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The 25th Annual Festival of Trees
November 14 – January 3

Each year, the Berkshire Museum spruces up the galleries with scores of festive trees decorated by community organizations, businesses, and school children. This year, to mark the Festival’s Silver Anniversary, the trees have been inspired by the theme Silver Bells.

Take a stroll through our shiny, shimmery forest. It’s a winter wonderland that will delight the entire family! Hop on the Pedal-a-Watt stationary bike and see if you can light up a tree with pedal power.  Become a part of this beloved Berkshire holiday tradition.

Mark your calendar for these special events throughout the holiday season!

The Little Black Dress
Thursday Nov. 19 at 1 p.m.
A fanciful performance linking floral design, festive accessories, and fashion diva Coco Chanel.

The McKrells’ Christmas
Saturday Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.
Songs, stories, recitations, and virtuosic instrumentals by the renowned performers of traditional and original Celtic, folk, Americana, and bluegrass music.

Berkshire Hillsmen Holiday Special
Saturday Dec. 5 at 1 p.m.
A family performance featuring holiday songs of yesteryear performed with harmony and humor by a barbershop quartet.

The Berkshire Music School’s Holiday Cabaret
Sunday Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
The entire family will enjoy holiday classics with a cabaret twist.

Holiday Family Day
Saturday Dec. 12 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
A full afternoon of hands-on fun and family-friendly performances culminates with the official lighting of the Museum’s tree.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Monday & Tuesday, Dec. 29 & 30 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Enjoy an enchanting musical production of this timeless tale by Berkshire Children’s Theater.

New Years’ Eve Celebration for Kids
Thursday, Dec. 31 at 11 a.m.
Children can ring in the New Year early with mind-boggling tricks by magician David Hall, followed by festive refreshment.

Tonality
Now through January 10, 2010
A companion exhibition to the 25th Annual Festival of Trees, Tonality explores the silvery hues of winter through a sterling selection of work from the Museum’s permanent collection.

Many artists choose to experiment with a muted palette, be it through etchings, charcoals, monochromatic lithographs, woodcuts, sketches, or photography. Tonality shines the light on artists as they delve into the tones between black and white, with work in various media by notable masters such as Philip Guston, Henry Moore, Jim Dine, James A.M. Whistler, Henri Matisse, Kaethe Kollwitz, Max Weber, and Reginald Marsh. Berkshire Museum Executive Director Stuart A. Chase personally curated the exhibition.

Many of the works in Tonality have rarely been on view to the public. One example of note is an early, untitled abstract drawing by Philip Guston (1913-1980) dated 1960. Later that decade, Guston helped to lead a transition from abstract expressionism to neo-expressionism in painting, abandoning the so-called "pure abstraction" of abstract expressionism in favor of more cartoonish renderings of various personal symbols and objects.

Another important work included in the exhibition is a pastel sketch by James A. M. Whistler (1834-1903) of Thomas Carlyle (1795 –1881), titled “Study for Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2.” This fully completed sketch followed Whistler’s famous portrait, “Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother,” commonly referred to as “Whistler’s Mother.” The austere portrait sketch exemplifies Whistler’s normally constrained palette and is another exercise in tonal harmony and composition. 

Among the works on paper that comprise Tonality, the sole exception is Berkshire artist Helen Febbo’s Tree Space I, painted on galvanized steel. Several pieces in Tonality have not been on display for decades because of their fragility, but they have now been taken out of storage and will remain on view through January 10, 2010, thanks to the recent installation of climate-control systems throughout the Museum.