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| News and events in Williamstown, Mass.
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Holiday Hours: Christmas & New Year's| 01:02PM / Saturday, December 21, 2024 | |
You once could be fined for celebrating Christmas in Massachusetts. (Massachusetts State Library) Businesses, schools and government offices will be taking breaks next week as the nation celebrates Christmas and New Year's. Christmas falls on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, and New Year's Day on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.
Christmas is now a state holiday but it wasn't always. The General Court under the control of the Puritans outlawed the holiday in 1659.
There was too much eating, drinking, wassailing and other festiveness for the colony's righteous rulers. Even after the ban was lifted, Christmas was treated as a regular day until its popularization during the
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Clark Art Airs Live Production of 'The Magic Flute'| 08:07AM / Friday, December 20, 2024 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Metropolitan Opera's broadcast production of The Magic Flute airs at the Clark Art Institute on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 1 pm in the latest installment of the 2024–25 season of The Met: Live in HD. The award-winning series of high-definition cinema simulcasts features the full performance along with backstage interviews and commentary. The Clark broadcasts the opera in its auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center. According to a press release: The Met's family-friendly production of Mozart's dazzling fairy tale returns. Patrick Furrer and Gareth Morrell share conducting duties, leading a standout cast in Julie 6 Comments
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Williamstown Planning Board Hears Results of Sidewalk AnalysisBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Friday, December 20, 2024 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Two-thirds of the town-owned sidewalks got good grades in a recent analysis ordered by the Planning Board. But, overall, the results were more mixed, with many of the town's less affluent neighborhoods being home to some of its more deficient sidewalks or going without sidewalks at all. On Dec. 10, the Planning Board heard a report from Williams College students Ava Simunovic and Oscar Newman, who conducted the study as part of an environmental planning course. The Planning Board, as it often does, served as the client for the research project. The students drove every street in town, assessing the availability and condition of its 6 Comments
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Berkshire County Farms Awarded Grants| 08:18AM / Thursday, December 19, 2024 | |
BOSTON — The state awarded farms in West Stockbridge and Lee grants to address composting and climate smart agriculture. The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $3.6 million in more than 100 grant awards through several programs, including the Agricultural Food Safety Improvement Program (AFSIP), the Agricultural Composting Improvement Program (ACIP), the Cranberry Bog Renovation (CBRG) Program, and the Climate Smart Agriculture Program (CSAP). "From the Berkshires to Barnstable County, our farms are significant economic drivers and the backbone of our local food system. Their success benefits us all," said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll. "Programs 6 Comments
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Mount Greylock Committee OKs Overseas Trip Despite Equity ConcernsBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
01:04PM / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — By a 5-1 vote, the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday OK'd a school-sanctioned field trip to Ecuador despite concerns that not all district families would be able to afford the opportunity. Keith Jones, a social worker at the middle-high school, proposed the trip for the first week of July in 2026, during summer vacation. "The purpose of our trip to Ecuador is to engage students in meaningful community service projects that foster a sense of global responsibility while immersing them in the rich culture and natural beauty of the region," Jones wrote in the application for approval by the committee. "This 6 Comments
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Puppets Teach Lanesborough Elementary Pupils About FriendshipBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:43AM / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 | |
The newest batch of puppets that have joined the school. LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Puppets named Melody and Simu gave a lesson on friendship to Lanesborough Elementary School students last week.
Classes were called to the music room throughout the day on Thursday to learn about the trials and tribulations of making friends, how friends work through disagreements, setting healthy boundaries, and more.
While the teachers were inanimate, the topics they covered were very real.
Sponsored by Bedard Brothers Chevrolet, the shows were presented by the Vermont Family Network's Puppets in Education. The school also received five puppets of its own to continue
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'Metropolitan' Filmmaker to Visit Images For Screening of Film | 12:01PM / Monday, December 16, 2024 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Whit Stillman will visit Images Cinema on Dec. 18 for a special screening of his debut feature film, "Metropolitan." The 1990 indie holiday classic earned Stillman an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and remains a celebrated work of dialogue-driven comedy. The event, part of a limited tour by Stillman, begins with a cocktail hour in the Images Cinema Lounge from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, followed by the screening. Executive Director Dan Hudson expressed enthusiasm for Stillman's visit, calling him a standout among 1990s American independent cinema. "As a child of the American 6 Comments
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Mount Greylock School Committee Hears Need for More TeachersBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:44AM / Monday, December 16, 2024 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Things are not adding up for the math department at Mount Greylock Regional School. And there are at least two other departments that are struggling with numbers, the School Committee learned on Thursday. Mount Greylock Principal Jacob Schutz outlined for the elected officials the fiscal year 2026 budget request from the School Council, one of three appointed bodies of faculty, staff and community members charged with advocating for the member schools in the regional district. It's a big ask for a committee that has been making hard choices to contain costs and limit assessments to the member towns of Lanesborough and Williamstown. The 6 Comments
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MountainOne Participates in Williamstown Elementary's 'Words Are Wonderful'| 06:57AM / Sunday, December 15, 2024 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Volunteers from MountainOne attended Williamstown Elementary School's "Words Are Wonderful" celebration, a week-long effort dedicated to fostering a love for reading, writing, and creative expression. MountainOne's team presented their storybook "How to Climb a Mountain" with a special guest appearance from Mo the MountainOne Spokesgoat. Utilizing the school's "buddy reading" format, 65 sixth grade students read the storybook to a Pre-K, Kindergarten or 1st grade student. As the reading session concluded, MountainOne volunteer Ethan Coe tied the story's themes into real-world lessons on financial 6 Comments
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Sweetwood's Owner Bringing Apartment Proposal Back to Williamstown Town MeetingBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Friday, December 13, 2024 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The owner of the Sweetwood assisted living community in South Williamstown is proposing a zoning bylaw amendment that would enable the property to transition to regular apartments in the future. Sweetwood currently operates under a special permit granted more than 40 years ago to allow an assisted living residence in a zoning district where multifamily residences (apartments) are prohibited. Attorney Jeffrey Grandchamp Tuesday met with the Planning Board to discuss a proposal for the May 2025 annual town meeting that would create a zoning overlay district enabling multifamily residences on the Sweetwood property under a special permit from the 6 Comments
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Clark Art Screens 'The Godfather'| 08:21AM / Thursday, December 12, 2024 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Thursday, Dec. 19, the Clark Art Institute screens the next installment in its Hollywood Auteurs film series, "The Godfather" (1972), at 6 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium. Presented in partnership with Images Cinema, this series captures the explosion of creativity, critical acclaim, and box office success that Hollywood directors found after the fall of the studio system. Each film is introduced by a staff member of the Clark or Images. According to a press release, "The Godfather" was originally envisioned by Paramount as a low-budget quickie. Instead director Francis Ford Coppola fought for a period 6 Comments
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Clark Art Opening Lecture on 'Wall Power!'| 11:28AM / Wednesday, December 11, 2024 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Saturday, Dec. 14 at 11 am, the Clark Art Institute hosts a lecture by exhibition curator Kathleen Morris, Sylvia and Leonard Marx Director of Collections and Exhibitions and curator of decorative arts, in conjunction with the opening of its newest exhibition, "Wall Power! Modern French Tapestry from the Mobilier national, Paris." This free event takes place in the Clark's auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center. According to press release: Drawn from the celebrated collection of the Mobilier national from the 1940s to the present day, this exhibition explores the resurgence of the ancient French tradition of 6 Comments
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