Mahaiwe Changing Up Its Upcoming Schedule

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has cancelled and rescheduled events previously slated for June and July.

"As a year-round stage-and-screen presenter of varied content, the Mahaiwe continues to plan for a live season – now just a little further out on the horizon – at the same time that we use digital platforms and explore other options," Acting Executive Director Janis Martinson said. "In addition to missing the joy of artists and audiences meeting in a welcoming historic space, all of us at the Mahaiwe are concerned about the effects of our temporary closure on the broader community.  Our economic footprint – the financial activity that ripples out from the Mahaiwe's 140-plus annual events – at more than $8.6 million, is more than triple the size of our budget and it supports the equivalent of over 100 jobs.  In addition, more than two dozen other nonprofits use the Mahaiwe stage every year to mount productions that are either the core of their mission or vital to their fundraising."

The Mahaiwe has been posting song and movie quotes on its marquee, from Dorothy's "There’s no place like home," from "The Wizard of Oz" to the James Taylor lyric advising everyone to "shower the people you love with love."

"It's a reminder that great art endures and resonates across eras and circumstances," Martinson said. "It's also a promise that there is great art to come back to. I am thrilled that we will have so many talented performers in the future, and I look forward to announcing others in the pipeline, when the time comes."

Postponed events include Madeleine Peyroux Trio, rescheduled to Friday, April 23, 2021; Hot Tuna with David Grisman's Dawg Trio, rescheduled to Monday, July 12, 2021; and Alan Cumming & Ari Shapiro – Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret, rescheduled to Sunday, July 18, 2021. Tickets purchased for previous concert dates are automatically valid for the new concert dates. 

Canceled events include Puddles Pity Party and Brubeck Brothers Quartet Celebrates Dave Brubeck's Centennial. Please see the website for details.

For ticket exchange credit, refunds, and the option to donate tickets to the theater, call the Mahaiwe box office at 413-528-0100. Box office hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. With the health and safety of the community in mind, the theater is currently closed to the public and the box office is accessible via phone only.

ServiceNet Warming Center Hosted 126 People This Winter

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:46AM / Monday, April 07, 2025

ServiceNet manages the warming shelter next to the church. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — ServiceNet's warming center has provided more than heat to unhoused individuals over the last four months and will run to the end of April.

It opened on Dec. 1 in the First United Methodist Church's dining area, next to ServiceNet's 40-bed shelter The Pearl. The agency has seen 126 individuals utilize the warming center and provided some case management to regulars.

While this winter was a success, they are already considering next winter.

"I've been on this committee many years now. There's probably only a few months out of the year that I don't talk about winter, so I'm always trying to plan for next winter," Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, told the Homelessness Advisory Committee on Wednesday.

"We are in this winter and I'm already thinking what's going to happen next winter because I want to be really clear, winter shelter is never a given. We don't have this built into the state budget. It's not built into our budget, so there is always trying to figure out where we get money, and then where do we go with winter shelter."

She pointed out that warming centers are "very different" from shelters, which have a bed. The warming center is set up like a dining room, open from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and folks are welcome to stay for breakfast.

"We are asking people to come in, get warm, be out of the elements," Forbush explained.

The warming center will close on April 30.