[Forum] Local Buzz on Berkshire Blueprint & Shameless Plug

Sat Mar 10 11:31:16 EST 2007

Great that Boston picked up on the news, but here's what the press is saying
closer to home.

"Berkshire Blueprint" Says Economy Needs Diversity

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_5405549

"Berkshire Blueprint" Calls for Changes

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_5405432

Plan for County Growth Focuses on Arts, Tourism

http://www.thetranscript.com/headlines/ci_5405372

Barrett: Consultants Choose to Ignore North County

http://www.thetranscript.com/localnews/ci_5405640

Mapping the Future

http://www.thetranscript.com/editorial/ci_5405371

Shameless plug for tonight's WordPlay, at the NEW HOME of Papyri Books, 45
Eagle Street, beginning at 7 pm.  Inkberry sponsors, I host, Paul Marino
videotapes for broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television.
Tonight's featured readers are Vivian Dorsel and writers from her recently
published literary magazine upstreet #2, including North Adams' own Frank
Merrigan.  See bios below.  After that, snack and then open mic!  All are
welcome

This outdoor art exhibit in Williamstown yesterday was engaging and fun.
Maybe an idea to copy/reinvent?

Balloon Art Installation Brings Back Memories

http://www.thetranscript.com/headlines/ci_5405637

Went to see a terrific production of Moliere's "The Miser" up at Hubbard
Hall in Cambridge, NY, last night.  My review will be up on www.GailSez.com
<http://www.gailsez.com/>  by the end of the day.  Hubbard Hall is a great
example of a strong arts community in action.  Their long-time Executive
Director Benjie White has a hilarious turn as Maitre Jacques in "The Miser"
and he might be a good person for us to be in conversation with.

Gail M. Burns

57 Linden Street

Williamstown, MA 01267-2511

413-458-4246

gailmburns at adelphia.net

www.GailSez.com <http://www.gailsez.com/> 

Vivian Dorsel, Editor of upstreet and founder of Ledgetop Publishing, holds
an MFA in writing from Vermont College. She was managing editor of The
Berkshire Review  for eight years, and her work has appeared in Connecticut
River Review, The Mind's Eye, Pif, The Artful Mind, and The Women's Times.
She lives in Richmond and teaches writing workshops at the Norman Rockwell
Museum in Stockbridge.

Francis C. Merrigan of North Adams is a retired English teacher who has been
writing since 2001 and is a regular WordPlay open-mic participant. His
poetry has been published in The Berkshire Review. His essay/memoir,
"Himself," appears on page 193 of upstreet number two.

Hilary Bird Poremski, an English teacher at Rutland (VT) High School, holds
an MFA degree in writing from Vermont College, where she was nominated by
poet Betsy Sholl for an AWP Intro Journals Award in 2005. She received an
Honorable Mention in HeartLodge's second annual poetry contest, and her poem
will appear in the journal's spring 2007 issue. Her work has appeared in The
Berkshire Review and upstreet number one, and her contribution to upstreet
number two is a poem, "Elegy for Basswood," on page 22.

Anna Viadero is a writer and memoir-writing teacher who lives in Montague.
Her work appears in many anthologies, and she has been a commentator on
public radio in New York and New England. She publishes the annual
collection, Local Color: Stories by Western MA Senior Citizens about Life as
They Remember It. Her essay/memoir, "Alchemy," appears on page 113 of
upstreet number two.

  _____  

From: forum-bounces at berkshirevisualarts.org
[mailto:forum-bounces at berkshirevisualarts.org] On Behalf Of Jane Hudson
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 8:25 AM
To: joshua at joshuafield.com
Cc: forum at berkshirevisualarts.org
Subject: Re: [Forum] Boston Globe: Report encourages arts in the Berkshires

Wow, that's really great. I'm especially interested in "more training,
marketing and infrastructure improvements in the area's towns to stimulate
and support arts-oriented businesses." That would mean some real cooperation
among property owners and city government. Then more people gathering
together to broach new enterprises. It sounds most encouraging.

On Mar 9, 2007, at 8:57 PM, Joshua Field wrote:

Boston Globe:

Report encourages arts in the Berkshires

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/03/09/report_encourages_arts_in
_the_berkshires/

By Adam Gorlick, Associated Press Writer | March 9, 2007

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --Capitalizing on more than just popular attractions like
Tanglewood and the Norman Rockwell Museum would bolster Berkshire County's
economy, business and community leaders say.

A two-year, $1 million study released Friday by the Berkshire Economic
Development Corporation pushes for more development, support and marketing
of the area's creative and artistic resources.

The so-called Berkshire Blueprint shows that about 6,000 people -- or 10
percent of the workforce in Berkshire County -- are involved in some
arts-related business that the report defines as a "creative cluster."

"Art means business in the Berkshires," said Laurie Norton Moffatt, director
of the Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. "Until now, the impact of the
creative cluster on the Berkshires hasn't been fully understood. It is an
area ripe for economic development."

Berkshire County has been plotting an economic rebound since the mid-1990s,
when General Electric Co.
<http://boston.stockgroup.com/sn_overview.asp?symbol=GE> closed most of its
operations there and laid off about 25 percent of the region's workforce.

"Most of the good jobs just evaporated, and we were left with high
unemployment and all the problems associated with it," said Tyler Fairbank,
president of the economic development corporation. "But our economy here is
no longer made up of just one large employer base. It's about entrepreneurs
and artists. We have an eclectic economy that's creative in its focus."

The Berkshire Blueprint suggests providing more training, marketing and
infrastructure improvements in the area's towns to stimulate and support
arts-oriented businesses.

The Pittsfield region topped six other urban areas in jobs growth -- by
percentage -- in the one-year period ending in January, according to the
Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development. The 3.6 percent gain was
nearly double the next highest urban region, with trade, transportation and
utilities sectors leading the way.

-- 

// www.joshuafield.com

// joshua at joshuafield.com

// +1 [413] 329-4789

// 121 Union Street, Studio 1E

// North Adams, MA 01247 USA 

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