I Am Afro Street Fair Comes To North Adams

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  — The Berkshire Black Economic Council Inc. partners with First Congregational Church of North Adams to host "I Am Afro: A Street Fair for All the People." 
 
This free Juneteenth celebration takes place on Saturday, June 17, featuring performances, pop-up booths, food, and family-friendly activities. No registration is required and anyone is welcome. Free buses will be running between Pittsfield and North Adams, with stops in Adams.
 
The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the lawn of the church at 134 Main St. there will be dance, music, visual and theater arts, and spoken word by local Black residents. The celebration continues at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art where soul-pop star and Berkshire County native Raiche will perform. 
 
Tickets are $20 to $26 for Raiche's performance and can be purchased online on the Mass MoCA's website. 
 
"I Am Afro" is supported by the BBEC's Black Arts Council, an intergenerational cohort dedicated to fostering an inclusive and trustworthy arts sector that responds to the needs of the Black community. By partnering with First Congregational on this inaugural event, the council continues to advance local efforts to promote black artists, entrepreneurship, and culture in the Berkshires. Sponsors include the Northern Berkshire United Way, the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, the Pittsfield Cultural Council, a Festivals grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and an Arts Build Community grant from the Taconic Community Foundation, with funding from the Barr Foundation.
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McCann Committee Gets First Look at $17M Renovation Progress

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff

The project is in the home stretch with roofing and some windows and doors still to be installed. Superintendent James Brosnan also pointed above to HVAC improvements in the Guidance Office. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The McCann School Committee got a first look at the final stretch of a $17 million overhaul aimed at making the 64-year-old vocational school safer, quieter and more energy-efficient.

After a brief School Committee meeting Thursday, Superintendent James Brosnan led the members through the school, highlighting some of the changes made in the 64-year-old building.

"Just seeing this gives you a magnitude of the amount of work that goes on," he said.

The upgrades are being funded through the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Accelerated Repair Program and the Northern Berkshire Vocational School District's member towns.

Work was supposed to be completed before the start of the school year, but weather and the removal of materials caused a delay.

The tour was all indoors, and Brosnan told a disappointed committee that he was hesitant to take them onto the roof at night, but said the new roof is near 80 percent down.

"We have another 10, and 10 percent of that missing 20 is in the AVB [air and vapor barrier] and removal phase," Brosnan said. "That particular area is across the front, down the post-secondary ... we are going to pick up from guidance. So we have that plan going through next week. Fingers crossed, within two weeks we will have that piece down."

He said the roof has been built up and insulated for more efficiency.

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