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Owner Peter MacGillivray has had his eye on the Water Street storefront for some time.
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Employees spent the day setting up for the grand opening.
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Much of what is sold at Provisions is locally produced.

Provisions Williamstown Grand Opening Today

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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The store's regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Provisions Williamstown, a new fine wine and cheese shop at 4 Water St., is celebrating its grand opening today, Thursday, with a tasting event that begins at 4 p.m.

 

"This is supposed to be an experience, like anything else we enjoy in life," said Peter MacGillivray, who runs the business with his family and others. "You really want to be able to hang out here. You want to dwell in the moment and explore new things and meet people." 

 

MacGillivray, who grew up in the area, said he had an eye on the building before he knew what kind of business he wanted it to be. He explained that he had seen the property through several iterations throughout his life.

 

"I knew just in my gut that it was a special place because I grew up here," he said. "... It's not like this is what we planned. It just happened. We saw something that checked a lot of boxes for us and went for it." 

 

After a license became available in town, MacGillivray decided to sell locally produced wine and cheese, in addition to things he has tried in his travels. He has partnered with several local farms and distributors to help stock the store. 

 

"I was able to dip into my experience living in California, and then really traveling around the world trying interesting wines," he said. "... I want super local beers here. I want super local cheese. It warms my heart that I've got places like Cricket Creek, yeah, that are in the same ZIP code as I am." 

 

Additionally, the store hosts art from several local artists, such as Jackie Sedlock of Pownal, Vt,. and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts professor and artist Melanie Mowinski. 

 

"It's been a lot of fun for me, while I've been building this, to reacquaint myself with a lot of people that I knew when I was growing up here, but also meet new people that are being super supportive and helping me out," he said. 

 

The store's regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit the store's website here. Click here to register for the grand opening tonight, Oct. 27.


Tags: grand opening,   wine,   

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Williamstown Theatre Festival's 2027 Absence Said Not to Cause 'Panic'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — News this week that the Williamstown Theatre Festival will go dark again this summer has not yet engendered widespread concern in the town's business community.
 
"None of the members have reached out in panic," Williamstown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sue Briggs said on Wednesday afternoon. "I'm really pleased.
 
"The rumor on the street has been this is what they need in order to come back and be a viable festival. … With that said, I have not had any real one-on-one conversations with business owners about it yet."
 
"It" was the announcement Tuesday, in the form of interviews reported in the Washington Post and Berkshire Eagle, that the WTF would not be staging any theatrical events in Williamstown in the summer of 2026 — just the second time since the Tony Award-winning festival has been absent from the summer scene since it was founded in 1955.
 
The first time was the summer of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival returned for a scaled down 2021 season and staged four straight seasons that de-emphasized the kind of fully-staged productions of standards and new works that characterized the festival's first 65 years.
 
In 2021, the WTF's return from the COVID shutdown was marred by allegations of "dangerous working conditions."
 
Last summer, the festival hosted its most ambitious program since before the pandemic, including a Tennessee Williams play featuring Hollywood star Pamela Anderson, the world premiere of a drama written by a Tony-nominated playwright, and two events in North Adams, one of which was performed on the ice sheet at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink.
 
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