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Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Feb. 28-March 5

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During the 2020 Downtown Pittsfield Restaurant Week, participating restaurants will serve a lunch or dinner pre-fixe for $20.20 or another amount ending with $.20 (tax and gratuity not included). Complete a Restaurant Passport during March 1-March 7 to be entered into a raffle! Diners will receive a card punch each time they buy a Restaurant Week special. Each punch equals one entry. A grand prize winner will receive a basket of gift certificates for $20.20 from each participating restaurant! 
 
Calling all artists! Submit your original two- or
three-dimensional artwork for the group exhibit Forty Shades of Green: Celebrating Ireland & Irish Culture, to be held during the month of March at The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the Pittsfield's Office of Cultural Development and the Pittsfield Irish Sister City Committee. Both contemporary and traditional artwork on the theme are encouraged, including photography, painting, sculpture and craft. 
 
To submit, email a digital version to cultural@pittsfieldch.comOne piece may be submitted by each individual. All work must be framed, where appropriate, and ready to hang or display. Call (413) 499-9348 for more information. The extended deadline for entry is March 2!

 
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

 
The Berkshire Autism Initiative presents its annual Red Hot Dinner & Dance Party fundraiser at the Berkshire Hills Country Club. Enjoy an evening of awareness, dinner, live entertainment, and dancing with nationally acclaimed dance band The Heartbeats! 5:30 p.m. $50/$100 VIP.
Plus... 
FRI Dance Party w/Justin Allen at Methuselah | FRI Brian Benlien at Hotel on North FRI Jim Witherell at Proprietor's Lodge FRI DJ Friz at Crossroads | SAT Kala Farnham at Methuselah | SAT Dan Gingras at Proprietor's Lodge | SAT Mike Duffy at Bousquet | SAT Melissa Brinton at Rainbow | SAT JB's Acoustic Gravel at PortSmitt's | SAT Skeeter Creek at The A | SUN Tommy T & Black Velvet at Italian American Club | MON Jazz Night at Mission | WED Polish Paradise Culinary Dinner at BCC | WED Gruppo Mondo at Rainbow | THU The Picky B's at Mission

 
FAMILY FRIENDLY

 
Registration is now open for swimming lessons, beginning March 17, at the Berkshire Family YMCA, located at 291 North Street. Boys and girls ages 6 months to 12 years can learn to swim in a friendly, caring environment and gain the confidence they need to enjoy swimming throughout their lives.
Plus...
FRI-THU Parenting Classes & Play Groups at 18 Degrees SAT Saturday Morning Cartoons at Berkshire Museum SAT Chow Time at Berkshire Museum SAT Animation Station at Berkshire Museum SAT We Shape History at Berkshire Museum SUN Discovery Tank Program at Berkshire Museum MON Tiny Tots Story Time at Berkshire Athenaeum MON Dungeons & Dragons at Berkshire Athenaeum TUE WeeMuse Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum THU Preschool Play & Learn at Berkshire Athenaeum THU Lego Club at Berkshire Athenaeum

 
PERFORMANCE

 
The 10x10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage's St. Germain Stage features ten 10-minute plays by ten playwrights, all performed by an ensemble of six actors. Every 10 minutes, a new play begins! (Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., plus Saturdays & Sundays at 3 p.m.) Part of Pittsfield's 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival

 
WELLNESS

Join instructor Crane Morehouse at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness for a FREE Intro to Kundalini Yoga on Saturday at 10:15 a.m. This type of yoga stimulates and strengthens the endocrine systems, all chakra centers, and the brain center. Kundalini Yoga is designed for everyone, as there are no levels. This practice offers a tremendous experience of well-being and happiness. 
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 Berkshire Salsa FRI-THU Various Classes at Pilates Fit SAT Align + Refine Chaturanga Workshop at Radiance Yoga SUN Rising Phoenix Women's Circle at Berkshire Yoga Dance Fitness SUN Restorative Yoga w/Massage at Radiance Yoga TUE Rise & Shine at the Barre at Berkshire Yoga Dance Fitness

  COMMUNITY

 
 
Build a sled using only cardboard, paint and duct tape and race it down the hill for a chance to win prizes at the 9th annual Cardboard Carnival & Race at Bousquet. Best In Show and Fastest Sled will each win a $500 Visa Cash Card! 9 a.m.
Plus...
ONGOING Woolfest Poster Contest | SAT Pajama Brunch at Hotel on North | SUN Ryan Leddick at Dottie's | MON Suit YourSelf Clothing Drive at Hilton Garden Inn | MON Berkshire Trans Group Meeting at Berkshire Athenaeum | TUE Suit YourSelf Clothing Drive at Zucchini's | WED Polish Paradise Culinary Dinner at BCC | THU Open Swim at Gladys Allen Brigham Center

  LEARNING

Join IS183 art instructor Diane Firtell for a 5-class series on The Exciting World of Image Transfers. Learn to create unique objects using canvas, paper, buttons, metal or wood as materials for collage transfers and then take it to the next level by adding paint and/or pastel. Transfer photos, images and text to make everything from original art prints to jewelry. This process is easy, quick, inexpensive and once learned, can be done at home without the use of special equipment or toxic materials! Held at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts from 6-9 p.m.
Plus...
MON Author Lisa Gruenberg at Knesset Israel | MON West African & Caribbean Drumming Classes at The Licht | MON+ Art Therapy for Enrichment at Nu Arts | THU Cannabis Medicine & Cannabis Industry at Knesset Israel | THE Paint "Irish Flowering Pot" at Berkshire Paint & Sip

 
FILM

THU One Woman, One Vote at Berkshire Athenaeum
The Berkshire Athenaeum's Cinema of Law series returns with a screening of One Woman, One Vote (1995). The documentary will be introduced by local attorney Lee Flournoy. One Woman, One Vote is a sweeping look at the women's suffrage movement, from the first women's right convention in Seneca Falls in 1848 to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. FREE.
 
 
Plus...
ONGOING See What's New at The Beacon | FRI-MON Olympic Dreams at The Little Cinema
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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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