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DownStreet Art Caps Season on Thursday With Holden Street Music

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — DownStreet Art, the last-Thursday-of-the-month popup program of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, returns to the downtown for the last installment of the season from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 26.
 
As always, DownStreet Art is free and open to the public.
 
There's always something new at each DownStreet Art so look for new gallery exhibits, Main Street storefront installations designed by local and regional artists, mural-making from Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts' Kidspace, music, an Eagle Street beverage garden, a community bike tour of the city's murals, and more.
 
Here's what's in store for the final 2019 DownStreet Art:
 
Opening receptions at MCLA Gallery 51, 51 Main St., and Gravity Gallery, 44 Eagle St.; music at the Mohawk Theater provided by Eagle Street Music; and a Common Folk artists' market hosted by the MCLA-alum run artist collective.
 
• DownStreet Art is partnering with Tourists to welcome national touring artists Grant Farm and Reed Foehl for music on Holden Street This part of the inn's "Sing for Your Slumber" series.
 
Hailing from Boulder, Colo., Grant Farm is led by former national flatpicking guitar champ Tyler Grant and is firmly grounded in both American roots music and rock 'n' roll, creating a unique sound they've dubbed "Cosmic Americana." Fans of Sturgill Simpson, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Phish may enjoy their high-energy, authentic sound.
 
Vermonter Reed Foehl touches on a range of Americana styles, all with emotionally charged lyrics and memorable choruses, from somber folk elegies to barroom country sing-alongs and calypso-flavored, country-infused pop.
 
A-OK Barbecue will have fare available on Holden.
 
• Bike to the Murals: A four-mile long ride through downtown North Adams, coordinated by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition. Meet at St. Anthony's Municipal Parking lot at 6 p.m. and see the murals by bike.
 
• Design Lab, 49 Main St: "Creativity Capsule": Create take-away art capsules and discover a new way to create, share and think together in this participatory event. The capsule will house inspirational materials such as visual art and creative writing exercises.
 
• Main Street Storefronts continuing exhibits: 
  • 49 Main St.: Gloria Calderon-Saenz's "North Adams with Strings Attached" and Eric Reinemann's "Intersections"
  • 68 Main St.: Benjamin Lamb's "Torn to Pieces"
  • 101 Main St.: Sarah DeFusco and Megan Karlen's "Stratos-Fear"
  • 105 Main St.: Emilee Yawn's "Fake Nature"
  • 107 Main St.: Hideyo Okamura's "Abstract" and Sara Farrell Okamura's "Fact vs. Fiction"
Downstreet Art events are held on the last Thursday of every month from June through September and are free and open to the public. 

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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