Notchview Nordic Ski Center, Route 9, Windsor. 413-532-1631, ext. 10

available. Live music. alchemyinitiative.org Community Arlington Tree Lighting — Caroling and treats 4 p.m., hosted by Arlington Garden Club, Arlington, Vt. visitmanchestervt.com

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, Arrowhead — Tours of Herman work by local artists, show through Melville’s historic house 10 a.m. to Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North 3 p.m. on the hour to coincide with Adams. mcla.edu the opening of “In the Heart of the Sea,” by Ron Howard, the story of Monterey Library — “4 the whale ship Essex, foundered Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, by a giant whale in 1820, which inspired “Moby-Dick.” Museum fiber arts, ceramics, painting and shop open weekdays to Dec. 21. more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield. Road, Monterey. berkshirehistory.org montereymasslibrary.org

Berkshire Museum — Festival of Winter Farmers Market — Trees, more than 80 decorated Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market in The Lighthouse of The trees in the galleries with Boys and Girls Club, 9 a.m. to 1 “American West” and “Go West” p.m. Pasture-raised meats, eggs, 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443cheese, fruits, vegetables, breads, 7171, berkshiremuseum.org baked goods, coffee, art, and more. Hot coffee and healthy Christmas Community Potluck breakfast and lunch option — Savoring community favorites: Page 26

Roast beef, turkey and stuffing and seafood bisque at an oldfashioned dinner 6 to 8 p.m. in the ManchesterCommunity Library with Olympia Lodge, The Perfect Wife and Vermont.com. Christmas Tea – 75th annual gathering at St. Peter’s Church, 3 to 5:30 p.m. Formal tea service with live music, baked items and specialty gift shop. Bennington, Vt. betterbennington.com

lighting, 4 to 7:30 p.m., and fireworks at 7:20. Downtown Great Barrington. southern berkshirechamber.com Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org

Christmas Party — Mount Anthony Country Club, 7:30 p.m. with dinner and dancing. Bennington, Vt. better bennington.com

Great Barrington Holiday Stroll — Story hour 3 to 4 p.m. at Berkshire Community College southern campus. Stroll with shops open late, live windows, letters to Santa, raffles, face painting, character parade with Santa, holiday tree walk, Light up the Berkshires on Chanukah, holiday photo cutouts, North Pole Lane and Rudolph’s Place, tree

Holiday Open House Inn tour — Local inns of Southern Vermont open houses 1 to 5 p.m. with music and activities at Arlington Inn, Barrows House, Dorset Inn, Equinox Resort and Spa, Hill Farm Inn, Inn at Manchester, Inn at Ormsby Hill, Inn at West View Farm, Ira Allen House, Marble West

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Inn, Olympia Lodge, Reluctant Panther, Squire House Bed & Breakfast, West Mountain Inn and Wilburton Inn. Tickets at inns and Manchester and the Mountains. visitmanchestervt.com

Hubbard Hall — 20th annual breakfast and celebration of holiday traditions around the world, 9 a.m. Enjoy the tastes, sights, and sounds of a Swedish Christmas. with a performance by the Hubbard Hall Youth Chorale. 25 East Main St., Cambridge, N.Y. 518-677-2495, hubbardhall.org

Lessons and Carols — Annual interfaith service 4 p.m., all welcome. Williams College, Thompson Memorial Chapel, Route 2, Williamstown. williams.edu btwberkshires.com

A harpist performs above at the Red Lion Inn, where the hotel cat at left greets visitors who come for a cup of cocoa by the fire. Photo by Susan Geller

1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhous eandtoymuseumofvermont.com

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Paramount Theater — “Elf the Musical Jr.” with Rutland Youth Theater, 2 and 7 p.m. Shakespeare on Main Street’s “Christmas Carol,” 7:30 p.m. 30 Center St., Rutland, Vt. 802-7750570, paramountvt.org

Kids Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an

Great Barrington libraries — Winter storytelling and caroling with Mary Jo Maichak, 2 p.m. before the Great Barrington Stroll. Mason Library, 231 Main St., Great Barrington. gblibraries.org

Music Bennington County Choral Society — Music of the French Cathedrals: Jules Massenet, Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Fauré, 7 p.m., ]Currier Center, Putney School, Putney, Vt. bccsmusic.wordpress.com Close Encounters with Music — “Dually Noted,” piano music for four hands with Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank: Moonlight Sonata, Nutcracker Suite, Debussy and Mozart, 6 p.m. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 413-528-0100, mahaiwe.org

Troy Music Hall — The Many Whitney Center for the Arts — Moods of Christmas concert with David Grover performs original Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia and favorite tunes in a family on Christmas Carols and Robert concert, 10 a.m. 42 Wendell Ave. Shaw’s collection of acoustic Pittsfield. thewhit.org ! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 ! Page 27

settings of carols with Albany Pro Musica, 7:30 p.m. 30 Second St., Troy, N.Y. 518-273-0038, troymusichall.org

Outdoors Stroll with Santa — Half-mile walk with snacks and stories, 10 a.m. to noon. Explore the nature trail in winter and watch for wildlife. Bartholomew’s Cobble, 105 Weatogue Road, Sheffield. 413-298-3239, ext. 3013

Theater Berkshire Theatre Group — ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill Journey back to Victorian England and experience the classic story. 7 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org

Dorset Players — “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” 7:30 p.m. The six rough and wild Herdman children get involved in the annual pageant with unconventional and powerful results. Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. dorsetplayers.org

Friends join together at a Southern Berkshire carol sing. Photo by Susan Geller

Sunday, Dec. 13 Happy Hanukkah!

Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 8 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org

The Mount — The Liar Show: A Holiday Tradition 7 p.m., a New York performance. Andy, Tara Clancy, Martin Dockery, and Andy Ross tell tstories of the holiday season and challenge the audience to decide which are true. 2 Plunkett St., Lenox.

Sandisfield Arts Center — “Hansel and Gretel,” Sandisfield players and local children perform the classic fairy tale, 2 p.m. Farmington River School students exhibit artwork, opening reception 2 p.m. 5 Hammertown Road, Route 57, Sandisfield. sandisfieldartscenter.org

Town Players of Pittsfield — “Christmastime in the City 2” holiday variety show, 8 p.m., Whitney Center of the Arts, 42 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 413-4439279, townplayers.org Page 28

Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” today through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Festival for the Holidays — 16th annual showcase of hand-crafted products by local artisans 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends through Dec. 20. Sheffield Historical Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7, Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org Holiday Shindy — More than 50 local artists and artisans at Crispina ffrench’s 26th annual event, from candles, fiber arts and screenprints to ceramics, woorworking and jewelry and more, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Shire City Sanctuary, 40 Melville St., Pittsfield. Admission free. 413236-9600, shirecitysanctuary.com MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Community Arrowhead — Winter tours of Herman Melville’s historic house 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the hour to coincide with the opening of “In the Heart of the Sea,” by Ron Howard, the story of the whale ship Essex, foundered by a giant whale in 1820, which inspired “Moby-Dick.” Museum shop open weekdays to Dec. 21. 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield. berkshirehistory.org Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Chanukah Party — Ahavath Sholom’s annual gathering, a vegetarian pot luck: Bring salads, kugels and latkes, 5 to 7:30 p.m., Applegate Inn, 279 West Park St., Lee. applegateinn.com Chabad Chanukah Family Festival — Public menorah kindling of the holiday’s 8th candle with live music, face painting, dancing, hot potato latkes, donuts, chocolate Chanukah coins, a grand raffle and dreidls. Mime, Circus, Illusionist and Comedian Jody Scalise, “The Motion Man,”

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

with giant bubbles, juggling balls, rolla bola, invisible stairs, malleable dancing, ukulele, impish sleight of hand and more, 4 p.m. Berkshire Mall, Lanesborough. 413-499-9899, Jewishberkshires.org Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Houghton Mansion — Christmas Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to benefit Lafayette Greylock Lodge for building fund. 172 Church St., North Adams, For ghost tour information, 413-358-5239, houghtonmansionghosttours.org Lessons and Carols — Annual interfaith service 4 p.m., all welcome. Williams College. Thompson Memorial Chapel, Route 2, Williamstown. williams.edu btwberkshires.com

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Kids Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com

Paramount Theater — Main Street Shakespeare Company’s “Christmas Carol,” 2 p.m. 30 Center St., Rutland, Vt. 802-7750570, paramountvt.org

Music Berkshire Museum — Price Memorial AME Church Choir will perform, 10 a.m. Festival of Trees. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshire museum.org

Club Helsinki — Hedda Lettuce presents Lettuce Rejoice, and explosive holiday spectacular, 8 p.m. 405 Columbia St., Hudson, N.Y., helsinkihudson.com.

Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill Journey back to Victorian England and experience the classic story. 2 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org Dorset Players — “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” 2 p.m. The six rough and wild Herdman children get involved in the annual pageant with unconventional and powerful results. Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. dorsetplayers.org Ghent Playhouse — Pantoloons return with Pantomime, “Snow White: House of Dwarfs,” 2 p.m. Comic retake of a classic fairy tale. Written by The Pantoloons and directed by Cathy LeeVisscher. 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent N.Y. ghentplayhouse.org Sandisfield Arts Center — “Hansel and Gretel,” Sandisfield players and local children perform the classic fairy tale, 2 p.m. Farmington River School students exhibit artwork. 5 Hammertown Road, Route 57, Sandisfield. sandisfieldartscenter.org Town Players of Pittsfield — “Christmastime in the City 2” holiday variety show, 2 p.m., Whitney Center of the Arts, 42 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. 413-4439279, townplayers.org

A bonfire sends up sparks at a downtown festival, and coach and four waits for a winter jaunt through the southern Berkshires. Photos by Susan Geller

Stardusters Concert — Alliance Church, 7 p.m. Hoosick, N.Y. 518-686-9050, hayc3.org

Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — Hike Tower Mountain Access Trail to Taconic Crest Trail, about seven miles. Kathy Lee 413-443-9562 or

Constitution Hill Hike — Historic loop trail running over an old farmwith Bershire Natural Resources Council, 10 a.m. Wear blaze orange and sturdy footwear; bring water and a snack. Parking on Bridge Street, off Route 7, Lanesborough. bnrc.net

Theater Berkshire Theatre Group — ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles btwberkshires.com

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Monday, Dec. 14 Happy Hanukkah!

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Monterey Library — 4 Elements, Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. monterey masslibrary.org

Community Bennington Bookshop — Great Bennington Bake-Off with Ellen Stimson, 7 p.m. at the Bennington Free Library to celebrate the release of her latest book, “An Old Fashioned Christmas: Sweet Traditions for Hearth and Home.” Cookie competition: bring samples of home-baked cookies. Stimson and Matthew Littrell, local chef and baker at Crazy Russian Girls, will judge. All welcome. 101 Silver St, Bennington, Vt., 802-4429051, benningtonfreelibrary.org

Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org

North Adams Library —Holiday party 5:30 p.m., all welcome. 74 Page 30

A woodpile catches the late afternoon sunlight. Photo by Susan Geller.

Church St., North Adams, 413662-3133, naplibrary.com Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Music Winter concert — Hoosick Falls Central School, 7 p.m. Hoosick, N.Y. 518-686-9050, hayc3.org

Tuesday, Dec. 15 Art MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu Monterey Library — “4 Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org

Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Manchester Community Library — “Charles Dickens and the writing of the Christmas carol,” talk and reception with Christmas Days, 7 p.m. 138 Cemetery Ave., Manchester Center, Vt. 802-3622607, mclvt.org Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Wednesday, Dec. 16 Art MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu Monterey Library — “4 Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Gingerbread house contest — Gingerbread houses on view through Dec. 18. Categories include adult, child and family. Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. berkshiresouth.org btwberkshires.com

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Music Thirty-third Annual Christmas Concert — Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m. Hoosick, N.Y. 518-6869050, hayc3.org

Thursday, Dec. 17

Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Music Reimagined” today through Dec. Winter concert — Hoosick Falls 29: Local contemporary artists Central School, 7 p.m. Hoosick, reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, N.Y. 518-686-9050, hayc3.org the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. Professor Cassandra Cleghorn plays fiddle at Berkshire Grown’s holiday benningtonmuseum.org marketplace. Photos by Susan Geller. Brussels sprouts flourish below at Berkshire Grown’s holiday marketplace.

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Dorset Historical Society — Old cookies and recipes presentation to accompany holiday exhibit. Route 30, Dorset, Vt. dorsetvthistory.org btwberkshires.com

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Friday, Dec. 18

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West.” 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org

A mountain cow watches the snow fall. Photo by Susan Geller.

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Saturday, Dec. 19

Music Christmas Concert — Bell choir 6:30 p.m., church choir 7 p.m. First Congregational Church, Park Square, Lee. leechamber.org

Whitney Center for the Arts — Samantha Talora and Ron Ramsey, Christmas Is Here cabaret, 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:45, light fare, beer and wine available for purchase. 42 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield. samandron.com Page 32

the Old Stone Store, Route 7, Sheffield. 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.org

weekdays to Dec. 21. 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield. berkshirehistory.org

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Berkshire Grown Holiday Farmers Market — Locally grown and produced foods and gifts, including fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, breads, yarn and more, live music, lunch fare, and children’s activities 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monument Valley Middle School, 313 Monument Valley Road in Great Barrington. Admission free. berkshiregrown.org

Monterey Library — “4 Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community Arrowhead — Winter tours of Herman Melville’s historic house 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the hour to coincide with the opening of “In the Heart of the Sea,” by Ron Howard, the story of the whale ship Essex, foundered by a giant whale in 1820, which inspired “Moby-Dick.” Museum shop open

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

The sun sets over snowy fields in the Berkshires. Photo by Susan Geller.

pipe organ 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org

Lenox Holiday Contradance — Double Dance and pot luck 5 to 11:30 p.m. Live music by Nor’easter, with caller Katy Heine. All dances taught, no partners needed. Community Center, 65 Walker St., Lenox. lenoxcontradance.org

Upstreet Holiday Festival — Free train rides from Roaming Railroad, Berkshire Eagle Photo Booth, live music, crafts and face painting, a cookie decorating station, the Berkshire Running Center Jingle Bell Run to benefit the Eagle Santa Fund and more, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, 28 Renne btwberkshires.com

Ave., Pittsfield. 413-499-9348, DiscoverPittsfield.com. Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Kids Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouseandtoymuseumofvermo nt.com Elf Express — Green Mountain Train Rides with Christopher Popin-kins. Family entertainment on board from Santa and his elves. Rides at 10 a.m., 11:30, 1 p.m., 2 and 4 from R.K. Miles Depot Station, 670 Depot St., Manchester Center, Vt. Sponsored by The Manchester Lions Club. manchesterlionselftrain.com Northshire Bookstore — Polar Express party, 6 p.m. Children’s Department invites all little ones to wear jammies and join in an evening reading of The Polar

Express with hot cocoa and treats for all passengers. 4869 Main St., Mancester, Vt. Northshire.com Whitney Center for the Arts — David Grover performs original and favorite tunes in a family concert, 10 a.m. 42 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield Music Berkshire Lyric — Behold a Star, a Concert of Christmas Music, 85voice choir and 35-voice Blafield Children’s Chorus perform seasonal music, 7:30 p.m. Works by Praetorius, J.S. Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff, carol arrangements and newer compositions by Morton Lauridson, Bob Chilcott and Leo Sowerby, music from around the world in four languages. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Park Square, Pittsfield. berkshirelyricinfo.org Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center — John Pizzarelli’s Frank Sinatra Centennial Celebration in honor of Sinatra’s 100th birthday, jazz guitar, 8 p.m. 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 413-528-0100, mahaiwe.org Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — Kennedy Park Hike, about five miles. Joe Doboszynski, 413-448-

8359, cell 339-222-7203 or dobojc@aol.com Hoffmann Bird Club — Central Berkshire Christmas Count. All welcome to join a team and keep the tradition going, looking for winter birds. Holly Higinbotham and Bob Wood (413-684-3724, ). Blizzard date Dec. 20. hoffmannbirdclub.org Theater Berkshire Theatre Group — ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill Journey back to Victorian England and experience the classic story. 2 and 7 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org Main Street Shakespeare Co. — “A Christmas Carol” staged reading of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday ghost story, 7:30 p.m. at Dorset Play-

house 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. shakespeare onmainstreet.org Oldcastle Theatre — Old Fashioned Holiday Radio Show, a holiday extravaganza of 1944, 7:30 p.m. A live radio broadcast hosted by WBTN AM. 331 Main St., Bennington, Vt. oldcastletheatre.org

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Snow turns the mountains slate blue and softly grey. Photo by Susan Geller

Sunday, Dec. 20

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Community Arrowhead — Tours of Herman Melville’s historic house 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the hour to coincide with the opening of “In the Heart of the Sea,” by Ron Howard, the story of the whale ship Essex, foundered by a giant whale in 1820, which inspired “Moby-Dick.” Museum shop open weekdays to Dec. 21. 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield. berkshirehistory.org Page 34

Berkshire Grown Holiday Farmers Market — Locally grown and produced foods and gifts, including fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, breads, yarn, and more, plus live music, lunch fare, and children’s activities, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Williams College Towne Field House, 82 Latham St., Williamstown. Admission free. berkshiregrown.org Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West.” 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org Hildene — Vocalist Joann Beck on Steinway piano 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Andrew Krystopolski on the Aeolian pipe organ 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from

Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Film Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center — Bolshoi Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” live in HD, 1 p.m. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 7 p.m. free community screening. 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 413-5280100, mahaiwe.org Kids Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com Elf Express — Green Mountain Train Rides with Christopher Popin-kins. Family entertainment on board from Santa and his elves. Rides at 10 a.m., 11:30, 1 p.m., 2 and 4 from R.K. Miles Depot Station, 670 Depot St., Manchester Center, Vt. Sponsored by The Manchester Lions Club. manchesterlionselftrain.com

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

Music Berkshire Lyric — Behold a Star, a Concert of Christmas Music, 85voice choir and 35-voice Blafield Children’s Chorus perform seasonal music, 3 p.m. Works by Praetorius, J.S. Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff, carol arrangements and newer compositions by Morton Lauridson, Bob Chilcott and Leo Sowerby, and music from around the world in four languages. St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, Great Barrington. berkshire lyricinfo.org Club Helsinki — Club d’Elf, 8 p.m., a Moroccan-dosed dub-jazz collective of musicians from the jazz, DJ, rock and world music scenes of Boston and NYC with Mike Rivard and drummer Dean Johnston and keyboardist John Medeski. 405 Columbia St., Hudson, N.Y., helsinkihudson.com. 1753 House Carol Sing — 42nd annual a cappella singing beside a roaring blaze in an historical replica of a regulation settler’s home. Carol books and hot mulled cider provided; no heat or electricity, so dress warmly and bring a candle to see by. Field Park in between the Williams Inn and the Milne Public Library, Routes 2 and 7, Williamstown. btwberkshires.com

Parkingat the Inn and the Library. Free, all welcome.

Yule for Fuel — Carol sing benefiting the PACC Emergency Fuel Fund, 3 p.m. with Berkshire Concert Choir and Zion Lutheran Church, Zion Lutheran Handbell Choir, Amy Renak, and Pastor Tim Weisman. Zion Luthern Church, 74 First St., Pittsfield. zionlutheranpittsfield.org

Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — Winter hike up Hawthorne Trail in Pittsfield State Park to the Taconic Crest Trail, then north to Potter Mountain Road, about seven miles. Kathy Lee, 413-443-9562 or .

Theater Berkshire Theatre Group — ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill Journey back to Victorian England and experience the classic story. 2 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org

Main Street Shakespeare Co. — “A Christmas Carol” 7:30 p.m. staged reading at Dorset

Playhouse 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt. shakespeare onmainstreet.org

Walking the Dog Theater — “A Christmas Carol,” one-man show, David Anderson performs the tale as Charles Dickens wrote it, directed by Ted Pugh, 8 p.m. Admission free. Solaris, 360 Warren St., Hudson, N.Y., 518610-0909, wtdtheater.org

A miniature carousel light up in a miniature village at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Photo by Susan Geller

fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. monterey masslibrary.org Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshire museum.org

Circle of Sound — Global sound meditation in honor of the Winter Solstice, 5 p.m. Bring a drum, a bowl, or your own voice to join in the making of Sound, or just come to meditate on the intentions of joy, harmony, acceptance, untity Monday, Dec. 21 and compassion. Free. 2 Van Deusenville Road, Great Art Barrington. 413-528Bennington Museum — “Festival 1955, guthriecenter.org Reimagined” through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, Lincoln’s home decorated for the the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main holidays as they might have done St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. when they stayed here in the early benningtonmuseum.org 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, Norman Rockwell Museum — work by local artists, show through “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: Adams. mcla.edu Holiday illustrations, magazine covers and cards, paintings Monterey Library — “4 inspired by Charles Dickens’ Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter classic story “A Christmas Carol,” community group exhibit, baskets, costumes and props from btwberkshires.com

Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Theater Berkshire Theatre Group — ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill Journey back to Victorian England and experience the classic story. 7 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org

Tuesday, Dec. 22 Happy Solstice! Art Bennington Museum — “Festival Reimagined” through Dec. 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. benningtonmuseum.org Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshire museum.org Hildene — Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the

holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas with evergreens and ornaments through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Theater Berkshire Theatre Group — ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill Journey back to Victorian England and experience the classic story. 7 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre. 111 South St., Pittsfield. berkshiretheatergroup.org The Bookstore — All-day open reading of Bernadette Mayer’s ‘A Midwinter Day,’ a 120-page work in prose and poetry written on Dec. 22, 1978, recalling a Berkshire winter day from notes, tapes, photographs and memory. All welcome. 11 Housatonic St., Lenox. 413-637-3390, bookstoreinlenox.com Walking the Dog Theater — “A Christmas Carol,” one-man show, David Anderson performs the tale as Charles Dickens wrote it, directed by Ted Pugh, 8 p.m. Admission free. Solaris, 360 Warren St., Hudson, N.Y., 518610-0909, wtdtheater.org

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Wednesday, Dec. 23

Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Theater Walking the Dog Theater — “A Christmas Carol,” one-man show, David Anderson performs the tale as Charles Dickens wrote it, directed by Ted Pugh, 8 p.m. Admission free. Solaris, 360 Warren St., Hudson, N.Y., 518610-0909, wtdtheater.org

group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. monterey masslibrary.org

Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with Thursday, Dec. 24 “American West” and “Go West” Art Bennington Museum — “Festival shows. 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, Reimagined” through Dec. berkshiremuseum.org 29: Local contemporary artists reinterpret a Grassroots sculpture, the Memory Ware Tower. 75 Main Norman Rockwell Museum — “Norman Rockwell’s Spirit of the St., Route 9, Bennington, Vt. Holidays” exhibit through Jan. 8: benningtonmuseum.org Holiday illustrations, magazine Festival for the Holidays — 16th covers and cards, paintings annual showcase of hand-crafted inspired by Charles Dickens’ products by local artisans 10 a.m. classic story “A Christmas Carol,” costumes and props from to 3 p.m. Sheffield Historical Rockwell’s artwork. Route 183, Society at the Old Stone Store, Route 7, Sheffield. 413-229-2694, Stockbridge. nrm.org sheffieldhistory.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual art show, work by local decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. artists, through Dec. 27. 51 Main gildedage.org St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Monterey Library — 4 Elements, Knox Gallery’s winter community Page 36

Kids Santa Christmas Eve Visits —

Dalton CRA, Santa comes to see CRA members between 6 pm and 8 p.m. Call beginning Dec. 1 to ask for a visit. daltoncra.org Theater Walking the Dog Theater — “A Christmas Carol,” one-man show, David Anderson performs the tale as Charles Dickens wrote it, directed by Ted Pugh, 8 p.m. Admission free. Solaris, 360 Warren St., Hudson, N.Y., 518610-0909, wtdtheater.org

Friday, Dec. 25 Merry Christmas!

Saturday, Dec. 26 Happy Kwanzaa!

through Dec. 27. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu Monterey Library — “4 Elements,” Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community Berkshire Museum — Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West.” 39 South St., Pittsfield. 413-4437171, berkshiremuseum.org Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Film Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center — “Home Alone,” 4 p.m. 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 413-528-0100, mahaiwe.org

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show

Kids Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

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Whitney Center for the Arts — David Grover performs original and favorite tunes in a family concert, 10 a.m. 42 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield

Sunday, Dec. 27 Happy Kwanzaa!

MCLA Gallery 51 — “Spectacle 99” annual affordable art show, work by local artists, show through today. 51 Main St., North Adams. mcla.edu

Hildene — Rakala Montane plays the Steinway piano, 10 a.m. to noon. Robert Todd and Mary Lincoln’s home decorated for the holidays as they might have done when they stayed here in the early 1900s. Trails open. 1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. hildene.org

Music Ventfort Hall — Tea and concert, songs by Franz Schubert, 3:30 p.m. Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Midwinter brings many ways to keep warm at home and abroad. A fire blazes in a wood stove above, and musicians Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 perform live in downtown Pittsfield at top. Photos by Susan Geller Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org btwberkshires.com

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Ballet dancers perform the Nutcracker. Photo by Susan Geller.

Monday, Dec. 28

Monterey Library — 4 Elements, Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. monterey masslibrary.org

Kids Berkshire Museum — Holiday Break Robot Olympcs Camp. Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 30 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org

Norman Rockwell Museum — School Vacation Week Workshops, “Drop In On Art” 1 to 4 p.m. Invent story lines and design characters, plots, and settings inspired by the art on display. Every day is different. Route 183, Stockbridge. Ventfort Hall — Marionette show, ‘Rapunzel,’ 3:30 p.m. with puppeteer Carl Sprague. Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Tuesday, Dec. 29 Happy Kwanzaa!

Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an Page 38

1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com

community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, through Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Kids Berkshire Museum — Berkshire Children’s Theater, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. folk and fairy tales. Holiday Break Robot Olympcs Camp. Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 30 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Clark Art Institute — Free Family Film Festival, “Babe” 2:30 p.m. 225 South St., Williamstown. 413458-0524, clarkart.edu Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an

! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com Norman Rockwell Museum — School Vacation Week Workshops, “Drop In On Art” 1 to 4 p.m. Invent story lines and design characters, plots, and settings inspired by the art on display. Every day is different. Route 183, Stockbridge.

Wednesday, Dec. 30 Happy Kwanzaa! Kids Berkshire Museum — Berkshire Children’s Theater, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., folk and fairy tales Holiday Break Robot Olympcs Camp. Festival of Trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” exhibits 30 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Clark Art Institute — Free Family Film Festival, “Inside Out” 2:30 p.m. 225 South St., Williamstown. 413-458-0524, clarkart.edu Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers btwberkshires.com

Local horses mingle in snowy paddocks on a winter day. Photo by Susan Geller.

Ventfort Hall — Marionette show, ‘Rapunzel,’ 3:30 p.m. with puppeteer Carl Sprague. Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org

Music Winter Concert — West Stockbridge Chamber Players, Cathy Hudgins, Daniel Getz, Vytas Baksys and William Rounds perform Mozart, Schuman and Brahms, 6 p.m., West Stockbridge Congregational Church. 413-2324270, weststockbridgehistory.org

Thursday, Dec. 31 Happy Kwanzaa!

Art Monterey Library — 4 Elements btwberkshires.com

Knox Gallery’s winter community group exhibit, baskets, fiber arts, ceramics, painting and more, to Jan. 23. 452 Main Road, Monterey. montereymasslibrary.org Community New Year’s Eve Gala – Mount Anthony Country Club, 9 p.m. Live entertainment and celebration. Bennington, Vt. betterbennington.com Ventfort Hall — Home for the holidays, Gilded Age mansion decorated for Christmas through Jan. 10. 104 Walker St., Lenox. gildedage.org Kids Berkshire Museum — New Years Rockin’ Rodeo Eve party, with hats, lariats, games and more, 11 a.m. to noon. Holiday Break Robot Olympcs Camp. Festival of Trees, more than 80 decorated trees in the galleries with “American West” and “Go West” shows. 30 South St., Pittsfield. 413-443-7171, berkshiremuseum.org Clark Art Institute — Free Family Film Festival, “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” 2:30 p.m. 225 South St., Williamstown. 413-458-0524, clarkart.edu

and tiny trees. Collection of dollhouses from Cape Cod to Victorian, dolls, trains and trucks, toys. Open 1 to 4 p.m. in an 1850s victorian house. 212 Union Street, Bennington, Vt. dollhouse andtoymuseumofvermont.com Norman Rockwell Museum — School Vacation Week Workshops, “Drop In On Art” 1 to 4 p.m. Invent story lines and design characters, plots, and settings inspired by the art on display. Every day is different. Route 183, Stockbridge. Music Berkshire Bach Society — 25th anniversary concert, Bach at New Years with Vivaldi, Beethoven and Corelli’s Concerto Opus 6 Composed for Christmas Eve, narrated by Benjamin Luxon. 6 p.m. 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 413528-0100, mahaiwe.org Iron Horse — Enter the Haggis,

now Jubilee Riots, eclectic, eccentric music, 7 p.m. 20 Center St., Northampton. iheg.com Manchester Music Festival — Fifth annual New Years Eve Family Concert with Manchester Youth Ensemble, 3:30 p.m. Festival strings and guest musician perform classical to Broadway, waltzes, tangoes,

Beatles and jazz. Annual New Years Bash 5:30 p.m. First Congregational Church, 3624 Main St., Manchester Center, Vt. 802-362-1956

Friday, Jan. 1 Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year! Music Berkshire Bach Society — 25th anniversary concert, Bach at New Years with Vivaldi, Beethoven and Corelli’s Concerto Opus 6 Composed for Christmas Eve, narrated by Benjamin Luxon. 4 p.m. Troy Music Hall, 30 Second St., Troy, N.Y. 518-273-0038, troymusichall.org Outdoors Berkshire Knapsackers — annual New Years morning hike, potluck dinner and program. berkshireknapsackers.org First Day Hikes — Iron Works Heritage Trail to Bash Bish Falls, 1 p.m. Four miles, all ages welcome and well-mannered dogs on leashes. Taconic State Park, Copake, N.Y. 518-329-3993, FriendsofTSP.org. Annual hike on Mount Greylock, Lanesborough, find fill scheduleof New England events at americanhiking.org

Dollhouse and Toy Museum — Seasonal displays of nutcrackers ! BTW Berkshire region and Southern Vermont Holidays 2015 !

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The Festival Re-Imagined

Artists have created new work inspired by the Memory Ware Tower, above, including Marcy Hermansader’s ‘Memory Moth,’ Jon Gitleson’s ‘Reunion,’ Michelle Holzapfel’s ‘Beginner’s Vase’ and Katie Cleaver’s Pendant. Photos courtesy of the Bennington Museum.

This year, the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vt. has given its annual holiday festival a new shape. Artists have reimagined, reinterpreted or responded to the Bennington Museum’s 4-foot-tall collaged Memory Ware Tower, one of the newest pieces in the museum’s collection. All the new work also takes part in a closedbid auction through December 29. For more images and information, visit benningtonmuseum.org

The Drury High School Band plays at the North Adams tree lighting. Photo by Susan Geller.

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