Monster Smash To Be Held On Halloween

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Common Folk Artist Collective and FNProductions are bringing Monster Smash 2015  this Halloween, featuring a plethora of ghoulish activities and multiple music performances.

Jessica Sweeney, director of Common Folk Artist Collective, said the event will feature bands Arc Iris, Superhuman Happiness and Smash Frequency at the Elks Club on Saturday, Oct. 31.

“This is an opportunity for the entire community to come together, and I am hoping people will go because they want to dress up, listen to great music and have fun,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney said the event is for everyone in the community and people of all ages are invited to take part in the many activities, such as a 50/50 raffle, art installations, henna tattooing, tarot card readings, a photo booth and, of course, a costume contest.

The event kicks off at The Parlor, located at 303 Ashland St. in North Adams, at 6 p.m. with comedy from local acts Seth Brown and Angel Ortiz. Those looking for more traditional Halloween activities, such as bobbing for apples and a doughnut eating contest, should make the Parlor their first stop before the show.

At 6:45 p.m., after a handmade instrument workshop, costumed attendees will march from The Parlor to the Elks Club on Eagle Street.

“The group there will parade down to the Elks with their instrument and make a cackle in town,” Sweeney said.

At the Elks, local artist Smash Frequency will open the show, followed by Superhuman Happiness, a theatrical New York City Band. Arc Iris, who Sweeney described as a genre crossing Space-Glitter-Doowop band, will headline.

Sweeney said she hopes the event allows members of the community to all meet under the same roof and celebrate not only Halloween but also the community itself and the importance of arts in the community.

“This is going to be a great event,” Sweeney said. “It is really about bringing people together and creating memorable experiences that we can all share together that have some sort of twinge of community building.”

Sweeny said part of Common Folk’s mission is to support local and emerging artists. She said all the money raised at the show will go toward paying the artists and tech aspects of the concert.

She said any profit made will be used by Common Folk to continue to host free events for the community.

Events at The Parlor are free; tickets to the Elks party can be purchased for $12 in advance through eventbrite.com or $15 at the door. Will call begins at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.

There will be two cash bars and baked goods sold along, with a donation jar for the family that lost their house on Furnace Street last week, at the merchandise table.

Sweeney said costumes are not mandatory but encouraged.

Berkshires Remember First Responders, Military Personnel Lost at 9/11 and Aftermath

By Jack Guerino & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:30PM / Friday, September 11, 2026

North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey, with Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre speaks at Friday's memorial. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The county's two cities held memorials on Friday morning to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. 

Great Barrington was scheduled to hold a dedication of piece of steel from the World Trade Center at 6 p.m.

North Adams held its ceremony in the fire station's side garden starting at exactly 8:46 a.m., the time Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower.

 

The small square of grass was packed with police officers, firefighters, wire and alarm personnel, dispatchers, and Northern Berkshire EMS employees, and city employees, officials and community members. 

 

After the ceremonial tolling of the bell, an honor guard presented the colors.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey said it felt odd welcoming people to a very solemn event.

 

"What happened 25 years ago put a mark on emergency services. It put additional pressure on police, fire, EMS, and dispatchers," Macksey said. "While we remember those who lost their lives during 9/11, and those who ran to help as many as they could during 9/11, we have to pause and appreciate those who continue to serve despite that awful threat that occurred 25 years ago."

 

She said it was a direct attack on the United States and all of its people.

 

"It was a question of our freedoms and our ability to be safe in our communities," the mayor said. "I can say today that here in North Adams, it could happen to us, but I know with the professionalism of our Fire Department, Police Department, EMS, and our dispatch team, we are a better community; we are a safer community than we were 25 years ago."