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The chowder cookoff is returning to North Adams' Winterfest. The last cookoff was in 2019.

Winterfest Seeking Participants for Chowder Cook-off and Artisan Market

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams Tourism is bringing back a community favorite — the Chowder Cook-off — for this years Winterfest on Saturday, Feb. 18. 
 
Only two contestants had signed up for cook off when iBerkshires spoke with organizers last week: Italian restaurant Grazie and Clarksburg Elementary School. The cookoff has featured a dozen or more in the past so businesses and organizations are encouraged to participate. 
 
Interested in showing off your chowder recipe? Sign up for the competition by Monday here
 
Festivalgoers will be able sample these recipes from noon until 2 p.m. at Terra Nova Church's The Green.
 
In addition to the chowder cook-off, Winterfest hopes to brighten up chilling winter by exploring goods from local vendors and artisans. Some 17 vendors have already signed up and organizers are hoping for 25 to 30 at the time of the event. 
 
Interested in selling your goods at the event? Again, sign up by Monday here
 
Explore the goods from 10 until  3 in The Green and the concourse at 85 Main.  
 
This free event encourages residents to come downtown and visit small town businesses, the city's events coordinator Lindsay Randall said. 
 
"I think it's integral to the community because there's not a whole lot to do within the winter months. Everyone kind of gets cabin fever. So it's something to do for families or any individual who just wants to get out and do something fun," she said. 
 
Randall hopes that the range of activities and opportunities that the festival offers will also encourage Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts students to leave their dorms and explore the area that they will call home for the next four years. 
 
"I think there's a huge need for college students to kind of venture and see things that are happening within towns and kind of give that broader range of experience under their belt to be a part of something bigger," Randall said.
 
"There are a lot of internship and career opportunities that MCLA presents to their students but just to be a part of something different."
 
With the cultural venues such as Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and community events the area can provide students opportunities they would not have elsewhere due to its great art culture, Randall said. 
 
Winterfest will include a range of activities for individuals of all ages including winter games, horse-carriage rides, a children's carnival, ice sculpting, and more. 
 
"We are excited for this year’s Winterfest and would like to thank all of the downtown businesses for getting involved. We are hoping for a strong turnout from city residents and folks from our surrounding towns," Mayor Jennifer Macksey said.
 
Start the day off by watching ice sculptor's carve sponsored blocks of ice into works of art on the Main street from 9 until 4. 
 
Bring sleds to Colegrove Park and zoom down the snowy hill, stop by First Baptist Church's children's carnival from 11 to 1 and grab a hot cocoa and cookies at MountainOne from 10 until noon.  
 
Northern Berkshire Community Coalition is hosting a snowman toss on Main Street from 10 to noon and will be handing out lists of winter games and activities for families to do at home.
 
JStar Gymnastics, located at 69 Union St., is be opening its 10,000 square foot gym from noon until 1:30. Residents can use its Olympic-quality equipment for children of all abilities. More information on the gym here.  
 
Finally, warm up at the bonfire and have s'mores from noon until 2 on Main Street and take a horse-drawn wagon ride around Main Street from 1 to 3. 
 
Warm up at Moulton's Spectacle Shoppe, where Macksey will be reading to children from 2 to 2:30 p.m
 
Conclude the day with free skating and rentals at Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Skating Rink from 2 until 4 p.m.. 
 
More information on Winterfest here

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North Adams Arts Commission OKs 'Hatchlings' Installations for Downtown

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Vanessa Hooper of Studio HHH gives a presentation on the light structures to the Public Arts Commission on Thursday. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A light installation that's graced the Esplanade and Greenway in Boston the last couple years will spend the spring, and likely the summer, in North Adams. 
 
The Public Arts Commission last week enthusiastically approved a proposal by Studio HHH to set up the "Hatchlings," six lighted half shells, at points around the downtown. 
 
The studio has offices in Greylock Works, where the Hatchlings were built. The half shells are a metal framework strung with LED lights that can be programmed. Two are solar-powered and the others require electricity. 
 
"They really just generally attract a lot of attention and people wanting to come ... they just sort of flock to it and want to take photos," said Vanessa Hooper, director of Studio HHH. 
 
She gave a presentation on their construction and showed pictures of people interacting with them during their time in Boston.
 
"I included these photos because we were actually really surprised that a lot of people come during the day and still like to take photographs in them as they are, this sort of like basket-woven black structure is also just really beautiful, and people love that, too."
 
They spent a year on the Esplanade, playing off the iconic Hatch Shell, and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, until all nine were moved to the Greenway last November.
 
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