Marchetti Releases Details of New 'First Fridays at Five' Events

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The First Fridays at Five events will blend arts and entertainment, shopping, and community engagement and planners hope it expands with time.

Mayor Peter Marchetti released details on Friday of the new event that combines the beloved Third Thursdays and the First Fridays Artswalks. It is a collaboration between the city, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., and the Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association with the first occurring on May 3.

"We have so much in store for you," he said during a press conference in council chambers.

Cultural Development Director Jen Glockner placed a few seconds of music from a nine-piece brass band called Soul Magnets that she said will "blow your socks off" at the inaugural event.

Though the region was hit late in the week with a winter storm and earthquake rumblings, she vowed that this won't be the case in a month.

"There will be no snow on the ground a month from today," Glockner said. "We will be outside on a beautiful evening. The sun will have shined all day long on downtown Pittsfield. It will just be getting dusk from 5 to 8 p.m. That band, Soul Magnets, will be playing on the main stage."

The stage will be located in front of Park Square and North Street will be blocked off from the intersection of Fenn Street. The administration hopes to extend the street closures in the future, even closing the entire corridor to traffic as Third Thursday once did.

There will be a maker's market on North Street comprised of local artisan vendors selling handmade items such as clothing, crafts, gifts, and packaged foods.

Dunham Mall will feature a Family Fun Zone with free activities such as kids' paint and sip.

"We are welcoming all of our social service agencies to come and do interactive family fun with us whether it be face painting or crafts," Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Managing Director Rebecca Brien explained.

"We also will have every month some sort of kids' entertainment and in May it's going to be Balloon Ben with balloon art."

The arts walk will also continue for its 13th season with opening receptions throughout the downtown.  New this year, there will be a shuttle provided by the Retired Senior Volunteer Program that brings people from City Hall to the Clock Tower Artist Studios and back from 5 to 7 p.m.

"Dining during First Fridays at Five and throughout the summer."

He reported that many eateries will have live entertainment of their own and that Berkshire Art Center has special events planned for the first Fridays of the month.

Attendees are encouraged to continue their evening all the way down North Street.

"This isn't just an event that's going to take place from Depot Street to Park Square," Marchetti said. "We're encouraging folks to take the entire walk all the way up and down North Street and enjoy everything in between."

Further into the season, the city will celebrate Pride Month in June and regional band Happy Together will play sounds of the 1960s on the main stage. In July, a Berkshire Blues Legends concert will be held with Misty Blues headlining. Other highlights include Jacob's Pillow Dance's Wandering Dance Festival, a Cultural Collaborative Concert with Latinas 413, a 100th birthday for Berkshire United Way, and a cultural food festival similar to the ethnic fair of the past.

"We cannot wait to get started," Marchetti said.

Toys for Tots Bringing Presents to Thousands of Kids This Year

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:21PM / Friday, December 05, 2025

Volunteers organize toys by age and gender in the House of Corrections storage facility. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Plenty of toys are on their way to children this holiday season thanks to Toys for Tots.

Christopher Keegan has coordinated the local toy drive for the Berkshire Chapter of the Marine Corps Reserve since 2015 and said he has seen the need rise every year, last year helping more than 6,000 kids.

"This is 11 years I've been doing it, and the need has gone up every year. It's gone up every year, and I anticipate it going up even more this year," Keegan said.

On Thursday, the Berkshire County House of Corrections storage facility was overflowing with toys making it the county's very own Santa's workshop. 

Keegan said Berkshire County always shows up with toys or donations. 

"This county is outstanding when it comes to charity. They rally around stuff. They're very giving, they're very generous, and they've been tremendous in this effort, the toys for pride effort, since I've been doing it, our goal is to honor every request, and we've always reached that goal," he said.

Keegan's team is about 20 to 25 volunteers who sort out toys based on age and gender. This week, the crew started collecting from the 230 or so boxes set out around the county on Oct. 1.

"The two age groups that are probably more difficult — there's a newborn to 2s, boys and girls, and 11 to 14, boys and girls. Those are the two challenging ages where we need to focus our attention on a little bit more," he said.

Toys For Tots has about 30 participating schools and agencies that sign up families and individuals who need help putting gifts under the tree. Keegan takes requests right up until the last minute on Christmas.

"We can go out shopping for Christmas. I had sent my daughter out Christmas Eve morning. Hey, we need X amount of toys and stuff, but the requests are still rolling in from individuals, and I don't say no, we'll make it work however we can," he said.

Community members help to raise money or bring in unopened and unused toys. Capeless Elementary student Thomas St. John recently raised $1,000 selling hot chocolate and used the money to buy toys for the drive.

"It's amazing how much it's grown and how broad it is, how many people who were involved," Keegan said.

On Saturday, Live 95.9 personalities Bryan Slater and Marjo Catalano of "Slater and Marjo in the Morning" will host a Toys for Tots challenge at The Hot Dog Ranch and Proprietor's Lodge. Keegan said they have been very supportive of the drive and that they were able to collect more than 3,000 toys for the drive last year.

Volunteer Debbie Melle has been volunteering with Toys for Tots in the county for about five years and said people really showed up to give this year.

"I absolutely love it. It's what we always say. It's organized chaos, but it's rewarding. And what I actually this year, I'm so surprised, because the amount that the community has given us, and you can see that when you see these pictures, that you've taken, this is probably the most toys we've ever gotten," she said. "So I don't know if people just feel like this is a time to give and they're just going above and beyond, but I'm blown away. This year we can barely walk down the aisles for how much, how many toys are here. It's wonderful."