Fall Foliage Festival Parade, Events This Weekend

By Tammy Daniels08:51PM / Thursday, September 27, 2007Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS - Dr. Richard Ziter will have a special seat for his first Fall Foliage Parade - riding in a convertible right behind Mayor John Barrett III and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray and backed by the Drury High School marching band. Ziter graduated from Drury High in 1945 and went on to practice in Manhattan and Port Chester, N.Y. He never made it back to his hometown for the annual parade until now - as grand marshal. "When they asked me to be grand marshal, I choked up. I could hardly speak," said Ziter on Thursday from his West Stockbridge home. "I'm very, very excited." Rod Bunt of the Mayor's Office of Tourism said the choice of Ziter for the 52nd annual parade was especially fortunate because of his generosity and enthusiasm. "I'm so glad the [Parade] Committee chose the doctor ... he is really appreciative of the honor." Ziter has been generous to his alma mater, establishing two $100,000 scholarships in science and music and two more $25,000 scholarships in memory of his brothers, Ted and the Rev. Nelson Ziter. Bunt also called the participation of Murry a major coup for the city and said a special banner with the mayor's and Murray's names was made up because they would be marching together. Barrett was an early supporter of the former Worcester mayor's run for the state's second highest spot. Other dignitaries marching in the parade are U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, and state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams. More than 140 units and banners will appear in the parade, including Rooty the Rutabaga from the town of Florida, numerous police, fire and first-responder units, marching bands, classic cars, the Shriners and floats, floats and more floats. This year's theme is "Transportation: Then and Now." Cool, clear weather is forecast for the weekend and Bunt believes that will help the parade draw around 25,000 people this year. While it's difficult to get a good estimate, you can usually see the density of the crowd increase along the roadway as the parade nears Main Street, he said. The fine weather should also lure day-trippers from Vermont, New York and South County. "I predict a whole lot people will show up," he said. The Fall Foliage festivities kicked off last Sunday with the annual Family Fun Fair and children's race at Western Gateway Heritage State Park. On Thursday night, there was a MCLA Gallery 51 reception for "Painted Visions: Paintings by Award-Winning Massachusetts Artists," which runs through Oct. 21, and the annual ziti supper at St. Anthony's Parish Hall. The annual children's parade begins Friday evening at 5:30 from the corner of East and Main streets and marches down Main Street to City Hall. Participants should arrive by 5 p.m. Another march will be taking place down Curran Highway as the fifth annual Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Northern Berkshire Walk of Life sets off from the VNA building. Participants in the fundraiser, which will benefit the new children's palliative care program, will walk to the library and back, about a 3.5-mile loop. There will be several speakers at the conclusion of the walk. Afterwards, hungry marchers can fill up at the spaghetti supper at the Eagles on Curran Highway from 5 to 8 for $8. For those with a more classical bent, Antares will perform chamber music at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Church Street Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The performance is the first in the Patrons of the Arts performance series. To order tickets, call 413-662-5543. There's plenty more music, and some dancing, with rock 'n' roll and Irish bands playing at local clubs. The Whooligans, a West Coast band with an Irish sound, will play at American Legion Post 125 on Friday and Saturday night, Sept. 28 and 29, at 8. Tickets are $20 and benefit the Legion baseball team and the State Street T Neighborhood Kids. They can be purchased at the Legion and State Street Tavern. On Saturday night, local band RU-Ready will play pop and rock songs from 8 to midnight at the Eagles. Call 664-9043 for tickets. Also on Saturday, Skyboro Sound Recording Studio presents "Live at the Elks" with The Shepherds, Johnnyâ€™s Ghost, CJ Field and Daisyâ€™s Little Secret, plus special guest Lita Williams. Concert starts at 7 at the Elks Club on Eagle Street. Tickets are available at Skyboro Sound in the Windsor Mill, the Elks and Jackâ€™s Hot Dogs on Eagle Street. Contact Skyboro Sound at 662-2333. Nearly two dozen regional crafters and artists will be offering their wares in the Autumn Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday from 10 to 3 on Main Street. Photographs, handcrafted jewelry, ceramics and more will be available for sale. Also on Saturday, the first Fall Foliage Charity Bed Race will be run on Main and Eagle streets. The charity event starts at 11 with a performance by local country music singer Williams. The races begin at noon. And, finally, the parade steps off at 1 p.m. on Sunday from the Wal-Mart parking lot. On Tuesday night, the parade committee literally laid out the line of march using color-coded index cards, said Bunt, who was fielding calls about the festivities every two or three minutes on Thursday. While the lineup is pretty well set, a few latecomers are being slipped into position by putting an a or b after a number to prevent renumbering the entire parade. Volunteers are planning a hearty breakfast on Sunday before they get into position "Everybody knows their jobs," said Bunt. "For good or bad, [the parade] will be coming down the road." The line of march for the 52nd annual Fall Foliage Parade: 1 North Adams Police Color Guard 2 Fall Foliage Parade Banner 3 St. Peter's Drum Corps, Torrington, Conn. 4 Police and public safety units from around Berkshire County, organized by the North Adams commissioner of public safety 5 Pittsfield Police Department honor guard, community van, SWAT vehicle 6 North Adams Fire Department 7 Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Company 8 Florida Volunteer Fire Department 8a Rooty the Rutabaga and Uncle Sam, town of Florida 9 Adams Forest Warden Department 10 Monroe Volunteer Fire Department 11 Savoy Volunteer Fire Department 12 Williamstown Fire Department 13a North Adams Ambulance Service 13 Childrenâ€™s Parade Banner 14 Fifes & Drums of Olde Saratoga 15-16 Mayor John Barrett III and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray 17 Greylock Federal Credit Union 18 Dr. Richard Ziter, grand marshal 19 Drury High School band 20 BFAIR Banner 21 Congressman John Olver 22 State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing 23 State Rep. Daniel Bosley 24 104th Color Guard 25 Alton & Weston Banner 26 Stamford Community Church 27 BerkshireRides Banner 28 BerkshireRides Van 29 Taconic Pipe Band 30 City of North Adams Banner 31 North Adams City Council 32 Berkshire County Radio Vans 33 JH Maxymillian 34 Andover One Wheelers Unicycle Team 35 Specialty Minerals Banner 36 Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless 37 Berkshire Chamber of Commerce Float 38 Crane Personal Design 39 Northern Berkshire Register of Deeds Frances Brooks 40 Adams Cooperative Bank Banner 41 Ichabod Crane Marching Band 42 Big Y Banner 43 Big Y 44 Fraternal Order of Eagles Banner 45 Clark Billings Banner 46 Brattleboro, Vt., American Legion Band 47 American Legion Auxiliary Frank R. Stiles Unit 125 48 Williamstown Post 152 American Legion 49 AMVETS Post 100, North Adams 50 AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary Department of Massachusetts 51 Massachusetts Army National Guard 52 Dr. George Curran VFW 996 Ladies' Auxiliary 53 The Whooligans band 54 American Legion Post 125, North Adams 55 Northern Berkshire Vietnam Veterans Association 56 A-Plus Vacations Banner 57 Berkshire Bank Banner 58 Berkshire Bank fire truck 59 Berkshire Gas banner 60 National American Miss Massachusetts Teen 2007 61 TD Banknorth Banner 62 Lewis S. Mills Marching Band 63 North Adams Transcript Banner 64 United Cerebral Palsy 65 Holiday Inn Banner 66 Marksmen Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps 67 NBCTV Banner 68 Drury Drama Team 69 Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan & Collins Banner 70 North Adams Ambulance 71 Prospect Drum Corps 72 Al Marden Banner 73 Special Forces float 74 Fall Foliage Area Cycle Clubs 75 Colonial Navy of Massachusetts 76 H.A. George Banner 77 St. John's Players 78 Adams Alert Hose Company No. 1 79 Legacy Bank Banner 80 Holyoke High School Marching Knights 81 Grand Commandery Knights Temples of Mass. and R.I. 82 Hoosac Bank Banner 83 Mountain One Financial Partners 84 Reach Community Health Foundation in North Adams Trolley 85 Dilego Banner 86 Adams Agricultural Fair Prince & Princess 2007 87 State Bureau of Forest Fire Control 88 Brown Packaging Banner 89 Springfield Kiltie Band 90 Landmark Banner 91 Wild Country Cloggers 92 West Oil Banner 93 Berkshire Dance Theatre Inc. 94 MCLA Banner 95 MCLA 96 Moodus Drum & Fife 99 MCLA - Gallery 51 100 Greylock Community Club Banner 101 Berkshire Family Center 102 South Adams Savings Bank Banner 102a Youth Center, Inc. 103 Leland and Gray 104 Mike Nugai - 1 fire truck 105 North Adams Teachers' Association 106 Carpenterâ€™s Union Banner 107 Berkshire County Line Dancers 108 Marlow & Co. Banner 109 Uncle Sam Chorus 110 Uncle Sam Pageant Winner 111 Tatro Cont. Banner 112 Amsterdam Marching Rams 113 Century 21 Banner 114 Philmont Fire Company float 115 Northern Berkshire health Banner 116 Winner of Fall Foliage Bed Race 117 Aubuchon Banner 118 Hoosac Valley High School Band 119 Cascade School Supplies Banner 120 Mini Cooper Tour 121 Nassif Pharmacy Banner 122 Torrington High School 123 Morrison Berkshire Banner 124 Adams Lions eye-screening vehicle 125 Berkshire Fatherhood Coalition 126 Whitneyâ€™s Banner 127 Night Cruzers of Berkshire County 128 Meehan & Co Banner 129 Oldies but Goodies Rock 'n' Roll Show 130 Thomas Rumbolt Banner 130a Berkshire Lodge of Masons 131 Ladies Oriental Shrine of North America, Helma Court 64 132 Lady Shriners of Rutland, Vt. 133 Tire Warehouse Banner 134 Melha Shriners 135 Boxcar Media Banner 136 Berkshire Highlanders Pipe Band 137 A-1 Septic Banner 138 New Car Dealership Banner 139 American Livery Banner 140 North Adams Police Ropes Float 141 North Adams Elks Banner

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North Adams Warns Residents of Lead Pipe Survey Scam

03:21PM / Thursday, November 21, 2024

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City of North Adams is warning residents about scammers exploiting a city-run lead pipe survey project.

As mentioned in a letter sent to city residents, the city is undergoing a lead pipe survey. Since then, some residents have been contacted by scammers claiming to be part of the survey and looking for financial information.

Officials emphasized that the survey is free, and the city is not making phone calls to residents at this time.

Residents are urged not to share financial details over the phone. Anyone receiving such calls should report the incident immediately to the North Adams Police Department at 413-664-4944, extension 1.

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