Boston Flora

Tag: Great Barrington

  • Saturday, March 7, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm – From Willow to Basket: Crafting Functional Art

    Create a beautiful, functional willow basket while learning the foundational techniques of stake-and-strand weaving on Saturday, March 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Berkshire Botanical Garden. Designed for beginner and intermediate weavers, this hands-on class is taught by Heleny Cook, a Williamstown-based basketmaker who grows her own willow and forages wild materials for her work. Alongside guided instruction, Heleny will share insights into the joys and challenges of cultivating willow and working with natural materials. A wonderful introduction to the art of traditional basketry and a chance to create something beautiful and useful. Perfect for holding bread rolls, chips or everyday odds and ends, your finished basket will measure approximately 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall. All materials will be provided for an additional fee of $25 per person. Bring lunch to have during a break in the day.

    Heleny Cook learned willow weaving by studying with experienced makers in Ireland, England, Canada, and across the United States. Her work is grounded in traditional techniques, shaped by years of practice, and informed by the material itself. She teaches because sharing skills keeps the craft alive. Heleny has led workshops at Hancock Shaker Village and Bon Dimanche Studio in Great Barrington, where students learn by working directly with willow and building a solid foundation through hands-on making.

    Add your name to a wait list by registering https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/willow-basket-crafting-functional-art

  • Saturday, July 13, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Wild Edibles

    Join Russ Cohen at River Walk, a project of Great Barrington Land Conservancy, on Saturday, July 13, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. for a walk focusing on edible native plant species, including species that you might like to plant in your yard. Russ will share some samples of foraged treats, made from wild edible plants, to taste at the beginning or end of the walk. River Walk project is a remarkable, community-driven transformation of a rubble and invasive plant-dominated Housatonic riverbank eyesore to the predominantly native-plant showpiece it is today, with an expertly designed and constructed footpath running through it.

    No transportation will be provided for this class. Please meet at River Walk, 7 Cottage Street, Great Barrington.

    Russ Cohen has recently completed his 50th year of leading walks and talks about wild edibles. His foraging book, “Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten,” came out in June of 2004, and is now in its eighth printing. Since his retirement in June 2015, while continuing to offer walks and talks on foraging for wild edibles, Russ now plays the role of Johnny Appleseed for native edible species. River Walk is one of Russ’ sowing sites, and we are likely to encounter several species from his nursery that were planted there.

    This program, sponsored by Berkshire Botanical Garden, is $40 for BBG members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/wild-edibles

  • Saturday, March 29, 7:00 pm, and Sunday, March 30, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm – Project Native Film Festival

    Project Native will kick off its 4th Annual Environmental Film Festival on Saturday, March 29 at 7 pm with a special screening of Revolution, an award winning film by Rob Stewart, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  Free, and recommended for grade 5 and up.

    Then, on Sunday, March 30, from 10 – 10 at the Triplex Theatre in Great Barrington, the films begin with Flight of the Butterflies in 3D (10 am), Salmon Confidential (10:10), Carpe Diem: A Fishy Tale (11:45), Have You Seen Arana? (1:00), GMO-OMG (3:00) Backyard & Tar (5:05), Gold Fever (6:25), and Bringing It Home (8:00).  Free Admission, but seating is limited.  Tickets will be available at the box office the day of the festival.  For more information visit www.projectnative.org/Film_Festival.html.

    http://www.kiss925.com/files/rob-stewart.jpg

  • Sunday, March 25, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm – Project Native 2nd Environmental Film Festival

    Project Native 2nd Environmental Film Festival will take place on Sunday, March 25, 2012 at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington, beginning at 10 am. All films will be free to the public. Last year over 600 people from 6 states attended the festival. Films on a variety of topics, from 90-minute features to a series of short films for children, will inspire, enrage, and motivate audiences to engage. This event is supported in part by a grant from the Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation.

    For additional information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Karen Lyness LeBlanc at 413-274-3433 or projectnative@verizon.net.

  • Fridays, June 18, July 16, and August 20, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Cocktails in Great Gardens of the Berkshires

    The Berkshire Botanical Garden has arranged for a series of Friday evening visits to spectacular private gardens featured in the Rich Pomerantz’s beautiful book, Great Gardens of The Berkshires. Enjoy this rare opportunity to roam these private spaces with the gardeners themselves while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvre in the beautiful waning light of the summer day. The book’s creators will be in attendance. For advance reservations contact call the Garden: 413-298-3926. The parties will all take place from 5 – 7 p.m.    Admission is limited. Berkshire Botanical Garden Members $20, non-members $25; all three for $50/65.

    The dates and locations are: June 18, Molly’s Folly in Richmond, MA; July 16, Richard Brown Garden in Stockbridge, MA ; and August 20,  Three Hills Farm in Richmond, MA.   For additional information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.  Photo below by Rich Pomerantz.

    http://www.richpomerantz.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/kuhn-9505-nwsltr.jpg

  • Saturday, November 21 – Berkshire Grown Holiday Farmers Markets

    There will be two Berkshire Grown Holiday Farmers Markets on Saturday, November 21.  The first will be held in Great Barrington at the old firehouse on Castle Street from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.  The second will be set up at the Williams College Field House on Latham Street in Williamstown, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.

    Berkshire Grown envisions a community where healthy farms define the open landscape, where a wide diversity of fresh, seasonal food and flowers continue to be readily available to everyone, and where we celebrate our agricultural bounty by buying from our neighboring family farms and savoring their distinctive Berkshire harvest.

    For more information, log on to www.berkshiregrown. com.

    Berkshire Grown logo

  • July through September – Cocktails in Great Gardens of the Berkshires

    The Berkshire Botanical Garden has arranged for a series of Friday evening visits to spectacular private gardens featured in the new book, “Great Gardens of The Berkshires.” Enjoy this rare opportunity to roam these private spaces with the gardeners themselves while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres in the beautiful waning light of the summer day. The book’s creators will be in attendance. For advance reservations contact call the Garden: 413-298-3926. The parties will all take place from 5 – 7 p.m
    Admission is limited. Berkshire Botanical Garden Members $20, non-members $25; all four for $70/85.
    The dates and locations are: July 10, Under The Hemlocks, West Stockbridge, MA; July 24, Good Dogs Farm, Ashley Falls, MA ; August 14, Rockland Farm, Canaan, NY; September 4, Seekonk Farm, Great Barrington, MA.  For additional information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.