february 2010
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last-minute dinner-and-a-show package this saturday !
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New Special: Get-a-Waypoint ! This Saturday ONLY !

We just crafted a super-special last-minute package for this Saturday, February 6th! Our Get-a-Waypoint Package is offered in honor of a new play by Iris Dauterman entitled,The Waypoint. This production came out of The Berkshire Fringe's EarlyStages playwriting program, so it's brand-new and you could be among the first to see it! The Waypoint weaves rich narrative and magical realism with an original soundscore to reveal the epic and often unexpected journey into life. As a part of the package, The Red Lion Inn's Executive Chef Brian J. Alberg is presenting a five course "reincarnation" dinner. Inspired by some of the themes of the production - rebirth and transformation, Alberg's menu features familiar items prepared in a totally different way. This package includes the dinner, overnight accommodations, two tickets to the show and our healthful continental breakfast buffet for just $250 (including tax and meal gratuity) and is only available by calling 413.664.0400 or emailing us. This intimate dinner is limited to twenty guests, and seats will fill up - don't wait!

To learn more about specials, click here.
To check availability of other dates or book now, click here.

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Fan up on our Facebook page - where we post links to various happening in the 'hood...
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reserve while there's still room...
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A Month of Holidays and Vacations !

February's a short month, but it sure packs in a bunch of days perfect for escapes! We still have room for the holiday weekend/Valentine's Day, but we will sell out.  There are quite a few fun things happening in the Berkshires that weekend (see examples below). The next week is school vacation week - scroll down for a bunch of ideas on how to keep you and the kids happy and busy during February vacation. Don't wait too long to make your reservations because we are filling up... Click here to check availabiiity and book now...

Looking to impress your sweetheart with a romantic getaway? Reserve the LOVE INN Package Sunday through Thursday during the month of February and enjoy a terrific deal on a one-bedroom suite that includes a bottle of red wine and heart-shaped, locally made dark chocolate. Stop by Porches' Front Desk to borrow one of our DVDs from our lending library and settle into your room for a movie and a cuddle. Don't forget: our healthful continental breakfast is included the next day - delivery to your room in one of our signature lunchboxes is available! This one-night special is priced for two at $185 Sunday-Thursday, plus taxes. This package is only available by calling 413.664.0400 or emailing us.

On Friday, February 12, Romeo & Juliet takes the stage at the Colonial Theatre. Presented by The Acting Company, the most respected and praised touring repertory theater in America, and the renowned Guthrie Theater. Young love has never been so delightful, or as dangerous, as in this stirring, full-length production.Click here for tickets.

On Sunday, February 14th, the Colonial Theatre presents A Concert for Loved Ones in Haiti. Artists from the Berkshires and surrounding cities come together to show solidarity and help bring money and more awareness to the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti! This once-in-a-lifetime event will feature performances by Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, The Mammals, Bobby Sweet, Vetiver, Tift Merritt, Meg Hutchinson, Kris Delmhorst, Martin Sexton, The Guthrie Family and more! Click here for tickets - this event is sure to sell out!
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happenings at mass moca
The Waypoint at MASS MoCA

The Waypoint
Saturday, February 6, 2010, 8:00 pm
Club B-10
$10/ Members 10% discount    
Member tickets are not available via the internet.
This new play by Iris Dauterman that came out of The Berkshire Fringe's EarlyStages playwriting program, will be developed here during a residency that culminates in a work-in-progress showing. The action centers on Shelby, whose unexpected pregnancy reveals her concern that her broken past will make her unfit to bring another life into this world, and Tristan, her soon-to-be-born baby who is hesitant to make his way to earth. The production weaves rich narrative and magical realism with an original soundscore to reveal the epic and often unexpected journey into life. Bazaar Productions presents dynamic new works by emerging artists for three weeks each summer during The Berkshire Fringe. The Waypoint is directed by Sara Katzoff with soundscore by Peter Wise.

The Yes Men Fix the World
Thursday, February 11, 2010, 7:30 pm
Club B-10
$8 / $5 students    
Member tickets are not available via the internet.
The second in our series of Lie! Cheat! Steal! Fake It! Docs the Yes Men's latest work of frenzied film pranksterism is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and wreak havoc on the proceedings. Armed with little more than cheap thrift-store suits, the Yes Men squeeze raucous comedy out of all the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet. It's Brƒno meets Michael Moore, but for a good cause -- fixing the world!

FREE Day
Saturday, February 13, 2010, 11:00 am
Galleries
FREE !
The annual tradition continues as we throw the doors open for a full day of free gallery admission plus activities for all ages. Tours every half hour, demonstrations in the galleries, special art-making activities in Kidspace and the galleries highlight this day of celebration. Lickety Split will offer free birthday cake and ice cream tastings in the afternoon. Then cap it all off with a rollicking Afro-Cuban Hip Hop Dance Party.

Afro-Cuban Hip-Hop Dance Party: Pedrito Martinez
Saturday, February 13, 2010, 8:00 pm
Hunter Center
$15 adv/ $19 day of/ $10 students/ kids under 12 FREE/ Members 10% discount    
Member tickets are not available via the internet.
Hip-hop and funk collide with Latin rhythms and Martinez's exceptional band (Listen Now!) will lay down the soundtrack for a party that will keep hips shaking late into the night. This young percussionist and vocalist, an alumnus of the stellar Latin fusion band Yerba Buena, draws upon his deep Afro-Cuban roots and other influences of the African Diaspora to profess his love for and devotion to the musical legacy of the Motherland. Co-presented by this year's Stalwart Originality conference at Williams College, which explores Afro-Cuban performance traditions.

Go to MASS MoCA's website to find out more...
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new at the clark
Boldini 
Place Clichy, 1874, by Giovanni Boldini          
Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 38 5/8 in. (60 x 98 cm)
Private collection

Upcoming Events and Exhibitions at The Clark

Art
February 5, 2010
7:00 pm | FREE
The Clark joins forces with the Williamstown Theatre Festival for a staged reading of Yasmina Reza's international hit Art. When an art lover buys what is in essence a pure white painting for a horse-choking sum, his best friend goes ballistic, and a third friend gets caught in the middle. This three man play questions the meaning of modern art and modern friendships and how they╒re sometimes not all that different. How would you feel about your best friend if he suddenly did something you thought was so colossally stupid, it made you doubt the very basis of the friendship?
Click here for more info...

Free Baroque Concert - Victor Hill
February 7, 2010
3:00 pm
Harpsichordist Victor Hill will perform with violinist Janet van Blerkom and flutist Janet Puchalski. The program will feature three trios by Rameau, a trio-sonata attributed to J. S. Bach, and other works. Hill is the Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at Williams College. He studied in Amsterdam with the eminent Dutch harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt, and has played more than 900 concerts throughout the United States and in Europe.
Click here for more info...

Giovanni Boldini in Impressionist Paris
February 14, 2010 - April 25, 2010
Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), an Italian artist who settled in Paris, is best known for his society portraits, painted around the turn of the twentieth century. He began his career, however, painting a wide range of subjects in varying styles. These genre scenes, landscapes, city views, and casual portraits were inspired by both established artists and the emerging Impressionists. This exhibition will explore Boldini's artistic development in the first half of his career, before he became known as the quintessential portraitist of the Belle Epoque.
Learn more about the exhibition...

In conjunction with the ongoing lecture series, "Monuments in Peril," the Clark's four-week reading group focuses on some of the most pressing controversies in the art and museum communities. Participants will engage with the contemporary discourse on a range of subjects including the impact of war and the disputed nature of cultural property. Books are available for purchase from the museum shop.
- February 3: The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities-- From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums, 2007, by Peter Watson and Cecilia Todeschini
- February 10: The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War, 1994, by Lynn Nicholas
- February 17: Thieves of Baghdad, 2005, by Matthew Bogdanos and William Patrick
- February 24: Who Owns Native Culture?, 2003, by Michael Brown
Space is limited. RSVP to 413 458 0524. Click here to find out more...
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fun for the whole family
Notchview Reservation

Indoors or out...

On February 13th, MASS MoCA continues its annual FREE DAY tradition, with a full day of free gallery admission plus activities for all ages. Tours every half hour, demonstrations in the galleries, special art-making activities in Kidspace and the galleries highlight this day of celebration. Lickety Split will offer free birthday cake and ice cream tastings in the afternoon.  Click here for more info...

Notchview - a property of the Trustees of Reservations - is about a half-hour drive from Porches and well worth the trip. With more than 3,000 acres of rolling terrain, Notchview offers an idyllic escape for winter sport enthusiasts, especially cross-country skiers looking for a brisk outing. Seventeen kilometers of trails are groomed and track-set for classical cross-country skiing; eight kilometers are groomed for skate skiing. A separate trail system is groomed for "skijoring," or skiing with dogs, so bring the whole family! You can also go off track and explore the backcountry, or snowshoe alongside the ski trails. Click here to find out more!

Jiminy Peak offers a variety of children's programs, for 3-year-olds on up. Jiminy does offer special pricing on programs during holiday periods - Six Packs for Children's Programs at Jiminy Peak are a great option for families with multiple children or those who can only come on weekends or holiday periods. Six packs are valid anytime and more than one ticket can be used per day if you have more than one child enrolled in the program. Please call 413.738.5500 for more information.

Make a pitstop in Pittsfield on your way to North Adams to see Armed & Dangerous: Art of the Arsenal at the Berkshire Museum. Men and animals have always been Armed & Dangerous. From the heroic warrior of the legendary past to the modern military soldier, humankind has relied on arms and armor to convey dominance, power, and status. Weapons of all types reflect the evolution of technology, class, mythmaking, and personal identity and have enormous implications for our understanding of changes in human culture. There are plenty of events for kids of all ages in conjunction with this show - visit the Berkshire Museum's website to find out more.

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Odds-n-Ends
Juggernaut at the WMCA

WILLIAMS COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART

Winter Season Premiere Party
Thursday, February 25
5:30 pm Interdisciplinary Gallery Talk: Landscape and Memory
Professors Bernie Rhie and Olga Shevchenko with Deputy Director John Stomberg and co-curators Betty Zimmerberg and Kathryn Price.
Find out more about the talk and reception following...

Final Weeks of Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: Juggernaut
Through March 14
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle is interested in linking the enormity of our modern industrial presence with our surroundings. In this new video, the pristine, gleaming white salt flats of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve are disturbed by the menacing and thundering sounds of human intervention. Click here for more info...

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Slavic Soul Party
Thursday, February 4
Slavic Soul Party gets the festival started on Thursday night with fiery Balkan brass, hip-grinding American grooves, and ecstatic anthems both new and old. Brash and strong as slivovitz, these nine musicians have forged virtuosic new brass band music in the heart of New York City-- melding Gypsy, East European, Mexican and Asian immigrant backgrounds with American jazz and soul.
"Madcap rhythms, hyperactive horns, a sense of the absurd, and just a hint of abstract jazz... everything you could want in a record." - All Things Considered

Big Sam's Funky Nation
Friday, February 5
Big Sam's Funky Nation takes the stage New Orleans style on Friday night. Presiding over his Funky Nation is Big Sam, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who blows the funk out of his trombone and refuses to let the audience sit still. Between solos and trombone riffs, Big Sam second-lines (a uniquely New Orleans style of street-dance) and gets the crowd going both in movement and in replies to his call-and-response MC-style.
"The top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz." - San Francisco Chronicle

Click here for more info...


THE LOCAVORE WAY AND MORE IN OUR FAIR CITY

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food - 49 Main Street
Monday, February 8
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food: Locally Produced Food is BETTER! Local food tastes better, has more nutrients than food that has been transported for weeks, supports the local economy and reduces our dependence on fossil fuels! Find out where you can get local food in the Berkshires year round - enjoy free samples and light refreshments while you meet local growers and producers, local chefs who serve local food, folks from local food co-ops, farm markets and grocers, and Amy Cotler, author of The Locavore Way. Monday, February 8 from 5 - 7 PM at 49 Main Street, North Adams. Contact Kim McMann at (413) 672-1167 or [email protected] for more information.

Click here for more info on this and other events in North Adams...


Contact Us
Thank you for your interest in The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA!

231 RIVER STREET, NORTH ADAMS, MA 01247

T 413 664 0400

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