Berkshire Idol 2014 Finale Festival

02:37PM / Wednesday, April 23, 2014Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Idol 2014 Finale Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4, at Barrington Stage Company at 30 Union St.

Online voting will begin on Saturday at 4 after the completion of the semifinals. Register to vote at any time at www.iBerkshires.com/BerkshireIdol by clicking "Vote Now"; voting closes at noon on Sunday.

Amanda's on Wheels food truck will be at the venue with hot dogs, meatball sliders, cucumber carrot salad with cranberries, cookies and drinks from 11 to 3.

Semifinals on Saturday, May 3, 10-4

Youth Category (7 to 11), performances begin at 10

Gwendolyn Farnsworth, Dominick Green, Lynneiah Green, Hailey Lenski, Micayla Lenski, Sabrina Lewis, Olivia McKeon, Aviva Skoblow, Emily Spencer and Fiona Trimararchi

Teen Category (12 to 16), performances begin at 11

Savonna Almquist, Marleigh Briggs, Chelsea Brien, Lauren Diamond, Jake Dougherty, Alana Dubie, Miranda Frederick, Isabelle Grady, Komeja Green, Haley Honig, Katherine McNeice, Brianna Nicola, Isabella Plankey, Alyssa Puntin, Kiana Redd, Jaelyn Roberts, Kaylee Salatino, Shyla Sexton, Sarah Thomas, Hannah Trimararchi, Melia White, Hannah Woods and Elsbeth Wright

Adult Category, performances begin at 12:45

Vlad Bogomolov, Samantha Boni, William Brown, Samantha Cooper, Danielle Davis, Rachel DiMouro, Amanda Garcia, Danielle Gismondi, Lindsey Gray, Kristen Gregory, Sarah Harris, Brandon Haskell, Christine Haskell ,Stephanie Higgins, Scott Keough, Johanne Gorge Kesten, Brittany Kish, Kim Lavigne, Melissa Levesque, Michael Lewis, Jose Lu, Brittany Lutz, Roy Moriarty, Bronwyn Niece, Tori Osterhout, Jessica Passetto, Aneli Poland, Christina Riley, Dave Robbins, Faleisha Stone, Mark Turner, Cassandra Vallieres, Ashley Volff, Nikita Walton and Jacob Wilcox

Finals on Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m.

Berkshire Idol contestants who will be moving on to the finals will be announced, and the performances will begin. Live audience voting will be tallied and the 2014 winners and highest fundraiser will be awarded.

Back this year are celebrity judges Alex Lee-Clark, Bernice Lewis and Larry Stevens. A reception with the judges at Spice Dragon on North Street will follow the performances.

2013 Berkshire Idol winners Rafael Duran, adult; Tara Gilardi, teen, and Sophie Lane, youth, will be performing at the opening of each age category at the finals.

Two-day weekend pass tickets may be purchased at the door, at Barringtonstageco.org/rentals/upcoming-rentals, or at 413-236-8888. Tickets are $30 for general admission, $25 for students and seniors. The 2014 Berkshire Idol DVD set will be available to order for purchase, courtesy of Berkshire Productions.

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:01PM / Monday, December 29, 2025

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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