Pan-Mass Challenge Returns To the Berkshires

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LENOX, Mass. — On Oct. 4, the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) successfully hosted the PMC Unpaved, bringing hundreds of riders to the Berkshires.
 
The event made an impact on cancer funding, with one hundred percent of every rider-raised dollar directly benefiting Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber).
 
 For 2025, the PMC has set a new, ambitious fundraising goal of $76 million.
 
The successful weekend experience kicked off on Friday evening at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, located on 6 Hawthorne Rd., with community bonding, live music, and campfires.
 
The ride itself took place on Saturday morning, with cyclists tackling two challenging gravel routes: the 50-mile "The Eagle" and the 30-mile "The Raven." Riders cycled across the beautiful country roads and trails of the Berkshires, traversing western Massachusetts and the scenic roads of Columbia County in New York State.
 
The post-ride celebration continued on Saturday afternoon and evening with live entertainment, activities for participants and their families, and a powerful speaking program. This program featured PMC leadership and members of the Living Proof community—a special group of riders and volunteers who have faced, or are currently facing, cancer diagnoses, underscoring the purpose of every mile cycled.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Lenox Library and Indie Lens Pop-Up Present The Librarians

LENOX, Mass.—On Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., Lenox Library and Indie Lens Pop-Up, presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS, will host a special free screening of The Librarians, the critically-acclaimed documentary that follows a network of besieged librarians as they unite to examine how book restriction policies are shaping library collections.

According to a press release:

From Oscar-nominated Director and Producer Kim A. Snyder (Death By Numbers, Newtown, Us Kids) and Executive Producer Sarah Jessica Parker, The Librarians takes viewers from Texas to Florida and beyond, where local libraries have become unexpected battlegrounds in a national struggle over parental control, intellectual freedom, and democracy itself. Sparked by the controversial "Krause List" in Texas, which targets 850 books centered on race and LGBTQIA+ stories, the film takes a deep investigative dive into the escalating movement against book banning. The film captures the courage and resilience of the everyday heroes, librarians, as well as concerned parents and students flanking them, who have become first responders in the fight for the freedom to read, standing defiantly against censorship at all costs.

After the screening, there will be an interactive panel discussion about censorship, its effects on democracy, and the broader implications for education and intellectual freedom:

Martin Garnar (he/him) is the director of the Amherst College Library and editor of the Intellectual Freedom Manual (10th ed.), the authoritative reference for librarians for day-to-day guidance on maintaining free and equal access to information for all people.

Jennifer Guerin (she/her) earned her M.A. in English from Georgetown University and her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas. She also received her Law for Librarians training from the American Library Association in May 2024. Jennifer currently serves as Librarian at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington, MA, where a complaint against Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer in a teacher's classroom made national headlines in 2024.

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