Colegrove Park School to Perform 'You're A Good Man Charlie Brown'

08:18AM / Friday, May 22, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass — The Colegrove Park Elementary School 21st Century Afterschool Program presents a performance of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" at MCLA's Venable Theatre on Thursday, May 28 at 3:30 PM.

This performance by 5th and 6th grade students will be the first-ever musical performed as part of the elementary school's 21st Century Afterschool Program, and is presented under the direction of Colegrove teacher Katie Bryce featuring choreography by Malia'Kekia Nicolini.

According to a press release:

Families and community members are invited to join Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang to explore life's great questions as they play baseball, struggle with homework, sing songs, swoon over their crushes and celebrate the joy of friendship.

The performance is free to attend.

"Our students have worked so hard to not only put on this show, but to help curate the experience of living in Charlie Brown's world. They helped with costumes, set design, prop selection, and choreography," said Katie Bryce, program teacher and director. "This show is quite literally their passion project, and I am so proud of what they are about to put on!"

"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz. Book, music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and additional dialogue by Michael Mayer. Additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com

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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."

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