Friend's Grille Wins People's Choice at 22nd Wing Fling

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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More than a dozen local restaurants participated in the 22nd annual Wing Fling at Wahconah Park.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Friend's Grille took home the People's Choice Award at the 22nd annual Wing Fling.

The contest was revamped this year after Downtown Pittsfield Inc. took the event over from the Pittsfield Family YMCA. Nearly a thousand people filled Wahconah Park on Saturday night to dine on chicken wings from more than a dozen local restaurants.

Friend's took home the People's Choice title won last year by wings favorite Old Forge, which did not enter this year. Friend's also finished third in the best original wing category.

Krispy Cone won the Best Original Award, with One West at the Crowne Plaza coming in second. Zucchini's Restaurant won the best traditional wings — as it did last year — while newcomer Adams Ale House came in second and Garden Grille and Tavern in the Berkshire Mall, third.

The Garden also won in the best hot wing category (last year's winner Halpin's Grub and Grog is closed), with Port Smitts and Flavours of Malasysia coming in second and third, respectively. Flavours won both ribs categories, original and barbecue.

"We had a lot of downtown restaurants participating that haven't in the past," said Pamela Tobin, executive director of Downtown Pittsfield.


For years, the event was held at Berkshire Community College as a fundraiser for the YMCA. The YMCA felt the fundraiser didn't fit its mission statement and gave the event to Downtown Pittsfield. Ten percent of the money raised by the event will go to the YMCA while the rest will go to Downtown Pittsfield.

Downtown Pittsfield moved the event to Wahconah Park, where Tobin said the event was able to reach a wider demographic.

"All around, it is a great place to have an event," Tobin said.

A stage was set up in centerfield and the vendors lined the outside of the infield, providing the outfield space for attendees to congregate. The bands Static and Whiskey City performed while radio station Live 95.9 held a contest challenging attendee to sling-shot a rubber chicken into a makeshift house.

"It was smooth," Tobin said of the event, but acknowledged it was a "monster" for planning.


Tags: downtown,   food contest,   Wahconah Park,   

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Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at The Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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