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Cultural Pittsfield This Week: July 28-Aug. 3

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Hancock Shaker Village's annual Summer Gala will be held this Saturday, July 29 beginning at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails in the garden. A seasonal dinner by chef Brian Alberg in the 1910 Barn will be followed by a live auction. 

But that's not all! Beginning at 8 p.m., join your friends for a Shaker Island-themed after-party, with music by DJ J-Wolf and Berkshire Bateria, food from Lucia's Latin Kitchen, games, tiki cocktails and more in the Round Stone Barn. 
 
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE
The second show in the 2017 Shire City Sessions FREE concert series will feature Born Without Bones, a rockin' 3-piece band from Milford, Mass. North Adams' own Luke Tobin will be the evening's special guest. Concerts begin at 6 p.m. on the First Street Common. Rain moves the show indoors to the Zion Lutheran Church.
Plus... 
FRI Grant Stinnett at Hotel on North | FRI Blue Light Trio at Rainbow | SAT Ballroom Dancing at Itam Lodge | MON Mastheads Roundtable with Lawrence Buell at Hotel on North | SUN Jenny Geiring in Upfront and Personal at Barrington Stage | MON Jazz Night at Mission | WED Live on the Lake with On Tap at Onota Lake | WED Gruppo Mondo at Rainbow | THU White Liger at Mazzeo's | THU Berkshire Musicians' Jam at Berkshire Museum
 
FAMILY FRIENDLY
 
The City of Pittsfield has teamed up with Berkshire Lightning, the Berkshire Running Center and the YMCA for this FREE program which introduces and teaches kids ages 6-14 the basics of track and field, including warm-ups and running and field components. 9-10:30 a.m.
Plus...  
FRI+ Bye Bye Birdie at Berkshire Museum | FRI WeeMuse: Adventures at Berkshire Museum | SAT Kitchen Ka-Boom! at Berkshire Museum | SAT Chow Time at Berkshire Museum | SUN Make a Gnome Hat at Arrowhead | TUE FREE Screening of Lego Batman at Berkshire Athenaeum | TUE Grandparents Day at Hancock Shaker Village | TUE Make Your Doll a Shaker Cloak at Hancock Shaker Village | TUE WeeMuse: Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum | WED Lion's Whiskers Puppet Show at Berkshire Athenaeum THU Farm Friends at Hancock Shaker Village THU FREE Teen Art-making at Berkshire Children & Families
 
WELLNESS
 
The 2nd Annual Ramblefest Half Marathon/8K will take place on October 8! Join Kent, Shiobbean and a bunch of friends for a fun training group! Sessions will be held at Berkshire Running Center on Saturdays, July 29 - September 30 from 7 - 10 a.m. 
Plus... 
THU FREE Yoga with Katie at Berkshire Athenaeum
 
PERFORMANCE
Elizabeth, a former dancer, will do anything to escape the overbearing clutches of her rich husband, who is poised to buy a haunted house. The confused Kitty, reunited with her boring fiancé, will go to extraordinary lengths to elude his sleep-inducing presence. Add to the mix an inarticulate solicitor and a builder who is a motorcycle maniac, and you have one of Alan Ayckbourn's funniest and most heartfelt comedies. Barrington Stage Company's Boyd-Quinson Mainstage.
Plus... 
ONGOING The Music Man at The Colonial | ONGOING Twelfth Night at Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park | FRI-SAT Speech & Debate at Barrington Stage | SUN After The Darkness Staged Reading at The Whit | THU+ This at Barrington Stage
 
GET CREATIVE
The Funky Phoenix invites you to create your own key hook with repurposed keys. For only $20, you'll be able to choose from a large array of painting and accessorizing supplies to make something truly unique. 6-8 p.m.
Plus... 
WED Open Studio at Berkshire Paint & Sip
 
COMMUNITY
The Kids 4 Harmony Summer Gala Concert will feature Grammy-winning pianist Emanuel Ax performing along with members of the Elayne P. Bernstein Octet. A reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by performances starting at 7 p.m. Berkshire Community College's Robert Boland Theatre.
Plus...
SAT Jimmy's Ride at Kids' Place | SAT Stand Out for LGBTQ Rights at Park Square | SUN Domingo Brunch at Dottie's | THU Best of the Berkshires at The Berkshire Eagle | THU+ Moby Dick Marathon Reading at Arrowhead
The Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the First Street Common! 

This Saturday, High Lawn Farm and edible Berkshires bring local ice cream to the market! Jacob's Pillow, Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park and Western Mass Labor Action will share info and activities. And The Echoes will play live music from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
 
Plus, the Market will hold a food drive for Berkshire Dream Center's Mobile Food Pantry. Serving hundreds of families every month, they're looking for your help in stocking the pantry with mainly non-perishable food but also fresh food items.
 
LEARN
WED+ WordXWord Poetry sCrawl, Brawl & More
WordXWord Festival will hold its 5th annual Poetry sCrawl, beginning at 6 p.m. at Dottie's and ending at The Whit at 8 p.m. where a Poetry Brawl will begin. An opening reception will be followed by poetic games including head-to-head haiku, a rap battle, insta-collabs and more. Click the link to find out what the Fest has in store for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights!
Plus... 
MON Book Talk: A.B. Yehoshua's The Extra at Knesset Israel | MON Mastheads Roundtable with Lawrence Buell at Hotel on North | MON Drum Class at The Lichtenstein | TUE Fake News: Part 2 at Berkshire Athenaeum | THU The Life & Work of Alfred Uhry at Knesset Israel
 
FILM
The Outdoor Movie Series at Clapp Park presents the original Footloose (1984), starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow and Diane Wiest. Films begin at dusk (around 8:30 p.m.) and rain cancels.
ONGOING
See What's New at The Beacon Cinema
What's Showing at The Licht
Pittsfield's city-owned community arts center, the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, features nine working artist studios, a ceramics studio, a community room and an art gallery with changing exhibitions, classes, performances and more! 

28 Renne Ave. | Open Wednesday - Saturday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.  
 
 
 
The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts presents I Am a Part of Art: CATA's Annual Art Exhibit, a showcase of 185 original works representing more than 125 local artists with disabilities. Now - July 29. 
 
 
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARKING METER PLAN
Five things to remember about the new downtown parking system:
 
1. Always enter your license plate number - even for the FREE first 30 minutes.
 
2. On-street parking is $1 per hour; lot parking is 50 cents per hour. There are also nearly 400 free parking spaces on the city's side streets.
 
3. You can pay by coin, credit card, or by downloading the Passport parking app.
 
4. You do not need to display the parking receipt on your dashboard.
 
5. Parking is FREE on evenings and weekends!

 

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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