St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
We're trying out blogs to offer shorter, easy-to-find news. Let us know what you think.
Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce has launched a new Web site this week to handle the growing number of visitors and members searching for information about Berkshire County.
Christina Barrett, marketing director for the chamber, said the old site had averaged 15,400 visits a month, or 522 visits a day. She said the business directory portion of the site is becoming increasingly popular with more than 10,000 visitor referrals to chamber members since early January 2008.
The new site, developed and designed by Boxcar Media LLC, parent company of iBerkshires, is more user-friendly the older one with better search capabilities and optional upgrades for members. It also has an online registration that allows members to register for more than one event, has shopping cart features and sponsorship opportunities.
The site has a simplified design to enhance interactivity, with information sections specifically for members and visitors. The goal was to make the site easily navigable for members and others and features scenic views of the Berkshires.
The new site will allow the chamber to update important information on www.berkshirechamber.com such as upcoming networking events, newsletters, event photo galleries, and up-to-date member business information. A fully searchable online directory of member businesses has also been enhanced through the implementation of new web-based software created especially for membership organizations, such as chambers of commerce.
Members can access an improved members-only subsection through a secure username and password assigned by the chamber. The members-only area will allow users to update company information, individual information, and post news releases and events to provide increased exposure for member businesses.
The new software integration means that information will be automatically updated across the site. The content management system creates a centralized point of data entry that makes it easy to maintain and update information on the Web site, and keep it accurate throughout the chamber organization.
The login for members secures personal information, offers the ability to opt in and out of e-mail lists, and has account maintenance and referral statistics. Employees can be registered for events with a few simple clicks. In addition, an e-mail will be sent to all attendees three days prior to the event.
The Berkshire Chamber contracted with Boxcar Media's Agency BCM in North Adams to create a new and feel for the site as well as to enhance its functionality for visitors.
"They are a great organization and we were glad to help them out with this project," said Rob Adams, vice president of sales and marketing for BCM.
