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The Hay Day fair includes old-fashioned games like sack races for the kids.
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Williamstown Historical Museum Hosts Hay Day Fair

By Rebecca DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — "Is everyone having a good time?"

The question came through a bullhorn from Patrick Quinn, a volunteer with the Willilamstown Historical Museum, which on Sunday hosted its second annual Hay Day fair.

The crowd of several hundred people cheered back, but Quinn kept going.

"I can't hear you!" he yelled.

A bigger cheer came from the crowd of families and other visitors who came out to the museum's home on New Ashford Road for an old-fashioned small-town country fair with traditional and colonial games for all ages, like sack races and egg-drop races, craft demonstrations, a bake sale, a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction, pony rides and a petting zoo with baby goats, a cow, chickens and more.

Sarah Currie, the executive director of the Williamstown Historical Museum, said she was thrilled with the large crowd and beautiful day for the fair, which serves as a fundraiser for the museum’s mission of preserving Williamstown’s history.

"I'm astounded and grateful for the turnout," she said. "It was a fabulous, fun family day."

A woman watching her young grandchildren get their faces painted and create spin art echoed that sentiment as she watched their smiles.

"This is a fun fair, isn't it?" she said.


Tags: country fair,   historical museum,   

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Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter.
 
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
 
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
 
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
 
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
 
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
 
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
 
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