Are We There Yet?: It's All About the Foliage

I was driving down Route 7 in Williamstown on Thursday around 6 p.m. and my breath literally caught at the beauty of the stretch of road in front of Mount Greylock Regional High School.

I've always considered this to be one of the most beautiful half-miles in all the world, though I may be biased. Still, seeing the fading ray of the sun caressing the lovely fall foliage was awesome. So awesome that my daughter tried to take a picture through the car window. It didn't work, but I will always have it in my mind's eye.

This weekend in North Berkshire is all about the foliage. Starting tonight, Friday, Oct. 3, with the Fall Foliage Festival Children's parade and ending Sunday, Oct. 5, with the 1 p.m. main event parade, this weekend celebrates the natural beauty of the place we call home.

And the weather looks to cooperate today and Sunday, anyway.

The Children's Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. and marches from Main and Eagle Streets over the City Hall.  Children who want to participate should arrive by 5 p.m. at Main and Eagle streets. Categories for prizes are “Best Group Working Together” or “Best Overall Costumes” or “Most Imaginative Float." All three first place winners may participate in the Fall Foliage Festival Parade on Sunday. To be judged, entries must follow the theme of “Celebrating the adventure and culture over the 100 years of the Mohawk Trail.” All children may enter the parade even though they may wish not to compete. No child will be turned away.

There are also family friendly events on Saturday - the sixth annual dog parade at 10 a.m. starting from Veterans Memorial Park and the children's races and family fair from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Noel Field - but Mother Nature might be messing with these events. Still, it looks to be a lovely fall day for the main event on Sunday, which starts at 1 p.m. and marches up Route 8 and across Main Street before ending down Ashland Street.

Looking for some indoor family fun on Saturday? The Pittsfield Fire Department will be hosting an open house during Fire Prevention Week to promote "Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives!" Through these educational, family-oriented activities, which run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., residents can learn more about the importance of working smoke alarms and testing them monthly. The open house will be held at Pittsfield Fire Department Headquarters, 74 Columbus Ave. Activities include fire safety talks and activities, senior citizen fire safety, Emergency Medical Systems information, and CHILD Project retinal scans, a program that identifies and locates missing children through the use of iris identification biometric technology.

One more thing to mention: Before Sunday's parade, head over to Williamstown Elementary School for the annual PTO used clothing sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This sale features a large selection of clothes and lots of great winter gear; boots, pants, jackets, hat and mittens. As an added bonus, items will be half price from noon to 1 p.m. Looking for cheap winter gear for the kids? Look no further. Because while this weekend is about fall, winter can't be far behind.

Rebecca Dravis is the community editor at iBerkshires. She can be reached at rdravis@iberkshires.com.