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Cultural Pittsfield This Week: May 24-30

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The 3rd annual Food Truck Feastival returns to Wahconah Park from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. This is a public event featuring food trucks and vendors from all around Berkshire County! Free admission. $3 for parking.
 
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

The Shaker Barn Music series at Hancock Shaker Village kicks off its 2019 season with The Suitcase Junket. One-man virtuoso Matt Lorenz's signature sound is a mash-up of mountain ballads, original rock anthems, blues manifestos and dance-hall festivity. Williamstown, Mass. native Eliza Edens will open the show. 7:30 p.m. 
Plus... 
FRI Blue Light Trio at Rainbow | FRI One for One Duo at Proprietor's Lodge | FRI Dead Man Walking at The A | FRI Karaoke Night at Friends | FRI Melissa Brinton at Rusty Anchor | SAT Afro Caribbean Night at Berkshire Salsa | SAT Zikina East African Folk Fusion at Mission | SAT Generation X Rock at The A | SAT Melissa Brinton at Rainbow | SAT Jessica Wilson at Rusty Anchor | SUN Just-n-Kace at Italian American Club | MON Jazz Night at Mission | WED Gina Coleman at Methuselah | WED Gruppo Mondo at Rainbow | THU The Picky B's at Mission
 
FAMILY FRIENDLY
"A Journey into Latin America Through Music" will feature La Voz de Tres with special guest Marcelo Woloski and The Herberg Middle School Concert Band and Concert Chorus, who will be premiering two new arrangements along with other Latin American music selections. Herberg Middle School, 7 p.m.
Plus...
FRI WeeMuse: Adventures at Berkshire Museum FRI-THU Parenting Classes & Play Groups at Berkshire Children & Families | SAT Chow Time at Berkshire Museum | SAT Kitchen Ka-Boom! at Berkshire Museum | SAT Designing with da Vinci at Berkshire Museum | SAT da Vinci After Hours at Berkshire Museum | SUN Discovery Tank Program at Berkshire Museum TUE WeeMuse: Littlest Learners at Berkshire Museum TUE Youth Chill Zone at Tyler Street Lab THU Preschool Play & Learn at Berkshire Athenaeum THU Farm Friends at Hancock Shaker Village THU Fandom Thursday at Berkshire Athenaeum THU Lego Club at Berkshire Athenaeum 
 
WELLNESS
 
 
Goat Yoga is baaaack by popular demand at Hancock Shaker Village. Bring a mat, a towel and an open mind and practice yoga with the farm's adorable goats. 10-11 a.m. $25/$22.50 for HSV members.
Plus...
FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Running Center | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Family YMCA | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Yoga Dance & Fitness FRI-THU Various Classes at Radiance Yoga | FRI-THU Various Classes at Berkshire Salsa FRI-THU Various Classes at Modig Internal Disciplines FRI-THU Various Classes at Pilates Fit FRI Learn to Belly Dance at The Here and Now | SAT Sunrise Yoga on the Deck at Rusty Anchor | SAT Restorative Yoga w/Massage at Radiance Yoga | MON Barre Class on the Deck at Rusty Anchor
 
GET CREATIVE
 
 
 
Bisque, Beads & Beyond invites you to paint a handcrafted pine birdhouse to hang in your yard. The price depends on the style of birdhouse. There are six styles to choose from and they range from $35-$45. Call the studio to reserve your house and your spot! 6-8 p.m. 
Plus...
WED Kokedama Class at Township Four | THU Paint "Cardinal in Bloom" at Berkshire Paint & Sip
  PERFORMANCE
Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths is the story of unsung American hero Gordon Hirabayashi (Joel de la Fuente). During WWII, he defies the U.S. government's orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry, launching a 50-year journey from college to courtroom and eventually to a Presidential Medal of Freedom. A story filled with hope, this play will leave you cheering for a man who stood up for the true meaning of patriotism. Barrington Stage Company's St. Germain Stage.
  COMMUNITY
 
Join the fun at the Westside Riverway Park Block Party on Saturday, May 25 from 12-5pm.

The party, hosted by the Westside Legends, will take place at the Westside Riverway Park at 181 Dewey Ave.
 
There will be gospel performances from Pittsfield churches followed by dance performances from the Albany Berkshire Ballet, Funk Box Studio, and Youth Alive.
 
There will also be river science activities run by the Housatonic Valley Association, and craft and activity tables for kids.
 
Morningside Initiative will hosts a resource fair at Morningside Community School. Social service agencies from across Pittsfield will come together in one place to provide information to the community. Family oriented. Games and activities provided. 5-7 p.m. 
Plus...
FRI Meet Weaver Bea Butler at Township Four FRI-MON Memorial Day Tent Sale at The Outlet at Pine Cone Hill | SAT Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market | SAT Lyme Alliance Meeting | TUE Entrepreneurial Meetup at Framework | SUN Brunch w/Redshift at Dottie's | SUN Exhibition Openings at Hancock Shaker Village | THU Opening Day at Wahconah Park
  LEARNING
Plus...
FRI FREE Birding at Canoe Meadows | MON West African & Caribbean Drumming Classes at The Lichtenstein | THU Turkish Kurdistan at Knesset Israel | THU Crystal Grids at New Moon Gifts
 
FILM
FRI-MON Hail Satan? at The Little Cinema
Chronicling the rise of one of the most colorful and controversial religious movements in American history, Hail Satan? is an inspiring and entertaining documentary from acclaimed director Penny Lane (Nuts!, Our Nixon). When media-savvy members of the Satanic Temple organize a series of public actions designed to advocate for religious freedom and challenge corrupt authority, they prove that with little more than a clever idea, a mischievous sense of humor and a few rebellious friends, you can speak truth to power in some truly profound ways. As charming and funny as it is thought-provoking, the film offers a timely look at a group of often misunderstood outsiders whose unwavering commitment to social and political justice has empowered thousands of people around the world.
Plus...
ONGOING See What's New at The Beacon

 

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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