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CDC Releases Guidance for Trick-or-Treating

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Local governments will be taking up the question of Halloween activities in the coming weeks but it looks like traditional trick-or-treating is out this year. And don't think that plastic costume mask is a substitute for the cloth one you're wearing now. 
 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control released its guidance for the candy-flavored holiday with activity levels of low, moderate and high for transmission of the novel coronavirus that has infected nearly 7 million in the United States and killed more than 200,000.
 
Not surprisingly, going door to door to have treats handed out is among the riskier activities. The same goes for handing out candy from cars lined up in parking lots. Both mean interacting with or getting close to people who may not be in your "pod" -- those individuals with whom you have been isolating with over the past six months. 
 
Also out are crowded parties and haunted houses held indoors, and even tractor or hayrides with people not in your household. 
 
Most towns set the hours of Halloween to provide some consistency for residents. Last year, many Berkshire communities moved the Halloween celebration to Nov. 2 because of torrential rains and did the same in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit the coast. A freak snowstorm in 2011 also caused a wave of cancellations and postponements of events related to the holiday.
 
This year, COVID-19 has affected numerous holiday and summer events, ranging from cancellation of Memorial Day parades and observances to the shutdown of the Fall Foliage Parade for the first time since the Oct. 4 storm of 1987. Pittsfield has canceled its big Halloween parade and officials in Adams are trying to come up with a safe way for the town's children celebrate. 
 
With parades and and hayrides out, the CDC is advising some moderate-risk possibilities such as "one-way" trick-or-treating by having individually wrapped goodies ready to go (as long as those preparing them take proper sanitary precautions), or small open-air gatherings using socially distancing protocols and masks for parties and movies.   
 
Other options are one-way mazes and haunted forests -- but stay farther away than 6 feet if there's screaming involved -- and visiting pumpkins patches and orchards.
 
The lowest risk? Things you can do at home like decorating, carving pumpkins, movie night and scavenger hunts. Walk around the neighborhood and look at other homes' decorations and have a virtual costume contest. 
 
The main takeaway is to continue to social distance, wash your hands and wear a mask (but don't overmask by placing a costume mask over your cloth or paper one).

Tags: COVID-19,   Halloween,   


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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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