3rd Thursdays Returns For 7th Year

09:54AM / Thursday, May 16, 2013Print Story | Email Story



		3rd.Thursdays is back this week! Upstreet Pittsfield's free, family friendly street festival,3rd.Thursdays, returns for its seventh year onThursday, May 16. May's 3rd.Thursdays theme isYouth on the Move and is generously sponsored byBerkshire Health Systems, in partnership with the Pittsfield Public Schools' Balancing the Equationinitiative. North Street will be closed to traffic from West Street to Linden Street so you can enjoy everything! Thursday, May 16 \| 5-8pm \| Upstreet Cultural District \| 499-9348 \| FREE

		Great Youth Performers! Attendees will enjoy performances up and down the street by the Pittsfield Youth Alive Step Team & Band; YMCA gymnasts and breakdancers; the Mason Zink Band, featuring a four year old bluegrass and country singer; a sneak preview ofPittsfield High School's production of Greaseopening this weekend; the young musicians of Kids 4 Harmony (making their 3rd.Thursdays debut!); theYoung Westports at Crowne Plaza; and a special appearance by rockstar nutritionist Jump With Jill. Click here for a downloadable 3rd.Thursdays schedule & map!

		New! The 3rd.Thursdays Open Mic Stage! Always had a yen to perform at 3rd.Thursdays? New this year is our 3rd.Thursdays outdoors Open Micstage on North Street at the corner of Maplewood and hosted by Justin Allen (pictured left) from Mission Bar + Tapas popular Open Mic series. And don't miss theBerkshire Rocks stage at Sottile Park on North & Eagle Streets featuring youth performers Olivia Stein, the Weiner Jazz Trio, Ella Sears, andGenie and the Barncats!

		Get Active Upstreet! Everyone's invited to take part in activities throughout 3rd.Thursdays, including a free zumba class with Rachel Plaine at Park Square and square dancing with Cliff Brodeur on the lawn of St. Joseph's Church. Pittsfield Public School teachers will lead fun family-friendly activities in front of the St. Joseph's Church, from 5-6pm including African jump dance, dance bands, a parachute dance and more. At6:15pm students from 12 public schools will dance on the street together, and keep your eyes open for roving performances by the Morris Men Dancers, the Crossing Guard Parade Brigade, and some walking talking veggies!

		NAMI Minds Matter Walk The Berkshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hold their Minds Matter walk during 3rd.Thursdays. Registration begins at 5pm at the corner of North Street and Park Square. At5:45pm State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier will speak along with NAMI interim directorBrenda Carpenter, and the walk kicks off at 6pm, travelling the length of 3rd.Thursdays and back.

		Great Performances Indoors Too! More performances can be found indoors as well. ThePittsfield High School orchestra will give a free concert at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church at6pm; Chris Vecchia (pictured left) and Jordan Franklin will be rocking the Marketplace Cafe from 5pm to 8pm; the Berkshire Museumhosts PechaKucha at 7pm; and the Blue Jazz Quartet featuring David Bartley will be heating upMadJack's BBQ also beginning at 7pm. And be sure to catch the Town Players of Pittsfield's staged reading of Old Family Friends by local playwright Chris Newbound at the brand new Whitney Center for the Arts on Wendell Ave. at 5:30pm & again at7pm, free! Full schedule can be found here.

		Locally Made Art Upstreet! The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts hosts a reception for its annual Art in our School show featuring over 200 works of art (at left) by Pittsfield public middle and high school students. If you missed the May First Fridays Artswalk, you can visit many Artswalk partners during 3rd.Thursdays including Bagels Too, Marketplace Cafe, Y Bar, Bisque, Beads & Beyond, the Crowne Plaza,Spice Dragon, Mary's Carrot Cake, & The Lantern Bar & Grill. Pick up an Artsbuck & with any art purchase of $200 or more from an Artswalk partner Berkshire Money Management will donate $100 to the local non-profit of your choice!

		Upstreet Shopping at its Best! Shopping upstreet is always exciting! Be sure to visitPersnickety Toys' new location at Crawford Square, and the other great stores there. Visit theBerkshire Running Center to get in gear for the running season, featuring custom fittings and consultations with their run specialists. Stop by RJ Stohr Diamonds and Fine Jewelry to save 50% off everything in stock except for Trollbeads, Karisma and locally made jewelry. And at the corner of Park Square and South Street stop by Museum Facsimiles Outlet Store's new expanded location!

		Enjoy Upstreet Pittsfield Restaurants... Great food abounds upstreet so plan to have dinner out on the town. Enjoy outdoor seating at Patrick's Pub or try North Street's newest culinary hotspot J. Allen's Clubhouse Grille. Stop by MadJacks BBQfor barbeque, Mary's Carrot Cake Cafe for locally baked treats, the Lantern Bar & Grill for the county's best burgers, Spice Dragon for sushi and Vietnamese comfort food, or Mission Bar & Tapasfor Spanish wine and Spanish tapas!

		Great food on the street too! New this year: Thistle & Mirth hosts an open-air beer garden in the covered walkway next to Hot Harry's featuring craft beers and ales from Wandering Star Brewery. 3rd.Thursdays food vendors on the street include For the Love of Pie, Lucia's Latin Kitchen, the How We Roll food truck, and Gunther's Sausage Wagon. And be sure and stop by Berkshire Bank's historic Popcorn Wagon on Park Square!


		The Fun Continues After 8pm! At 8pm head over to Patrick's Pub for Rakish Paddy's monthly set of Irish music or check out the Picky Bastards (at left) at Mission Bar & Tapas, a collective of rotating local folk, rock and Americana musicians hosted by Chris Merenda. Both are no cover. Later on enjoy DJ dancing at theUnderground Pub beginning at 9:30pm inside the Crowne Plaza.

		Thank you to our sponsors! We are grateful to Berkshire Health Systems for sponsoring the May 16th 3rd.Thursdays, Youth on the Move! And big thanks to our other 3rd.Thursdays sponsors include Berkshire Gas, Guardian Life, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Sabic, Berkshire Health Systems and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

		Mark your calendars for the June 20th3rd.Thursdays! Upcoming 3rd.Thursdays dates and themes are June 20th: Play Ball, July 18: Under the Sea, August 15th : Weird Science; September 19th: Festa Italiano; and October 17: Monster Mash! 3rd.Thursdays are held rain or shine and there is plenty of free parking throughout downtown's Upstreet Cultural District.

		Want to get involved? 3rd.Thursdays is organized by the City of Pittsfield's Office of Cultural Development. We welcome volunteers, vendors, partners, entertainers and more! For more information on getting involved with 3rd.Thursdays, please visit discoverpittsfield.com/3rdthursdays, email thirdthursdayspittsfield@gmail.com or call 413-499-9348. See you upstreet!

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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
04:21PM / Monday, June 08, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.

Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.

The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.

Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.

Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.

Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.

Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.

The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.

The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.

Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.

Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.

He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.

Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.

Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.

Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.

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