Berkshires Beat: Eighth-Graders Sew Patriotic Pillowcases
.jpg)
God bless America: Hoosac Valley eighth-grade students in Terry Vivori's Family & Consumer Sciences class made patriotic pillowcases for Women of Soldier On in Northampton, Mass. The student learned how to use patterns and sewing machines in class.
.jpg)
Camping to fight cancer: A kids fair and campout will be held June 10-11 at Pine Island Farm in Sheffield to help fight the battle against cancer. The event at Pine Island Farm, known as Camping for a Cure, will be a fundraiser for Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation's Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) team. The PMC is a bike-a-thon that brings together thousands of impassioned cyclists, committed volunteers, generous donors and dedicated corporate sponsors to provide the resources necessary to discover cures for all types of cancer. Currently, five farmers and open space supporters are set to ride more than 750 combine for MA Farm Bureau Federation and for those who can't on Aug. 5-6.
At the Camping for a Cure event, young families will have the opportunity to experience farm life. Pine Island Farm will start their event on June 10 at 10 a.m. with an optional canoeing drop off. Following the optional canoeing drop off, Pine Island Farm will start a children's fair at noon, which will include touch a tractor, petting farm, obstacle course and more. After a day full of these terrific activities, a camp-out will be held in the evening where a movie will also be shown.
The families who attend this event will leave the campsite with a stronger relationship with their food. They will get to meet and talk with Louis and Holly Aragi, who own and operate Pine Island Farm, a dairy operation, at South Main Street, Route 7 in Sheffield, as well as other Berkshire County farmers. If a family attends these events, they are not required to campout. A family can come for the afternoon and stay for as long as they want. If a family chooses to campout, MA Farm Bureau Federation asks that they make plans to bring their own tent and camping supplies. To register to attend a campout and donate to the team, please do so online.
On the prowl: The Hancock Wolves took the prestigious first place trophy home in the recent Battle of the Books competition held Thursday, June 1. The Central Berkshire District contest was hosted at Becket Washington School. Ten teams battled for the win by demonstrating their knowledge of specific details from a list of 30 required books.
The Wolves pictured here are (front row) Andrew Petropulos, Abby Clairmont, Alexandra Gregorek, Dylan Turner, Lukas Gagliardi and Olivia Alphonso and (back row) Miss Tremblay (coach), Owen Petropulos, Katherine Goss, Mrs. Dix (coach), Jenner Kittle (team captain) and Ben Gregorek.
Wrestling on TV: Truly Independent Wrestling has begun airing content on Pittsfield Community Television's "Access Pittsfield" Channel (Ch. 16) in the Berkshire County Area. Saturday evenings, fans now can tune into Access Pittsfield at 5:30 p.m. and witness their favorite matches and wrestlers.
Truly Independent Wrestling was founded in October of 2016 and has been rapidly establishing itself as a great form of family-friendly fun. TIW has held five shows since its inception: The Clash Before Christmas (12/10/16), Snowbrawl (1/28/17), Forward March (3/11/17), April Assault (4/22/17) and May Meltdown (5/20/17). A sixth show, End of the Road, will take place on Saturday, June 17, at Pilgrim Memorial Church. Matches will include Scotty Aero vs Kennedi Copeland in a Submission Match, "The Wolf" CJ Scott vs Lance Madewell in a Street Fight and Zack Clayton versus "Mr Must-See" Tyler Vincent to crown the first TIW Champion.
Other mainstays of TIW include: The Street (Elite Terrell & Angel Kross), Tyrek, "The Pillar" Roman Dominguez, High Voltage Omar, Jamar Justice, Benjamin Blackwell, The Maine State Posse (Aiden AGGRO & DangerKid), "The Savage" Damon Ravage, The Rickety Rocket and The Echo Boomers ("Firework" Foxx Vinyer & Jimmy Limits), among others.
PCTV is a community television station, operating Public, Educational, and Governmental Access Television ("PEG Access") available to cable TV viewers on three channels in the Spectrum service area, and serves people who live or work in the City of Pittsfield.
Getting better: Norman Rockwell Museum is receiving a grant of $125,000 from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund Program toward capital improvements. Grant awardees were officially announced on May 18 Gov. Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The Museum is one of 61 grant recipients across the Commonwealth to receive CFF funds, including several other Berkshire cultural organizations.
Norman Rockwell Museum will apply the state grant toward upgrading its fire-security system and wiring, and making numerous improvements in the galleries and other public spaces. The grant also supports needed repairs to Norman Rockwell's Studio.
All projects focus on safeguarding the museum's Norman Rockwell collections and enhancing the safety and positive experience of its visitors. This year, more than 130,000 people from around the world will have visited the campus – an increase over last year.
