AN ECO-FESTIVAL TAKES FLIGHT
I’m pulling for the success of a new cultural organization slash eco-festival dreamed up by David Perkins of Plainfield and known as the Hilltown Chautauqua of Western Massachusetts. “Earthcare: The Sense of Wonder” kicks off this weekend with speakers, tours and exhibits and a great selection of musicians, including an opening night concert and barbecue Friday (5:30-10 p.m.) featuring Tim Eriksen, Zoe Darrow, Jose Gonzalez, Duo Fusion, Banish Misfortune and the Wistaria Quartet.
“Chautauqua” is an Iroquois word referring to the shape of the lake in central New York State that took this name. It’s where I used to play shuffleboard with my Jewish grandparents from Brooklyn. Most people think of a chautauqua as a loose educational assembly, and that’s what Perkins has in store for visitors to the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington on Saturday and Sunday. hilltownchautauqua.org