Weekend Outlook: Hopping Good Fun

Check out the events happening this weekend including First Friday, Easter events, music series, and more.

Check out our list of Easter egg hunts in the county for the family as well.

Editor's Pick

First Friday
Downtown North Adams
Time: 5 to 9 p.m.

Spring is here so kick it off with music, art, and games that will fill downtown North Adams for its First Friday event, themed "Clean and Green." 

Participating businesses will have extended hours and many galleries will host openings, closings, and other special events.

More information and event line-up here.

Multiple Days 

Adaptive Cultural Kitchen Clubs
65 Depot St., Dalton
Every Saturday in April from 12-1 p.m.

Bring your kids ages 5 to 9 to learn cooking with these hands-on lessons to build kitchen confidence and make snacks. To register contact BCArc Family Support at jmiddleton@bcarc.org or 413-464-7262, Ext. 119, or or Rania at rania@familieslikeoursinc.com or 413-854-3971

More information here.

Easter Rock Hunt at The Glen
Greylock Glen, Adams
April 4-12

Hike at the Greylock Glen and try to find as many painted rocks as you can on the Meadow Loop Trail.

More information here.

Friday

Paint and Snack Teen Programming
Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield
Time: 1 p.m.

Enjoy snacks and soda and get creative with paint. For more information call the Youth Services Department: 413-499-9480, Ext. 203 or youngadult@pittsfieldlibrary.org. 

More information here.

Sunset Beaver Watch
Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox
Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m.

NOTE: This event is full but you can sign the waitlist. More information here.

See the sanctuary's beavers in action. Hike about two miles to get a glimpse of what they do when they harvest trees.

Lilly of the Valley Bluegrass Solo
The Tap Room, Lanesborough
Time: 8 p.m.

Enjoy live music and food this Friday night. Bring your dancing shoes and enjoy bluegrass music.

More information here.

Saturday

Pancake Fun Run and Egg Hunt
Allendale Shopping Center, Pittsfield
Time: 8:45 a.m.

Join the Berkshire Running Center for its first pancake fun run and pickup surprises from the Easter Bunny along the way.

More information here.

Easter Bunny Hop Train
Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum, Adams
Departure Times: 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. 

The Easter Bunny will hop onto the Hoosac Valley Train to greet families and give out colored eggs. 

Tickets in coach range from $4 to $22; first class ranges from $4 to $37. A first-class table, which includes seats for four, is $127.20. 

More information and tickets here.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny
Shire Tavern, Dalton
Time: 8 to 11 a.m.

Includes a breakfast buffet and picture opportunities with the Easter Bunny. All of the proceeds go to benefit Strong Little Souls, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting families affected by pediatric cancer.

More information and tickets here.

Hop on Over and Celebrate with Us
North Adams Commons
Time: 2 p.m.

Join the nursing and rehabilitation facility to celebrate Easter with photo ops with the bunny, sweet treats, and gifts. 

More information here.

Sunday

Pug and John
PortaVia, Dalton
Time: 1 p.m.

Enjoy this Sunday's music series with Pug and John.

More information here.

10 Years of Beer

North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

 

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

 

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

 

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

 

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

 

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

 

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."