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Uncle Sam won't be marching this year. Concerns about the novel coronavirus has led organizers to cancel the July 4 parade.

Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade Canceled

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Fourth of July Parade has been canceled for the first time since 1977, a victim of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
 
Parade officials say it is not possible to put on the parade within the social distancing guidelines of staying 6 feet apart.
 
The parade brings thousands of people to the city's downtown as participants or as viewers who line the streets from the Colonial Theatre to historic Wahconah Park to watch the marching bands, floats, balloons and units. 
 
"We have been following the current situation and believe it would not be prudent to have a gathering the size of the parade under the current conditions," said Pittsfield Parade Committee President Peter Marchetti in a statement released Thursday evening. "We know that each year we have a couple thousand people lining up in the assembly area for the parade as well as thousands of spectators lining the parade route.
 
"It is very disappointing that we need to cancel this year's event after the community rallied last year behind the parade to save it."
 
The parade had been struggling financially in recent years and dipping into reserves to keep going. Once word got out last year of its fragile condition, numerous organizations and volunteers began raising funds and sending in donations to ensure that the parade would continue. 
 
The effort was so successful, the committee was able set aside the money to fund this year's parade. 
 
But "A Star Spangled Fourth" march through the city's downtown will have to wait until next year. 
 
The state is just starting to emerge from the novel coronavirus pandemic that's killed more than 6,000 Bay Staters, including 37 in Berkshire County. 
 
The Department of Public Health's guidelines continue to warn against large groups in close proximity -- only gatherings of less than 10 are allowed at this time -- and these cautions are expected to last for the next several months. The city has already canceled the popular Third Thursday events for May and June. 
 
"This was a tough decision for the Parade Committee and I commend them for taking seriously the public health threat that still exists because of Covid-19," said Mayor Linda Tyer. "I am confident that next year's parade will be better than ever because we will come together to celebrate victory over Covid-19." 
 
The parade won't be marching but the committee is working on a way to distribute the annual poster that alway accompanies it.  This year's poster for the themed "A Star Spangled Fourth" parade is a rendition of fireworks over historic Wahconah Park.
 
"The committee recognizes that some people collect the parade posters and they are currently working on finding a way to make this year's supply available to the public for free while supplies last," Marchetti wrote.
 
In an effort to recognize the parade, the Parade Committee is teaming up with Pittsfield Community Television to re-air all of the archived parades in their entirety starting Friday, July 3. 
 
"PCTV will air a special historical program about the long history of the parade going back to the origins and a special 'Parade Retrospective' show," said PCTV Executive Director Shawn Serre. "The show would be like a director’s cut of parade highlights going back through our archives. We feel that we can do something to make this year's 4th of July as normal as possible. This will take some work by PCTV staff and parade committee members."
 
The parade dates back to the 1820s and has been a regular time-honored tradition for at least 100 years. It had been put on by the firefighters association from 1947 until the 1976 bicentennial parade and then resumed in 1978 under the current volunteer parade committee. 
 
Organizers say COVID-19 may have won for the moment but the parade will come back strong in 2021. 
 
"At the end of the day it is about maintaining the safety of the residents of Berkshire County winning out over taking a chance with a parade," Marchetti said.

Tags: 4th of July,   COVID-19,   parade,   


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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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