Weekend Outlook: Summer Party

Check out the events happening in the Berkshires this weekend including a circus, movie nights, parties and more. (Note that the Clarksburg Pickle Fest has now been postponed to Aug. 29.)

Editor's Pick

Big Top Circus
Bowe Field, Adams
Time: Friday through Sunday

The Zerbini Family Circus features aerialists, jugglers, acrobats, and much more. Take your seat under the big top and watch a 90-minute show.

More information and tickets here.

Thursday

Eagle Street Beach Party
Eagle Street, North Adams
Time: 4 to 8 p.m.

Historic Eagle Street is turned into sandy beach for making sand castles. Pails and shovels first come, first served.

More information here.

Friday

Summer Movie Night
Clapp Park, Pittsfield
Time: 8:30 p.m.

This month's summer movie is "Freaky Friday." Bring a chair or a blanket; soda and popcorn available for purchase.

More information here.

Friday Karaoke
Dalton American Legion
Time: 6 p.m.

More information here.

Arkai Concert
Adams Theater
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Electroacoustic string duo of violinist Jonathan Miron and cellist Philip Sheegog perform classical and cinematic sound with modern technology.

More information and tickets here.

Children's Artmaking Workshops
North Adams Public Library
Time: 11 a.m.

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts educators are hosting free art workshops for children 12 years and younger that will feature a storytime and art making projects.  

More information here.

Children's Programming
Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The library is hosting a number of programs including Dungeons and Dragons, take-home crafts, switch and play, and an escape game. 

More information here.

Saturday

Sugar Hill Folk Festival
Sugar Hill Assisted Living, Dalton
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.

Folk music on the lawn for the 23rd year. This is a free family-friendly outing, make sure to bring a chair or blanket. There will be refreshments.

More information here.

Celebrate summer on Tyler Street with an inflatable obstacle course, waterslides, free food giveaways and more. There will also be free backpacks with school supplies for every student in attendance.

More information here.

Berkshire Jazz Summer Showcase
Westside Riverway Park, Pittsfield
Time: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Free concert with the Flat Bed Jazz Band, Jack Dinicola and Friends, and Wanda Houston. Bring your own chairs, food, and non-alcoholic beverages. There will be a beer garden and food vendors. 

More information here.

250th Anniversary of America Celebration
Greylock Glen, Adams
Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Celebrate the birth of the nation at Greylock Glen with gun salutes, equestrian displays, historic talks, crafts, games, and more. Attendees are encouraged to dress in colonial attire and bring an item for their time capsule. Shuttles will be provided between the Visitors Center and the Outdoor Center.

More information here.

Sunday

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.

Tanglewood Free Day
Tanglewood, Lenox
Time: noon and 2 p.m.

Performances begin at noon by artists from Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Busk, Berkshire Brazil, Clara Guatta, Eagles Band, and Kids 4 Harmony. All around the campus, there will be an Instrument Playground, Kids Corner, and community partner tabling on Tappan Lawn. 

At 2:30 p.m., Music Director Andris Nelsons leads pianist Daniil Trifonov and BSO principal trumpet Thomas Rolfs in Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1, alongside Haydn's Philosopher Symphony and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in the Shed.

More information here.

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.

Railway Concerts: Bernice Lewis

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.

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."