Weekend Outlook: Summer Fun

Check out the events happening in Berkshire County this week including shows, free days, and more summer fun.

Editor's Pick

Chili and Chowder Fest
Camp Russell, Richmond
Time: Friday, 6 to 10 p.m.

Help raise funds for Camp Russell for the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires at its annual Chili and Chowder Fest. Enjoy food from many local restaurants, live music, and more with beautiful lake views. Must 21 or older. 

More information and tickets here.

Community Day: Eye on Art
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
Time: Sunday, 10 a.m.  to 5 p.m.

Enjoy a free day at the Clark Art to make art and participate in a variety of activities. There will be live performances throughout the day and food vendors.

More information here.

Friday

NAMAzing Coffee Date
Eagle Street, North Adams
Time: 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Enjoy free coffee and catch up with other local community members to start your Friday morning off right. Hosted this week by the AYJ Fund.

More information here.

The Van Gogh Show
The Foundry, West Stockbridge
Time: 7:30 to 9 p.m.

An interactive show about the artist Van Gogh, enjoy some karaoke and paint your own "Starry Night." 

More information and tickets here.

Lebanon Valley Speedway Car Show
36 Old Route 20, New Lebanon
Time: 4 p.m.

Join the Woodlife Farm Market and watch different race cars and hot rods and enjoy a barbeque. 

More information here.

Saturday

Ice Cream Train
Hoosac Train, Adams
Time: 1:30 or 3 p.m.

Enjoy a trip in the restored vintage train car and learn about the history of the train and enjoy a sweet treat after.

More information and tickets here.

Beavers in the Berkshires
Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox
Time: 4 to 5:30 p.m.

This less than two mile hike includes facts about beavers and get a chance to see one and notice their signs.

More information and register here.

Artswalk
Downtown Pittsfield
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.

Enjoy art from participating venues including Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Hotel on North, Indie Readery and Records, OUR Resurge, the Onota Building, Sanctum Gallery, Solarium Plant Shop, and the Soda Chef.

More information here.

Paranormal Investigation with David Raby
Ventfort Hall, Lenox
Time: 7 p.m.

Join Raby as he investigates the historic and hauntings of Ventfort Hall for his ninth year. Hear the histories of the lives that once resided or still reside in the historic mansion and observe some of Raby's paranormal evidence from his investigations.

More information and tickets here.

Sunday

Stars & Stripes Car Show

Scenic Summit Tours
Mount Greylock, Adams
Time: 2 to 2:30 p.m.

Free tour with a park interpreter to learn about Mount Greylock's history and more that make the summit popular.

More information here.

Free Family Sundays at The Mount
The Mount, Lenox
Time: 11 a.m.

Enjoy a free day exploring The Mount as well as live music, storytelling, arts and crafts and more. Free family concert under the tent at 11 a.m. and a STEAM-themed workshop for $5 at 12:30. 

More information here.

Farmer's Markets 

Great Barrington Farmers Market
18 Church St.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The market is open every Saturday. Every week, locally grown food, flowers, and plants will be available, along with other local vendors. The market accepts and offers doubling SNAP, HIP, WIC, and Senior market coupons. 

More information is here. 

Lee Farmers Market
The Town Park
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  

The market offers locally grown produce, prepared foods, locally created arts and crafts, and herbal products. YogaLee offers free community yoga from 9:30 to 10:30 on the first Saturday of each month.

The market accepts SNAP, HIP, Senior Coupons, and WIC Coupons and also offers Market Match. 

More information here. 

Lenox Farmers Market
St. Ann's Church
Fridays: 11 to 3. 

This market is open every Friday through Sept. 12 and features fresh produce, pastries, cheeses, and more.

More information here. 

New Marlborough Farmers Market 
Village Green
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

Opens June 7 through Oct. 1. The market has local vendors that offer a variety of goods from produce, eggs, baked goods, jams, hand-knit items, maple syrup, and more.

More information here. 

North Adams Farmers Market 
Main Street
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The south side of Main Street from American Legion Drive will be closed to make room for the city's weekly farmers market, which will kick off this Saturday. Explore downtown North Adams and discover local businesses and fresh produce from local farms. 

More information here.  

Otis Farmers Market
Papa's Healthy Food & Fuel
Saturdays: 3 to 6 p.m., 9 to 1.

Located at 2000 East Otis Road and runs through Oct. 8.  Eggs, baked goods and desserts, micro greens, maple products, honey, pasture-raised pork, grass-fed beef, bison, elk, canned goods, jams, jellies & fruit butters and more. 

More information here. 

Pittsfield Farmers Market
Pittsfield Common
Saturday: 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. 

Roots Rising, the region's first teen-run market, will hold an indoor farmers market this Saturday. The event will feature live music, chef demos, workshops, children's activities, and more. 

More information is available here. 

West Stockbridge Farmers Market
Foundry Green
Thursdays: 3 to 6 p.m., through Oct. 1.

Wide range of local producers and fare including vegetables, breads, teas, herbs, dairy, sweets, jams and crafts. Runs through Oct. 1; more information here. 

Williamstown Farmers Market
Spring Street
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The market focuses on a wide range of local food and artisan vendors, as well as local services and music. 

More information here.

New Eagle Street Shop Has the Perfect Toppers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
11:14AM / Saturday, August 01, 2026

Tip Top Hats sells Patricia Welch's handmade designs and more commercial products at lower prices. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has a millinery for the first time in more than 40 years. 

Patricia Welch, who has more than 60 years of hatmaking experience, recently opened Tip Top Hats at 16 Eagle St.

Welch said she has always been fascinated by hats and has seen many fashion trends. She's particularly interested in the mod movement.

"It's just something that I have a facility for and have been doing for so long, it's kind of second nature," she said. "It's over 60 years since I’ve been making hats, not all the time, but on and off for a long, long time. So I had a lot of life experience to draw from. I've seen many, many fashions come and go. Being a child of the '60s, I was heavily influenced by the mod movement, fashion movement, and it has stuck with me all these years."

Welch previously owned a shop in Gloucester before moving to New York in the late 1990s. Her work has been featured in juried shows and she's done design consulting.

While she worked in engineering and exhibiting designs, she always made her hats. It all started when she was 13 years old and had to solve a problem.

"I used to go riding on motorcycles with no hat on, no helmet, and your hair would get terribly knotted up," Welch said. "So the first time I made a hat, it was kind of a little bonnet of cotton that just tied under my chin, and it was just to keep my hair from getting tied in knots by the wind."

She came across the "for rent" sign on storefront in May and made a decision she would like to occupy it. She opened on July 1 during First Friday.  She said it was a great way for her to get out of retirement.

"Kind of impulsive, but you know I'm not young, and tired of being retired, basically," Welch said. "So this is a wonderful, fun experience, and I think it'll bring more to Eagle Street."

Millinery shops were a mainstay of women's and men's fashion well into the 1960s. At one time, North Adams had three or four independent millinery shops plus departments in some of its stores, like Roberts Co. and the Boston Store.

They began closing down in the 1960s because of owners' retirements or deaths, dislocation because of urban renewal, and changing fashions. The last ones were the Style Shoppe and Hollywood Millinery (then Hollywood Fashions) in the early 1980s. 

Welch has hats made from straw, fake fur, wool, leather, and more. Her designs can take hours to complete.

"I start by having an idea in mind for the style that I want to work on, and then I'll pull from my textiles and make a selection that would all work nicely together, so that I can I can make a particular style using various textiles from the same group, so it becomes a collection rather than just a random bunch of hats," she said.

She wants to have something for everyone, and since her one-of-a-kind hats can be pricey, she has  commercially hats that are moderately priced.

"Typically in finishing a hat, there's handwork, which is why they become more expensive. Because some hats I spend well, literally hours on," she said.