North Adams Hosts First Friday Community Picnic Sept. 2

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — All North Adams residents and visitors are invited to dine together on Eagle Street for Sept. 2's FIRST Fridays Community Picnic event. 

Guests are encouraged to pack a picnic or order takeout from local restaurants, and sit and dine on Eagle Street, which will be closed to car traffic during the entirety of the event, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

"I've had a vision of all of North Adams sitting down together at one long table on Eagle Street ever since attending a similar event on the Cape several years ago," said Anna Farrington, owner of Installation Space and FIRST Fridays organizer. "This is a popular kind of event around the world, and I'm excited to bring this style of community building experience to North Adams." 

This is the second FIRST Friday that Eagle Street will be closed to car traffic. The intention of the event is to provide a positive, uplifting experience for all city residents, and provide opportunities for local businesses to thrive. Eagle Street will be closed to car traffic on FIRST Friday for October 7 as well for the Night Market event.

Beer and wine will be served by Desperado's Mexican Restaurant on the sidewalk next to the Eagle Street parklet, galleries and businesses will be open late, and DJ DUBTC will be spinning tunes all night.

At 11 a.m., the community will welcome a new store on Eagle Street – Berkshire Adventurer's Guild – with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Mayor Jennifer Macksey. 

During the Community Picnic the City of North Adams will launch a scavenger hunt game that will include a mixture of digital puzzles and a physical scavenger hunt throughout downtown North Adams – beginning on September 2nd and concluding on October 2nd. Participants will be given symbols to follow and solve the puzzles digitally. Those who complete the scavenger hunt puzzles will be entered into a raffle drawing for a winning prize. Information regarding the scavenger hunt will be available under the Mohawk Theater marquee. 

This event will also feature an appearance by Mr. Ding-A-Ling in the Mohawk Plaza and Center Street Parking Lot adjacent to Adams Community Bank and beneath the "Poppy Girls" mural. This pop-up is made possible by 1Berkshire and the NAMAzing Initiative. The first 100 customers are guaranteed free ice cream servings from Mr. Ding-A-Ling.

"I know many of us are craving connection opportunities and I can't think of a more open, authentic, and equitable way to host a community picnic than on a street like Eagle Street, allowing guests to order from a variety of restaurants or to cook food themselves," said Andrew Fitch, FIRST Friday organizer.

Berkshires Remember First Responders, Military Personnel Lost at 9/11 and Aftermath

By Jack Guerino & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:30PM / Friday, September 11, 2026

North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey, with Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre speaks at Friday's memorial. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The county's two cities held memorials on Friday morning to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. 

Great Barrington was scheduled to hold a dedication of piece of steel from the World Trade Center at 6 p.m.

North Adams held its ceremony in the fire station's side garden starting at exactly 8:46 a.m., the time Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower.

 

The small square of grass was packed with police officers, firefighters, wire and alarm personnel, dispatchers, and Northern Berkshire EMS employees, and city employees, officials and community members. 

 

After the ceremonial tolling of the bell, an honor guard presented the colors.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey said it felt odd welcoming people to a very solemn event.

 

"What happened 25 years ago put a mark on emergency services. It put additional pressure on police, fire, EMS, and dispatchers," Macksey said. "While we remember those who lost their lives during 9/11, and those who ran to help as many as they could during 9/11, we have to pause and appreciate those who continue to serve despite that awful threat that occurred 25 years ago."

 

She said it was a direct attack on the United States and all of its people.

 

"It was a question of our freedoms and our ability to be safe in our communities," the mayor said. "I can say today that here in North Adams, it could happen to us, but I know with the professionalism of our Fire Department, Police Department, EMS, and our dispatch team, we are a better community; we are a safer community than we were 25 years ago."