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Weekend Outlook: Make Sure to Wear Green

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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Check out the events happening in Berkshire County this weekend including St. Paddy's events, crafts, movies, and more.

Editor's Picks


The St. Patrick's Day parade features marching bands and floats. 

Hoosick Falls St. Patrick's Parade & Festival
Hoosick Armory, N.Y.
Time: noon

The 35th annual Irish Festival starts off with a parade from Wood Memorial Park and around the downtown with more than 40 units, including the Taconic Pipe Band and the Fifes and Drums of Olde Saratoga, and concludes with food and brew at the armory with the Burns Moore Bridge band and Hubbard Hall's Irish Dance Class.
 
Other businesses, taverns and restaurants will also be celebrating with a pub crawl, corned beef and cabbage at the Hoosick Falls Country Club, Reubens at the Society of St. Stanislaw, and outdoor grilling at the Sand Bar. 
 
Parade line-up and participating businesses can be found here

Glow for a Cause
North Adams Elks Hall
Time: Saturday, 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Glow at a blacklight party with DJ Kane and DJ R.P. Express. Includes 50/50 raffle, charcuterie buffet, a glowing chocolate fountain, cotton candy, and pizza. Highlighters, glow sticks and other glow items available. 
 
This is fundraiser for PopCares and is for ages 21 and older. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Cashapp or Venmo djkane01220 or contact Kane Robert at 413-347-3976.

More information here

Multiple Days

Berkshire Botanical Bulb Show
Feb. 20 to March 20

The Fitzpatrick Greenhouse at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to welcome the new season amongst hundreds of flowering bulbs.

The greenhouse is free and open to the public. More information here.

'Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka'
Hoosac Valley High School
Friday through Saturday

This is a musical adaptation of Dahl's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" staged by the high school's theater group. Bring the family or friends to enjoy the childhood story come to life.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students.

More information and tickets here.

Friday

Family Movie: 'Zootopia 2'
Milne Public Library, Williamstown
Time: 2 to 4 p.m.

Bring the family to see Disney's "Zootopia 2." There will be popcorn but attendees are encouraged to bring their own bowls. 

More information here.

Common Craft Night
165 E Main St., North Adams
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.

Bring a craft you have been working on and join others to socialize.

More information here.

The Seven Wonders
Stationery Factory, Dalton
Time: Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
 
Tribute band the Seven Wonders pay homage to the music of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. Charlotte Morris opens. 
 
Tickets are $27.38; more information here

Saturday

Tea and Talk: Behind Closed Doors of Berkshire Cottages
Ventfort Hall, Lenox
Time: 3:30 p.m.

Local historian and author Cornelia Brooke Gilder will share from her book "The Houses of the Berkshires," about country houses in Lenox. A tea will follow.

Tickets: $45 More information and tickets here.

'Luminous Deep'
Future Labs, North Adams
Time: 8 p.m.
 
Dance on the bottom of the ocean floor in this blacklight installation at 43 Eagle St. Mix of DJs and music, and snacks and drinks. Feel free to bring some to share. 
 
Sliding scale admission $10 to $25. More information here.
 
'Dark Side of the Moon'
Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield
Time: 7:30 p.m.
 
Tribute band Beyond The Wall delivers a Pink Floyd experience for one night only, peforming the band's signature album "Dark Side of the Moon" and other Pink Floyd classics. 
 
Tickets are $30 and up, plus service charge, and are available here. More information here

Cabin Fever Dance: BOOSTED
Wahconah Country Club, Dalton
Time: 7 to 10 p.m.

Fundraiser dance to support the student athletes and presented by the Wahconah Warriors Booster Club. There will be raffles, and make sure to bring your own snacks.

Tickets: $25 Single or $180 for a table of eight.

More information and tickets here.

Book Bedazzling
Lenox Library
Time: 2 to 4 p.m.

Lenox Library is bringing back adult craft events with a book bedazzle craft. Bring your book friend and your own book and pick from the supplies they will have to bedazzle your favorite book.

More information here.

Ghost Tour with Robert Oakes
Ventfort Hall Mansion, Lenox
Time: 7 p.m.

The Gilded Age Mansion hosts a tour with "Ghosts of the Berkshires" author Robert Oakes, who will lead guests through the rooms and halls of the estate, sharing tales of its hauntings.

Admission is $30 and the minimum age to attend is age 12. Reservations are required. Purchase tickets here

Molly & Herbs
Clarksburg Town Library
Time: 10 a.m.
 
The Agricultural Commission hosts this circle of frends community talk on the use of common herbs to support the nervous system, ease stress and help you stay balanced and calm. 
 
Free and open to the public; more information here

Sunday

St. Paddy's Day Party
Bousquet Mountain, Pittsfield
Time: Noon

Enjoy time on the mountain with live music, and more. Be sure to wear green.

More information here.

Irish Dancers
Store at Five Corners, Williamstown
Time: 1 to 3
 
Dancers from the Scoil Rince Breifne O Ruairc, the Irish school of dance in Pittsfield, will be joined by musicians for a traditional jam 
 
Free and open to the public; more information here

Dalton 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl
645 Main St., Dalton
Time: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Dalton's pub crawl is bigger than before with new locations and more food, drinks, and more. There will be music and fun, with each place posting their own itinerary.

More information here.


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Armed North Adams Man Arrested Following Domestic Standoff

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Matthew Parker, a 44-year-old North Adams man, is set to face multiple counts of attempted murder and weapons charges in Northern Berkshire District Court on Friday morning following an hours-long, armed standoff at a Houghton Street home.

The defendant is being arraigned for:

  • Domestic Assault and Battery
  • Assault with the Intent to Murder (3 counts)
  • Carrying a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol (3 counts)
  • Possession of a hi-capacity firearm (4 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a hi-capacity firearm (2 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a firearm (6 counts)

According to a report, on June 10, at approximately 8:42 p.m., officers responded to 365 Houghton St. following a report of a domestic assault and battery. The caller said she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation.

She said her husband was intoxicated, making suicidal statements about shooting himself, and had access to both a shotgun and a pistol.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with both the caller and Parker. During the encounter, Parker threatened to shoot officers before retreating into the home and refusing to exit.

Officers believed that Parker was armed.

To ensure public safety, police established a perimeter around the home and requested assistance from the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT) and North Adams Police crisis negotiators. The Brien Center was also contacted and promptly provided an emergency mental health clinician to assist with the incident.

Special Response Team personnel deployed drones to monitor the residence and provide aerial illumination. During the operation, officers saw Parker exit the house carrying a rifle. He pointed it at the drones, stated a report. Parker subsequently pointed the rifle toward several officers positioned behind their cruisers. After officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Parker returned inside the residence.

Trained crisis negotiators maintained communication with Parker for several hours in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. At approximately 2 a.m., Parker ceased communication with negotiators.

Drone operators later observed Parker unconscious in a recliner on the first floor of the residence, with a rifle and shotgun on the floor nearby.

Members of the Berkshire County SRT then executed a coordinated operation. Diversionary devices were deployed through a window while an entry team simultaneously entered the home, secured the firearms, and took the defendant into custody.

A search warrant was executed after Parker was in custody. North Adams Police seized four shotguns, six rifles, two handguns, and thousands or rounds of ammunition from the home.

During the operation, one SRT member sustained a minor injury related to a less-lethal bean bag deployment. Parker also sustained non-life threatening injuries during the arrest and was transported to Berkshire Medical Center for medical evaluation.

"We thank the community for its patience and cooperation throughout this incident, particularly residents in the affected area who complied with temporary shelter-in-place requests," Police Chief Mark Bailey said.  "The North Adams Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the agencies that provided mutual aid and assisted by handling calls for service during this incident. We are especially grateful to the Berkshire County Special Response Team for its professional and decisive response, the Brien Center for the rapid deployment of a mental health clinician, and our crisis negotiators whose efforts helped maintain dialogue and contributed significantly to the safe resolution of this incident."

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