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Weekend Outlook: Spring Flings & May Days

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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Berkshire County will be hosting a variety of indoor and outdoor events this warm weekend including festivals, dance parties, museum activities, and performances from world renowned performers. 
 
 
Thistle's Spring Fling
Berkshire Hills Country Club, Pittsfield
 
Thistle 'N Thorn will be hosting its second annual Spring Fling this Sunday at Berkshire Hills Country Club.
 
Participants will get a chance to sign up for ''mini services" and purchase from over 30 small business vendors in the ballroom while they wait. 
 
The event will have a photobooth camper, and DIY flower and candle bar. Mocktails and cocktails will also be available at the bar
 
Thistle will have fresh bouquets for purchase that would make wonderful mother's day gifts or at home decor. 
 
Some vendors included in the event are Alyssa Lee Jewelry, Bella Sky Gifts, Bella Soul Salon, Berkshire Yarn Works, BTTR photo booth, Scentsy, Soul to Sole Gifts & Healing, Nancy's Chocolates, Shire Alchemy, and more. 
 
The event will take place from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information visit the website
 
Central Berkshire Record Show
The Stationery Factory, Dalton
 
Turntables will be spinning on the first floor of the Stationery Factory this Sunday for the first Central Berkshire record show. 
 
Vinyl enthusiasts will be able to browse hundreds of crates of records, CDs, cassettes, and more from several dozen dealers while enjoying live DJs. Food trucks and a full bar will also be available to refuel while browsing
 
Participants will be able to pursue from a mix of local and out-of-town vendors from Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York. One of which is Bell Tower Records in North Adams. 
 
The location of the event makes it easy for everyone to enjoy music, food, and shopping with admission costing only $3 at 10 and $10 at 8. 
 
DJs performing at the event will be Tim Dupree as Pup Daddy Productions, Edward Martuscello as the Fortyfiveologist, Michael Keleher, DJ Ketchabone, and Edward Pelkey as DJ B-17 Bomber.
 
Food will be available from Biggins Diggins' food truck and a bar stocked with craft beer and more will be available.
 
Record prices start at a few dollars and the median prices for rare and highly sought-after vinyl will range from $20 to $25. 
 
For more information read our in-depth feature on the event or visit the Facebook page
 
 
Pittsfield CityJazz Festival: DIVA Jazz Orchestra
Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield
 
The annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival hosts the second part of its two-week event this weekend. 
 
A Jazz Crawl takes place Saturday with musicians performing at various venues throughout Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District
 
They will conclude the event this Sunday at 2 p.m. with performances by DIVA Jazz Orchestra and the Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble. To purchase tickets visit Berkshire Theatre Group's website
 
The festival is part of Jazz Appreciation Month thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Feigenbaum Foundation and sponsorships from Berkshire Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, and WETF, the jazz station. 
 
More information can be found here
 
Berkshires Teachers & Social Workers Appreciation Day 
Mass MoCA, North Adams
 
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is holding a Berkshires Teachers & Social Workers Appreciation Day this Saturday when school staff and social service organizations will get to experience a day of creativity, contemplation, and community with their families. 
 
Berkshire teachers, social workers, and staff will get free admissions to the museum to enjoy the galleries with their families while participating in activities that were designed to make these workers feel Mass MoCA's collective gratitude for all their hard work. 
 
''Mass MoCA invites Berkshire teachers and social workers — and anyone who works in the schools and social service organizations, from the lunchroom folks to the janitors, from receptionists to administrator," Mass MoCA's website reads. 
 
The museum is open from 10 to 5 and advance registration is required for free admission. 
 
Admission includes a 2 p.m. performance by Supaman and remarks by Massachusetts' first lady Lauren Baker. Registration is also required for this performance; tickets are limited and first come, first served.
 
Supaman
Mass MoCA, North Adams
 
Award-winning performer Supaman will be showcasing his unique style of music that incorporates Native culture, comedy, and urban hip hop at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art this Saturday at 8 p.m. 
 
He shares his music in an effort to empower everyone and share stories to make a better world and inspire people to have an open heart and mind. He believes that through listening we can open ourselves up to our "empathetic heart and understanding" bringing us all together to celebrate diversity.
 
Christian Takes Gun Parrish is a member of the Apsaalooke Nation and was raised on the Crow Reservation in Montana. He founded a Native American hip hop group in the early aughts and has so far released four solo albums
 
The performance begins at 8 p.m. in Club B10 on Saturday. Tickets are $16 or $22 on Saturday, for students, $12. Masks are required and proof of vaccination for those 5 and older. 
 
For more information, check out our feature or visit the Mass MoCA website
 
First Sunday FREE: May Day at the Clark
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
 
The Clark Art Institute hosts its monthly First Sunday Free event this week starting at 1 p.m. Visitors will get a chance to enjoy the Clark's collection while participating is spring-themed events. 
 
During this family friendly event, participants will be able to weave a spring wall hanging, make a kit to plant a flower garden and make flower crowns, while listening to like music. 
 
Michael Nixon and friends also invite you to dance with them at the maypole throughout the day. The schedule can be found on the website
 
Tickets for the event are limited and are first come, first serve so registration is strongly recommended. 
 

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street.  The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First. 

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said. 

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers. 

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center.  It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said. 

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it." 

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County. 

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle.  The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said. 

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