Drag Story Hour Berkshires Free County-Wide Reading Series

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Drag Story Hour Berkshires announced "Once Upon a Fourth of July: Reading Frederick Douglass Together," a free county-wide series made possible through the Reading Frederick Douglass Together initiative.

The program supports public readings and community conversations centered on Frederick Douglass's landmark 1852 speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"

Hosted in partnership with cultural organizations across Berkshire County, the series invites families, neighbors, and visitors to come together to celebrate literacy, history, and civic dialogue through storytelling and shared community experiences.

Each event will feature:

  • A family-friendly Drag Story Hour

  • A community reading of selected passages from Frederick Douglass's historic speech

  • A hands-on craft activity for children and families

  • A free book for every child in attendance while supplies last

The series is free and open to the public at all three locations:

Friday, July 3 – 4:00 p.m.
Herman Melville's Arrowhead
Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Friday, July 3 – 5:30 p.m.
Indie Readery & Records
Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Wednesday, July 8 – 11:00 a.m.
Lee Library
Lee, Massachusetts

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

15 People Displaced in Pittsfield Home Fires

Staff Reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fifteen people were displaced after 2-alarm home fires this weekend on Springside Avenue and Elaine Drive. 

On Friday evening, the Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 209 Springside Ave., which took a four-hour battle to extinguish and resulted in a partial roof collapse. The next day, on Saturday evening, crews knocked down a fire at 121 Elaine Drive in about an hour. 

The garage and part of the single-family home on Elaine Drive were gutted to the frame, along with a vehicle parked in the driveway. On Springside Avenue, the top level and porch of the multifamily were burned through.  

A GoFundMe has been started for the family of the Elaine Drive home, which includes several young children.  The fundraiser, with a $5,500 goal, explains they lost their home and all of their belongings. (iBerkshires.com does not confirm or endorse fundraisers; they are provided as information only.)

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, and both incidents are under investigation.  One dog was rescued on Springside Avenue. 

On Oct. 10, around 6:15 p.m., PFD responded to the Springside Avenue home for a reported structure fire and saw a 2 1/2-story wood frame multifamily with a heavy blaze showing from the second-floor front porch, extending out. 

The building suffered a partial roof collapse, which prolonged extinguishment. The fire was brought under control after about four hours.

“An aggressive offensive attack was mounted by first arriving crews stretching hose lines into the building as well as primary searches that proved negative. Ladders were placed around the structure to provide access as well as escape if needed. An off-duty Fire Captain had also been on scene early in the incident to help evacuate the structure and rescue a dog,” PFD wrote in a press release. 

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