Clark Art Presents Constant Smiles and Ava Mirzadegan

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute's Music at the Manton Concert spring series concludes with a performance by Constant Smiles and Ava Mirzadegan on Sunday, May 5 at 5 pm.
 
The performance takes place in the Clark's auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.
 
According to a press release:
 
Constant Smiles began in 2009 in leader Ben Jones' home of Martha's Vineyard. Inspired by the island's now-defunct community record store Aboveground Records, the group made their live debut as a noise duo opening for Ralph White (Bad Livers). Fourteen indie-folk albums later, Constant Smiles returns to their electronic roots with their latest release Kenneth Anger, evoking the eponymous filmmaker with hypnotic, '80s-inspired synth classics that examine how rituals and community can heal feelings of isolation.
 
Ava Mirzadegan opens for Constant Smiles. Mirzadegan writes quiet songs about heartbreak, longing, letting go, and befriending the night sky. Accompanied most often by fingerpicked nylon string guitar, her work rings of unembellished honesty.
 
Tickets $10 ($8 members, $7 students, $5 children 15 and under). Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. Advance registration encouraged. For more information and to register, visit clarkart.edu/events.
 
Presented in collaboration with Belltower Records, North Adams.

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Local Veterans Weigh In on 'Hometown Heroes' Banners

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — John Umlauf has been following the discussion in town about a proposal to bring the Hometown Heroes banner program to Williamstown.
 
He just is not sure why it is a matter of debate.
 
"There's a breadth to this discussion that the opponents have distilled into a couple of issues that really aren't relevant or pertinent when you look at the whole picture," Umlauf said. "It is about service. It is about community. It is about family. It is about recognizing and honoring those who have written that [blank] check and had it cashed."
 
On Saturday morning, Umlauf and fellow veteran Charles Roberts sat down at the Michael Kennedy American Legion Post 152 headquarters to talk about what the Hometown Heroes banner program means to them and how much they look forward to seeing the program come to the northwest corner of the commonwealth.
 
The pair showed off artifacts collected by the local Legion post over the years, including a recognition of Charles White Whittlesey, a Pittsfield High graduate and Williams College alum who earned the Medal of Honor for his leadership of the "Lost Battalion" in World War I.
 
"The level of service in this community is just incredible," said Umlauf, who noted that another Medal of Honor winner who fought in the Civil War is buried in the town's East Lawn Cemetery.
 
Roberts said he was "upset" when he first read about Monday's Select Board meeting, where several residents asked the panel to disallow the placement of the Heroes banners on utility poles in town.
 
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