His first book, “Last of the Donkey Pilgrims” chronicles his nine-month, 1,720-mile journey around the Emerald Isle with his lovable (but sometimes stubborn) donkey, Missie, in 1979.

Library Journal called his beloved travel saga, “One of the finest books about contemporary Ireland ever written.” In 2012, The Christian Science Monitor ranked “Donkey” as one of Irelands Top Ten Books. That same year, O’Hara was the proud recipient of the prestigious John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Award.

Please visit Kevin’s website at: thedonkeyman.com

Ticket Fee $10 Member Ticket Fee $5

Meditation has multiple purposes and effects. By quieting the mind and relaxing through breath awareness, the heart rate slows, allowing you to let go of thoughts that arise. With practice you will experience lessened anxiety and emotional reactivity.

In our fast-paced world, our minds are often stuck in "doing" mode—rushing from one task to the next, worrying about the future, or dwelling on the past. This 8-session course is designed to help you shift into "being" mode, providing you with a sustainable toolkit to navigate life’s challenges with grace and steady focus.

Bring your meditation cushion or mat if desired. Chairs will be available.

Offerings collected and much appreciated.

We will use different kinds of paper such as old maps/books, vintage magazines, origami paper, handmade paper, and so much more. The process includes using a thin wood base in various sizes and shapes and papers are applied with several types of adhesives. Also included are leather and beads as embellishments. They are then sealed and findings are attached.

Instructor Mary Frances Millet has been teaching Upcycled Jewelry Making for 4 years and recently ran an art retreat in the Finger Lakes where she taught this. With a background in watercolor she has been creating and coaching for 20 years.

She holds degrees in Sociology and Occupational Therapy and has taken many classes and workshops in watercolor.

Drop-In or Register

Delsie Dunn will be bringing the music, some context and we dance! No dance experience is necessary.

Let’s Dance/Move….or not! There is something magical about getting together and dancing in a way that is uniquely your own way of moving. Explore… how music makes you feel, discover ways to move to that music, dance with intention, openness, moment to moment.. begin again. Let others inspire you to try to move in a different/new way for yourself. . We may not talk during the dance, but we can shout, laugh, cry letting it all wash through the body and spirit.

What to Bring: Loose-fitting clothes that let you move your body freely

Indoor soft soled shoes (to keep the floor clean of debris). Dance in socks or go barefoot!

Water bottle

Small Towel

Session Fee $15 Member Session Fee $10

Meditation has multiple purposes and effects. By quieting the mind and relaxing through breath awareness, the heart rate slows, allowing you to let go of thoughts that arise. With practice you will experience lessened anxiety and emotional reactivity.

In our fast-paced world, our minds are often stuck in "doing" mode—rushing from one task to the next, worrying about the future, or dwelling on the past. This 8-session course is designed to help you shift into "being" mode, providing you with a sustainable toolkit to navigate life’s challenges with grace and steady focus.

Bring your meditation cushion or mat if desired. Chairs will be available.

Offerings collected and much appreciated.

A Literary Masquerade Benefiting the Becket Arts Center Free Youth Programming

Step into a world where stories leap off the page and into the gallery. Following the incredible success of our Coffee Sack Art challenge, the Becket Arts Center invites you to a night of sculptural storytelling: The Novel Creations Ball.

Snow date: March 28th

Sashiko is a Japanese mending and embroidery handwork skill which uses a simple running stitch to create bold and geometric patterns on textiles. The stitching tradition has been used for centuries in Japan, and continues globally, as a contemporary needlework practice to mend, patch, strengthen, quilt, and embellish garments or home goods for longevity and beauty. With focus on exploration of the craft, workshop participants will learn how to handle thread, layout a grid, draw patterns, employ a Sashiko needle, and use “small stabs” to stitch designs onto their mini-patch samplers.

Sashiko patterns are inspired by nature, architecture, and culture. Students will choose from a variety of motifs that suit their design aesthetic and comfort level; tiny plus signs, woven tortoise, ocean waves, and seven treasures to name a few. The stitched squares can later be transformed into purposeful, small goods such as a pocket, pin cushion, patch, sachet, or coaster.

All skill levels are welcome whether a novice stitcher or experienced fiber artist! Everyone will work at their own pace. Bring your good reading glasses! There will be a break halfway through the workshop. Feel free to bring snacks or a lunch and beverage.

Workshop Fee……………….………...$80

Member Fee..….……………………….$70/$60 (Tiered Pricing)

Card to Culture Member Fee………….$40

Youth (9th - 12th Grade)* Material Fee..$25

*Please Note: High School students under 16 must be accompanied by an adult

( *** Snow Date: March 29th *** )

Rachel Barclay Bio:

Meditation has multiple purposes and effects. By quieting the mind and relaxing through breath awareness, the heart rate slows, allowing you to let go of thoughts that arise. With practice you will experience lessened anxiety and emotional reactivity.

In our fast-paced world, our minds are often stuck in "doing" mode—rushing from one task to the next, worrying about the future, or dwelling on the past. This 8-session course is designed to help you shift into "being" mode, providing you with a sustainable toolkit to navigate life’s challenges with grace and steady focus.

Bring your meditation cushion or mat if desired. Chairs will be available.

Offerings collected and much appreciated.

Join us for a 5-week Beginner’s Watercolor Painting series instructed by Suzanne Gammon. In this hands-on series, we’ll move from basic brush strokes to finished compositions. Come turn a blank page into something beautiful. Space is limited!

Suzanne Gammon has a degree in Arts History as well as Fine Arts.

$40 per class

Member Tiered Pricing: $35/$30

Materials Included

Travel the world through sound! From the heart of Portugal to the stages of South America, this trio will bring you a night of eclectic music. Featuring original Fado compositions and reimagined global standards, this is a performance that bridges cultures and continents all from the Becket Arts Center stage in the upstairs gallery.

Tickets: $15

Members: $10

Join us for this beginner-friendly workshop! Tina will introduce you to the basic tools and techniques used to felt wool fibers into an adorable owl. No experience necessary.

Please note: this process involves working with sharp, barbed needles, and is not appropriate for those under the age of 13

Workshop Fee ……………………….…$80

Members Fee……………………………$70/$60 (Tiered Pricing)

Card to Culture Member Fee ……..….. $40

Youth (9th - 12th Grade) Material Fee.. $10

Spaces are limited, so register today to secure your spot!

Join us for a 5-week Beginner’s Watercolor Painting series. In this hands-on series, we’ll move from basic brush strokes to finished compositions. Come turn a blank page into something beautiful. Space is limited!

$40 per class

Member Tiered Pricing: $35/$30

Materials Included

Join us for a 5-week Beginner’s Watercolor Painting series. In this hands-on series, we’ll move from basic brush strokes to finished compositions. Come turn a blank page into something beautiful. Space is limited!

$40 per class

Member Tiered Pricing: $35/$30

Materials Included

Join us for this informative talk with Cornell Master Gardener Chris Ferrero. 

Chris Ferrero Gardening Speaker, Writer and Consultant: Chris trained as a Cornell Master Gardener in New York where for ten years she led demonstration garden teams, plant propagation workshops, alternatives-to-invasives work groups, and children’s programs. She regularly consults on challenges like shade gardening, deer deterrence, and pollinator gardening with native perennials and flowering shrubs, and she has designed gardens that are recognized by Pollinator Pathways and the National Wildlife Federation. Her 20 talks keep her busy speaking to garden clubs, library groups and master gardener symposiums. Formerly a corporate marketing director, she has retired to Stockbridge, MA near the Berkshire Botanical Garden, where she serves on the faculty and also sits on the Horticulture Advisory Committee.

Event Fee $10 Event Fee for Members $5

Join us for a 5-week Beginner’s Watercolor Painting series. In this hands-on series, we’ll move from basic brush strokes to finished compositions. Come turn a blank page into something beautiful. Space is limited!

$40 per class

Member Tiered Pricing: $35/$30

Materials Included

Join us for a 5-week Beginner’s Watercolor Painting series. In this hands-on series, we’ll move from basic brush strokes to finished compositions. Come turn a blank page into something beautiful. Space is limited!

$40 per class

Member Tiered Pricing: $35/$30

Materials Included

Learn how to work with herbs to keep biting insects at bay and care for your skin when they do bite. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore plants that help repel mosquitoes, midges, deer flies, and ticks, and discuss how to craft effective, skin-safe bug sprays at home. We’ll also cover simple herbal first aid for bites and stings so you know what to do when the inevitable happens. Each participant will create a topical herbal repellent and get to meet several plant allies commonly used for soothing and supporting bite care. 

Workshop Fee……………….………...$50

Member Fee..….……………………….$40/$30 (Tiered Pricing)

Card to Culture Member Fee………….$25

Youth (9th - 12th Grade) Material Fee..$10

Mallorey Caron will guide you to unlocking the hidden colors and shapes of our natural plant surroundings in this hands-on Eco-Printing workshop.

Eco-printing (or botanical contact printing) is a sustainable art form where real leaves, flowers, and bark are bundled with fabric or paper and steamed to release their natural pigments.

Unlike synthetic dyes, eco-printing creates a direct "fingerprint" of the plant, resulting in one-of-a-kind, ethereal designs that celebrate the local flora of the Berkshires.

Hands-On Creation: You will leave with your own unique botanical printed silk scarf and the knowledge to continue your eco-printing journey at home.

Sustainability: This workshop focuses on environmentally friendly practices, using foraged materials and non-toxic processes.

Workshop Fee……………….………...$80

Member Fee..….……………………….$70/$60 (Tiered Pricing)

Card to Culture Member Fee………….$40

Youth (9-12 Grade) Material Fee……..$30

Join our Berkshire Plein Air group to paint, draw and photograph at an outside location in Becket. (Actual Location TBD)

Open to artists of all levels. Work till noon, then join us for lunch (bring a lunch) and critique providing positive suggestions. Bring your oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, drawing, photography or digital painting equipment.

Third Wednesdays, once a month from 10am - 1pm with a break for lunch

$10 / Person - Free for Members of the Becket Arts Center & Members of the Guild of Berkshire Artists

Sign up by 6:30 pm the night before. Weather and regulations permitting

Join our Berkshire Plein Air group to paint, draw and photograph at an outside location in Becket. (Actual Location TBD)

Open to artists of all levels. Work till noon, then join us for lunch (bring a lunch) and critique providing positive suggestions. Bring your oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, drawing, photography or digital painting equipment.

Third Wednesdays, once a month from 10am - 1pm with a break for lunch

$10 / Person - Free for Members of the Becket Arts Center & Members of the Guild of Berkshire Artists

Sign up by 6:30 pm the night before. Weather and regulations permitting

Join our Berkshire Plein Air group to paint, draw and photograph at an outside location in Becket. (Actual Location TBD)

Open to artists of all levels. Work till noon, then join us for lunch (bring a lunch) and critique providing positive suggestions. Bring your oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, drawing, photography or digital painting equipment.

Third Wednesdays, once a month from 10am - 1pm with a break for lunch

$10 / Person - Free for Members of the Becket Arts Center & Members of the Guild of Berkshire Artists

Sign up by 6:30 pm the night before. Weather and regulations permitting

Join our Berkshire Plein Air group to paint, draw and photograph at an outside location in Becket. (Actual Location TBD)

Open to artists of all levels. Work till noon, then join us for lunch (bring a lunch) and critique providing positive suggestions. Bring your oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, drawing, photography or digital painting equipment.

Third Wednesdays, once a month from 10am - 1pm with a break for lunch

$10 / Person - Free for Members of the Becket Arts Center & Members of the Guild of Berkshire Artists

Sign up by 6:30 pm the night before. Weather and regulations permitting