Campers Filling Field for Annual FreshGrass Festival

Campers setting up at FreshGround at Noel Field Athletic Complex. The FreshGrass festival at Mass MoCA runs through Sunday.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Campers descended upon the city to claim a spot for the FreshGrass bluegrass Festival at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art this weekend.

Although many of the concertgoers utilize established parking areas throughout the city, the more explorative music fans are setting camp at Noel Field.

Disanti Field has been split up into 175 campsites known as FreshGround, a take off on the successful SolidGround used during Solid Sound. Campers arrived throughout the day Friday to set up their camps and meet with other bluegrass enthusiasts. The parking lot behind Joe Wolfe Field has been split up into 25 recreational vehicle and camper spots.

Camp attendees said they expect FreshGround location will be close to full by the end of the day.

These concertgoers will be shuttled over to Mass MoCA in buses when the concerts begin.

Volunteers from ROPES program, operated mostly by local police, will supervise the campground. Sixty percent of the proceeds will go to the summer youth program.

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.