Upcoming Events At the Mahaiwe
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts will present a pair of virtual events that pay homage to W.E.B. DuBois. First up, a FREE concert entitled Deeper Than The Skin , an experience of singing and listening as you will experience a true connection that will you laugh, smile and cry all at the same time.
The on-line event will reconsider what you know about historical aspects in town as this event continues to honor W.E.B. DuBois legacy as the performance is an opportunity to open your heart and mind to an assortment of stories of shared humanity that resonates with your own personality.
Grant Program Gives Berkshire Organizations Shot in the Arm
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced in a press release Monday (Jan. 25) the distribution of over $48,000 through its Bridging Divides, Healing Communities grant program, a new initiative to support community-building activities aimed at strengthening relationships and trust at the local level, especially among people who hold different points of view or come from different backgrounds. Twenty-one organizations in four counties received grants of up to $2,500 for projects that seek to bring people together for the purposes of exploring shared interests, addressing a problem through dialogue and action, or considering an issue through a range of perspectives.
Ordinance & Rules discusses the creation of a Downtown Creative District to promote development. PITTSFIELD, Mass. The Ordinances and Rules Subcommittee on Monday unanimously voted in support of creating a Downtown Creative District that highlights the historical design elements of downtown Pittsfield and encourages a mixture of uses to drive creatives and foot traffic to the area. Last month, the Community Development Board supported this zoning district amendment and sent a recommendation to the City Council, which referred it to the O&R subcommittee for review. When we re reviewing development, what we re thinking about development, we are trying to promote Pittsfield as a place to do business and to construct residential projects, commercial projects, lot of that is based on regulations that can go back into even the 1950s and there there are a number of reasons why that s not good for for the community, City Planner CJ Hoss said.
Women Of Color Giving Circle Hosting Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
From the Official Press Release:
The Women of Color Giving Circle of the Berkshires
will be hosting its annual
community
Kwanzaa Celebration virtually at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29. This year’s event is being presented in collaboration with the Berkshire County branch of the NAACP, Berkshire Black Economic Council, Clinton Church Restoration, and Westside Legends.
Kwanzaa is a non-religious celebration held Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. The holiday celebrates African and African-American culture, with an emphasis on seven principles geared towards uplift and empowerment.
This year’s theme is Umoja, which means unity in Swahili. The event lineup will include music by the Misty Blues Band and Warren Dews; the lighting of the candles; and remarks from Malia Lazu, a social justice leader, entrepreneur, and lecturer in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan