Common Ground Festival in Pittsfield

07:55AM / Wednesday, July 03, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mill Town Foundation announces the inaugural Common Ground Festival that will take place on Saturday, July 6 between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at the Pittsfield Common at 100 First Street.

Sponsored and programmed by Mill Town Foundation, this free event welcomes all ages and includes live performances, family-friendly activities, and food vendors from Berkshire County.

Live performances will be presented by Kripalu, Barrington Stage Company, Tanglewood, Clara Guatta, Quarteto de Samba, The Funky Dawgz Brass Band, along with a dance circle led by Andres Ramirez and the Funk Box Dance Studio. Over 40 vendors and presenting organizations will be on site leading free interactive activities including bounce houses, artmaking, photo booths, and more. Food trucks will be provided by BB's Hot Spot, Charlie's Bistro Bus, Cravin's Ice Cream, along with a Hot Plate Brewing Co. beer garden.

A rain date for Common Ground Festival is scheduled for the same timeframe on Sunday, July 7. Follow @milltownfoundation on social media and visit www.milltownfoundation.org for more information and updates.

Additional support for Common Ground Festival is generously provided by the Feigenbaum Foundation, Unistress, and the City of Pittsfield.

Schedule:

Saturday, July 6

3pm – Yoga presented by Kripalu

4pm – Barrington Stage Company presents KidsAct!, Celebration of Black Voices, and Musical Theatre Conservatory

4:45pm – Clara Guatta, live concert

5:15pm – Quarteto de Samba, live concert

6pm – Tanglewood in the City, screened Boston Symphony Orchestra concert

7pm – Community Dance Circle with the Funk Box Dance Studio

7:45pm – Headline concert by The Funky Dawgz Brass Band

Featured Free Activities:

Artmaking

Face Painting

Balloon Twisters

Bicycle Village with mini-bike races and demos

Photo Booth

Bounce Houses

Mini Soccer Games

Vendors:

413 Cycling

Andrew the Balloonatic

Asia Luna

BB's Hot Spot

BeatNest

Berkshire Art Center

Berkshire Bike & Board

Berkshire Bike Path

Berkshire Community Diaper Project

Berkshire County Youth Soccer League

Berkshire Humane Society

Berkshire Mountain Bike Training Series

Berkshire Museum

Berkshire Pulse

Berkshire Theatre Group

Bomb Shack Vintage

Charlie's Bistro Bus

Choices Mentoring Initiative

Clementine's Vintage

Cravin's Ice Cream

Downtown Pittsfield Inc.

EforAll Berkshires

Elizabeth Freeman Center

Facepainting with Barbara Arpante

Happy Trails Guiding

Heart & Soil Collective

Jacob's Pillow

Katunemo Art & Healing

Kripalu

Latinas413

MASS MoCA

Mill Town Foundation

Norman Rockwell Museum

Pittsfield Community Design Center

Roots Rising

Shaker Ridge Trails

Shire Shredders

United Soccer Group

Valerie Fanarjian, Handmade Jewelry

Volunteers in Medicine

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Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:43PM / Friday, June 26, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.

Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.

The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.

Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.

Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.

"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."

The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.

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