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Shoumita Dasgupta, a professor of medicine at Boston University, will speak about her book “Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons on Belonging for Our DNA” at The Colonial Theatre in North Canaan on April 17.
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Bias exists in all facets of life, but Shoumita Dasgupta has focused the behavior on one particular discipline. In her book “Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons on Belonging for Our DNA,” she talks about the need for inclusivity in the field of science.
Dasgupta, a geneticist and professor of medicine and assistant dean of diversity and inclusion at Boston University, will be holding a book talk on Thursday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. at The Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
The daughter of Bengali parents who came to the United States in the 1970s so her father could pursue an education in science and seek “the American dream,” Dasgupta remembers her childhood in central Pennsylvania. As the child of immigrants, she was able to fit in with others like herself, but was viewed as an outsider by others. Those experiences sparked her life-long interest in the area of equality and diversity.
Dasgupta went on to embark on an educational path, earning a bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and both a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California.
In discussing the topic of her book, Dasgupta said in science, like any other type of society, there is some inclusion and some not. That realization has helped her acclimate to being comfortable in her own skin, which in turn, provides her with mentoring tools when dealing with her students. Her hope is to make it easier for others who don’t identify with a major group.
Dasgupta explained that she has been teaching a course about inclusivity with medical and Ph.D. students in which various topics such as sex/gender, biology and disabilities are discussed. She found the curriculum led to meaningful conversations and that what started as an anti-racist genetics project shifted to one of anti-oppression.
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An editor, learning about the class, suggested she put the topics all together in a book. Her vision was to highlight the importance of bringing people together with a historical perspective and while honoring that history, hoping mistakes that were made aren’t repeated.
Talking about history, Dasgupta said science began centuries ago as a hobby for the upper echelons of society who had money to pursue their interests. This hierarchical structure led to almost predetermined outcomes that were often flawed, such as a belief that race was the reason for particular medical issues. She said that’s what oppressive science looks like now.
Dasgupta said science is a social structure and there is a need to check individual biases so as not to promote further harm. Using the term “virus of bias,” she said education is needed to overcome this way of thinking. She also fears the potential misuse of technology and the need to ensure its proper use before it’s released into society.
Dasgupta hopes a takeaway from her book is that people see the commonality among populations. She is also hopeful that all people can learn from one other.
To reserve tickets, visit: www.canaancolonial.com
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The daffodils at Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield at their peak in late April 2024.A visit to the farm on April 10 showed that only a few daffodils were in bloom.Peak may be in another week or two.
Photo by Robin Roraback
“And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.”
Those lines, from the poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” by William Wordsworth, are inscribed on a stone marker at Laurel Ridge Farm in the Northfield section of Litchfield.
It rings true to visitors who go to see the more than ten thousand daffodils and narcissus that were planted at Laurel Ridge Farm beginning in the early1940’s. The bulbs were planted in a field considered too rocky to plant crops. The stone marker that holds the poem by Wordsworth also explains: “These daffodils were planted for all to enjoy by Virginia and Remy Morosani, 1941.”
Since then, the Morosani family has maintained the daffodils and set up a foundation for their care. More bulbs were planted over the years. Maintenance includes digging up and separating bulbs when they become over-crowded.
A visit on April 10 found that only a few daffodils were in bloom. A couple who goes yearly and had come to check predicted, “Maybe a week or two more until peak.”
The daffodils at Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield. Photo by Robin Roraback
From about mid-April to early May, thousands of visitors are welcomed to see the daffodils. There are three rules: No dogs, no picnicking, and no picking or stepping on the flowers. They also ask that no one park on the east side of the narrow road so that emergency vehicles gain access if needed.
It is a magical experience to walk the more than ten acres of meandering paths, with woods and ponds, surrounded on all sides by daffodils and narcissus in shades of yellow from pale, almost white to golden yellow.
The Visit Litchfield CT Facebook page (www.facebook.com/VisitLitchfieldCT) posts updates and will post when the daffodils peak. Laurel Ridge Daffodils Facebook page also posts updates on when the peak is expected.
Laurel Ridge Farm is located at 66 Wigwam Road, 1.3 miles south of the intersection withRoute 254. A sign for Laurel Ridge Farm is at the beginning of Wigwam Road. There is no admission fee. It is open from sunrise to sunset while the daffodils bloom. After that, it is closed until the next year.
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Old Crow Medicine Show will perform their high-energy brand of Americana at The Mahaiwe on April 25.
Brooke Stevens
Old Crow Medicine Show has been making merry music since 1998. While students at Ithaca College in upstate New York, the band recorded, toured, and discovered gold in a discarded musical idea.
As legend has it, co-founder Chris Fuqua gave lead singer and fiddle player Ketch Secor a bootleg of a Bob Dylan song sketch. Secor took the chorus and added verses with themes of traveling that reflected his homesickness for the south. The resulting “Wagon Wheel” became the band’s biggest hit, going gold and eventually platinum in 2013.
When asked why the song continues to resonate to this day, mandolin player and multi-instrumentalist Cory Younts said, “It’s simple, easy to learn, and pleasing to the ear. It’s everyone’s favorite campfire song. Ketch knew it was gonna be a big hit when he wrote it, and that it was gonna go for miles and miles.”
The band got a big break while busking outside of a pharmacy in Boone, North Carolina in 2000 when they were discovered by legendary blind bluegrass musician Doc Watson who invited them to perform at his annual Merlefest music festival, changing their lives forever.
As a result of their performance, the band was invited to play Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry where they were embraced and mentored by Marty Stuart, who invited them to tour and open for country music legends Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton.
In 2004, they recorded their eponymous album “O.C.M.S.” produced by David Rawlings, musical partner of Gillian Welch. Younts recalls how it was the right time for the band’s brand of music.
“Old Crow was starting to make a name for themselves in Nashville around the time of the Cohen Brothers’ film ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou?’ I was a fan and would go to as many shows as I could. Gil and Dave would be there too. They’re wonderful people. They have Woodland Studios in Nashville.”
In December 2024, the band celebrated 25 years of the album with a performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Today, they are one of the bigger Americana acts, and on reflection, Younts believes they helped start the genre.
“I remember when everybody thought we were just making country music. I think we’re one of the first bands to start that whole sound and category (of Americana),” he said.
Old Crow Medicine Show will bring their unique brand of Americana to the Berkshires in late April. Audiences can expect an energetic and highly entertaining show.
“We’re very high energy with a lot of humor. All of us rotate instruments throughout the night; everybody plays probably six instruments. It’s entertaining, comical, good old ruckus busking music,” Younts said.
Come see for yourself at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on Friday, April 25.
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Architectural rendering of market’s proposed entrance.
Courtesy of Earthwise Architecture
MILLERTON — The Town of North East Planning Board approved the site plan for the Town Gourmet Market, a new food market to be located in the Millerton Square Plaza at 122 Route 44.
The plan to bring a food market to Millerton has been in the works since Kim and Chris Choe of Sharon, Connecticut, reached agreement with Skip Trotta to purchase the four separate parcels totaling 10.2 acres in May 2023.
In November, when the sale was completed after complying with state and county regulations, veteran grocer Trotta issued a statement noting the long and complicated process to complete the sale.
“We had other proposals for a different use, but we always felt the real need was for a large, clean, remodeled, and competitive market for the sake of the town and the folks that live in the area who deserve just that,” Trotta added.
The Choes own the Sharon Farm Market in the shopping center in Sharon where they have operated for 15 years. Nearly three years ago they expanded by purchasing a farm on Route 44 in East Canaan.
The Choes have presented their plans for the market at recent Planning Board meetings.
Ray Nelson of Earthwise Architecture of Millerton described the features planned for the Town Gourmet Market, including a cafe out front, a greenhouse, a parking lot for 85 vehicles with an EV charger, along with changes to the facade of the building and added green space.
Millerton has been a food desert that stretches from Copake to Dover for half a decade since a Grand Union closed. The Choes plan to offer a wide selection of products, including a full-service meat, deli, seafood, sushi, bakery, and produce departments supplied by C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation’s largest coast-to-coast distributor to independent grocery stores.
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