Music, Night Life Added to Beach Party
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Expect to see some changes to the Eagle Street Beach Party, scheduled for this Friday, July 9. Now in its 12th year, the event, which transforms the street into a sandy "beach," will be expanded to include an "adult-oriented" portion beginning at 7 p.m.
To prepare for the event, Eagle Street will be closed to parking after 11 a.m. on Friday, and the street itself will be closed at noon. City trucks will dump some 250,000 pounds of sand donated by Specialty Minerals on the roadway at that time. (Volunteers are needed to help spread the sand at starting at 1:30. Shovels will be provided; just show up).
The traditional kids and family beach day will run from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., with the new evening portion running until 10.
Local businesses have donated sand toys for the family portion of the day. Two hundred tickets for a SteepleCats game will be given out to children 12 years or younger, and Persnickity Toys will host a limbo party contest, with toy prizes for winning participants.
Various gift certificates donated by local businesses will be awarded to individuals and small groups of all ages for their sand creations, with special prizes for the most creative sand castles or sand sculptures.
The evening portion of the event, or "fiesta," will feature food, music and contests. The Hub will sell margaritas and Coronas to those of age who are wearing a band, and Rebel Alliance, Miss Guided, Rick Harlow/Roman Iwasiwka and Daisy’s Little Secret will perform live music throughout the evening. (While you're checking out the sandy beaches of North Adams, stop by the public library, where the Sweet Adelines will be performing music on the lawn from 6:30 to 7:30).
After the event, a public service crew will spend the next several hours removing sand from the street. Eagle Street will be open for regular traffic before dawn on Saturday, July 10.
The Eagle Street Beach is presented by artist Eric Rudd, who created the event in 1999, and supported by the City of North Adams, Specialty Minerals, Jamie Choquette/Berkshire Sound and Lighting, Mildred Elley - Pittsfield Campus, Adams Co-op Bank, Smith Watson & Co, A-1 Septic Portable toilets, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Don Dix/DWD Masonry, Aubuchon Hardware, North Adams SteepleCats, and all the merchants and businesses on Eagle Street.
If the weather does not cooperate this Friday, the event will be re-scheduled for Friday, July 16. According to the city's Office of Tourism Director, Rod Bunt, a decision will have to be made fairly early in the morning, before the sand is dumped. Check iBerkshires for updates.
