BASIC Berkshires

Shakespeare & Company Free Community Day
2025-05-24 11:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
Shakespeare & Company will hold its second-annual free Community Day on Saturday, May 24 from 11 am – 4 pm, Memorial Day Weekend! This event features live demonstrations and performances, scavenger hunts, film screenings, food trucks with lunches and snacks for purchase, and dozens of other local nonprofits sharing the many ways we all serve the Berkshires – and beyond. For more information, call the Box Office at 413.637.3353 or visit shakespeare.org.

Norman Rockwell Museum: Summer Saturdays for Families
2025-06-14 11:00 - 15:00 | Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Glendale Road Route 183, Stockbridge, MA, 01262, United States
June 14 @ 11:00 am EDT – 3:00 pm EDT
Join us for fun and interactive programming inspired by the art of Norman Rockwell and Walter Wick, creator of the I Spy books for children. Try your hand at making art inspired by these beloved illustrators. You’ll want to return again and again with a variety of fun and engaging experiences for the whole family; it’s the perfect way to spend some quality time together on your Saturdays this summer!
Free with Admission, Drop-in – no reservation required.
https://www.nrm.org/events/summer-saturdays-for-families/

Visit

World Premiere: Lawrence Goodman’s The Victim
2025-06-19 19:00 - 2025-07-21 21:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
The World Premiere of The Victim by Lawrence Goodman runs through July 21 at Shakespeare & Company. Three women, three interconnected monologues: a successful New York doctor (Stephanie Clayman) whose racial diversity training has gone horribly wrong. A health aide grappling with racism during the COVID-19 pandemic (Yvette King). A Holocaust survivor (Annette Miller), facing her own horror and finding her way back to love and healing. Who gets to call herself a victim? Who is the perpetrator? Staged at Shakespeare & Company in 2024 as a reading in the Plays in Process series, The Victim is about identity, our blindness to others, and the human capacity for cruelty and compassion.

Board Game Night / Noche de juegos de mesa
2025-07-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Hot Plate Brewing Co, 1 School St, Pittsfield, 01201
Join the library and our friends from Mana Crypt at Hot Plate Brewing Co. for Board Game Night! Mana Crypt and the Berkshire Athenaeum will provide a curated selection of new and favorite games for attendees to choose from and play (you can also bring your own or select a game from Hot Plate’s ongoing supply). Bring friends along to play, or make new ones at this casual game night!

FREE magic show at the Mahaiwe on 8/4!
2025-08-04 17:30 - 19:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Join in for an event filled with laughter, wonder and endless surprises as renowned magician Bill Blagg presents Family Magic!
With over 60 minutes of non-stop magical fun, Family Magic is specifically designed to entertain and engage audiences of all ages. Bill Blagg’s unique blend of comedy, audience participation, and mind-bending magic will keep you on the edge of your seat eagerly anticipating what’s coming next. Prepare to be amazed as ordinary objects come to life while others vanish in the blink of an eye, and you could even be chosen to float in mid-air!
Family Magic is a unique blend of interactive entertainment and awe-inspiring magic that guarantees an unforgettable adventure for all ages. Join in for this magical family event which is sure to create unforgettable memories with your loved ones!

Community Day at The Mount
2025-08-10 11:00 - 17:00 | The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home, 2 Plunkett St, Lenox, MA, 01240, United States
Featuring live music, readings and performances, a resource fair, book exchanges, children’s activities, and food trucks, Community Day at The Mount’s celebrates the vibrant, multicultural diversity of the Berkshires.

On-farm Botanical Inks Workshop
2025-09-20 10:00 - 16:00
Spend the day foraging seasonal botanicals and learning how to transform them into artist-quality natural inks. The workshop includes a guided farm walk, harvesting from the dye garden, and hands-on ink-making in the barn studio. No prior experience required—perfect for artists, nature lovers, and anyone curious about plant-based color.
Full details and registration: www.farmandfieldny.com/workshops
Where: Farm & Field, a 200-acre farm in Chatham, NY
Contact: jill@farmandfieldny.com
Phone: 973.879.6252

“Mickey’s Christmas Carol” (1983)
2025-12-13 13:00 - 16:00 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
Animated family favorite “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” will play on loop for free at the Mahaiwe’s new Indigo Room during Great Barrington’s Holiday Shop, Sip, and Stroll. Familiar Disney characters retell Charles Dickens’ timeless story of holiday spirit. (Rated G, 26min.)

Free screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)
2025-12-19 19:00 - 21:30 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
The Mahaiwe presents a free screening of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ per annual tradition. Frank Capra directs James Stewart and Donna Reed in this classic holiday favorite about community, love, and hope. (Rated PG, 2h 10min.)

Berkshire Opera Festival's Community Sing-Along
2026-01-10 14:00 - 16:00 | St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 67 East Street, Pittsfield, 01201
Berkshire Opera Festival is excited to invite you to our third annual Community Sing-Along!
​This free, fun-filled event brings everyone together to sing beloved opera choruses by composers like Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner—alongside BOF choristers and members of our wider Berkshire singing community.
​Singers of all experience levels are encouraged to join in. Whether you’re a seasoned vocalist or just love to sing for fun, you’ll fit right in. For ages 13+.
The event is free, but registration is required. We’ll send you the music and helpful details ahead of time—no preparation needed, just come ready to sing and enjoy a joyful afternoon of music-making.

Berkshire Opera Festival's Winterreise
2026-03-07 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-07 14:00 - 15:30 | Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning, Tanglewood, 3 West Hawthorne Road, Lenox, MA, 01240
A rejected lover. A frozen landscape. A profound loneliness. Hailed as the greatest song cycle ever written, Schubert’s Winterreise follows a wandering protagonist on his quest for comfort on a winter’s night. But this is not merely a trek through snow and ice—it is an intimate odyssey into the depths of the soul. Join internationally acclaimed baritone Jarrett Porter and Artistic Director Brian Garman as they take you on this deeply moving and cathartic journey.
For information on discounted tickets, contact Sarah Prouty at sprouty@berkshireoperafestival.org.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Lenox Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Discounted tickets to BOF’s production of Winterreise are generously sponsored by Adrian & Christine Slywotzky.

Berkshire Opera Festival's Free Family Concert: Once Upon an Opera
2026-04-12 14:00 - 15:00 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
Back by popular demand! Berkshire Opera Festival’s Free Family Concert returns with a lively mix of opera favorites and instantly recognizable melodies. This fun, one-hour interactive performance invites kids and adults to experience live opera up close—perfect for a memorable family outing. This unforgettable afternoon of music is free and open to all ages, but you’ll want to reserve your seats today as seating is limited. Once Upon an Opera is recommended for children of all ages with accompanying caregivers.
Event Details:
Sunday, April 12 at 2:00 PM
Indigo Room, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA
Duration: 1 hour (no intermission)
Free (reservations encouraged)
Register here:
https://www.berkshireoperafestival.org/onceuponanopera

Community Day
2026-05-23 11:00 - 16:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
FREE EVENT
Community Day
Saturday, May 23
11 am–4 pm
Tina Packer Playhouse & the Grounds
Shakespeare & Company announces its third-annual Community Day, a free, family-friendly celebration on Saturday, May 23, from 11 am to 4 pm at the Shakespeare & Company campus in Lenox. Community Day invites guests of all ages to enjoy live performances, demonstrations, and music; interactive activities for all ages; film screenings; food trucks with fare for purchase, and opportunities to learn about more than two dozen nonprofit and community organizations serving the Berkshires and beyond.
Learn more at shakepeare.org or call 413.637.3353!
