BENNINGTON -- "Bully Be Gone," an entertaining play about one of the most important issues facing educators today, will tour elementary schools in a production by Oldcastle’s Actors’ Express beginning in late October and continuing into November. The cast of four present a story of a young middleschool boy on his first day at a new school who meets two new friends and the trouble   Full Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Paul Rusesabagina, subject of the film Hotel Rwanda and author of "An Ordinary Man," speaks at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center gymnasium. His visit is part of the College’s Public Policy Lecture Series, which is made possible through the generosity of the Ruth Proud Charitable Trust.   Full Story

MARLBORO -- The Music for Sunday Afternoon fall concert series at Marlboro College presents a free, open to the public, performance by pianist Renana Gutman, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. in Ragle Hall. Gutman will perform selected works of Frederic Chopin, the nineteenth century Polish composer and pianist whose compositions such as Revolutionary Etude, Minute Waltz and Funeral March are revered for   Full Story

NEW YORK (AP) -- "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women" (Henry Holt and Co., 384 pages, $26), by Harriet Reisen: In her new biography of the fiercely independent author of "Little Women," screenwriter Harriet Reisen draws a lively, engrossing portrait of Louisa May Alcott’s life that will appeal to the legions of women who grew up worshipping the book.   Full Story

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council will be holding its 27th Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, at Adirondack Sports Complex, a. k. a. "The Dome," located on Sherman Road in Queensbury. The Art Festival consists of a juried art and craft show.   Full Story

By The Associated Press Capsule reviews of films opening this week: "Boondock Saints: All Saints Day" -- The original 1999 "Boondock Saints" was a ridiculously over-the-top action film about a pair of Irish-American twins (Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus) who set out with guns, recklessness and boozy bravado to rid Boston of criminals and mafia.   Full Story

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A doctor charged with illegally funneling drugs to Anna Nicole Smith wrote in a personal diary that he had to get off drugs himself and wondered if he was wrong to kiss Smith at a party four years ago. Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry read the explosive entries from a diary of Dr.   Full Story

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Museum of Modern Art’s proposal for a new 82-story tower has cleared its final hurdle. The New York City Council voted Wednesday to approve the plan for a 1000-foot mixed-use tower on West 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. It was the final hurdle for the plan’s approval process.   Full Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The North Adams Artists Co-Op (NAACO) gallery opens its new exhibit, "Tracks," with a reception Thursday, Oct. 29, at the gallery. "Tracks" is a month-long exhibition of NAACO gallery members, which focuses on journeys and how one marks that progression / transition. Interpretations of the theme are as diverse as the co-op’s artist-members, ranging from   Full Story

Thursday, October 29 Clark lecture explores Rome’s industrial age WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Examine Rome during different historic periods during the Clark’s "When in Rome" series of lectures this fall. Clark staff will lead this series, a complement to the fall exhibition Steps off the Beaten Path: Nineteenth-Century Photographs of Rome and Its Environs.   Full Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Victor Hill’s harpsichord recital on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m., will include the first local performance of a newly-discovered Suite in D Minor by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. The concert will be held at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and admission is free.   Full Story

MANCHESTER CENTER -- Calling all little "Wild Things!" Dress up in your Halloween costume and be part of the ghostly fun at the Northshire Bookstore’s Wild Things Halloween Party, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m. One of the characters from Maurice Sendak’s "Where the Wild Things Are" will appear and be part of the festivities.   Full Story

MUSIC Kevin’s Sports Pub and Restaurant North Bennington Down for the Count -- Oct. 30 Halloween Open Mic with Cindy -- Oct. 31 442-0122 Knapps Underground Bennington Happy Halloween Show! Bamboo Shoots, Lion of Ido, Jacob Vanags -- Oct. 31 Blameshift, Sky Tells All -- Nov.   Full Story

DORSET -- The Dorset Players will be hosting a Murder Mystery dinner party at The Barn Restaurant in Pawlet, on Thursday, Nov. 5, beginning at 6 p.m. sharp. You are cordially invited to the public hanging of the Malevolent Seven at the request of Judge Waylon Payne in the Wyoming Territory Town of Roadkill.   Full Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Experience the intimate relationship between text and image at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute with a poetry reading and discussion focused on the exhibition Crow and Raven: Baskin, Hughes, Manet, Poe on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 pm. Admission to the reading is free.   Full Story