Berkshire Pride Announces Rainbow Guitar Raffle Fundraiser

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— Berkshire Pride has launched a fundraising raffle featuring a handcrafted acoustic rainbow guitar.

The instrument was created and donated by Nick Lenski of Brier Road Guitars and Berkshire Stringed Instruments, located in North Adams.

The rainbow design of the guitar symbolizes inclusion and diversity within the LGBTQ+ community, and its creation represents local artistry.

Raffle tickets are currently available for purchase at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/win-a-one-of-a-kind-handcrafted-guitar-valued-at-dollar5200. Proceeds from ticket sales will support Berkshire Pride’s year-round programming, including advocacy, events, education, and community support initiatives throughout the Berkshires.

Cass Santos-China, Berkshire Pride’s Executive Director, expressed gratitude to Nick Lenski for his donation and highlighted the raffle as an opportunity for community members to support the organization’s mission while celebrating local craftsmanship.

The guitar will be displayed at upcoming Berkshire Pride events: NextGen Pride on May 25, the Pride Festival on June 7, Lee Pride on June 14, North Adams Pride on June 20, and Berkshire Busk on June 28.

The raffle winner will be selected in July.

North Adams Updated on Schools, Council President Honored With 'Distinction'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
12:31PM / Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Superintendent Timothy Callahan gives a presentation on the school system at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council got an update on what's up in the school system and its president was inducted into the mayor's Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, as the city's first woman mayor, established the Hall of Fame in 2022, during March, Women's History Month, to recognize local women who have had a positive impact on the city. Past inductees have included the council's first woman president Fran Buckley, Gov. Jane Swift and boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp. 

 

She described President Ashley Shade as a colleague and a friend and a former student. 

 

"Ashley is known not just for her leadership, but for her compassion, her ability to listen, to understand and to stand up for those whose voices are often gone unheard," the mayor said. "She has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ plus community and marginalized communities at both the local and national level here in North Adams."

 

Elected in 2021, Shade is the first openly transgender person to hold the role of council president in Massachusetts. She also leads the first-ever woman majority council in the city's history. 

 

The McCann Technical School graduate also has served on boards and commissions, "always working to make our city more inclusive, equitable and welcoming," said the mayor. "Ashley not leads not only with strength, but with a heart, and our community is a much stronger place because of it."

 

Shade, wearing her signature pink suit, was presented with a plaque from the mayor designating her a "woman of distinction."