Clark Art Presents Herblore

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Saturday, April 27 at 6 pm, the Clark Art Institute presents Herblore, an ancestral plant storytelling event. 
 
Practicing herbalists Brooke Bridges, Twink Williams Burns, and Rebecca Guanzon share intimate stories about their relationships with the land and their ancestors. The event takes place at the Lunder Center at Stone Hill.
 
Although Bridges, Burns, and Guanzon come from different backgrounds and grew up across the country, the ancestral homelands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans and the plants that grow in the Berkshires are key to their herbal journeys and healing pathways. Attendees are invited to gather around a bonfire and sip on tea blends created by the herbalists. Stay after the readings for an intimate conversation with the panelists to hear more about their experiences as practicing herbalists.
 
Brooke Bridges is the owner, head herbalist, and formulator of Brooke's Botanicals, her all-natural skin, hair, and self-care business. Twink Williams Burns is the founder of Ancestor Seeds, an heirloom seed company located on the ancestral homelands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans, specializing in vegetable and herb seed varieties that are culturally significant across the Black diaspora. Herbalist Rebecca Guanzon promotes mutual aid by distributing free goods and cultivating an intimate circle of accountability partners that convenes at Wild Soul River, an abolitionist herbal gathering space that she co-owns with her partner justin adkins.
 
Free. For accessibility concerns, call 413 458 0524. 
 

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Williamstown Government Presents Communication Plan

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown is working to improve communications with residents.
 
The town manager told the Select Board last week that the town obtained a Community Compact Best Practices grant from the state's Division of Local Services to fund a consultant from the University of Massachusetts at Boston's Collins Center for Public Management to develop a communications strategy.
 
Improved communications is a growing concern for small towns like Williamstown, Town Manager Robert Menicocci told the board.
 
"The world has changed with social media," Menicocci said. "The expectations of what a community communicates to its citizens — the game has been upped.
 
"I think this was a new area for government and many communities are looking at a need to staff up to address communications, where, in the past, maybe a big city would have a communications director. Now that has trickled down to almost all small communities."
 
To that end, the town has completely revamped its website and hired its first communications director — both steps that were included in the November 2025 Collins Center report, "Roadmap for Inclusive and Accessible Municipal Communications in Williamstown, Mass."
 
Brianna Sunryd, a public services manager at the Collins Center, presented her group's findings to the Select Board.
 
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