By the way

Earlier this week, someone told me in frustration that inauguration should not get combined with Martin Luther King Day this year. She felt they should each have their own recognition. I understand her point. But the more I think about it, the less I agree.

Barack Obama, coming into the White House today, faces one set of threats, and Martin Luther King, turning depression into determination on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, faced another. They are different men. They have different dreams.

If they could walk around the city together today, talking quietly on the frozen sidewalks, I don't know whether they would agree with each other. I don't know whether they would like each other. Martin Luther King was a brilliant firebrand from a highly religious family, and Obama has become the spokesman of a young generation deeply aware of the dangers of fundamentalism.

But surely they would respect each other. Obama has proved King's words true. He has been judged not on the color of his skin but on the content of his character. When the election results were firmly announced, one of my friends turned to another and said, "this is so cool. Your son will grow up knowing that black men and women run things." In 1960, it was a vision. For children born today, it will be the way things are.

As Professor Charles Ogletree told John Stewart, there's a long way to go yet. Toni Morrison wrote that in daily use, when someone mentions a man or woman, everyone knows that the man or woman is white -- because no one says so. We assume it unless the writer specifically tells us otherwise. I hope that one day, when I write about men or women, any reader will assume only that they are human.

As a way to start: here are ways to spend a week celebrating Martin Luther King Day, and also to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration. One day is not enough.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Time & Space Limited will screen “Faat-Kine,” a tribute to the everyday heroism of African women, in French and Wolof with English subtitles, 7:30 p.m., 434 Columbia St., Hudson, N.Y., (518) 822-8448 or www.timeandspace.org.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., David Grover and Friends will lead a freedom concert and sing-a-long at Berkshire South Regional Community Center at 5 Crissey Road, Great Barrington. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 2-12, free to children under 2 years old.  For more information, call (413) 528-2810.

On Monday, the Berkshire Museum celebrates from 1 to 4 p.m. with readings from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Admission to the museum is free all day.

MCLA will begin its 15th annual Martin Luther King Day celebration with coffee and pastries at 10 a.m. Music and speeches follow, and Williamstown residents Donna Denelli-Hess and Deborah Foss will receive the Peacemaker award for their volunteer work at a Kenyan orphanage for HIV-infected children. The celebration is free and ends with a community lunch. (413) 663-7588.

On Tuesday, the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will broadcast Barack Obama’s inauguration as a free community experience, 11 a.m., 14 Castle St., Great Barrington, (413) 528-0100.

Thursday, Jan. 22, at Hildene, Scott Bongartz, Hildene’s executive diretor, will begin the winter history series with a talk about “Lincoln the Leader” and five key decisions Lincoln made during his presidency.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A green-living festival tree.

Eagle file

On the second Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Two fuzzy mittens (for a hike at Notchview)
Three Yule logs (made of chocolate)
Four marionettes

Five minute's rest!

Six Carol singers (Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the South Congregational Church at 110 South St., Pittsfield.)
Seven Kwaanza candles
Eight Actors playing
Nine artists crafting
Eleven Ringers ringing
12 children skating (with the Pittsfield Parks Speed Skating Club, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. through Wednesday, Pittsfield Boys’ and Girls’ Club, Melville Street. Ages 5 and up. www.pittsfieldspeedskating.org. (413) 442-6407.)

And a week off with my family!
Happy holidays all.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Almost Thanksgiving. Harvest festivals are busting out all over. The weather is sparkling cold, and fall studies and projects show results. Step dancers compete at Williams, and in Lenox teenagers play Shakespearean at the ages his characters really are.

I once sat on on a rehearsal for the Fall Festival of Plays at Shakespeare & Company. High school actors from sixteen schools or more gatherd in one gymnasium to practice fight choreography. They lept, somersaulted, caught each other in trust falls, and told me breathlessly how long they had waited to be there. The energy in that room was terrific.

The casts had come through late nights together and tech runs together. It's easier when you're 18, but sometimes still lack of sleep will bring on a kind of glee, espcially one that comes from work — or people — worth sweating for. Like getting up at 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning to put the 29-pound turkey in the oven, so it will cook before dinner.

Thanksgiving is its own holiday. Large, warm and brief. It gets overshadowed too often by the manic days of December, but I would rather enjoy it on its own. There's plenty going on.

This weekend in North Adams, in a Mill City production at Western Heritage Gateway State Park, The Little Prince looks for a way into space. He leaves his pilot in the Sahara with a promise of warmth in the empty landscape: "It will be as though I had given you, in place of stars, crowds of laughing sleigh bells."

On Monday afternoon at 4, Sandra Thomas, the executive director of Images Cinema, will talk about the independent film movement and its effect on Hollywood.

And on Tuesday, the Colonial will show "Casablanca." I'm told that in the '60s, one of the independent cinemas in Cambridge, Mass. used to show Bogie every year during final exams. The students would come with bottles of champagne and raise a toast.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the summer, when Berkshires Week expanded into a 24-page magazine, I began writing to you in print. The observations I had been channeling into this blog began to fuel a weekly column. That column will continue, but Berkshires Week has returned to the Thursday entertainment section, as it does every winter, and this blog is coming alive again.

In the rhythm of the year, we are moving inside and gathering together. The weather has turned cold — and debates have warmed up. It's the season for visiting and storytelling and holing up with a book. It's the season for following ideas.

Photo by Darren Vanden Berge / Berkshire Eagle Staff

On that note, here are some chances this week to get out and have a good talk:

Louisa Gilder will discuss her new book, “The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics Was Reborn” on Saturday at The Mount in Lenox from 5 to 7 p.m. Gilder will kick off the Mount’s new “meet the author” series. For reservations, call (413) 441-5112 today (Thursday).

Twenty five writers will come together for a “sip and sign for the holidays” on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. at Millbrook Winery in Millbrook, N.Y. Lynn Redgrave and her daughter, Annabel Clark will be there, along with Donald Westlake; Larry Beinhart, writer of “Wag the Dog”; Lisa Philllips, “ NPR: The Faces Behind the Voices”; Amy Goldman, “The Heirloom Tomato Book”; Dan Leader, “Local Breads”; Ric Orlando “We Want Clean Food” and others.
For more information, call (800) 662-WINE or visit http://millbrookwine.com.

Chauncey Loomis, writer and former English Professor at Dartmouth College, will lead a discussion of “Emma” by Jane Austen on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Stockbridge Library. He will talk about why he believes the novel is one of the greatest in the English language. The discussion is part of the Stockbridge Library's Winter Reads series.

Berkshire Economic Development Corporation, Berkshire Creative, and Berkshire Entrepeneurs Network will present a discussion of the Angel Network on Monday evening at 5:30 at the Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield.
The Berkshire Angel Network links local entrepreneurs with potential investors. Entrepreneurs now have a source of potential seed capital and investors have an opportunity to analyze prospective business enterprises.
Hear directly from Investors and Entrepreneurs who have participated in the Angel Network: Mark Gold, attorney and Angel iInvestor; Michael Wainwright, entrepreneur and Angel funding recipient; Peter Pritchard, Director of the Tech Valley Angel Network; Keith Girouard, Senior Business Advisor of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center. For more information, write to Beth Larrow at blarrow@berkshireedc.com or call (413) 499-4000, ext. 16.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have passed the summer solstice. The longest days of the year are the fullest in this job; as Berkshires Week has returned to a weekly magazine, and swelled to 40 pages and more, this blog has grown quieter. So it's high time for some noise.

In 13th century China, firework makers were craftsmen. I don't know whether they created spears or full-sized flying dragons out of light, like Gandalf, but imagine shaping fire with your hands! It sounds magic enough to me. And they did create flowers — peonies and chrysanthemums and willow, and horse tails, and glittering fish.

Once in a Chemistry class, the professor handed out metal spatulas and different powders, and we dipped spoonfuls of powder and held them in the flame of a bunsen burner. The flame changed color with each chemical — mint green, brandy flame blue. Magnesium made it suddenly spit silver, and I suddenly knew how sparklers are made. We used to light them on the back terrace at my grandmother's, on the fourth of July, and run in wide loops around the lawn, watching them fizz.

Here are some larger light displays and celebrations to look forward to over the holiday:

Fireworks
North Adams, Noel Field Athletic Complex. Begins a half hour after conclusion of SteepleCats game. (413) 664-6180.
Fourth of July Celebration
Family events all day and fireworks at dark. Willow park, off route 7 north, Bennington Vt.
July Fourth Family Fest
Fireworks, Skeeter Creek Band, 3 to 11 p.m. Kiddie rides, magician, climbing wall, hay maze, food and family fun. Parking free. Columbia County Fairgrounds, Route 66, Chatham, N.Y. www.columbiafair/otherevents.com. (518) 392-2121. Fireworks, Little League Field, Payn Avenue, Chatham, N.Y.
Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade
One of the largest Independence Day parades in New England. Dozens of marching bands, floats and giant balloons, attracting over 80,000 people each year. 10 a.m. www.pittsfieldparade.com.
Declaration of Independence
Actors from the Williamstown Theatre Festival read the Declaration of Independence and the British Reply outside WCMA following the Williamstown Parade. Founding Documents of the United States of America on view in Manifestos: American Dreams and Their Founding Documents.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This blog has taken a holiday in the spring, while I put together the Summer Previews calendar (all 72 pages worth) and the first two Berkshires Week summer magazines. Now I am finding the rhythm of this season. Summer around here is always busier, faster growing and full of ripening plans.

Dalton Fair comes to town June 4-8. Eagle file photo.

This weekend, in honor of Memorial Day. my brother and sister and I and my oldest friends spent time at a family place, walking in the woods and playing cards by kerosene lamp. We pulled objects from twenty years of tide walking and flea markets off the shelves and looked at them. Mussel shells, drift wood, binoculars with metal eye pieces.

On the third day, sitting sleepily on the steps of a used bookstore, I thought how restful this small holiday had been. But then, how long does a holiday have to be, to be a holiday? How about an evening outdoors, with picnic sandwiches and drummers on the lawn. Or a lunch with a friend in a place you haven't seen in years. After all, the county is turning into a place people come to, and we are already here. So I hope that that summer listing of events will encourage many holidays, for all of us who live in the mountains.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The town is spring cleaning. Picnic tables have sprung up around the ice cream stands. (Who invented the picnic table? That sturdy A-frame defines camp grounds and outdoor sandwiches on crumpled napkins, but there must have been a time when it didn't exist. There must have been a time when campgrounds didn't exist.) Street sweepers are out, and drain cleaners, and shirtless men walk on flat rooftops checking for leaks. Beds of earth are turned over beside the sidewalks.

The parks are spring cleaning too. Great Barrington's Riverwalk held its first cleanup day last weekend, and Berkshire Sanctuaries in Lenox invites volunteers to put on gloves and clear its trails, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cleaning the Housatonic River, Eagle file.

Whether you take clippers along or not, these mild days are good to be out in. And as the nights get longer and warmer, another mark of the season appears: lights. My neighbors stoke up their cinder block grill with wood kindling, and I can see the embers glow. Walking home a week ago, I saw a string of small lights lining stairs and railings. Candles, I thought, and wondered why — were they devotional, or a remembrance, a reverse Halloween or a sign of Passover, a gift to travellers?

Maybe all of the above. Close up, I saw they were electric, but they are a sign of warmer weather. They are a sign that not long from now, I will be able to stretch out on the deck, with a lamp burning on the rail, and listen for bats.

Posted by Katherine Abbott at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)