image description — Thousands lined North Street on Thursday morning for the Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade.

Weather Cooperates for Pittsfield 4th of July Parade

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:19PM / Thursday, July 04, 2024Print Story | Email Story

The parade had floats, bands and fire engines. See more photos here.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The downtown corridor was alive with red, white, and blue as thousands gathered to watch the Fourth of July parade.

Mayor Peter Marchetti pointed to the pleasant Thursday morning weather — overcast with bouts of sunshine and in the 70s. The 2024 parade, themed "Red, White, Blue and YOU," featured more than 160 units.

"It is a really nice day in Pittsfield and the weather looks like it's going to cooperate and we're ready for a parade," he said before the 10 a.m. kickoff.

It is a bittersweet day for Marchetti, as he will be stepping down as parade leader after more than two decades, but he plans to be involved in some capacity. He thanked the people of Berkshire County for their longtime support of this event.

"It's been a long part of tradition of being here on the morning of the fourth and being the guy in charge but I know through our succession planning, we will be in great shape for next year," Marchetti said.

"I don't think they'll totally get rid of me but I won't be the guy in charge anymore."

Marchetti is handing the reins over to Rebecca Brien, the managing director of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. She described the parade preparations as "controlled chaos," having arrived on site at 5 a.m.

"We had, again, chairs set out first thing this morning at 6 a.m. and people are just excited to see the parade," she said.

William "Bill" Sturgeon was "overwhelmed and filled with gratitude" as the grand marshal of the parade. The WTBR radio personality, community volunteer, and veteran stressed the importance of remembering those who never returned from war.

"This has been overwhelming both to my wife and I'm so filled with gratitude and honor but I can't forget the ones who will be forever 19," he said.

"I'm an old man they never got that privilege."

Sturgeon, who was named 2024 Irish Person of the Year by the Irish American Club of Berkshire County, rode in a yellow Thunderbird convertible with his wife, Rose.

"I think that my husband is terrific and so deserving of this honor. He does a lot of community," she said.

"We've been together a lot of years and he's always driven to help people and to be kind to everyone, especially the community, the elderly, the handicapped, veterans, he's always there."

Tags: 4th of July, parade,

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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