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North Adams Lip Dub Kicks Off Fundraising

Annie Rodgers talks to attendees at the North Adams Lip Dub Kickoff Party at the Parlor Cafe on Saturday.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Dozens of people packed the Parlor Cafe on Saturday to support to the North Adams Lip Dub Committee by attending the group's kickoff party and helping organizers raise $470 toward their goal.

"I am beyond pleased. I'm thrilled," Annie Rodgers, the organizer of the North Adams Lip Dub, said. The event at the Parlor marked the preliminary stages of the fundraising campaign for the organization. According to Rodgers, $8,250 needs to be raised to make the North Adams Lip Dub a reality.

The kickoff party featured an array of acts from North Adams talents. Christian Phiffer, Jessica Sweeney, Sarah Russell and Alex Whoolner read poems to the crowd assembled in the cafe. Local musician Nate Rogers and the North Adams-based band Hill Haints played short sets later in the evening.

In between the poetry and the music, Rodgers took the opportunity to explain Lip Dub to the audience and showed several YouTube examples of similar projects. Filming is scheduled for Sept. 27.

"Every single person that you see is a part of this," Rodgers said to the crowd.

Rodgers, who coordinates the Northern Berkshires Neighbors program of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, said she sees the North Adams Lip Dub as a way for all residents of the city to show their pride in where they live and celebrate their community, all while having fun doing it.

"I think it's a very cool idea," said North Adams resident Kurt Kolok. Not only does he serve on the committee, Kolok also acted in the promotional video created for the event. "It helps show people what this town is about."

Kolok was not the only individual enthused by the idea of a lip dub video featuring this small Northern Berkshire city.

"I think it's really exciting. I think North Adams is a great spot to do it, and we have the type of community that would support it," Russell, one of the poets who read on Saturday, said.

Russell moved to North Adams from upstate New York in 2003 and has no intention of leaving her new home. In fact, the 28-year-old is in the process of buying a house here.

At the end of the evening, Rodgers made a special announcement: The Lip Dub Committee decided to hold a contest to select the song to be used. But the committee isn't looking for the latest top 40 hit.

Instead, Rodgers announced that any area musicians, songwriters or other interested people can create a song about North Adams, or one that relates to the theme of home and community. The project is being directed by Peter Gentile, director of the television studio at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and longtime volunteer with Northern Berkshire Community Television.

As of Sunday evening, the North Adams Lip Dub had raised $945 toward its goal on Kickstarter.com. The group has just 59 more days to reach the $8,250 goal, according to Kickstarter.com's rules.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.