Bascom Lodge in the Berkshires

During Labor Day weekend, Bascom Lodge is offering music and dance workshops. Bringing West African traditions to the peak, Marafanyi Drum, Dance, and Song presents a full day of learning and music-making! A variety of workshops are available throughout the day on Sunday, September 1st, before a special concert takes place in the lodge’s lobby at 6pm. The concert is free, and would make a great ending to a day of mountain exploring!

Atop Mt. Greylock – Massachusetts’ highest peak in the Berkshires – sits a beautiful piece of American history. Bascom Lodge was built during the 1930’s as a project of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal Depression-era jobs program. The lodge itself speaks volumes about the mountain’s natural history, as it is built out of Greylock schist and sturdy red spruce. Alongside rustic design and period architecture, the locally sourced building materials share the same aesthetic as the mountain’s trails and wild spaces.

Bascom Lodge offers a myriad of opportunities for fun for families throughout the summer and early fall. Open June 1st through October 30th, the lodge offers workshops, lectures, and explorations of all kinds. With the most beautiful time of the year approaching, Mt. Greylock is an excellent place for hiking and leaf peeping. Rugged kids can hike (with parents) to the top of the mountain to explore the lodge and learn about its history, while families with younger children may opt to drive up the mountain in order to enjoy the view and explore the top…

During Labor Day weekend, Bascom Lodge is offering music and dance workshops. Bringing West African traditions to the peak, Marafanyi Drum, Dance, and Song presents a full day of learning and music-making! A variety of workshops are available throughout the day on Sunday, September 1st, before a special concert takes place in the lodge’s lobby at 6pm. The concert is free, and would make a great ending to a day of mountain exploring!

Most of the workshops offered are for teens and adults, but a special kid-friendly dance and drum class will be held from 11am-12noon in the lobby. Young kids can dance and drum to their hearts content, and will learn about traditional African culture and music making while they’re at it! Tickets are $10 per family. Pre-register by calling 877-904-2362. For information about workshops for adults and teens, call Bascom Lodge at 413-743-1591. Bascom Lodge is located atop Mount Greylock in Adams, MA. www.bascomlodge.net.

Other events scheduled for this fall at Bascom Lodge:

Wednesday, Sept. 4th – HISTORY: “A Brief History of the Charcoal Industry: Charcoal Production on Mount Greylock, its History and Impact”. Shirley Sutton’s presentation will explore the history of charcoal, the process of wood distillation, the influence on ecology and industry, and what charcoal is used for today. You may even discover that you have, unknowingly, walked by a charcoal hearth deep in the forest. Lobby at 6pm. Summit of Mount Greylock. 413-743-1591. (FREE)

Sunday, Sept. 8th – LITERARY: Reading and book signing with Ellen Doré Watson and Jeffrey Harrison, presented by Orion Magazine and Tupelo Press. — Watson, author of the recent poetry collections “This Sharpening” and “Dogged Hearts”, as well as the new translation of poems by Adelia Prado, “Ex-Voto”, is hailed by Library Journal as one of “24 Poets for the 21st Century”. She is the director of The Poetry Center at Smith College and is the poetry and translation editor for The Massachusetts Review. — Jeffrey Harrison’s fifth collection of poetry, “What Comes Next”, will be published in 2014, and received the Dorset Prize from Tupelo Press. His other recent collections include “Incomplete Knowledge” and “The Names of Things: New and Selected Poems”. Harrison is an educator who has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Lobby at 6 p.m. Summit of Mount Greylock. 413-743-1591. (FREE)

Wednesday, Sept. 11th – DANCE: Referred to by the New York Times as the “Pied Piper of Tap Dance” and the “Mayor of Tap City”, performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer Tony Waag performs a rhythmic romp and history of tap dance. Lobby at 6 p.m. Summit of Mount Greylock. 413-743-1591. (FREE)

Wednesday, Sept. 18th – MUSIC: Bruce Mandel’s acoustic guitar, keen lyrical ear, and intimate and honest voice have traveled with him across the country and through musical territory both new and familiar. Lyrically driven, his songwriting straddles and expands on contemporary folk, Americana, and singer/songwriter genres reflecting the breadth of Mandel’s experience. An intimate solo set of original music and stories. Lobby at 6 p.m. Summit of Mount Greylock. 413-743-1591. (FREE)

Sunday, Sept. 22nd – MUSIC: Wind and Rain: An Evening of Poetry and Song. Celebrate the elements atop Mt. Greylock for an evening of songs, poems and stories with poet Rosemary Starace and singer-songwriter JoAnne Spies, as they trade art forms and are joined by special guest Shawn Stevens, Mohican storyteller and musician. Guitar, dulcimer, rattles, flute and chimes will accompany original and familiar pieces spoken, chanted and sung. Lobby at 6 p.m. Summit of Mount Greylock. 413-743-1591. (FREE)

Wednesday, Sept. 25th – THEATER: Preview of WAM Theatre ‘s November production of “Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight” by Lauren Gunderson. Cast members will provide a staged reading of select scenes from this Northeast Regional Premiere. In the play Emilie Du Chatelet, one of the leading interpreters of modern physics during the Age of Enlightenment, searches for a formula that will convince the world of her worth. WAM Theatre has been creating professional theatre for everyone that benefits women and girls since 2010. Lobby at 6 p.m. Summit of Mount Greylock. 413-743-1591. (FREE)