LGBTQ Business & Professional Networking Event (Great Barrington, MA)

Berkshire LGBTQ+ Business, Professional & Community Leaders gather for 10/15 Berkshire LGBTQ+ Business, Professional & Community Leaders Networking Event, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Farnsworth Fine Cannabis in Great Barrington to foster connections between queer business & professional leaders and local chambers of commerce from all over the region, and to celebrate more than 20+ LGBTQ-owned businesses in the South Berkshires, including:

• Acupuncture in The Berkshires with Zoë (opened in 2019 in New Marlborough) In Private practice for 25 years, co-founder of Brooklyn Acupuncture 1999-present and Berkshire Acupuncture Center 2019-present. Her practice translates ancient wisdom into real treatments relevant to your life and goals.

• Arcadian Shop: outdoor recreation equipment, clothing, bike repairs & rentals, kayak rentals, & expert advice on how to turn your love of nature into fun, inspiring, & well-planned adventures
• Berkshire Property Agents: A locally queer-owned real estate agency serving Berkshire, Columbia, and Litchfield counties, & based in Great Barrington
• Berkshire Resin Art: Artist Natasha Wein creates unique, handmade art and jewelry with local gems, based in Stockbridge
• Cyril & Dayne: Offers handcrafted luxury eyewear online & in Great Barrington store
• Dana Bixby – Architecture: A residential architectural firm based in West Stockbridge
• Devonfield Inn (opened in 2018 in Lee) a beautifully restored & updated historic inn featuring spectacular mountain views, swimming pool, amazing food & accommodations, and some of the best hospitality in the Berkshires all a short drive away from Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow, and all the world-class Berkshire cultural destinations
• The Elm Restaurant: A contemporary New England restaurant focused on using local ingredients in Great Barrington.
• Farnswoth Fine Cannabis: A luxury cannabis dispensary that offers quality products on Main Street in Great Barrington
• Hart Textile Arts Store & Classes: A studio and retail space in Great Barrington for textile artists and enthusiasts, selling unique art and home goods & classes in all kinds of textile arts for beginners and experienced practitioners.
• Knollwood Antiques (opened in 2024 in Lee) As a collective gallery space with 32 vendors, we have decades of experience in the valuation and sales of fine antique furniture, art, rugs, and decorative objects. Our offerings span time periods from antiquity to early modern and are sourced from Europe, the Americas, and beyond.
• Lenox Acupuncture: Jennifer Crosson Libby, MS, L.Ac, has studied several styles of acupuncture, but her primary focus, passion, and training is in Classical 5-Element Acupuncture. Jennifer grew up in Lenox and moved back with her wife and cats in 2023.
• LifeWorks Studio: A wellness studio providing tailored support and resources for diverse members of the local community.
• Moon in the Pond Farm: A sustainable eco-agriculture farm that offers educational programs & various artisanal meats, cheese, eggs, herbs, & veggies at various farmer’s markets throughout the year
• Only in My Dreams Events & The Shop: This business hosts events and includes a "candy store for grown ups" featuring unique gifts.
• Red House Design: An architectural & space design firm specializing in sustainable residential design.
• Sawyer Antiques: Since 1974, we specialize in written appraisals, estate sales, & organizing auctions. Based in West Stockbridge.
• Seven Salon Spa: premiere destination for quality haircare, skincare and bodywork in the Berkshires based in a beautiful salon in Stockbridge
• Studio Riggleman: An interior design studio based in Monterey. 
• Yellow House Books: A used and rare bookstore with a diverse collection

Berkshire LGBTQ+ business owners and professionals are coming together on the 3rd Wednesdays of each month for the ongoing series of Berkshire LGBTQ Business, Professional & Community Leaders Networking Events to get to know one another and increase the community’s capacity to respond to political, economic, and demographic challenges that are especially impacting our rural LGBTQ+ community and its businesses. It also provides another opportunity to celebrate new LGBTQ+ businesses and leaders setting up shop in the Berkshires because of the region’s long-term and growing public support of diversity and equity.

The monthly networking event is designed to foster connection, collaboration, and creative dialogue among local LGBTQ+ business owners, professionals, community leaders, and allies. In partnership with the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Q-MoB, and media sponsor Berkshire Magazine, the networking events offer a platform to reflect on the rich history, the vibrant present, and the promising future of LGBTQ+ business in the Berkshires. Each gathering will feature insights from LGBTQ+ business owners, entrepreneurs, andallied leaders in the region.

“In this time of tumultuous change, it’s vital that our local LGBTQ+ business owners and professionals come together to support one another and work in solidarity with our many allied businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations," said Q-MoB Executive Director Bart Church.

“The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce is proud of the Berkshire’s leaders and ordinary citizens who are standing up for the business innovation and growth that a community’s long-term commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion bring,” said Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alexandra Eberhardt. “The Berkshires and the whole state of Massachusetts are becoming magnets for new businesses and innovation because diversity and equity are really good for business—and we are seeing LGBTQ business leaders from more repressive parts of the country moving to places like the Berkshires, where they are not just tolerated, but welcomed with open arms. Courage is contagious!”

UPCOMING MONTHLY BUSINESS, PROFESSIONAL, & COMMUNITY LEADERS NETWORKNG EVENTS:

• 10/15 Farnsworth Fine Cannabis in Great Barrington
• 11/19 Common Table in Cheshire, MA
• 12/17 Only in My Dreams The Shop in South Egremont, MA
  

Please register for each individual networking event here on Eventbrite so our hosts will know how many people to expect. And if your Berkshire-based queer-owned business that would like to host a monthly networking event, please email Angie Montalvo-Greene at angie.montalvogreene@malgbtcc.ccsend.com or Bart Church at queermenoftheberkshires@gmail.com

THANK YOUS: The Co-sponsoring organizations are grateful to the following organizations for their strong support of the Berkshire LGBTQ Business, Professional & Community Leaders Networking Series:

• Berkshire United Way for a Venture Grant to Q-MoB to foster intergenerational collaboration in the LGBTQ community
• Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's South Berkshire Fund, that supports Q-MoB's efforts to offer activities in the South Berkshires
• One Berkshire for all their support of new and established LGBTQ businesses in the Berkshires
• Berkshire Magazine's LGBTQ Guide, which remains the most comprehensive listing of LGBTQ businesses and organizations in the Berkshires

CARPOOLING/RIDE-SHARE: If you need a ride or are open to carpooling, please indicate that when you are registering, & our ride coordinator will try to match you with people nearby who are interested in carpooling or offering rides.

CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR DATA: We use the data you provide to make statistical reports to Berkshire United Way, a non-profit foundation that funded part of the costs of getting these monthly networking events rolling. Your contact information will be kept strictly confidential and only shared with the 3 co-sponsoring organizations (Mass LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, Berkshire Magazine Pride Guide, & Q-MoB), and only to be used to promote participation in the on-going monthly networking events, and to invite participants to subscribe to the newsletter/email list of each of the sponsoring organizations (which is optional on the part of all participants). We will not sell your data to outside vendors, nor disclose it to outside organizations without a court order.

REACHING US DAY OF THE EVENT: If you have trouble finding us, will be late, or need to cancel the day of the event, please call/text Bart at 503-734-6508.