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In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house on Church Street with fun inflatables and lights.
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The Pevzners' home in Great Barrington, photo courtesy of owners.
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More from the Wilson house at the bottom of Bradley Street in North Adams.
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The Doziers' home with its head of deer in Pittsfield, photo courtesy of owners.
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This home in Adams went classic with white lights draped on its bushes and candles in the window.

Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.

Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.

We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.

In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.

Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear. 

The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.

"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."

Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.

In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.

The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.

"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.

They are hoping their display carries on the tradition of the Arnold Family Christmas Lights Display that retired in 2022.

The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.

In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.

"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said. 

In Adams, one house is gleaming with holiday bulbs on their bushes lighting up their home in a magical holiday glow. Also a red and green light welcomes visitors into their home.

Heather Levesque of Williamstown sent us a photo of her home, above, at 411 North St. in Williamstown.
 
"We have been doing this for about 15 years or so now and we add on every year and still can't believe so many people are not familiar with our display," she wrote us. If you tune your radio to 88.1, you can hear the music the lights are flashing to.
 
The Levesques have been using the annual display as a fundraiser for the Phoenix Society, a nonprofit that helps burn survivors. They have a donation box out and decorate for other holidays. You can follow them on their Facebook page North St Williamstown Rocking Lit Lights
 
"Our oldest daughter was the girl who was burned at McCann her senior year back in 2022," Levesque wrote. "We do it for a good cause. We also like to do meet and greet with the Grinch and hand out goodies for the kids."
 
She said part of the display is "Arnold's Place," using decorations from the Arnolds family.  which they grew up seeing every year.  
 
"We grew up seeing their decorations every year and now that we have alot of their decorations we want to keep the tradition going for as long as we can," Levesque wrote. "We hope everyone enjoys it each year."

Tags: Christmas story,   

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North Adams' New Kimbell Building Taken at Foreclosure Auction

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The iconic New Kimbell Building on Main Street went to foreclosure auction on Tuesday after the owner fell behind on both mortgage payments and property taxes. 
 
Mortgage-holder MountainOne Bank was the only bidder at the auction, taking the historic building for $1,248,000. It was held in the entrance lobby at 85 Main by Daniel P. McLaughlin & Co. Auctioneers LLC. 
 
The New Kimbell Building, better known as 85 Main St., was purchased by PKC Capital LLC for $1.65 million from 85 Main Street Nominee Trust in 2021. 
 
PKC Capital LLC, which transferred to 81-91 Main Street LLC in December, still owed $1,124,316 to MountainOne at that time, according to documents on file with the Registry of Deeds. 
 
As of Friday, the owners owed $133,517.33 in back taxes and interest to the city of North Adams dating back to fiscal 2023. A tax-taking was filed on Oct. 28, 2024. 
 
The city lists the principal as Charalabos Bakalis of the state of Florida. Bakalis, as KCS MATERIALS LLC, also owns 306 Union St., which went into foreclosure last year. Work was done on the exterior of the apartment building some years ago but then halted, and the city filed a tax taking in 2024. A for-sale sign recently appeared on the property. 
 
The block that encompasses 81 to 91 Main St. was built in 1908 by two daughters of Jenks Kimbell, owner of the "old" Kimbell building that had been the city's first commercial livery.
 
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