Weekend Outlook: Rolling Thunder Weekend
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| Fall Run founder Michael Robert of Custom City Cycle [iBerkshires file] |
The weather looks quite frightful for a weekend stuffed with fall activities.
But, hopefully, motorcycles will be taking over Park Street in Adams on Saturday night as part of the events for the 27th annual Fall Run Motorcycle Ride.
"Bike Night," taking place from 6 to 9, will help raise money for the 2008 Fall Run. Southbound motorists will be detoured from Park Street; one lane of traffic will close starting at 5 p.m.
There will be live music and food vendors at both ends of the street and a bike show will feature custom and vintage motorcycles. Local dealers will also display their motorcycles. Organizers will hold a large Chinese auction with more than 100 prizes, including a scooter, to help raise funds for the Shriners' Children's Hospital, Springfield Unit, which the run is benefiting.
Saturday night's festivities will lead up to the Fall Run on Sunday, during which motorcycles will leave from Bowe Field in Adams and travel 60 miles, without stopping, to Mohawk Park in Charlemont.
Custom City Cycles in Adams is the main sponsor and owner Michael Robert started the event in 1982 with just 19 riders. Since then, the run has grown, with 1,845 motorcycles participating last year.
The ride also used to be longer, with the bikes traveling through three states — Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. Robert said as the event grew, stopping at a gas station was no longer possible, therefore, the run was condensed to a 60-mile trek.
The event previously benefited the United way and the Jimmy Fund, among others. Since 1989, when Robert said the event became more organized, the run has benefited the Shriners' Hospital. In recent years, Robert has set a goal of $30,000, coming close with $27,000 in 2006.
Although rain is forecast for Sunday, Robert is not discouraged. He described the 2003 run, during which there was a steady downpour of rain, that still raised $13,000.
"It was pretty bad," Robert said and added that riders were provided a police escort because of the weather.
The organizer said there are local groups who attend each year and that he has received calls from riders in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
"They come from all over," said Robert, who has seen repeat riders from the Niagara Falls, N.Y., area.
Participants in the run will be provided breakfast at Bowe Field and groups of riders are advised to assemble before entering the field. Registration will be from 8 to 10 a.m. with motorcycles leaving at 11 a.m. After the run, there will be food, live music and games at Mohawk Park.
— Lyndsay DeBord
An Apple, or Two, for Saturday
The Little Red Schoolhouse will hold its annual fundraiser, the Applefest, on Saturday from 10 to 2 p.m.
The country fair tradition celebrates the beginning of autumn with family activities including games, contests, face painting, crafts and a small petting zoo for children. A bake sale and food concessions offer food and drink to attendees, as well as an apple pie competition with homemade pies baked by community members and families of children attending the school. The event also features a raffle with more than 30 prizes donated by local businesses.Proceeds benefit the preschool that serves children ages 2 years, 9 months and older in Berkshire County and Southern Vermont.
Admission is $8 for children, $20 for families of three or more children and adults are free. For more information, call Katie Turton at 413-884-5354.
If those apples aren't enough, the Apple Squeeze in Lenox has been going strong for more than two decades. More than 50 vendors and information booths, demonstrations, carriages and walking tours will crowd the downtown on Saturday and Sunday, which also features the fire apparatus parade and folk art festival.
Hancock Shaker Village is also celebrating a country fair this weekend with a wide range of activities for families with regular admission.
Fall Foliage Extravaganzas
North Adams kicks off Fall Foliage Festival Week with the annual Children's Road Race on Sunday at Joe Wolfe Field with registration beginning at 11:30; races begin at 12:30 p.m. Children all ages from tots to 11 are encouraged to participate.
The Children's Fair runs from 12:30 to 3:30 on Sunday at Western Gateway Heritage State Park. The annual tradition includes plenty of games and activities for kids up to mid-teens. The afternoon includes entertainment and low-priced refreshments.
Both the Children's Fair and Road Race have been canceled because of wet grounds and forecast for rain on Sunday.
Real South (American) County
The annual Latino Festival celebrates its 13th year in Lee beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The program features folkloric dance companies from many Latin American countries. Through their performances and music, the dancers entertain the audience with the ceremonies, rituals, and stories of these rich cultures. Ethnic dishes will be available from local vendors. The festival is free of charge, alcohol-free, and open to the public. People of all ethnicities come together at the First Congregational Church Park on Main Street.
Day at the Museum
Read Smithsonian Magazine? If you do, it's a free pass to the Berkshire Museum on Saturday in celebration of Museum Day.
The museum in downtown Pittsfield will participate in the fourth annual Museum Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Berkshire Museum will join other cultural institutions nationwide by opening their doors free of charge to Smithsonian magazine readers and Smithsonian.com visitors.Attendees must present Smithsonian's Museum Day Admission Card to gain free entry. This card is available in the September 2008 issue and a downloadable version, available to the general public, is at Smithsonian.com. Last year, 651 museums offered free Museum Day admission.
Forest Festival
On Sunday, Hopkins Memorial Forest marks annual Fall Festival from 1 to 4 p.m. The entrance to the Williams College-owned forest is at the intersection of Northwest Hill Road and Bulkley Street in Williamstown.
The college's Center for Environmental Studies will organize visits to the canopy walkway, which will take place throughout the event. There will be scientific stations set up and various activities organized, such as forest-related trades and crafts, cider-pressing, and the popular cross-cut saw competition, and events especially for children. Forest Manager Andrew Jones said there will be new events this year, including demonstrations by a barnwight from Berkshire Barns, Inc. Children's events are planned also. The event will feature local music and refreshments will be available.
Reading About the Berkshires
Chapters Bookstore on North Street in Pittsfield welcomes author David McLaughlin at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.
McLaughlin has written two books about Berkshire County, including "Inside the Berkshires," an insider's guide for residents, second-home owners and visitors, and "Unfolding History of the Berkshires," with a unique set of foldout maps.He will give an illustrated talk on his books and sign them.
If you're looking to support local health-care events, you can march for babies and heart health this weekend.
Marching for Health
The Berkshire County March for Babies takes place Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Farnam's Road crossing on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Cheshire. The national walk is March of Dimes largest fundraising event that benefits all babies.
To sign up or donate, call 1-800-525-9255 or go to marchforbabies.org.
In Pittsfield, the Berkshire County Heart Walk marches off on Sunday at 10 a.m. from Wahconah Park. The walk raises funds for the American Heart Association's research and outreach programs. Read one survivor's story.
Buy, Baby, Buy
There's a few shopping opportunities this weekend, several for good causes as well.
The North Adams Public Library holds its annual book sale, which began Friday. Thousands of books in hardcover and paperbook are available for eager readers. (Editor: I donated six boxes of mysteries, sci-fi and history — great reading!)
Berkshire SHARE is holding a tag sale on Saturday from 9 to 4 at Greenberg's on Curran Highway in North Adams, rain or shine. Baked goods and raffles will also be featured.North Adams Regional Hospital's Recreation Committee will host a tag sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The event will be held on the second level of the parking garage. Proceeds benefit the Recreation Committee.
