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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Berkshire County Historical Society
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251008T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20250829T141137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251003T165433Z
UID:7655-1759944600-1759950000@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:A Whale Ship was My Yale College and My Harvard: Herman Melville's Whaling Years
DESCRIPTION:In late December 1840\, adrift in his personal life\, 21-year-old Herman Melville arrived in New Bedford\, Massachusetts\, preparing to embark on a South Seas whaling voyage. His diverse experiences and adventures in the course of the ensuing nearly four years would profoundly shape him and his writings. During this time\, young Melville toiled as a foremast hand in the uniquely demanding and colorful social world of a whaleship on three different vessels and also served for more than a year as a seaman aboard a United States Navy frigate. His odyssey took him to far-flung South American ports\, the Galapagos Islands\, Tahiti\, and the Sandwich Islands. He lived among the indigenous people in the Marquesas Islands and also witnessed the early impacts of colonialism and Christian missionary work in the Pacific world. \nThis talk by Arrowhead docent and researcher Peter Hacunda will explore Melville’s life during the early 1840s\, consider how it shaped him and why a whaleship truly was Melville’s “Yale College and [his] Harvard.” \nUse the BOOK NOW button to purchase tickets: $15 BCHS Members\, $20 non-members. \nAbout Peter Hacunda  \nAfter a decades-long international business career\, twenty years ago Peter Hacunda began following his passion for public history becoming a docent with the Alcatraz Night Tour program. Upon returning East\, he led tours at Newport’s Gilded Age mansions and served as “mate” on a duck boat in Providence. For fifteen years he volunteered at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park where he led walking tours\, including “In Ishmael’s Footsteps: Herman Melville’s New Bedford.” Peter is an alumnus of Mystic Seaport’s Munson Institute for American Maritime Studies and holds a Masters Degree in History from Providence College. In recent years\, as a panelist at the American History Association Conference\, he explored maritime perspectives on the California Gold Rush (2020) as well as how nineteenth-century British aristocrats helped preserve America’s historical and cultural legacies (2023). For the past two seasons as an Arrowhead docent\, Peter delights in connecting visitors with matters
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/a-whale-ship-was-my-yale-college-and-my-harvard-herman-melvilles-whaling-years/
LOCATION:Arrowhead\, 780 Holmes Road\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251010T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251010T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20250908T201335Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T171925Z
UID:7684-1760117400-1760122800@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:Artist Talk and Exhibit Opening - Francesca Olsen
DESCRIPTION:To celebrate the opening of What Quilts Reflect Back to Us\, Francesca Olsen’s showcase of quilts from the BCHS collection as well as her own creations\, BCHS hosts a “show and tell” event and artist talk.  Olsen will talk about the BCHS collection\, her own quilting\, and her residency experience at Arrowhead. Quilters are invited to bring and share their work in five-minute bursts; pre-registration is required for this portion of the talk.  Click here for more information or to register. \nFREE EVENT
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/artist-talk-francesca-olsen/
LOCATION:Arrowhead\, 780 Holmes Road\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251011T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251011T160000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20250822T144233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T174309Z
UID:7629-1760176800-1760198400@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:Fall Fest at Arrowhead
DESCRIPTION:Berkshire Museum and the Berkshire County Historical Society are proud to present “Fall Fest”\, a FREE all-ages event at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead in Pittsfield\, Massachusetts! This event will celebrate the season with a variety of crafts\, games\, and hands-on activities for children and adults to enjoy\, as well as offering guests the opportunity to unwind and enjoy the fall colors on the scenic grounds at Arrowhead. \nParticipating Organizations: \nBaseball in the Berkshires\nBerkshire Athenaeum  \nBerkshire Museum\nBerkshire Be-Witches\nThe Bidwell House Museum \nBerkshire Cider Project will be on site to offer an all-ages cider pressing activity and samples of their local hard ciders for guests 21 years of age and over. \nStroll along the fields at Arrowhead to explore The Mastheads five sculptural-architectural studios\, each inspired by a writer who lived or worked in the Berkshires.  \nScheduled Activities\n10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Free hayrides provided by Four Seasons Stables\n12:00 – 2:00 pm: Face Painting by BTC Entertainment\n2:00 – 4:00 pm: BTC Entertainment presents Magic Show and Balloon Twisting by Kapt. Kraw \nLawn games provided by Berkshire Museum and the Berkshire County Historical Society. \nTours of Arrowhead\, Herman Melville’s historic home\, are available by ticket.  Purchase your ticket by using the BOOK NOW button.  \n 
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/fall-fest-at-arrowhead/
LOCATION:Arrowhead\, 780 Holmes Road\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20250826T194134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250920T133946Z
UID:7645-1760549400-1760554800@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:Author to Author: Laurie Gwen Shapiro in Conversation with Debby Applegate
DESCRIPTION:The art of documenting an event or person’s life\, whether in film or in print\, is the subject of this conversation between author Debby Applegate and author/filmmaker Laurie Gwen Shapiro.  \nLaurie Gwen Shapiro is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist whose writing has appeared in The New Yorker\, The New York Times\, New York\, The Daily Beast\, Slate\, and others. Shapiro is the 2021 winner of the Damn History Award for “The Improbable Journey of Dorothy Parker’s Ashes” for The New Yorker and gold medallion winner in the People Profiles category for the Silurian Press Club’s 77th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards. She is the author of The Stowaway a best seller and an Indie next selection. She is an adjunct professor of journalism at The NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute in the graduate program. She is author of The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart\, George Putnam\, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon. \nDebby Applegate’s first book\, The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher\, her riveting account of the famous 19th-century preacher\, abolitionist and Berkshire resident\, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Her second book\, Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler\, Icon of the Jazz Age\, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice for Best Books of 2021\, and won an Earphones Award for best audiobooks of 2021.  \nUse the BOOK NOW button to purchase tickets; $15 BCHS members\, $20 non-members.
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/author-to-author-laurie-gwen-shapiro-in-conversation-with-debby-applegate/
LOCATION:Arrowhead\, 780 Holmes Road\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20250914T153026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250914T153026Z
UID:7692-1761154200-1761159600@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:Grandmother’s Wedding Dress
DESCRIPTION:A small late-nineteenth century scrapbook filled with fabric swatches reveals a story of fabrics and fashion in nineteenth-century Vermont\, as told by three generations of an ordinary family. This talk by historian Lorraine German uses the swatches and clothing information found in the scrapbook to tell the history of textiles in New England and the fashions of the period. \nUse the BOOK NOW button to purchase tickets; $15 for BCHS members\, $20 non members \nLorraine German and her late husband Steve established Mad River Antiques\, LLC in 2001\, with a concentration on 18th\, 19th\, and 20th century Americana and decorative arts. She has been a guest speaker at antiques shows\, museums\, and antiques organizations\, where she has covered a variety of topics\, including stoneware\, redware\, quilts\, Christmas ornaments\, and Santa Claus. Lorraine is also the author of Soil and Shul in the Berkshires: The Untold Story of Sandisfield’s Jewish Farm Colony\, published in 2018.
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/grandmothers-wedding-dress/
LOCATION:Arrowhead\, 780 Holmes Road\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251024T070000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251024T210000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20250919T181329Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T185329Z
UID:7700-1761289200-1761339600@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:Strange Fancies: The Ghosts of Broadhall
DESCRIPTION:SOLD OUT – A second date has been added — October 25.  \nThis summer\, BCHS presented Strange Fancies\, an exploration of Pittsfield ghost lore\, the supernatural influences on Herman Melville’s imagination\, and the ghostly experiences reported at the Moby-Dick author’s former home led by Robert Oakes. \nThe tale continues this fall  at the Country Club of Pittsfield. Once known as Broadhall\, this building was the home of Melville’s friend\, fellow writer Sarah Morewood\, whom Melville often visited while he lived at Arrowhead.  \nAnd some say he may still be calling. Indeed\, both Melville’s ghost and that of Mrs. Morewood are said to haunt the house\, as well as others yet unidentified. Many have visited the property throughout its long history\, including Alexander Hamilton\, President John Tyler\, famous literati\, and formerly enslaved people. And many have died there\, including Mrs. Morewood\, as well as seventeen victims of a 1910 ice house explosion\, described as the worst disaster in Pittsfield history. \nJoin Robert Oakes\, author of Ghosts of the Berkshires and ghost tour guide at Ventfort Hall and The Mount\, as he leads you through this historic Pittsfield property\, sharing accounts of sightings and other strange encounters reported by those who work there. Explore this unfolding mystery\, and discover for yourself whether Melville or Morewood—or others unknown—are haunting the house next door to Arrowhead. \nPlease note:  This tour involves climbing two flights of stairs. \nTickets will be available October 1 by using the BOOK NOW button; $25 for BCHS members\, $30 for non-members.
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/strange-fancies-the-ghosts-of-broadhall/
LOCATION:Country Club of Pittsfield\, 639 South Street\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251025T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251025T210000
DTSTAMP:20260529T185923
CREATED:20251008T185114Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251024T142131Z
UID:7753-1761418800-1761426000@berkshirehistory.org
SUMMARY:Strange Fancies: The Ghosts of Broadhall - October 25
DESCRIPTION:SOLD OUT – USE THE BOOK NOW BUTTON TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR NOVEMBER  7 \nThis summer\, BCHS presented Strange Fancies\, an exploration of Pittsfield ghost lore\, the supernatural influences on Herman Melville’s imagination\, and the ghostly experiences reported at the Moby-Dick author’s former home led by Robert Oakes. \nThe tale continues this fall  at the Country Club of Pittsfield. Once known as Broadhall\, this building was the home of Melville’s friend\, fellow writer Sarah Morewood\, whom Melville often visited while he lived at Arrowhead.  \nAnd some say he may still be calling. Indeed\, both Melville’s ghost and that of Mrs. Morewood are said to haunt the house\, as well as others yet unidentified. Many have visited the property throughout its long history\, including Alexander Hamilton\, President John Tyler\, famous literati\, and formerly enslaved people. And many have died there\, including Mrs. Morewood\, as well as seventeen victims of a 1910 ice house explosion\, described as the worst disaster in Pittsfield history. \nJoin Robert Oakes\, author of Ghosts of the Berkshires and ghost tour guide at Ventfort Hall and The Mount\, as he leads you through this historic Pittsfield property\, sharing accounts of sightings and other strange encounters reported by those who work there. Explore this unfolding mystery\, and discover for yourself whether Melville or Morewood—or others unknown—are haunting the house next door to Arrowhead. \nPlease note:  This tour involves climbing two flights of stairs. \nTickets will be available October 1 by using the BOOK NOW button; $25 for BCHS members\, $30 for non-members.
URL:https://berkshirehistory.org/event/strange-fancies-the-ghosts-of-broadhall-october-25/
LOCATION:Country Club of Pittsfield\, 639 South Street\, Pittsfield\, MA\, 01201\, United States
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