Berkshire OLLI upcoming events

Fall 2026 OLLI Term (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

OLLI at Berkshire Community College

Fall 2026 Term

Beginning September 22, 2026

Online registration is closed; please call the office at 413-236-2190 to register for courses.

Our Fall term begins on September 22, 2026, and includes a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (online and in-person) courses. All classes take place in Eastern Time.

Fall 2026 course descriptions can be found here.

Hiking classes are using a separate registration form. Register for hiking classes here.

Course cost:
$60 for one courses
$110 for 2 courses
$150 for 3 or more courses

To sign up for courses, you need to be an OLLI at BCC member. (Not a member yet? Join here.) Not sure which classes you want to take? Sign up for one or more Flexpasses, which allow you to attend six individual class sessions of your choice within a semester, as long as the class is not full. Click here to learn more about Flexpasses.

Note that our online courses are recorded, unless otherwise noted. If you cannot attend live, or if you miss a session or two, you can access that course's Padlet for the recording link and watch it at your convenience.

Questions? Contact us at olli@berkshirecc.edu or 413.236.2190. We look forward to hearing from you!

OLLI at BCC Sponsors include: Berkshire Health Systems

Author Talk with Joan Cohen: Aging is Murder (Wednesday, October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Local Author Book Talk with Joan Cohen:

Aging is Murder

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Free and open to the public

Join us for a book talk, reading and Q&A with author and OLLI at BCC member, Joan Cohen!

When are you too old to perform a public service? Eighty-nine? Ninety? Four residents of Heyday Assisted Living think they're the ideal age to rid their country of hypocrites and liars. What do they have to lose? Why should mystery and murder be confined to a Clue game when, with a little resourcefulness, the skills of past careers can be revived to do so much good? Just don't mention the words "Fearsome Four" out loud!

Originally from Mount Vernon, New York, Joan Cohen received her BA from Cornell University and her MBA from New York University.

She pursued a career in sales, and executive management at computer hardware and software companies until she retired to return to school for an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the novels Land of Last Chances, published in 2019, and The Deepfake, published in 2024. She has been a Massachusetts resident for many years, first living in Newton, where she raised her family, and later in Wayland. She now resides in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires, with her husband and latest canine addition.

You can find out more about Joan and her work at her website here: https://joancohenauthor.com/

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This lecture will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel.

Berkshire Theatre Critics Panel 2026 (Monday, October 19, 2026)

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:30:00 GMT

Berkshire Theatre Critics Panel

Monday, October 19 at 11:30 a.m. EDT

Online via Zoom | Free & Open to All

On Monday, October 19 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern the Berkshire Theatre Critics Panel returns for an in-depth discussion and review of the 2026 theatre season in the Berkshires.

Discussion moderated by Naomi Spatz. Participating theatre critics include:

Peter Bergman, The Berkshire Edge and Berkshire Bright Focus
Jeff Borak, Berkshire Eagle
Gail Burns, Berkshire On Stage
Macey Levin, Berkshire On Stage
Paula Kaplan-Reiss , Berkshire On Stage

Jeannie Woods, Berkshire On Stage

Hear their thoughts on the hits and misses of the 2026 season and add your contribution!

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Olivia's Overlook - Burbank Trail North, Lenox (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

Wednesday, October 21 at 9:30 a.m.
Olivia’s Overlook – Burbank Trail North, Lenox

Join us for this loop hike on the Burbank Trail going north from Olivia’s Overlook in Lenox. We will descend the trail to Monk’s Pond, join a short section of the High Road Trail, and then hike south along Yokun Ridge with beautiful views of Stockbridge Bowl. The undulating trail is rated moderate and will take about two hours.

OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members. You must register in advance and space is limited.

All hikes begin at 9:30. We strongly recommend using hiking poles. If you don’t have them, we can provide poles for the hike. Good hiking shoes are essential. If we need to cancel the hike due to rain, we will notify participants by email by 7:00 AM the day of the hike.

Registration will open on Monday, October 5 at 9 a.m.

Internet Safety for You and the Kids in your Life with Brian Berkel (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Internet Safety for You and the Kids in your Life with Brian Berkel

Help keep the kids in your life safer online, and learn some great practices to help yourself as well!

Wednesday, October 21 at 2:30 p.m.
In-person at Berkshire Community College
Free for members of OLLI at BCC, and BCC students, staff, and faculty.

Brian Berkel has been volunteering with the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention since its inception and served as the President of its Board of Directors from 2023-2025. In 2021, he retired from the Massachusetts State Police as a Detective Lieutenant. During his 25 year career, Brian investigated deaths by suicide throughout Berkshire County during his assignment with the Berkshire District Attorney's Office. He also served on the Department's state-wide response Crisis Negotiation Unit. He has taught and presented on the warning signs of suicide risk and the responses to such risk and preventative measures. Brian helped form and now coordinates the Berkshire County LOSS (Local Outreach for Suicide Survivors) Team, which is based on the national model, for which he was awarded the MCSP 2024 Leadership in Suicide Prevention Award on behalf of BCSP. Among other volunteer and board positions, he serves on the Board for The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires.

Brian has worked for the Berkshire County Kid's Place since 2023, formerly as the CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children) Coordinator, and currently as a Forensic Child Interviewer and the Community Outreach & Education Coordinator bringing Internet safety presentations to Berkshire county youth and parents.

OLLI at BCC Sponsors include: Berkshire Health Systems

An Evening of Stories and Songs featuring novelist Rick Reiss and songwriter Doug Mishkin (Tuesday, October 27, 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

An Evening of Stories and Songs
featuring novelist Rick Reiss
and songwriter Doug Mishkin

Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m.
In-person at the Common Room, Zion Lutheran Church, Pittsfield MA

Morocco Sahara Odyssey Tour Information Session (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC presents:

Morocco Sahara Odyssey Tour
Information Session

PLEASE NOTE A DATE CHANGE FOR THIS PROGRAM!

Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Free and Open to the Public
Online via Zoom

OLLI at BCC is going to Morocco in November 2027!

You're Invited! Join us on this virtual Zoom call to learn more about the Morocco Sahara Odyssey Tour with OAT!

Come learn more and bring your questions.

See the trip brochure.

OLLI at BCC Sponsors include: Berkshire Health Systems

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Mahanna Cobble, Pittsfield (Wednesday, November 04, 2026)

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:30:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

Wednesday, November 4 at 9:30 a.m.
Mahanna Cobble, Pittsfield

Mahanna Cobble is the northern anchor of The High Road, a trail which will eventually become a series of connected trails that will run the length of Berkshire County.

The trail begins in the Bosquet Mountain parking lot. Beginning with a steep climb, it winds through the eastern side of Lenox Mountain to the top of the cobble. A bench honoring founding BNRC Executive Director, George Wislocki and the typical boulders of the Berkshires five cobbles, offer places to rest at the cobble while enjoying the unbroken view to the south.

This trail is moderate to difficult due to the elevation gain. Please consider this before signing up for the hike.

Visit the BNRC website for directions and more information: https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/mahanna-cobble

OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members. You must register in advance and space is limited.

Registration will open on Monday, October 19 at 9 a.m.

Living After Loss: Poetry for Holiday Time (Thursday, November 05, 2026)

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Living After Loss:
Poetry for Holiday Time

Thursdays, November 5, 12, and December 3
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only

Holidays and anniversaries ask much of a grieving heart. In this series draw on poetry as a stepping stone, a language, giving a place to land in honoring grief as you gently open to life is being lived in new ways after loss. Each session includes a time of centering, a check in, reading poetry, reflecting and writing and sharing your insights, learnings, vulnerabilities. Everything offered is optional.

Charlotte Nuessle, BSc, is a certified grief educator with David Kessler. She has led grief groups for 3 years. For the past 11 years she facilitated groups in exploring death and dying, as well as groups focused on strengthening resilience and personal development. She retired from a 25-year career in adaptive yoga and developing self-awareness for seniors and elders. Reading and writing poetry has given her a perspective on grief that opened creativity and possibility in the midst of loss.

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

Private screening of the 2026 documentary film The Fight to Fight (Saturday, November 07, 2026)

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Private Screening and Discussion of the 2026 Documentary Film The Fight to Fight

Saturday, November 7, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College

The Fight to Fight is the extraordinary true story of the women who fought for equality in America's combat forces and now must fight to hold their ground.

The film will be followed by a discussion with co-producer Dr. Ellen Haring, a West Point graduate and retired Army Colonel who sued the Secretary of Defense in 2012 to open ground combat jobs to women.

For a preview of the film watch the trailer at THE FIGHT TO FIGHT.

This is an in-person only, private screening, and free for members and guests of:

OLLI at Berkshire Community College
Soldier On
Local VFW Posts
Zonta International
Berkshire Veterans for Peace

If you would like to learn more or to support this project, go to thefighttofight.com.

Designing a Life at Any Age (Thursday, November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Designing a Life at Any Age with Mary B. O'Neill, Ph.D.

Two week series:
Thursdays:
November 12
November 19
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

In-person only at BCC

We can’t chuck it all and abandon our present lives. We’re embedded in relationships and situations. We live in the real world. Yet, we have the opportunity at any time to bring creativity into our lives, take more control, and move incrementally into a better place. And have fun doing it!

This dynamic, interactive two-session workshop provides tools to help you (re)connect with your values, purpose, skills, and talents, and to discern paths forward at any stage in life, whether you're facing retirement or a career pivot, immersed in caregiving, or simply want more coherence in your days.

Drawing on Stanford's Designing Your Life and Life Design Catalyst methodologies, this hands-on, collaborative workshop blends self-reflection exercises with authentic, supportive conversations among fellow participants. You'll explore possibilities and create concrete steps to move you toward a life of alignment and clarity.

Our time together will cut through abstract overthinking about your future, increase efficacy and joy, and foster connections with fellow participants. You'll leave the workshop feeling unstuck, more compassionate toward yourself, and with real momentum toward a life that feels right for you.

Mary B. O'Neill, Ph.D., CCSP, has reinvented herself more times than Madonna — and has used every tool she teaches in this workshop to do it. She is the founder of You Doing You Life Design and Career Coaching and the Director of Life Design at Boston Global Communications and Performance. Mary holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and is a Stanford University-Certified Designing Your Life Educator and a Life Design Catalyst facilitator. She is an NCDA Certified Career Services Provider and has served as interim Career Services Coordinator at CT State: Northwestern.

Mary is a college instructor with extensive experience designing creative programs and curricula that foster personal reflection and growth. She created a popular Philosophy of Happiness course that integrates philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness, which she infuses into her life design work. In 2014, Mary earned the Systemwide Adjunct Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU).

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

Creativity and Artistic Expression Workshop (Thursday, November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Creativity and Artistic Expression

Thursday, November 12
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College

In-person only.

This workshop will focus on working with and decoupaging colorful, ceramic tile coasters, or glass plates, which can be used in a variety of ways for entertaining and for gifts.

Try something new or continue on the next step if you’ve attended workshops with Marsha in the past.

Marsha Edell is a licensed clinical social worker, and a long time crafts person. A firm believer in the positive energy which connecting to one’s creativity brings, she is looking forward to helping people enjoy the process and the results.

Cost: $25 for OLLI at BCC members,
$35 for non-members

Price includes materials cost.

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

Living After Loss: Poetry for Holiday Time (Thursday, November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Living After Loss:
Poetry for Holiday Time

Thursdays, November 5, 12, and December 3
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

Open Studios at the Clock Tower Artists (Saturday, November 14, 2026)

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Open Studios and Reception at the Clock Tower Artists

Discover this historic former mill building now host to artist studios, including many OLLI members. Enjoy tours, refreshments, and a wine tasting.

Saturday, November 14, 2026

2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Clock Tower Artists, 75 South Church St, Pittsfield, MA 01201

$20 OLLI members and guests

Join us for an afternoon inside the working studios of Clock Tower Artists: Pittsfield's creative hub housed in the historic Clock Tower building. The afternoon features guided studio tours, light refreshments, and a wine tasting by Nejaime’s. Whether you're a longtime arts supporter or just curious about what goes on behind those studio doors, this evening is designed for you.

Art by OLLI member Clock Tower artists (l-r):

Marion Grant, Audrey Shachnow, & Deborah Carter

This is not a gallery opening or a typical art show. It's a chance to step inside the actual spaces where local artists paint, sculpt, build, and create and hear from the people doing the work.

About the guided tours: Two tour slots are available at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sign up for your preferred time at checkout. Space in each tour group is limited.

Thank you to Nejaime's Wine Cellars for your support and sponsorship for this event!

Lecture and Tasting - Tales from the Grove: A Chemist’s View of Olive Oil (Tuesday, November 17, 2026)

Tue, 17 Nov 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Lecture and Tasting -
Tales from the Grove: A Chemist’s View of Olive Oil with Prof. Patricia O'Hara

Tuesday, November 17
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
In-person only
at Berkshire Community College

Lecture and olive oil tasting with Patricia B. O'Hara, Amanda and Lisa Cross Professor of Chemistry, Emerita, Amherst College.

Join us for an exploration of the history, cultivation, harvesting and processing of olives and olive oil. What can we learn about the freshness and authenticity of oils based on some simple chemical tests that can protect us from rancid or fraudulent oils? How do we train our senses to appreciate some of the world’s finest extra virgin olive oils and what is the difference between cold press or first press? What are scientists learning about the health benefits of this “liquid gold”? Learn some tips about cooking with olive oil and hear of some of the non‐traditional and surprising uses of this vital substance.

Lecture will be followed by a guided tasting, and then some social time with cheese, bread, and more olive oil following the formal program.

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members,
$45 for non-members

Patricia O’Hara is the Lisa and Amanda Cross Professor of Chemistry, Emerita, at Amherst College, where she taught for 42 years. While there, she helped to found two interdisciplinary majors: the Biochemistry and Biophysics Program and the Education Studies Major. She served as Dean of New Students from 2010-2014 and Chair of the Chemistry Department for many years. She was awarded the Ferguson Teaching Award upon her retirement in 2025.

Professor O’Hara did her undergraduate studies at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY and her doctoral work at Columbia University. After a post-doctoral appointment at Stanford University, she came to Amherst College in 1983. Her research interest is biophysics; her lab uses fluorescence spectroscopy and single-molecule microscopy to study protein homeostasis. Her more than two dozen scientific publications appear in journals such as Biochemistry, Molecular Immunology, and the Journal of Physical Chemistry and Nature Chemistry. Her research students have presented and published over thirty Conference Proceedings in the Biophysical Journal. She is most proud of the many honors research students she has supervised and the hundreds of students who have learned to do research in her lab.

She has also contributed to the literature on curriculum development and pedagogy in chemistry and biochemistry. Her 2005 article “Turning on the Light: Lessons from Luminescence” in J. Chem Ed. was featured in a retrospective by the journal and has had more than 3000 downloads.

More recently, she expanded her interest in food science, developing a course in Molecular Gastronomy and writing and teaching about Olive Oil Chemistry. Her belief that food science can be used to motivate the teaching of science is the basis of her textbook on Food Chemistry in Small Bites, published in 2025, and a chapter titled "Molecular Gastronomy: A Universal Portal to the Molecular Sciences" in the Handbook of Molecular Chemistry (2021). With collaborator Zeynep Delen and her late husband Richard Blatchly, she published The Chemical Story of Olive Oil: from Grove to Table in 2017 (translated into Turkish in 2020 and Spanish in 2022) and Learning Design from the Olive in 2022. She has been invited to present talks on olive oil chemistry in venues ranging from a town hall in Belianes, Spain (2014), to an assembly of Senators, Congressional Representatives, and Mediterranean Diplomats at the U.S Capitol (2023), to an auditorium in Beirut, Lebanon (2023).

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Old Mill Trail, Hinsdale (Wednesday, November 18, 2026)

Wed, 18 Nov 2026 14:30:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

Wednesday, November 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Old Mill Trail, Hinsdale

The Old Mill Trail parallels the Housatonic River east of Pittsfield. The first section of the trail is fully accessible and hikers using motorized scooters, wheelchairs, and walkers will enjoy the first mile long section of the trail. For accessible trail hikers, a hike leader will return with you to cars at the end of the accessible trail.

When the accessible trail ends, some hikers will continue along the Housatonic to view the aqueduct built to power textile mills in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Fly fisher people will enjoy this trail which has many access points for fishing in this unpolluted section of the Housatonic.

Visit the BNRC website for directions and more information: https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/old-mill-trail

OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members. You must register in advance and space is limited.

Registration will open on Monday, November 2 at 9 a.m.

Designing a Life at Any Age (Thursday, November 19, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Designing a Life at Any Age with Mary B. O'Neill, Ph.D.

Two week series:
Thursdays:
November 12
November 19
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

In-person only at BCC

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

A Tale of Two Startles: Examining Escape Responses in Zebrafish with Josef Trapani, Ph.D (Thursday, November 19, 2026)

Fri, 20 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

A Tale of Two Startles: Examining Escape Responses in Zebrafish

with Josef Trapani, Ph.D

November 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Online via Zoom

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Tom Ball Mountain, Alford (Wednesday, December 02, 2026)

Wed, 02 Dec 2026 14:30:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

Wednesday, December 2 at 9:30 a.m.
Tom Ball Mountain, Alford

Tom Ball Mountain is one of BNRC’s newest trail which opened in summer 2025. The trail includes views of Long Pond and Round Pond to the east. The trail is moderate with both up and downhill stretches. Hikers can see the amazing trail-building skills of the BNRC and Greenager crews who helped build this wonderful new trail that will eventually become part of the High Road.

Visit the BNRC website for directions and more information: www.bnrc.org/reserves/tom-ball-mountain

OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members. You must register in advance and space is limited.

Registration will open on Monday, November 16 at 9 a.m.

Living After Loss: Poetry for Holiday Time (Thursday, December 03, 2026)

Thu, 03 Dec 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Living After Loss:
Poetry for Holiday Time

Thursdays, November 5, 12, and December 3
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

Sign up today!

Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Basin Pond, Lee (Wednesday, December 16, 2026)

Wed, 16 Dec 2026 14:30:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

Wednesday, December 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Basin Pond, Lee

Join us for this loop hike in Lee. Rated moderate, this trail crosses several streams, has many dramatic glacial erratics, and a vista over a beaver pond often frequented by moose. A section of the trail runs along the top of the 19th dam that powered mills in Lee in the 19th century before its catastrophic collapse in 1886. The property which was then slated in the mid-1960s to be a wealthy second home community with a golf course, offers glimpses into the variety of land uses typical to the Berkshires in the 19th and 20th centuries. The hike is approximately 2.5 hours.

Visit the BNRC website for directions https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/basin-pond

OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members. You must register in advance and space is limited.

Registration will open on Monday, November 30 at 9 a.m.