Month: September 2021

Berkshire AHEC (Area Health Education Center) offers keynote speaker Leah Penniman, Co-director & Farm Manager of Soul Fire Farm, Petersburg, NY & panelists explore:  explore the history of food sovereignty and the
distinction between food security and food sovereignty. It will
discuss the impacts of food sovereign practices on communities through
resource access, production methods, agricultural policies, commercial
markets, and the impacts on individual mental and physical health.
Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how local food
producers and support organizations are advocating for people to
determine where their food comes from, how it is produced, and how
they can take action to support these efforts.

FREE Registration: berkshireahec.org   413-842-5160

Rock & soul singer Bette Smith & her band perform in a free concert near the Clark’s Reflecting Pool. Plan to bring a blanket or your own chairs for seating.  Smith traces elements of her life-affirming new album The Good, The Bad & The Bette to her childhood in Brooklyn, creating a sound that musically connects to both the gospel music she heard in church and the soul music she heard on the street corners.

more info: The Clark

This hour-long video documentary profiles some of our local forefighters in the empowerment of women.  There are some faces you’ll recognize  — like Susan B. Anthony, former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift or Helen Renzi, who was the first female superintendent of schools in Berkshire County.  Others have been more seldom seen in the annals of local history.  Phoebe Jordan was the first woman to cast a vote in a presidential election after the 19^th Amendment was passed in 1920.  Emma and Florence Bascom and Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre were active suffragists and Margaret Hart was one of the first African American graduates of North Adams Normal School (now MCLA) as well as being an activist in the local civil rights movement.   This project was produced by Bette Craig, Debby Dane and Jack Criddle, presented by the Northern Berkshire Suffrage Centennial Coalition in collaboration with Willinet and supported by a grant from the Fund for Williamstown of the Berkshire Taconic  Community Foundation.

The Williamstown Community Chest is pleased to announce they will sponsor their 13th Fun Run on Saturday, September 18, 2021. This community event consists of two races: 5K Run and a 1-mile Kid’s Run/ Family Walk. The Fun Run races are open to everyone; veteran runners or first time runners, along with daily walkers or occasional walkers. Families with pets and strollers are also welcome to join the fun.

Both race events begin at 9:00 am at the Williamstown Youth Center (66 School Street). Registration and check in will be at 8:30 a.m. the day of the race.

There are two ways to register: Register below or Download Registration Form (please print and mail in or bring to the 8:30 a.m. registration on race day)

The cost for the 5K race is $15.00 per runner and for the 1Mile Walk/Run $5.00 per individual or per walking family. Scholarships are available; please contact our office (458-2443 or info@williamstowncommunitychest.org) for more information.

Williams College Mechanical Trades will be adding a harmless tracing “smoke” to a storm drain in the parking lot of the Towne Field House to trace the pipes upstream. A smoke-like vapor may come out of storm drains on Spring Street during the test.  It will quickly go away.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Don Boudreau at dbb2@williams.edu or 413-597-3124