Berkshire International Film Festival Great Barrington | biffma. org
As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the Berkshire International Film Festival( BIFF) continues to animate the Berkshires year-round with film screenings, social events, and community-driven programming leading up to its landmark 2026 festival.
Spring kicks off with a dose of cult-cinema fun at The Big Lebowski Anniversary Release Party( March 14) at The Cove in Great Barrington, featuring themed festivities and bus transportation options from Pittsfield and Lenox. Film lovers also can test their movie knowledge at Trivia Night with DJ Pup Daddy( March 19) at The Olde Heritage Tavern in Lenox.
BIFF’ s commitment to thoughtful, mission-driven cinema continues with a special screening of Prairie Prophecy at The Triplex Cinema( March 22). Presented in collaboration with the Berkshire Community Land Trust and the Roaring Brook Family Foundation, the documentary explores the life and legacy of Wes Jackson, a pioneering voice in sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship.
The centerpiece of the year arrives with the 20th Annual BIFF( May 28 – 31). The festival will once again bring independent filmmakers, artists, and audiences together across the region for screenings, conversations, and celebrations of global cinema.
Festival passes are available now at biffma. org.
Adams Theater Adams | adamstheater. org
The Adams Theater launches its firstever mid-April spring season as a pilot step toward year-round programming. The season opens with Boca Tuya( April 20 – May 2), hosting Princess Grace Award winner Omar Román de Jesús for a two-week Residency + Presentation developed in collaboration with Works & Process. This marks the 11th residency supported by the Adams Theater, reinforcing its role as a development hub for contemporary theater and dance.
In late spring and into the fall season, storytelling takes center stage with Selected Shorts( May 23), presented with Symphony Space. Music follows with three-time
Grammy ® winner Gustavo Casenave on piano( June 7). The Adams Theater joins statewide MA250 celebrations with a chamber performance led by Massachusetts inaugural poet laureate Regie Gibson( June 13) and a keynote conversation with essayist Stacy Schiff( June 20).
Full season and ticketing announcement at adamstheater. org.
Berkshire Opera Festival Great Barrington berkshireoperafestival. org
Berkshire Opera Festival( BOF) continues a robust season of productions and community programming, beginning with Winterreise at Tanglewood’ s Studio E, featuring baritone Jarrett Porter and BOF Artistic Director Brian Garman( March 7). Spring also includes BOF’ s Free Family Concert, Once Upon an Opera, at the Mahaiwe( April 12).
BOF’ s 2026 Mainstage Production of Donizetti’ s Lucia di Lammermoor will be presented at the Mahaiwe( August 22, 25, and 28), sung in Italian with projected English translations. A free pre-show lecture by dramaturg Cori Ellison precedes the August 22 performance. BOF’ s inaugural Resident Artist Program( July 6 – August 28) culminates in André Grétry’ s Zémire et Azor( July 31 and August 2).
Tickets available now at berkshireoperafestival. org / ticketing.
Jacob’ s Pillow Becket | jacobspillow. org
Jacob’ s Pillow is expanding its role as a year-round cultural institution, launching its first-ever spring season alongside the return of its 94th International Dance Festival in the summer. These initiatives reaffirm the Pillow’ s place as one of the world’ s most significant centers for dance presentation, creation, education, and dialogue. To mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a portion of the programming celebrates groundbreaking women who have shaped dance in the United States.
The spring season unfolds in the Doris Duke Theatre, beginning with the world premiere of Compañía Irene Rodríguez’ s Flamenco Soul( April 24 – 26). The intimate solo performance, accompanied by live music, immerses audiences in the rhythm and intensity of flamenco through surround seating and state-of-the-art acoustics. The following weekend, Hari Krishnan and inDANCE present ROWDIES IN LOVE( May 1 – 3), a contemporary work for eight male dancers that fuses Bharatanatyam with global and queer movement vocabularies. Both performances include pre- and postshow discussions.
Spring also marks the launch of online education through The School at Jacob’ s Pillow, extending the institution’ s reach beyond its physical campus. Dance History 101, led by Wendy Perron( March 17 – April 21), draws on the Pillow’ s renowned archives to explore key moments in American dance. Experiencing Dance, led by Kate Mattingly( April 28 – June 2), focuses on how audiences interpret and engage with dance across aesthetic, cultural, and historical contexts. Both weekly courses are open to participants of all backgrounds.
The summer dance festival begins with the Season Opening Gala on June 20, followed by ten weeks of performances from June 24 through August 30 across the Pillow’ s three iconic stages: the Ted Shawn Theatre, the Doris Duke Theatre, and the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage. Week-long engagements typically run Wednesday through Sunday, with additional performances, talks, classes, and community events woven in.
Festival programming highlights include Paul Taylor Dance Company and Shamel Pitts | TRIBE( June 24 – 28); Urban Bush Women( July 1 – 5); Akram Khan Company( July 8 – 12); A. I. M by Kyle Abraham and Faye Driscoll( July 15 – 19); Circa Contemporary Circus( July 22 – 26); Gauthier Dance( July 29 – August 2); the long-awaited return of San Francisco Ballet( August 5 – 9), appearing for the first time since 1956; the Martha Graham Dance Company in its 100th anniversary year( August 12 – 16); Ballet Hispánico( August 19 – 23); and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago( August 26 – 30).
Spring 2026 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 13