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Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Nov. 2-8

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Enjoy more than a dozen different art shows featuring work by more than two dozen accomplished regional and student artists in Pittsfield's bustling Upstreet Cultural District during the First Friday Artswalk and all month long! 

In most venues, artists will be present from 5-8 p.m. A free guided tour begins at 5 p.m. at the Intermodal Center @ BRTA, 1 Columbus Ave.

 
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

Sound & Vision Event Collective and Mike Mac present An Evening of a Curious Nature at Shire City Sanctuary. The event will feature thrills and surprises around every corner. See what your fortune has in store for you with a psychic reading. Dance to the deviant beats of Jules Jenssen and Justin Allen. Enjoy a "poison apple" cocktail, snap a picture in the photo booth and more. A portion of ticket sales will go to IS183 Art School. 8 p.m.
Plus... 
FRI FREE Eagles Band Concert at The Colonial FRI UCP Fundraiser w/Tommy T & Black Velvet at The A FRI Randy Cormier at Hotel on North | FRI Blue Light Trio at Rainbow SAT Comedian Bob Marley at The Colonial SAT Melissa Brinton at Rainbow SAT Sprague Jaffe Ennis Trio at Berkshire Music School | MON Jazz Night at Mission | MON Comedy Night at The Here and Now | WED Gruppo Mondo at Rainbow | THU Bunco for Bundling at Junior League | THU Peak Tap Takeover at Thistle & Mirth | THU Wine Dinner at Trattoria Rustica 

 
FAMILY FRIENDLY

 
IS183 Art School of the Berkshires presents a FREE Teen Art Space workshop at Berkshire Athenaeum. This month, learn about cyanotypes and how to expose light-sensitive materials to UV light to create your own unique composition of collected items. 3-5 p.m.
Plus... 
FRI WeeMuse: Adventures at Berkshire Museum | FRI-SUN Newsies: the Musical at Pittsfield High School | FRI-THU Parenting Classes & Play Groups at Berkshire Children & Families  | SAT WeeMuse: Art Lab at Berkshire Museum SAT Chow Time at Berkshire Museum SAT Kids Night Out at The Infield | SUN Discovery Tank Program at Berkshire Museum MON Tiny Tots Story Time at Berkshire Athenaeum | TUE WeeMuse: Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum | TUE Youth Chill Zone at Tyler Street Lab THU The last Farm Friends of the season at Hancock Shaker Village THU Preschool Play & Learn at Berkshire Athenaeum THU Lego Club at Berkshire Athenaeum

 
WELLNESS

This day-long event at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness will be filled with fun, soul-nourishing dance, fitness and yoga classes from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Additionally, there will be a number of informative lectures given by area doctors and wellness professionals. An after-party begins at 7:30 p.m., with cocktails and a performance by The Gypsy Jazz Ambassadors. The fest is a fundraiser for Pittsfield Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of Pittsfield public school children and their teachers.
Plus...
FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Running Center | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Family YMCA | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness FRI-THU Various Classes at Radiance Yoga FRI-THU Various Classes at Modig Internal Disciplines FRI Learn to Swing Dance at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness SUN Time Change Candelight Yoga at Berkshire Running Center THU Easy Chair Yoga at Knesset Israel

 
GET CREATIVE

 
Drop in, eat some pizza, and make an ornament for your favorite Downtown Pittsfield business. The ornaments will be hung on Downtown Pittsfield's tree in the 2018 Festival of Trees: "Often Heard" at the Berkshire Museum. Kristina Cardot of The Funky Phoenix will held guide you through the ornament-making process. 12-2 p.m. 
Plus...
FRI Nymph Butterfly at Berkshire Paint & Sip SAT Autumn Mt. Greylock at Berkshire Paint & Sip SAT Slate Welcome Sign at Berkshire Paint & Sip

 
PERFORMANCE

Photo Credit Jonathan Levine.
Pittsfield High School's Proteus Theatre Group presents Newsies: The Musical, this weekend and next. Set in turn-of-the century New York City, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, the charismatic leader of a band of teenaged "newsies." When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack rallies newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right. $10/$12.
Plus...
NEXT THU-FRI Hamlet, Prince of Denmark at Barrington Stage

 
COMMUNITY

This year, the Berkshire County branch of the NAACP will honor Mabel Hamilton, Dr. Francis Jones-Sneed and Dr. Whitney Battle-Baptiste at its Freedom Fund Awards DinnerDr. Battle-Baptiste will offer the keynote lecture and Wanda Houston will perform. This is the organization's main fundraiser of the year and proceeds support a 2019 youth trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and the Branch's College Scholarship Program. Berkshire Hills Country Club, 6 p.m.
Plus...
ONGOING Winter Clothing Drive at Berkshire County Arc ONGOING Pittsfield Photo Challenge | ONGOING Food for Fines at Berkshire Athenaeum | SAT Park of Honor Opening Ceremony at Park Square | SUN Domingo Brunch w/Jeff Link Trio at Dottie's | WED Dogs on North at Hotel on North | WED Berkshire Highlanders Pipe Band Practice at BCC | THU Book Sale Friends Preview Night at Berkshire Athenaeum | THU Bunco for Bundling at Junior League

 
LEARN

The Jewish Federation's Connecting with Community series presents "Taking Action for Animals: How Each One of Us Can Make This a More Humane World" with Susan Emerson Clapp, Senior Director of Philanthropy for the Humane Society of the U.S. Knesset Israel, 10:45 a.m.
Plus...
SAT Guided House Tours at Arrowhead | MON West African & Caribbean Drumming Class at The Lichtenstein | TUE Berkshire Alz Talks at Hotel on North | WED Reiki Level 1 Class at InnerSpirit Management

 
FILM

NEXT THU Defying Gravity at The Little Cinema 
This documentary follows renowned glass artist Josh Simpson as he crafts the largest glass object of his career: a 100-lb. "Megaplanet." Cameras capture every step of the year-and-a-half process. The film features interviews with the makers of custom tools required for the project; Simpson's triumphs, disappointments, obstacles and inspiration; and the grand unveiling at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. This special screening is offered as a complement to the Berkshire Museum's current exhibition, Josh Simpson: Galactic Landscapes. Following the screening, ticket holders will be able to tour the exhibition.
 
Plus...
ONGOING See What's New at The Beacon | ONGOING When The Spirits Moved Them, They Moved at Hancock Shaker Village | FRI-MON Blaze at The Little Cinema | SUN Living While Dying at The Little Cinema | THU Warren Miller's Face of Winter at The Colonial

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.   Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
From now until Nov. 16, The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts will feature Berkshire Art Association's biennial juried show, Showing Up: For Your Neighborhoods, Communities and Each Other, which address civic engagement and community. More than 30 artists from throughout the Northeast will present paintings, drawings, sculpture and photography, showing wide-ranging interpretations on the theme.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Street Parking Study Favors Parallel Parking

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A parking study of North Street will be presented at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The design maintains parallel parking while expanding pedestrian zones and adding protected bike lanes.

The city, by request, has studied parking and bike lane opportunities for North Street and come up with the proposal staged for implementation next year. 

While the request was to evaluate angle parking configurations, it was determined that it would present too many trade-offs such as impacts on emergency services, bike lanes, and pedestrian spaces.

"The commissioner has been working with Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and my office to come up with this plan," Mayor Peter Marchetti said during his biweekly television show "One Pittsfield."

"We will probably take this plan on the road to have many public input sessions and hopefully break ground sometime in the summer of 2025."

Working with Kittleson & Associates, the city evaluated existing typical sections, potential parking
configurations, and a review of parking standards. It compared front-in and back-in angle parking and explored parking-space count alterations, emergency routing, and alternate routes for passing through traffic within the framework of current infrastructure constraints.

The chosen option is said to align with the commitment to safety, inclusivity, and aesthetic appeal and offer a solution that enhances the streetscape for pedestrians, businesses, cyclists, and drivers without compromising the functionality of the corridor.

"The potential for increasing parking space is considerable; however, the implications on safety and the overall streetscape call for a balanced approach," Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales wrote.

Bike lanes and parking have been a hot topic over the last few years since North Street was redesigned.

In September 2020, the city received around $239,000 in a state Shared Streets and Spaces grant to support new bike lanes, curb extensions, vehicle lane reductions, and outdoor seating areas, and enhanced intersections for better pedestrian safety and comfort.

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