Pittsfield Celebrates Housatonic

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On Saturday, August 7th, in downtown Pittsfield, artists, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, and other performers will recognize and honor the Housatonic River in Pittsfield with a variety of performances. The celebration is co-sponsored by the Storefront Artist Project, the Berkshire Music School, and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in collaboration with the region-wide Housatonic River Summer 2004. The performances are free and open to the public. The first performance, a multimedia, multicultural celebration entitled RiverMASS, will be held at 2pm at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church on Park Square. RiverMASS celebrates the east and west branches of the Housatonic River uniting in Pittsfield with a vibrant ceremony/performance that includes pageantry, bang-on-a-can style music and audience participation. RiverMASS, which is created and directed by singer/songwriter JoAnne Spies, features a variety of performers including the dancers and drummers of Youth Alive; the River Festival Chorus, directed by Berkshire Music School director Tracy Wilson; jazz tap dancer Sherry Salerno; musicians from Manos Unidas' Latin American Music Project; and five to eight-year-old art students from the Becket Art Center, who will perform River Myths in costume. Other participating musicians include Hector on Stilts, who will be performing a song entitled "The River" by John Hyatt; harpist Lynne Davis; singer Shirley Edgerton, who will perform "Wade in the Water;" and Ed Stander, who will perform the Pachebel Canon on water glasses. In addition, dancer/choreographer Stefanie Weber will present a world premiere of Eschun Exuvia, a interactive sculpture/performance based on the Yoruban water goddess Eschun and the role that dragonflies play in both the ecology of the Housatonic River and the tracking of pollution in it. In addition to music and performances, Housatonic River Initiative founder Tim Gray will read "A Letter from the Hopi Elders;" Michael Johnson will lead "Calling in Our Ancestors;" artist Susan Hartung will read "Water I Had Not Known You;" Sufi leader Aftab will lead a water dance; Reverend Gay Rahn will perform a water blessing; and Janice Wahita Young will lead attendees in a Buddhist blessing and chant. Longtime Pittsfield artist Edwin Treitler will read a poem written for the occasion entitled, "A Prayer for our Rivers." Treitler organized a celebration/ceremony for the Housatonic River in Pittsfield in the early 1980s that led to the establishment of Pittsfield's Fred Garner Park along the Housatonic.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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