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Owner Peter MacGillivray has had his eye on the Water Street storefront for some time.
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Employees spent the day setting up for the grand opening.
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Much of what is sold at Provisions is locally produced.

Provisions Williamstown Grand Opening Today

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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The store's regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Provisions Williamstown, a new fine wine and cheese shop at 4 Water St., is celebrating its grand opening today, Thursday, with a tasting event that begins at 4 p.m.

 

"This is supposed to be an experience, like anything else we enjoy in life," said Peter MacGillivray, who runs the business with his family and others. "You really want to be able to hang out here. You want to dwell in the moment and explore new things and meet people." 

 

MacGillivray, who grew up in the area, said he had an eye on the building before he knew what kind of business he wanted it to be. He explained that he had seen the property through several iterations throughout his life.

 

"I knew just in my gut that it was a special place because I grew up here," he said. "... It's not like this is what we planned. It just happened. We saw something that checked a lot of boxes for us and went for it." 

 

After a license became available in town, MacGillivray decided to sell locally produced wine and cheese, in addition to things he has tried in his travels. He has partnered with several local farms and distributors to help stock the store. 

 

"I was able to dip into my experience living in California, and then really traveling around the world trying interesting wines," he said. "... I want super local beers here. I want super local cheese. It warms my heart that I've got places like Cricket Creek, yeah, that are in the same ZIP code as I am." 

 

Additionally, the store hosts art from several local artists, such as Jackie Sedlock of Pownal, Vt,. and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts professor and artist Melanie Mowinski. 

 

"It's been a lot of fun for me, while I've been building this, to reacquaint myself with a lot of people that I knew when I was growing up here, but also meet new people that are being super supportive and helping me out," he said. 

 

The store's regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit the store's website here. Click here to register for the grand opening tonight, Oct. 27.


Tags: grand opening,   wine,   

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Williams College Students Start Encampment over Gaza

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Several dozen student protesters Wednesday began an encampment at the heart of Williams College's campus to amplify their demands that the school divest from companies with ties to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
 
The move follows months of protests on campus, at the Field Park rotary and in town hall from students and other residents concerned about indiscriminate bombing that has reportedly killed more than 30,000 Palestinians since Israel began its response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist group.
 
It also mimics similar encampments on college campuses around this country, most notably at places like New York’s Columbia University, where student protests led to the occupation of an administration building and, ultimately, the arrest of nearly 300 protesters.
 
At about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, students sang protest songs and listened to speakers on the Williams Quad, surrounded by a ring of tents set up in the wee hours of the morning.
 
On Monday, Williams College President Maud Mandel sent a campus-wide message reminding students of the college’s policies on demonstrations and noting that encampments, “in and of themselves do not violate any college rule.”
 
On Wednesday afternoon, senior Hannah Bae and sophomore Deena Iqbal of the local chapter of the group Students for Justice in Palestine, said that they were aware of the college’s policies and that the encampment was not violating them.
 
The pair said the students planned to sleep in the tents, and they put no timeline on the protest.
 
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