Free Community Day at Hancock Shaker Village

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hancock Shaker Village announced its annual Community Day will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 from 11 am to 4 pm. 
 
Admission is free all day for all ages.
 
Activities at the museum on Community Day craft demonstrations of woodworking, blacksmithing, and weaving; interpreter-led tours and Shaker talks; and visits with the barnyard animals. All buildings in the historic village are open for exploration as well as several special exhibitions like Sisters Harvest featuring artists Alyssa Sakina Mumtaz and Maggie Pate, and Bright Passage: An Illuminated Interior by artists Melissa Thorne. 
 
This year the Village will partner with Berkshire Museum in hosting "Muh-he-con-ne-ok: the People of the Water That Are Never Still," one of Berkshire Museum’s Mobile Museum Units. The unit will be on display and staffed by Berkshire Museum staff throughout the day.
 
The accessible, one-mile Farm and Forest Trail, is also open for everyone to explore. A specialized slate of food and beverage offerings will be available in our Café and the Mercantile Store will be open for a curated shopping experience.
 
In addition to free admission for all, Hancock Shaker Village is pleased to make our programs accessible to the Spanish-speaking members of the community with a Spanish language audio tour available through a smartphone app.
 
In support of Community Day, Hancock Shaker Village is collaborating with Mill Town Foundation.
 
"We are excited to partner with Hancock Shaker Village to help open up this cultural site to our local community, free of charge," noted Mill Town Foundation Program Manager, Andy Wrba. 
 
"The Village blends an enriching combination of arts, history, education, and outdoor access that tells a unique part of our region’s history, and we are happy to help share that experience with more members of our community," he added.

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Holiday Inn Remains Closed from Broken Elevator

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It has been almost three weeks since broken elevators temporarily closed the Holiday Inn & Suites, and the hotel is still working to meet code compliance. 

The hotel at 1 West Street has been closed since Sept. 25, after its last working elevator of three broke down. The 101 Restaurant & Bar, located within the Holiday Inn, also has temporarily shut its doors while repairs are ongoing. 

The day of the shutdown had emergency personnel carrying people who use mobility devices down stairs. 

“We were called there a couple of Fridays ago. There was no working elevator. There were EMTs and the fire department there, and they were getting over half a dozen people down the stairs that were in wheelchairs and walkers,” Building Commissioner Rian Dowd told iBerkshires on Wednesday. 

“So with the no working elevators, we shut the building down.”

The central downtown, 12-story hotel has nearly 180 guest rooms. Massachusetts requires public multi-level buildings and facilities to have elevator access. 

Dowd said the Holiday Inn is still working with the elevator company and state inspectors to be certified and reopen. They were told to provide the City of Pittsfield with a timeline, work orders, and contracts from repairs so that everyone can be on the same page and the hotel can open as quickly as possible, she said. 

“We have not heard anything from them yet this week,” she reported. 

iBerkshires’ attempts to reach a representative from the Holiday Inn were unsuccessful. 

There were no passengers in the elevator when it stopped working; how it broke was not disclosed. 

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