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July 2019
Tea and Talk: Historic Lace
Irish lace expert Beverly Wolov will speak to the participants at a classic tea party about the lace collections at the Berkshire County Historical Society and answer questions about the customs and use, importance and provenance of lace in the mid-19th century. $20 includes tea and snacks.
Find out more »Mastheads Annual Reading
The third annual reading of new work by the five Mastheads authors. This is a FREE event.
Find out more »Film – The Act of Reading: Moby-Dick
On Wednesday, July 3rd, at 7pm, come celebrate the eve of Herman Melville's 200th birthday with his great-great-grandson Peter Whittemore and the filmmakers behind The Act of Reading! We will 'sneak peek' the 87-minute long film in the Arrowhead barn in anticipation of its fall premiere and in honor of the author's bicentennial. The film takes the form of a 15 year-late book report/documentary on Moby-Dick, following the filmmaker as he attempts to make amends with the high school English teacher whose class he failed. We are then brought on an often surprising journey into…
Find out more »August 2019
Herman’s 200th Birthday Celebration
Thursday, August 1, all day. Herman’s 200th birthday with a multi-event, day-long extravaganza co-presented with the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum. Starting with free tours of the Athenaeum’s Herman Melville Memorial Room at noon, a 1pm dedication of the Literary Landmark plaque at the Library, then tours at Arrowhead. At 4:30, the party begins at the Country Club of Pittsfield: cash bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, a special program with Tina Packer, Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company, Prosecco toast, and…
Find out more »Old Salts Day
Free admission at Arrowhead to any career sailor, marine, merchant marine, cruise ship worker, or pirate. Take a tour where Moby-Dick was written and lift a pint of rum (you bring the rum!).
Find out more »Benefit for the Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead
Join us as we celebrate Herman's birthday at the Country Club of Pittsfield. This benefit will assist in funding the restoration work needed to preserve our historic red barn, built in 1840 and used by the Melville family. Restoring the exterior cladding and improving drainage will ensure that the barn can be enjoyed for years to come. Paint analysis will enable the barn to return to its original paint color and appearance under Melville ownership. The completion of this project…
Find out more »Annual Moby-Dick Marathon
The third annual Moby-Dick marathon reading will commence in the barn and continue for the next three days until we finish the book. The reading is interrupted, for the morning of Sunday the 4th, so that people can attend the Monument Mountain walk celebrating the day that Melville met Hawthorne. The marathon concludes on Monday, August 5.
Find out more »Annual Monument Mountain Hike
On Sunday morning, take a walk up Monument Mountain in Great Barrington to celebrate the historic meeting of Melville and Hawthorne. It's sponsored by the Trustees of the Reservations, the stewards of Monument Mountain, and includes a reading of William Cullen Bryant's historic poem about the mountain as well as a champagne toast.
Find out more »Poetry Reading: Pequod Poems
Wilda Morris, poet, reads from her book "Pequod Poems" at Arrowhead, in the barn, at 6:30pm. Copies of her book will also be for sale that evening. Author of "Szechuan Shrimp and Fortune Cookies: Poems from a Chinese Restaurant" and other books, she is a former President of the Illinois State Poetry Society. She is a winner of the 2009 Prairie Poetry Award and has received two Pushcart nominations. Free event.
Find out more »Book Release: Cement Dust
Tuesday, August 27, J. Peter Bergman will read from his new novel, "Cement Dust," at Arrowhead, in the barn, at 6:30pm. Copies of the book are on sale in the gift shop at Arrowhead. Author of the Charles Dickens Award winning collection of short stories, "Counterpoints," this is his second published novel. Kirkus Reviews said, "its portrayal of complex, unique relationships is impressive... a rewarding novel about unexpected family ties and the pain of mental illness."
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