Harvest Gala
2025-11-15 18:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Join us to enjoy a delicious, even “glorious” fall meal prepared by celebrated local chef, Adam Manacher. This is always a popular event and this year the entertainment will provide a behind the scenes peek at how the amazing sounds were created for the sold-out radio play, “The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow” presented in October by the Sandisfield Players.
Also – A preview of some highlights of our 2026 season.

Special Concert: Josh Luxon-Robinson Returns
2025-11-28 16:00 - 17:30
Josh Luxon-Robinson is the brilliant young pianist who has delighted our audiences for the last three years. This special Thanksgiving-weekend performance provdes a great and upllifting alternative to couch-sitting on the day after Thanksgiving.
Program (subject to change)
Liszt – Vallée d’Obermann
Medtner – Sonata Reminisicenza
Beethoven – Sonata in A flat Major, Op. 110
About Mr. Luxon-Robinson:
Josh Luxon-Robinson is a soloist and chamber musician, and recent graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he studied with James Kirby, supported by a scholarship. During his time there he participated in masterclasses and lessons for chamber, concerto and solo performance with a number of world class musicians, notably Peter Donohoe, Kathryn Stott and Angela Hewitt. Josh was the winner of the RWCMD’s Eric Hodges Beethoven Prize and the Bryan Davies Memorial Award for Accompanists in 2025. He is passionate about exploring the intricate details of the music he loves – he has done and continues to do so through lectures and masterclasses he’s given, notably for the piano society at Royal Holloway, University of London. Josh has performed as a soloist regularly in the US and UK and has enjoyed accompanying instrumentalists and singers as well as playing in piano trios and quartets. Upcoming performances include solo and chamber recitals in London, and a concert and masterclass for Skipton Music Festival.
Limited number of community tickets @ $10.
Online ticket sales close at 2 pm on November 28.

A Conversation with Simon Winchester about The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind
2025-11-29 16:00 - 17:30
New York Times Best-Selling Author Simon Winchester talks about and reads from his new hot-off-the-presses book, The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind.
This special event is free but donations are encouraged.
From the November 18 New York Times review:
“As Simon Winchester writes in his delightful new book, “The Breath of the Gods,” these invisible currents of air shape our lives in myriad ways. A peripatetic polymath who has written books about everything from the Oxford English Dictionary to the San Francisco earthquake to a journey up the Yangtze River, Winchester weaves geology, meteorology, etymology and history into a jaunty survey of wind’s incarnations and permutations.”
And from the book description on Amazon:
Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style.
What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service.
In 2022, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds—the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events—are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency.
While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind—a vital source of clean and “safe” power.
Between these two poles—wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet—lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the “natural disasters” that are becoming more frequent and regular.
The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force—unseen but not unfelt—that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid.
Books will be available for purchase after the talk. The author will be available to autograph copies.

Call for Art - Daniel Manacher Young Artists Prize - Deadline Extended
2026-01-01 08:00 - 2026-05-22 23:30
Above: By the Swing, Inspired by Yinka Shonibare’s The Swing (After Fragonard) by Enaya A. Ogletree one of the 2025 winners.
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 22.
The Sandisfield Arts Center is pleased to announce the 5th annual Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists. Up to three artists will be selected as finalists and will each receive $400 in support of their art practice, as well as a group show of their work at the Sandisfield Arts Center in the 2026 Gallery season.
The prize is generously funded by the parents of Daniel Manacher in memory of their son and his passion for art. Please read the eligibility and application requirements carefully before submitting for the prize. Direct any questions to gallery@sandisfieldartscenter.org
Judge: Virginia Overton. Overton is a distinguished American artist known for her site-specific and sculpture works that often incorporate found or readymade objects. In 2018 she was the first female artist to have a solo exhibition at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, New York. She has work in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
More about the prize and past recipients.
Eligibility and Application Requirements
Entry Deadline: May 22 by 11:30 pm
Applicants will be notified no later than June 30 via email
Exhibition dates: Bi-ennial exhibit in 2026: Opening reception Sunday August 16
2025 winners whose work will be included: Elizabeth Cheng, Enaya A. Ogletree, Annie Scott, Evelyn Vollmer
Entry Requirements: Eligible artists are those 17-26 yrs of age who reside or go to school in Berkshire County We are actively seeking inclusivity to all those wishing to apply. If any technical assistance due to lack of access to a computer, camera, or internet at home is needed to complete your application, please contact gallery@sandisfieldartscenter.org. There is no fee associated with the application and all entrants will be judged based solely on the merit of the work presented.
Accepted Media: We are currently accepting applications from those working in painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, and other works on paper, and sculpture. We are unable to accept photography, video, sound or purely digital art at this time. Digital work that will be printed for display on a wall can be considered.
Work Size: No piece can exceed 60” in any direction, and sculptures must be under 60lbs. Artists are responsible for all transportation of the work. All artwork should have been created in the past 3 years.
IMAGE REQUIREMENTS – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Please submit through Google form (see link below) 5 high resolution images of work with up to 5 supporting images of details or various perspectives for 3D art (no more than 10 images total).

Images should be presented in JPEG format with resolution set to 300 dpi, with the longest side no more than 1500pixels.

Title each image file according to this format: LastName_FirstName_imagenumber (ex. Harris_Jade_01.jpg)
Please include a separate document (either Word or pdf) with the image list. The image numbers must correspond to the jpegs submitted and follow this format: 01: Title, Year completed. Media, Size in inches(Height x Width or Height x Width x Depth for 3D work); Ex: Sunset, 2021. Acrylic paint on canvas, 15×11 inches. Please label the image list file LastName_FirstName_ImageList (ex. Harris_Jade_ImageList)
In one additional document (either Word or pdf) include: Contact information (name, phone number, email, mailing address), artist resume (if applicable), educational background, bio (no more than 150 words), and artist’s statement (no more than 250 words). Please label this file as LastName_FirstName_Artist Info (ex. Harris_Jade_Artist Info)

How to submit: Use this Google form: https://forms.gle/Eqr5mrPimjKnZufg7
Selection Process: The applications will be reviewed by the contest judge, Virginia Overton.
Publicity: All finalists will be promoted in local press publications and Sandisfield Arts Center communications.
Contact: Please reach out to Josie Miner at gallery@sandisfieldartscenter.org with any questions regarding the application process

Season Opening - Anni Crofut's Family Cabaret! - Sold Out
2026-05-02 19:00 - 21:00
A hilarious, romping evening of madcap mischief, song, dance, comedy, fiddle, yo yo, ukes, jazz and more. This family-friendly variety show provides a professional community theater experience replete with talent, hilarity and soul. More than 25 actors and performers will grace the stage.
Eight hilarious sketches led by Master of Ceremonies Anni Crofut will precede eight acts by such local luminaries as Yo-Yo comedian John Higby, Tom Truss’ Spontaneous Combustion improv ensemble, the Berkshire Ukulele Group, fiddle-player Maggie Holtzberg, Cabaret singer Linda Mironti, and solo jazz guitarist Lucas Solarzano, among others. Cabarets in years past have seen appearances by the likes of internationally renowned opera singer Benjamin Luxon, Comedienne Alison Larkin, slam poetry champion Taylor Mali and the dance company of Moving Arts Exchange.
When a community cabaret takes place in a creative hotspot populated by talented local residents — many of whom are also professional performers — the result is an evening that reaches new standards of family entertainment.
Tip: Click the + sign to select the number of tickets you want, then click the Get Tickets button. You can select both adult and child (12 and under) tickets.

The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery
2026-05-16 10:00 - 12:00
Saturday morning: Ticket sales have closed but there is room for walk-ins.
A conversation with historian John Harpham about his new book, The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery, hailed as a “landmark account of the origins of American slavery showing how ancient Roman ideas were used to defend the establishment of a slave empire in the English Atlantic world.”
On our 250th anniversary, Harpham’s deep, original research helps answer the paradox of our nation’s original sin. We’re thrilled that John is taking time off from his book tour of major American and British cities to stop in Sandisfield.
Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author.
The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery published by Harvard University Press has been widely praised:
An outstanding accomplishment in intellectual history. With bracing clarity and moral force, John Harpham recovers a forgotten landscape of thought that rendered slavery not only conceivable but also morally permissible in the English-speaking world. Like David Brion Davis before him, Harpham writes with both scholarly precision and humanistic urgency. Luminous and unsettling, this is a foundational text for anyone who seeks to understand the origins of Anglo-American slavery.

—Orlando Patterson, author of Enslavement: Past and Present
Searing, unsettling, and strikingly original, The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery is the most ambitious account of slavery’s founding in the New World since the work of David Brion Davis half a century ago. With unflinching acuity and relying on breathtaking research, Harpham recounts the terrible story of how the English in America convinced themselves of the rightness of human bondage.

—Jill Lepore, author of We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution
Compelled by the desire to understand how human beings come to defend the indefensible, John Harpham turns to the early modern roots of Atlantic slavery in this perceptive intellectual history. The depth of his research and the boldness of his insights are certain to command attention.

—Drew Gilpin Faust, author of This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
Harpham is Assistant Professor of Classics and Letters and Wick Cary Professor in the Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage at the University of Oklahoma. His research examines ideas about slavery, freedom, and race, as well as the relation of such ideas to practices of enslavement and resistance across the Atlantic world. He is at work on a three-volume series about the ideas associated with the origins, development, and eventual abolition of slavery in the Anglo-American Atlantic world.

About Community tickets: We make available a limited number of Community tickets @ $10. (on a first come, first served basis) to make our events affordable for more members of the community. Honor system, no proof required.

Serena Granbery Solo Show - Opening Reception - Free
2026-05-16 16:00 - 18:00
Opening Reception 4-6 PM.
Using bronze, clay, concrete, oil, wax, and wood, Serena Granbery’s work reflects her deep connection to the natural world in work that echoes her reverence for the environment and ecology.
Gallery shows and opening receptions are free.
Closes June 14.

Serena Granbery Solo Show
2026-05-16 16:00 - 2026-06-14 18:00
Opening Reception May 16 4-6 PM Show continues most weekends 11-3 or by appointment, contact gallery@sandisfieldartscenter.org.
Using bronze, clay, concrete, oil, wax, and wood, Serena Granbery’s work reflects her deep connection to the natural world in work that echoes her reverence for the environment and ecology.
Gallery shows and opening receptions are free.
Closes June 14.

Turning Points in Mathematics
2026-05-30 10:00 - 12:00
Celebrate math for our country’s 250th?
Find out why in this spirited, enlightening look at how we went from the practical math of the Sumerians to the Greeks and the Euclidean Geometry we study today — and how that was foundational to our Declaration of Independence!
Mathematician Jack Sanders ties culture and mathematics together to explain the first major turning point in mathematics, from the Sumerians’ practical math to the deductive math of the ancient Greeks creating Euclidean geometry and number theory we still study today — as did Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
As a professor of mathematics, Jack Sanders, PhD, taught classes in the history of mathematics. He retired as an IBM system architect.
A Sumerian tablet applying the Pythagorean theorem about 1000 years before Pythagoras
Limited number of reduced price community tickets @ $10.
SPACE IS AVAILABLE FOR WALK-INS.

The Poetry of Kinship: Joan Barasovska, Jayne Benjulian, & Hilde Weisert - Free
2026-06-06 14:00 - 16:00
Pictured: Joan Barasovska, Jayne Benjulian, Hilde Weisert
A reading and conversation with three award-winning poets on the many forms of kinship: with family, community, heritage, and the natural world.
Jayne Benjulian is the author of Five Sextillion Atoms (Saddle Road Press, 2016). Her collection, said David Wojahn, is a “highly distinctive and gripping book notable for the ways in which it combines the stories of family history with larger matters of public history.”
Her poems, widely published, have been shortlisted for the James Hearst Poetry Prize, the Fish Poetry Prize and the Bridport Prize. She served as chief speechwriter for Apple and investigator for the Public Defender in King County, WA. She lives in the Berkshire Hills where she edits the work of prose writers and poets.
Jayne was an Ossabaw Island Project Fellow; teaching fellow at Emory University; lecturer in the Graduate Program in Theater at San Francisco State University; and Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Lyon, France. www.jaynebenjulian.com
Joan Barasovska is a poet living in Chapel Hill, NC. In lyrical, accessible poetry, Joan contemplates the lifetime of a woman: as a girl, a daughter, a young woman in despair, and a wife and mother. At the brink of old age, living in welcome solitude, she revisits memory with broadened perspective.
Joan hosts a poetry series sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society at independent bookstore McIntyre’s Books. Joan was selected by the Poetry Society as their 2026 Pinesong Dedicatee. She has been nominated for Best of the Net and four times for a Pushcart Prize. Her books have been reviewed in numerous literary journals. She is the author of Birthing Age (Finishing Line Press, 2018); Carrying Clare (Main Street Rag, 2022); Orange Tulips (Redhawk Publications, 2022); and Unblessed, Unsung (Main Street Rag, 2025) www.joanbarasovska.com
“In Unblessed, Unsung, Joan Barasovska carries us from the Eastern European shtetl to a Philadelphia tailor shop, from a bright baseball star to his businessman brother, from father to son, from mother to daughter. Drawn from photographs and family history, these poems form a steady line of family through dark times. Reading them is like standing in a darkroom watching images emerge, silver on paper, under a red safelight: fragile magic.” —Mimi Herman, author of The Kudzu Queen
Hilde Weisert’s 2015 poetry collection The Scheme of Things was published by David Robert Books. Her work has appeared in LIBER: A Feminist Journal, Cold Mountain Review, Plume, Paterson Literary Review, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Hudson Review, The Cincinnati Review, Prairie Schooner, The Sun, and elsewhere. Awards: 2017 Gretchen Warren Award (NE Poetry Club), 2016 Tiferet Poetry Award, 2008 Lois Cranston Prize, and three Virginia Center for the Creative Arts fellowships. She is co-president of the Sandisfield Arts Center She is co-president of the Sandisfield Arts Center.. www.hildeweisert.com
“Hilde Weisert’s quiet, versatile poetic voice, fully at ease in narrative and lyric, is distinguished by vivid accuracy of thought and speech, modest but absolute courage in choice of subject, a dry, sweet humor, and a generosity of spirit that brings me back to her book again and again.”
– Ursula Le Guin

Ye Trodden Path: A History of the Knox Trail
2026-06-13 10:00 - 12:00
Picture above shows a section of the trail including Sandisfield and Otis.
In this new book, published by the Berkshire County Historical Society and the Knox Trail 250th Committee, a panel of local history authors traces the history and of the trail that Col. Henry Knox took to bring captured British cannons to Gen. Washington in Boston, including fascinating original research.
The work is the collaboration of five local historian-authors: Bernard Drew of Great Barrington, a foremost authority on both Berkshires history and the Knox Trail; Gary Leveille of the Great Barrington Historical Society; Rob Hoogs, Monterey Historical Society; Ron Bernard, Sandisfield Historical Commission; and Tom Ragusa, Otis Historical Commission.
Books will be available for sale and signing.
From the Sandisfield Times:
Two chapters of the book concentrate on the seven-mile, mostly undeveloped segment through Otis State Forest in Sandisfield, extending into the town of Otis. This is the longest surviving original stretch of the one-time colonial “military road” that connected Boston and Albany.
The impetus for the book was a true map of this unspoiled section compiled by long-time DCR employee Tom Ragusa. Tom devoted more than two decades of meticulous research including early documents he discovered in State archives together with modern survey techniques. The result is a definitive map of the road as it was in the 17th and 18th centuries.
A chapter is devoted to Tom’s fascinating journey and why what he did is important.
His map will be included in the book, in color, as a six-foot fold-out!
Ron Bernard writes about the history of the former Indian trail before it was a military road and its many colloquial names. Also included are his original research findings about five Sandisfield taverns along the “Great Road” which welcomed the Knox teamsters as they passed through on January 12-13, 1776.
Limited number of reduced price community tickets @ $10.

Ari & Mia: New England Roots Music
2026-06-13 19:00 - 21:00
TICKET SALES HAVE CLOSED BUT PLENTY OF ROOM FOR WALK INS!
Ari & Mia, New England’s chamber-folk sister duo, combine the styles of Southern and Northeastern fiddle music and the early American songbook with their “strikingly beautiful harmonies” and sophisticated Americana sound.
“The two have blended a strong — yet dainty — mix of fiddle, banjo, and cello with percussion sprinkled to taste. Their whimsical vocals intertwine with each other and sometimes it’s hard to decipher the two voices apart from each other. The duo would easily be seen/heard on the same bill as Ani DiFranco, Regina Spektor, Rasputina and Jewel.” — Valley Advocate
This concert is a celebration of the release of their brand new album, Learning Your Name—a collection of eight songs that captures the awe and joy of raising young children.
As Ari says, “…this particular album of ours is special and not in a way that calls attention to ourselves but in a way that asks other people to pay attention, to listen deeply, to access the wonderment of caregiving often buried beneath layers of burnout and exhaustion. In the words of our older sister Rabbi Shoshana Friedman, these songs are ‘caregiving as liturgy.’”
About Community tickets: We make available a limited number of Community tickets @ $10. (on a first come, first served basis) to most paid events to make our events affordable for more members of the community. Honor system, no proof required.
To buy tickets, press the + for the number you want – then Get Tickets will work (as long as tickets are available).

Four Fabulous Fridays: Open Mic Series - Free
2026-06-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-07-17 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-08-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Sandisfield Arts Center, 5 Hammertown Road, Sandisfield, MA, 01255, United States
June 19, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18.
Seasoned performer or just starting out, come and share your talent—Music, poetry, comedy. drama, or whatever! Or just come enjoy some live entertainment.
Performers please arrive 15 minutes early to sign up.

Introduction to Drawing - Session 1 of 3
2026-06-20 10:00 - 23:30
Photo: Michael O’Rourke in his studio
In this three-session class series, participants will develop observational skills through the act of drawing. Each session will work from a simple still-life setup. Techniques introduced will include: contour-line drawing with pencil; linear perspective; conveying volume through shading using charcoal, graphite and pencil; combining contour-lines and shading in a single drawing.
Max 10 students, age 16 and up. All materials provided
Sessions in this 3-session series on 6/20, 6/27, 7/11. $75 fee covers the 3-series class.
Michael O’Rourke has been a professional artist for fifty years. He was a professor of digital art for thirty years at Pratt Institute, NYC and is now Emeritus.
For samples of his drawing see http://michaelorourke.com/dwg/dwg.htm.

To Please the Palette - Opening Reception - Free
2026-06-21 16:00 - 18:00
“Peony”: plate by Adrienne Miesmer
Opening reception 4 – 6 PM. Show continues most weekends 11-3 or by appointment, contact gallery@sandisfieldartscenter.org.
Watercolors by Susie Crofut, ceramics by Adrienne Miesmer.
To Please the Palette is a unique art show that combines the fluidity of watercolors and the tactile beauty of ceramics. Together, the works create a rich sensory experience where color, texture, and creativity merge to showcase the talents of two artists who share a lifelong bond.
Gallery shows and opening receptions are free.
Show closes August 9.
Blue Vase by Susie Crofut

To Please the Palette
2026-06-21 16:00 - 2026-08-09 18:00
“Blue Vase”, watercolor by Susie Crofut
Opening Reception June 21 4-6 PM. Show continues Sundays through August 9, 1-3 or by appointment, contact gallery@sandisfieldartscenter.org.
Watercolors by Susie Crofut, ceramics by Adrienne Miesmer.
To Please the Palette is a unique art show that combines the fluidity of watercolors and the tactile beauty of ceramics. Together, the works create a rich sensory experience where color, texture, and creativity merge to showcase the talents of two artists who share a lifelong bond.
Gallery shows and opening receptions are free.
Show closes August 9.
“Peony,” plate by Adrienne Miesmer
More pictures from the show

Introduction to Drawing - Session 2 of 3
2026-06-27 10:00 - 23:30
Second session of this three-session class series. Sign up before the first class – for tickets see Introduction to Drawing – Session 1 of 3
Sessions in this 3-session series on 6/20, 6/27, 7/11. $75 fee covers the 3-series class.

Romantic Rhapsody: Masterworks for Cello and Piano
2026-06-28 16:00 - 18:00
Photo: Wendy Sutter, cellist; Anita Castiglione and Paul Posnak, pianists
Online sales end at 2 PM, but we can accommodate walk-ins.
A special evening of musical virtuosity with internationally renowned cellist Wendy Sutter and acclaimed resident artists Paul Posnak and Anita Castiglione performing timeless sonata masterpieces by Johannes Brahms and Claude Debussy and two passionate Spanish works, Siete Canciones Populares of Manuel De Falla and the brilliant, humorous Requiebros of Gaspar Cassado..
About Wendy Sutter: Heralded as “one of the great leading cellists of the classical stage” by the Wall Street Journal, Wendy Sutter has proven herself as one of the foremost and diverse soloists of her generation. Having performed widely on five continents, she has been acclaimed by critics in all major publications including The New York Times, Strad Magazine, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle.
Sandisfield Arts Center audiences are familiar with pianist Paul Posnak and Anita Castiglione from their thrilling four-hand piano concert here last year.
Paul Posnak’s international career as a concert pianist, recording artist, transcriber and sought-after teacher began as a child prodigy with a full scholarship to the Juilliard Preparatory School of Music at the age of eight. Recipient of Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees at Juilliard, and of the Loeb Prize (Juilliard’s highest award), he won First Prizes in the International J.S. Bach Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York. He has performed at the White House, The Supreme Court, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., at Carnegie Recital and Tully Halls in New York, and throughout Europe, South America, and Asia to critical acclaim.
Anita Castiglione’s career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and music educator began with piano studies in Massachusetts at the age of six. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami and a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, both in piano performance. She was the recipient of the prestigious Juilliard Alumni Award. She earned her Doctorate in Collaborative Piano from the University of Miami. She is an active pianist in the Miami and West Palm Beach areas and is adjunct faculty and choral pianist for the Frost Chorale, Bella Voce, and Chamber Singers at the University of Miami Frost School of Music.
Program preview:
Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, L. 135 by Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Suite populaire espagnole by Manuel de Falla (1876–1946). Transcribed for cello and piano by Maurice Maréchal
Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano in E Minor, Op. 38 by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Requiebros by Gaspar Cassadó (1897–1966)
About Community tickets: We make available a limited number of Community tickets @ $10. (on a first come, first served basis) to make our events affordable for more members of the community. Honor system, no proof required.
To buy tickets, press the + for the number you want – then Get Tickets will work (as long as tickets are available). Make sure the correct number are selected before you press the Get Tickets button. If you make a mistake, you can go to your cart and change the quantity.

Introduction to Drawing - Session 3 of 3
2026-07-11 10:00 - 23:30
Third session of this three-session class series. Sign up before the first class – for tickets see Introduction to Drawing – Session 1 of 3
Sessions in this 3-session series on 6/20, 6/27, 7/11. $75 fee covers the 3-series class.

Conversation and Book Signing with Ellen Meeropol and Gail Gelburd - Free
2026-07-18 10:00 - 12:00
Join local authors Ellen Meeropol and Gail Gelburd for a conversation on their recent books, two powerful takes on survival and resilience:
Ellen Meeropol’s sixth novel, Sometimes an Island, is “a gorgeous and immersive story of family and circumstance, tragedy, and the hard work that leads to triumph” (Booklist starred review).
In The Liberation of Sue Moody, local artist and writer Gail Gelburd draws on the real-life Otis resident Sue Moody’s writings to tell the story of a journalist who carved her own path through personal and professional struggles, including Nazi occupation in France.
Books will be available for sale and signing.
About Ellen Meeropol:

From Ellen’s website:
Ellen Meeropol is the author of six novels (Sometimes an Island, The Lost Women of Azalea Court, Her Sister’s Tattoo, Kinship of Clover, On Hurricane Island, and House Arrest) and the guest editor for the anthology, Dreams for a Broken World. Her work has been honored by the Sarton Women’s Prize, The Women’s National Book Association, and the Massachusetts Center for the Book.
After a career as a pediatric nurse practitioner, Ellen Meeropol began seriously writing fiction in her fifties. She was a literary late bloomer, although her first publications came much earlier. At age twelve, her essay, “I am a Square Dance Orphan,” was published in a national square dance magazine and she wrote a monthly feature column for her high school newspaper in the Washington, D.C. area. Ellen studied art at Earlham College and the University of Michigan.

About Gail Gelburd:

From Gail’s website:Dr. Gail Gelburd is an art historian, professor, museum director, and writer of over a dozen books—primarily about artists and the stories behind their work. Her fascination with personal histories led her to the forgotten papers of Sue Moody, discovered in an abandoned home in Otis, Massachusetts.
Inspired by Sue Moody’s letters and manuscripts, Gelburd turned this archival discovery into a vivid reconstruction of a woman’s life shaped by art, war, and survival.

Chris Brubeck's Triple Play
2026-07-25 19:00 - 21:00
Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play featuring Joel Brown on Guitar, Peter Madcat Ruth on harmonica is (to quote the Los Angeles Times ) ”rollicking fun, led by bassist, trombonist and pianist Chris Brubeck the vocal trio stole the show with their flair and virtuosity!” The group met decades ago when they all recorded and performed with the unique banjo player and singer Bill Crofut. The Seattle Times wrote “Triple Play is what jazz always was and always should be about, good times, unbridled joy and the sweet release of the blues.”

Get your tickets early for this season highlight!

A limited number of community tickets are available at a reduced price.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Sandisfield Cultural Council and the Otis Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

To buy tickets, press the + for the number you want – then Get Tickets will work (as long as tickets are available).
Please note: Seating is unassigned, first come, first served. Doors open at 6:30.

Stardust: The Perseids Are Coming! Free
2026-08-08 10:00 - 12:00
Where does the dust that comes into the Earth’s atmosphere come from? Join us as astronomer Carol Ivers helps us delve into the world of star stuff as seen from Earth on Saturday morning.
Followed by Stardust: The Perseids Are Here – Meteor viewing at Sandisfield Orchard Wednesday Aug 12 at 8:30 pm
The Perseid meteor shower is an annual, prolific celestial event, usually peaking around August 12-13 with up to 100 bright, swift meteors per hour. Known for producing fireballs, they are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere after midnight. They originate from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and appear to radiate from the Perseus constellation
Pre-registration is not necessary but will ensure your place at this free talk.

Stardust: The Perseids Are Here! Free
2026-08-12 20:30 - 22:30
Join us on the hill behind the Sandisfield Orchard on New Hartford Road beginning at 8:30 pm to see the Perseids meteor shower. Bring bug repellent, blanket and binoculars if you have them.
Be sure to come to the previous Saturday’s talk by asronomer Carol Ives, The Perseids Are Coming!
The Perseid meteor shower is an annual, prolific celestial event, usually peaking around August 12-13 with up to 100 bright, swift meteors per hour. Known for producing fireballs, they are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere after midnight. They originate from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and appear to radiate from the Perseus constellation

Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists 2025 and 2026 Prize Winners - Opening Reception - Free
2026-08-16 16:00 - 18:00
Image: Swoopy Loops by Daniel Manacher
Opening reception 4 – 6 PM.
We are very excited to showcase the winners of the 2025 and 2026 Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists in this biennial show.
The 2026 contest was judged by Virginia Overton. Overton is a distinguished American artist known for her site-specific and sculpture works that often incorporate found or readymade objects. In 2018 she was the first female artist to have a solo exhibition at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, New York. She has work in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Show closes August 30.
2026 winners
Mari Maeve Brennan
Irreplaceable Opulence, 2025, Acrylic paint on canvas, sharpie, trash, plastic, resin
Tamar Byl
Jorah in Spring, Gouache on paper, 2025
Moira Ford
moiraford.com
Gas Station, 2026, Oil on Canvas
Katie Maier
https://katiemaierart.weebly.com/
“The Lost Silo,” 2024, Linocut print on paper
2025 winners
The 2025 contest was judged by Josephine Halvorson, an accomplished artist and the Chair of the MFA Program in Painting at Boston University’s College of Fine Art. She has a studio here in Sandisfield.
Elizabeth Cheng.
Elizabeth Cheng is a Studio Art major at Williams College. Her interests lie in publication and filmmaking, modes she finds similar in their ability to combine media and temporal sensitivity in constructing narratives. She works primarily in printmaking and video.
Blues
Enaya A. Ogletree
Website: https://ejahnaestudios.univer.se/blank
Enaya’ Ajahnae is a contemporary multimedia artist whose work explores identity through the interplay between femininity and nature. The East Coast native, born into a multiethnic matriarchal culture, uses the influences of her upbringing to inspire her artistry, which curiously investigates nuances of the natural world, gender, culture, and self-expression across painting, photography, and sculpture.
By the Swing, Inspired by Yinka Shonibare’s The Swing (AFter Fragonard)
Annie Scott
Website: annniescottt.com
Annie Scott graduated from Williams College with a degree in Studio Art and History. They are a visual artist whose work explores the visceral and uncomfortable, often confronting deeply personal and universal struggles. They are driven by a desire to experiment, constantly pushing the boundaries of their work both conceptually and materially. Their practice is rooted in a hands-on approach, where process, material, and instinct guide the direction of the work.
touch is vulnerable
Evelyn Vollmer
Evelyn Vollmer recently graduated from Mount Everett Regional High School and plans to pursue visual art in college. She is often inspired by existential issues such as climate change and explores our relationship to Mother Nature
Dreamscape

More about the prize and past recipients.

How Free Market Thinking Has Blocked Climate Action (and other things we need)
2026-08-22 10:00 - 12:00
Book talk with celebrated historian and Harvard University professor Naomi Oreskes examining the enduring myth advanced by business elites and media allies to promote hostility to “big government” and faith in unfettered markets.
Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes is Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science, Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard. A world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, she is the author of the best-selling book, Merchants of Doubt (2010) and a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action.
She’ll be speaking on her latest book, with Erik Conway, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loath Government and Love the Free Market.
“[A] scorching indictment of free market fundamentalism . . . and how we can change, before it’s too late.”-Esquire
“The bestselling authors of Merchants of Doubt offer a profound, startling history of one of America’s most tenacious-and destructive-false ideas: the myth of the “free market.”
Oreskes is author or co-author of 7 other books, and over 150 articles, essays and opinion pieces, including Merchants of Doubt (Bloomsbury, 2010), The Collapse of Western Civilization (Columbia University Press, 2014), Discerning Experts (University Chicago Press, 2019), Why Trust Science? (Princeton University Press, 2019), and Science on a Mission: American Oceanography from the Cold War to Climate Change, (University of Chicago Press, 2021). Merchants of Doubt, co-authored with Erik Conway, was the subject of a documentary film of the same name produced by participant Media and distributed by SONY Pictures Classics, and has been translated into nine languages. A new edition of Merchants of Doubt, with an introduction by Al Gore, was published in 2020.

The American Story in Song - A Program by Jon and Li Waterman - Free
2026-08-29 19:00 - 21:00
The Sandisfield Arts Center is pleased to host this Sandisfield Cultural Council-sponsored event.
Donations welcome.

Poetry Reading with Amy Dryansky and Hannah Fries
2026-08-30 14:00 - 16:00
Pictured: Amy Dryansky and Hannah Fries
Amy Dryansky’s third book, Ambergris is forthcoming in August 2026. She has two prior collections; Grass Whistle (Salmon Poetry) which won the Massachusetts Book award, and How I Got Lost So Close to Home (Alice James Books). Her poetry is included in several anthologies and individual poems appear in Adroit, Harvard Review, New England Review, Memorious, MER, Orion, The Sun, Tin House, and other journals.
”Amy Dryansky’s poems open the moment of experience for fresh possibilities of understanding. By this, I mean the impact of her language, her vision, and her quest bring us to the point of moving beyond the poems. We are given more in this book than in most collections because the poet has not held anything back. We find ourselves on the other side of the book–that place any poet and her reader wishes to be.”
—Ray Gonzalez

As a writer and editor, Hannah Fries often works at the intersection of poetry, science, and the wonder and mystery expressed in both. Her new book, A Forest Language, a collection of lyrical essays, will be released September 30th of this year from Storey Publishing. She is also the author of Being with Trees and the poetry collection Little Terrarium. She grew up in the woods of New Hampshire and now lives in Sandisfield with her family.

“A Forest Language is an exquisite cabinet of arboreal wonders, where each term becomes a story and each story a portal into the secret lives of trees, written with the precision of a naturalist and the tenderness of a poet.” —Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses

Amy and Hannah each have special and deep connections to Sandisfield. Amy is the daughter of a Sandisfield Arts Center’s founder Leonard Dryansky and spent many summers here growing up. Hannah is a longtime resident whose writing about “arboreal wonders” draws on her Sandisfield surroundings.

Papier-Mâché Workshop - Session 1 of 2 - Free - Reserve your space
2026-09-05 10:00 - 13:00
Create vibrant, tactile sculptures in a fun and fast-paced Papier Mâché workshop led by Christine Novak and Jaye Moscariello.
This is the first of two class sessions — the second is Saturday September 12, 10 AM – 1 PM.
Open to ages 12 and up, this hands-on session invites you to craft colorful 3D pieces for the “Touch Me, Gently” exhibition opening on Saturday, September 19, 1–4 PM.
Class size limited to 12, reserve your space with a free ticket below. Parents accompanying a child (12 and up) don’t need a ticket.
Bring your imagination and leave with a unique, touchable creation.
