The Berkshire Visitors Bureau hosted an LGBT Tourism Forum on January 27th in Adams which gathered community members, local business owners, consultants on the LGBT market at the State level.

Here is a synopsis developed by the BVB of the LGBT Tourism Forum that was held last week in Adams. Below is a list of links that can serve as resources for local businesses to that are interested in targeting the LGBT market.

I would like to see a targeted and collaborative effort come out of this region to focus on the LGBT population, both locally and for tourists and second home owners.

Many ideas came up about how to encourage local businesses to become more pro-active on hosting events/entertainment that appeals to this niche market (ex. Gay Ski Weekend at one of our fabulous local resorts, etc.)

Last October, Pittsfield hosted the first Out in the Berkshires Weekend, which had a very positive response and strong attendance to each event in the collaboration.

The City will once again serve as a lead collaborator on this event, which will occur over Columbus Day Weekend, which coincides with National Coming Out Day. We would like to make this year’s event larger and more dynamic.

The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts will be hosting the Out in the Berkshires Invitational Art Show, which will feature local LGBT artists, as one of our many events. If you are interested in joining the effort for this year’s event, please contact outintheberkshires@gmail.com

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Club Groove in downtown Pittsfield will host its first LGBT club night on Thursday, December 3rd. The cover will be $5 and the event is 21+.  Dj Phanatik will be throwing down the beats starting at 9pm and the party will run until 2am. 

This is the first LGBT night hosted at this venue since the days of Club Red and its “alternative nights.”

If you have not had the chance to discover the Berkshires newest, hottest, wildest, and (only) club, come to downtown Pittsfield and check out this great new establishment! 

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Nampoli Bennet, a MTF transgendered performer will take the stage at the Stone Soup Café at the Topia Art Center in Adams on Friday, Oct. 23.   The show begins at 9pm and the cost of admission is $10.  Don’t miss this opportunity to catch this unique and talented artist in the Berkshires.

Namoli Brennet|Stone Soup Cafe|Adams, MA|Friday, Oct. 23| 9pm| $10

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Berkshire Stonewall will be part of a three-party collaboration with Berkshire Shenanigans, and the Berkshire Museum. You can now purchase tickets for TWO Halloween parties, as well as the Museum’s showing of Nosferatu, the classic 1922 horror film, at the discounted price of $25 for all three events. Take part in Pittsfield’s Triple Treat for Halloween.

Triple Treat joint tickets are available for sale at the Berkshire Museum. Call 413-443-7171 for more information.

Stonewall Halloween Dance with DJ

Saturday, 10/24  8:00pm

The Elks Club, 27 Union Street, Pittsfield 

 Berkshire Stonewall will be hosting a Halloween Party, complete with decorations, appetizers, and costume contest. This event is open to one and all: bring a costume, bring a friend, and have fun!

$5 Cover Charge; $5 Costume Contest Entry Fee (Cash Prize for 1st Place)

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October 17 – DONALD STRACHEY BOOK SIGNING

Richard Stevenson, the pseudonym for our own, Becket, MA author Richard Lipez, has written another book in his famous Donald Strachey detective series, The 38 Million Dollar Smile. He will appear at The Bookstore, 11 Housatonic Street in Lenox on October 17 from 2-4 pm to talk about and sign his new book. The Bookstore in Lenox.

Last year’s Stachey novel, Death Vows, was set in the Berkshires, and one hopes that like several of his earlier books these tales will be made into movies with Chad Allen who has starred in the author’s Ice Blues, Shock to the System and On the Other Hand, Death.

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Quite Queer at the Elks Lodge in Pittsfield kicks off at 6:00pm with live music by queer-oriented acts MKNG FRNDZ, Jen Urban & the Box, Max Steele and the Party Ice and The G-Spots followed by a DANCE PARTY. Continue reading »

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (An Epilogue)

October 12th, 3pm and 7pm at Barrington Stage Company

The following BSC artists and local community members are donating their time to participate in this important community event:

Jeremy Bobb from BSC’s Sleuth
Emily Taplin Boyd from BSC’s A Streetcar Named Desire
Kevin Carolan from BSC’s A Streetcar Named Desire
Thom Christopher from BSC’s A Picasso
Tandy Cronyn from BSC’s Private Lives
Mark H. Dold from BSC’s Freud’s Last Session
Christopher Innvar from BSC’s A Streetcar Named Desire
Jeff Kent from BSC’s A Streetcar Named Desire
Seth Rogovoy Editor-in-Chief, Berkshire Living Magazine
Debra Jo Rupp from TV’s That 70’s Show and BSC’s To Kill A Mockingbird
Enrico Spada, Marketing & Web Manager, Shakespeare & Company
Jerome Spratling from BSC’s To Kill A Mockingbird
Lisken van Pelt Dus, Poet in the Schools
Ryan Weightman, Office of Cultural Development, City of Pittsfield
Megan Whilden, Director of Cultural Development, City of Pittsfield
Peggy Pharr Wilson from BSC’s Carousel

BSC Mainstage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield
Monday, October 12, 3pm and 7pm
Tickets: $15 adults; $10 students Buy Online!

This Friday, October 9th, Berkshire Community is hosting a panel discussion entitled Coming Out.

TIME: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
In celebration of National Coming-Out Day, Sunday, October 11, the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition, PRIDE BCC and the Diversity Committee are sponsoring a panel discussion on coming-out. The panel will include Berkshire County Residents speaking about their experiences. Forum credit available.Location: G-10 (off of the cafeteria)

The Out in the Berkshires weekend kicks off on with a performance by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield at 3:30pm.The BGMC is one of New England’s largest and most successful community-based choruses.

This will be the first appearance in the Berkshires for BGMC. Their concerts in Boston regularly fill Symphony Hall with music lovers. The 175-voice ensemble is celebrated for its outstanding musicianship, creative programming, and groundbreaking community outreach.

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus will perform highlights from its hit show, Boys Just Wanna Have Fun: Totally 80s, a tribute to the music of the 80s including hits by Madonna, Boy George, Bon Jovi, Prince, George Michael, Cyndi Lauper and many more.  This show was featured during the 2009 Boston Pride festivities and proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Gay/Straight Alliances at Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School. For more information on the chorus please visit www.bgmc.org

Ticket prices are $5 for students, $10 for adults in advance – 10% discount for groups of 10 or more. $15 at the door. Tickets will be sold at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Taconic High School, Pittsfield High School, and St. Stephen’s.

Check Barrington Stage Company’s Production of “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (An Epilogue)” performed ONE DAY ONLY, Monday, October 12th on the Main Stage.

The creators of the highly acclaimed play The Laramie Project, which since 2000 has been one of the most performed plays in America, will premiere a compelling and groundbreaking epilogue to the original piece.

The staged reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later (An Epilogue), will be performed in New York at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Barrington Stage Company, and more than 100 other theaters across the country on October 12, 2009.

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Quite Queer at the Elks Lodge in Pittsfield kicks off at 6:00pm with live music by queer-oriented acts MKNG FRNDZ, Jen Urban & the Box, Max Steele and the Party Ice and The G-Spots with a dance party to follow.

This is an 18+ event, 21+ to drink. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

Click here to visit the Quite Queer Facebook event