MCLA Students Host Better Together Block Party

03:12PM / Wednesday, April 29, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) students present the Better Together Block Party on Friday, May 1 from 3–6 p.m. at MASS MoCA in Courtyard A.

This free, arts-centered event is the culmination of a student-led, semester-long pilot project, developed through MCLA's Managing Creativity course, with collaborative support from MASS MoCA.

The Better Together Block Party invites the community to celebrate North Adams before First Friday in downtown North Adams.

Designed and produced by MCLA students as an applied learning initiative, the Better Together Block Party at MASS MoCA features live pop-up performances by regional artists including The Nothing Birds and The Blue Steam Project, and food and drink for purchase from on-campus establishments. Attendees can also participate in free hands-on, all-ages art-making activities.

A featured Creative Campus Crawl, organized by MCLA students in partnership with participating businesses, will offer guided small-group visits, including Gary Lichtenstein Editions' studio and MASS MoCA's Research and Development Store. Participants will spend 15 to 20 minutes at each site, gaining insight into artistic production, creative entrepreneurship, and the role these businesses play within the broader North Adams ecosystem.

"The Better Together Block Party is exactly the kind of collaboration that strengthens North Adams—bringing together students, artists, businesses, and residents in a shared celebration of creativity," said Jenny Wright, Executive Director of the North Adams Partnership. "What makes this especially exciting is that it's student-led, demonstrating how emerging leaders are actively helping shape the city's future. By connecting the MASS MoCA campus with downtown through First Fridays, this event helps build the energy, relationships, and visibility that support a vibrant downtown."

MASS MoCA's role in the pilot is to provide a collaborative environment and creative campus context that supports student exploration and community engagement, highlighting the intersections of art, community, and creative enterprise through a student-driven lens.

Tags: mass moca, MCLA,

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McCann Committee Gets First Look at $17M Renovation Progress

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Monday, October 12, 2026

The project is in the home stretch with roofing and some windows and doors still to be installed. Superintendent James Brosnan also pointed above to HVAC improvements in the Guidance Office.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The McCann School Committee got a first look at the final stretch of a $17 million overhaul aimed at making the 64-year-old vocational school safer, quieter and more energy-efficient.

After a brief School Committee meeting Thursday, Superintendent James Brosnan led the members through the school, highlighting some of the changes made in the 64-year-old building.

"Just seeing this gives you a magnitude of the amount of work that goes on," he said.

The upgrades are being funded through the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Accelerated Repair Program and the Northern Berkshire Vocational School District's member towns.

Work was supposed to be completed before the start of the school year, but weather and the removal of materials caused a delay.

The tour was all indoors, and Brosnan told a disappointed committee that he was hesitant to take them onto the roof at night, but said the new roof is near 80 percent down.

"We have another 10, and 10 percent of that missing 20 is in the AVB [air and vapor barrier] and removal phase," Brosnan said. "That particular area is across the front, down the post-secondary ... we are going to pick up from guidance. So we have that plan going through next week. Fingers crossed, within two weeks we will have that piece down."

He said the roof has been built up and insulated for more efficiency.

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