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Lawmakers Hear of Importance of Berkshire Tourism

The Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development held a hearing Monday morning at the Berkshire Museum that attracted leaders of almost all of the county's tourist attractions. Below, co-Chairwoman Rep. Cory Atkins addresses the audience.
Cultural Economy by the Numbers 125,000 jobs $17 billion in revenue $3.6 billion in wages $11 million in state & local taxes Source: Mass Office of Travel & Tourism

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Every 747 that lands at Logan International Airport puts 16 Massachusetts residents to work.

Tourism and culture pump $17 billion into the economy yearly and employs more than 125,000, some 3,500 in the Berkshires alone.

The state needs to do all it can to increase the number of people visiting the state by air and otherwise, said Betsy Wall, executive director for the state Office of Travel and Tourism, at the Berkshire Museum on Monday morning.

The public hearing held by the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development brought cultural, business and political leaders together to plead for additional state support in tourism.

Lawmakers say they understand the importance of the arts in the economy and community, with Committee co-Chairwoman Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord, noting that more than 100 representatives sponsored her amendment to add $1.6 million the Massachusetts Cultural Council's budget this year.

Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo said tourism accounts for $60.9 million in revenue for the state budget and creates 125,000 jobs.

"Tourism and arts are an important part of our state's identity," DeLeo said, adding that tourism is the third largest industry in the commonwealth

According to Wall, the Berkshires is currently "outpacing" the entire state while the state is "outpacing" the rest of the country when it comes to tourism dollars. But continuing to capture those dollars could be threatened by the state of New York, because New York has increased its spending on marketing and tourism from $19 million to $60 million.

"We have to fight. We have compete for this money," Wall said. "We have a very, very competitive market."

The market isn't confined to the region — it's the entire world. Wall said Massachusetts has recently opened new markets with advertising and is attracting tourist from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East — to add to such standbys as Europe. Additionally, there is a "robust" domestic marketing program bringing people to the state and New England.

Lauri Klefos, of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, said she was able to leverage $310,000 in state dollars to get $780,000 in matches from local organizations. With that, the bureau was able to create a year-round marketing plan that reaches 400 million people. That builds on the state's campaign that is reaching those international markets the bureau doesn't have tho funds to reach.

"This investment you made in the Berkshires is really making a difference," Klefos said, adding that in the last year, the county has seen a 6 percent increase in visitor spending.

The attractions where the visitors drop the dollars in the Berkshires say they depend on state funds to help market and operate. According to Tristan Wilson, managing director of Barrington Stage Company, income from tourism accounts for only half of the operating expenses.

"We rely on donations to bridge that gap," he said, donations that rarely come out-of-town visitors, which make up two-thirds of the theater's audience. So the theater company reaches out to national organizations, corporations and the state to find the extra support. "We need the support of the state."

Federal funding remains uncertain with a proposal in the U.S. House that would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts in half. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who testified, said she believes arts is "a measure of who we are" but funding for the arts is being held up by Republicans.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren testified in support of the arts.

"We've got world-class museums, world-class music, world-class dance. We've got it. We just need to support it and create access to it so there is transportation to get out here. That's a way to bring a stronger economy for this region," Warren said, after her testimony. "It is not just good for this region. It is good for our country. It is the right direction."

Nonetheless, Warren said she is proud of Massachusetts because "we get it" and want to put money into the arts. Warren said she testified to add her voice to that of the local areas in support of humanities.

"It is a great statement here in Massachusetts about how we understand the importance of investing in the arts and we understand what it will mean for this region. It would be great for the Berkshires but we've got to do it," Warren said.

Veronica Bosley, director of tourism for the city of North Adams, said tourism has become a cornerstone of the former mill city's economy and funding for regional tourism councils is imperative to attracting visitors. Bosley said 200,000 people visit North Adams every year and, in the last three years, 10 businesses were able to open because of increased tourism dollars.

Additionally, Jonathan Secor, of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, said partnerships of cultural institutions are keeping a younger demographic from leaving the city.

But arts is not just a way to further the economy. Caroline Burns, president of Berkshire Children and Families, said arts education plays a major role in the development of the youth and helps them grow to become more educated adults.

"Intensive study of the arts is every bit as important as academics," Burns said.

Because of that, Burns said her organization recently began a music program for local schools, helping to fill in gaps from school budget cuts in the arts.

While the state has increased funding of cultural organizations, there is a lot of untapped potential, many who testified said.

Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, said the financial impacts that are being made with funding from her agency comes from a lot of hard work from the receiving cultural institutions. This year, the organization will be able to increase its impact in the arts by some 15 percent for grant awardees because of the budget increase from the state.

And every one of those dollars will be stretched to get the most of them, she said.

"I am mystified at how these organizations and individuals continue to provide high-quality, world-class enrichment," Walker said, with the funding they have to work with.

Sheffield Craftsman Offering Workshops on Windsor Chairs

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Sunday, March 29, 2026

Andrew Jack uses hand tools in his wood working shop. 

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — A new workshop is bringing woodworking classes and handmade items.

Andrew Jack specializes in Windsor chairs and has been making them for almost 20 years.

He recently opened a workshop at 292 South Main St. as a space for people to see his work and learn how to do it.

"This is sort of the next, or latest iteration of a business that I've kind of been limping along for a little while," he said. "I make Windsor chairs from scratch, and this is an effort to have a little bit more of a public-facing space, where people can see the chairs, talk about options, talking about commissions.

"I also am using it as a space to teach workshops, which for the last 10 years or so I've been trying to do out of my own personal workshop at home."

Jack graduated in 2008 from State University of New York at Purchase, and later met woodworker Curtis Buchanan, who inspired him.

"Right after I finished there, I was feeling a little lost. I wasn't sure how to make the next steps and afford a workspace. And the machine tooling that I was used to using in school." he said, "Right after I graduated, I crossed paths with a guy named Curtis Buchanan, and he was demonstrating making really refined Windsor chairs with not much more than some some flea market tools, and I saw that as a great, low overhead way to keep working with wood."

Jack moved into his workshop last month with help from his wife. He is renting the space from the owners of Magic Flute, who he says have been wonderful to work with.

"My wife actually noticed the 'for rent' sign out by the road, and she made the initial call to just see if we get some more information," he said. "It wasn't on my radar, because it felt like kind of a big leap, and sometimes that's how it's been in my life, where I just need other people to believe in me more than I do to, you know, really pull the trigger."

Jack does commissions and while most of his work is Windsor chairs, he also builds desks and tables, and does spoon carving. 

Windsor chairs are different because of the way their backs are attached into the seat instead of being a continuous leg and back frame.

"A lot of the designs that I make are on the traditional side, but I do some contemporary stuff as well. And so usually the legs are turned on a lathe and they have sort of a fancy baluster look to them, or they could be much more simple," he said. "But the solid seat that separates the undercarriage from the backrest and the arms and stuff is sort of one of the defining characteristics of a Windsor."

He hopes to help people learn the craft and says it's rewarding to see the finished product. In the future, he also hopes to host other instructors and add more designs for the workshop.

"The prime impact for the workshops is to give close instruction to people that are interested in working wood with hand tools or developing a new skill. Or seeing what's possible with proper guidance," Jack said. "Chairs are often considered some of the more difficult or complex woodworking endeavors, and maybe less so Windsor chairs, but there is a lot that goes into them, and being able to kind of demystify that, or guide people through the process is quite rewarding."

People can sign up for classes on his website; some classes are over a couple and others a couple of weekends.

"I offer a three-day class for, a much, much more simple, like perch, kind of stool, where most of the parts are kind of pre-made, and students can focus on the joinery that goes into it and the carving of the seat, again, all with hand tools. And then students will leave with their own chair," he said.

"The longer classes run similarly, although there's quite a bit more labor that goes into those. So I provide all the turned parts, legs and stretchers and posts and things, but students will do all the joinery and all the seat carving the assembly. And they'll split and shave and shape their own spindles, and any of the bent parts that go into the chair."

His gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m to 2 p.m., and Monday and Tuesday by appointment.