Renovated Pittsfield Common In High Demand
 The Common is becoming such a popular venue for local events that users are being asked to apply two or three months ahead. |
"We've hardly gotten started with it, and it has been a huge success already," said Chairman John Herman at the commission's monthly meeting on Tuesday.
It has only been a few months since the final touches were completed on the multi-year overhaul of the Common, but the redesigned downtown park has already been the site of numerous large-scale gatherings and considerable daily traffic throughout the spring and summer.
According to organizers of the Common's first large-scale event, the Berkshire Craft Beer Festival, more than a thousand attended the all-day fundraiser on June 6. Fifty-three brewers served more than 210 styles of beer, and 221 people participated in their Beer Run marathon.
"It was smooth, we didn't have any problems," said Jim Bronson, "We couldn't be happier."
"It was the first really big event there, and it was a good test," said Herman, expressing satisfaction with the results.
Organizers of the festival say they are already looking to expand on the event next summer, including a potential concert in the park the night before the beer festival.
Also proving popular is the Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market, which this year made the transition to the park lawn after two seasons occupying the parking lot across First Street, and has been enjoying large crowds each Saturday in the new space.
Another attraction relocated to the new Common this year is Pittsfield's Shakespeare in the Park, which began its seasonal run last week. Despite rain cancellations on both Saturday and Sunday of its opening weekend, its production of "Romeo & Juliet" drew a combined crowd of more than 700 to its first two shows.
"Romeo & Juliet" continues to run 8 p.m. performances Thursday through Sunday through Aug. 2, with an additional show on Wednesday, July 29, to make up for rain cancellations.
In other additions to the park's schedule, Berkshire Dream Center's 5th annual Block Party will take place for the first time at the Common this year. In past years, the event was held on the back lawn of Morningside Community School, near the neighborhood nonprofit's former home on Cherry Street.
BDC founder Katelynn Miner said the change of venue for the Block Party made sense following the organization's relocation to its new First Street location, adjacent to the Common, and that the refurbished park offers a better opportunity for growing the annual event, which drew an estimated 400 people last year.
The party will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, from noon to 3, featuring food, face-painting and other activities.
The following Saturday, Aug. 29, the Common will host the Back to School Basketball Tournament, organized by the Morningside Initiative's Youth Team.
"It's a fundraiser to get back-to-school supplies for kids in need, and to demonstrate youth leadership," Pittsfield High student Elvert Mackey Jr. told the commission.
Due to the rise in demand, Herman suggested that those wishing to hold special events at the Common begin the event application process at least two to three months prior to the event date. Information and applications for special events in Pittsfield parks can be found on the city website.
The renovation of the Pittsfield Common entailed a four-phase, $4.6 million project, including such new and replaced features such as a playground, performance pavilion, sprinkler spray ground, basketball court, bathrooms, enhanced lighting and the "Infinite Dancer" statue donated by the Pittsfield Garden Tour. Several of the aesthetic features, such as the lighting fixtures and criss-crossing labyrinth of paths, echo original design elements from the city's first major park development project there in 1883, at a cost of $1,500.
Tags: parks commission, Pittsfield Common,
