New Year's Eve Celebrations to Welcome 2026

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:23PM / Tuesday, December 30, 2025Print Story | Email Story

Welcome the New Year by celebrating with others at events marking the beginning of 2026, including live music, skiing, fireworks, and numerous parties.

North Adams New Year's Eve Ball Drop
Center Street Parking Lot
Time: 8 p.m.

North Adams rings in the New Year with its third annual ball drop, held earlier in the evening for the whole family to enjoy. Grab some of the swag and count down for the New Year at 8, then stay for refreshments. The ball is the creation of North Adams Sheet Metal.

More information here.

Steeple City Social New Year Party
5 Eagle St., North Adams
Time: 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Head over to Eagle Street after the ball drop in North Adams for cocktails, music and snacks to ring in the New Year. Fun and fancy outfits encouraged to be ready to mingle, play games, dance, and toast to 2026.

More information here.

New Year's Eve Dance Party
Shire Tavern, Dalton
Time: 9 to midnight

Dance the night away with tunes from DJ Justin with snacks and a champagne toast to ring in the new year. Admission $5; must be 21 and older.

More information here.

New Year's Eve Karaoke Party
Methuselah Bar, Pittsfield
Time: 9 to midnight

Bring your friends and sing in the New Year. Admission of $5 includes with a champagne toast at midnight.

More information here.

New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade and Fireworks
Jiminy Peak, Pittsfield

Time: 10 to 11 p.m.

After the lifts close, join Jiminy in welcoming 2026 with a torchlight parade of team members sliding down the mountain with torches as well as fireworks lighting up the night sky.

More information here.

New Year's Eve Party
Bousquet Mountain, Pittsfield
Time: 9 p.m.

Ring in the New Year at the ski resort's annual party with dance music by DJ Adam Oam. Includes complimentary snacks and a champagne toast at midnight. Tickets are $39; must be 21 and older.

More information and tickets here.

New Year's Eve with Max Creek
Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield
Time: 8:30 p.m.

Berkshire County band Max Creek will perform blend of rock, country, reggae, soul, jazz, and calypso with their original songwriting.

Tickets are $39; more information here.

New Year's Eve Glow Party
K&M Bowling, Pittsfield
Time: 5 p.m. to 12:15 a.m.

Cosmic bowling with glowsticks. Tickets are $25 per person. More information here.

Tags: new year,

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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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