Hinds Seeks Designs for Annual Holiday Card Contest

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — School is in session and summer doesn't officially end until Sept. 23, but Team Hinds is thinking about the holidays.

State Sen. Adam G. Hinds (D- Pittsfield) has sent packages to 57 schools across his Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District inviting students in grades three through six to participate in his annual Holiday Card Design Contest.

Each December, Hinds sends almost 1,000 greeting cards by mail to friends, family, colleagues and constituents. The winning design will be used as the cover art for his 2019 holiday greeting card. The student artist will be identified on the card, featured in the senator's media and social media outreach, and win a pizza party for their classroom with Hinds.

"One of my favorite things to do is visit local schools and interact with students of all ages," Hinds said. "I love the holidays, and I love to see children’s excitement during the holiday season. This contest lets our team tap into that excitement and spread cheer throughout the community."

Last year, 348 students from a dozen schools located across western Massachusetts submitted entries to the contest. The winning drawing was submitted by Savannah Reber, who was then a sixth-grader at Lenox Memorial Middle & High School. For weeks, Hinds’ district office, located in downtown Pittsfield, was extremely festive, decorated with all the student entries.

Berkshire Museum's New Aquarium Taking Shape

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
08:07AM / Sunday, December 07, 2025

An illustration released during presentations on the renovations showing the museum as the 'heart' of the building. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Museum's $12.1 million renovation project is on track for reopening the museum next summer. 

 

The major renovation of the 1903 structure will include a new lobby, gift shop, family activity center, lecture hall, conference room, and reimagined first-floor galleries showcasing art, natural history, and historical objects. 

 

One of the biggest attractions will be the aquarium, which will be double the size and replace the old theater.

 

"We're going to have a whole group of new exhibits and exhibitions. Our aquarium, which is in the basement currently, is being moved up to where the old theater is. So it's going to be our marquee addition to the museum," said Shane Frasier, director of marketing and communications. "It's going to be great. It's going to be a really nice draw for people of all ages in the Berkshires and beyond."

 

The new aquarium will have room for new species and a lighted walkway through the space. 

 

"We had the person who designed that come a couple months ago, we got to see what a couple of the tiles would look like," Frasier said. "So there's a blue light underneath it, but that light can change color, so it's going to be this, really immersive vibrant experience when people go in there."

 

Recently the museum posted a timelapse of the Senso flooring — a sustainable, seamless bio-resin flooring — being poured.