17-Jun-10

Camp WaWa Segowea is back.

By Michael Kelley SOUTHFIELD— At the end of a long, windy dirt road in the middle of the woods where there are no major roads leading to it and no commercial, industrial, or for that matter, residential development nearby sits YMCA Camp WaWa Segowea. After a five-year hiatus, after being forced to close because of financial and operational challenges, Camp WaWa Segowea, on Foley Hill Road, is reopening, beginning on July 4, under the new operation of the Capital District (Albany) YMCA.

22-Nov-09

The Yes Men live to zing

By Michael Kelley GREAT BARRINGTON—Sometimes it is hard to differentiate fiction from reality. Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno are making that distinction even more difficult to figure out. Collectively known as the Yes Men, Bichlbaum and Bonanno, whose real names are Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos, have been posing as corporate heads in fake press conference and television interviews for years, often making shocking and startling news all in an attempt to bring shame to some of the world’s biggest corporations. Over the years The Yes Men, which is lead by Bichlbaum and Bonanno but is made up of hundreds of impersonators, has posed as representatives from organizations such as the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, United States Chamber of Commerce—which recently sued the group, and World Trade Organization to noted international companies such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Exxon-Mobil.

08-Nov-09

The beat goes on in Housatonic

By David Scribner HOUSATONIC—Through the tall factory windows illuminating the floor of the dance studio the outline of the black water tower on the roof of the next building suggests lower a Manhattan location rather than the offices of a former lumber mill in the heart of a village in the Berkshire Hills. The light streams into the top floor of a former Barbieri Lumber Company warehouse where a beginner dance class with 15 or so 8-year-olds — boys and girls — is just getting under way on this autumn afternoon. Bettina Montano, a whirlwind of enthusiasm and energy dressed in a black leotard, is beating an insistent rhythm on a hand-held Tibetan drum, and leading her students in a serpentine pattern, urging them all the while to “feel the rhythm, feel the energy through your feet, now relax, have a picnic.” The young dancers respond with a gleeful burst of gestures and movement, and just as suddenly collapse, at her command, onto the floor, like a swirl of leaves whom a fickle dancing breeze has abandoned

02-Nov-09

Excavating Billy Bones

“There’s a little bit of magic in everything and then some loss to even things out.” - Lou Reed SOUTH EGREMONT–To many children, Halloween is one of the most anticipated holidays. When I think back on all my Halloween experiences growing up, one particular year stands out in my memory; not for a certain costume I chose or any large quantity of candy I acquired, but because of a great teacher, a special moment she created, and a set of circumstances beyond my control. In the mid-seventies, I attended second grade in the small one-room school house in the center of South Egremont. My teacher, Mrs. Kelley, worked diligently to create high-interest activities for her students, which kept us engaged and made the process of learning to read and write an enjoyable experience. She was an innovative and creative teacher who not only fostered my imagination, but also imbued in me a sense of wonderment at a very impressionable age. us all far too early in life.

25-Oct-09

A star reborn

By Michael Kelley LENOX— Ralph Petillo learned to love theater at a young age, but it took a 25-year absence from the stage to truly understand how strong that love was. A chance encounter with Berkshire Theater Festival’s Artistic Director Kate Maguire in 2007 thrust Petillo back into the life of performing. The two met in the checkout line at Stop and Shop, Maguire, Petillo said, had always been a good customer at his former Cheesecake Charlie’s restaurant and soon the conversation turned to Petillo’s background in theater. Maguire asked Petillo to try out for the part of Fagin in “Oliver!”, the community theater performance BTF was staging in the summer of 2008. Petillo, not sure if he wanted to take on the role after being away from performing for so long, finally decided to audition for the role. It was a role that he not only landed, but one that launched him into the second act of his acting career.”

28-Sep-09

Going green and off the grid

By Michael Kelley EGREMONT—The Egremont Garden Club will hold its third annual fund-raising lecture on gardens In the Berkshires on Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield. This year’s lecture, different than previous years’ lectures, is focusing on the movement toward green building technology and a new growing movement in gardening which incorporates local native plants.. “There is a new movement in gardening, indigenous planting” Nancy Sanders, a member of the garden club said “Sometimes it is called minimalist plantings, where you use what is growing in the environment.” Fellow garden club member, Pamela Peacock, is an example of using the lay of the land, the natural landscape and native plants to create a garden at her home.