Join Fall Foliage Festival Family Day Fun!

12:00AM / Friday, September 22, 2006

Family Fun Fair 2005: Brooklyn Hart was among the smiling children who took part during last year's family festival. Brooklyn was also a Children's Road Race winner.

North Adams - Mark the day: Sunday, September 24th, kicks off the 51st Fall Foliage Festival's week of family fun and events with a Family Day Celebration at Western Gateway Heritage State Park.

A popular Children’s Road Race is set to precede that family festival. The event will be held at the Joe Wolfe Field, with registration beginning at 11:30 a.m.. The race is open to boys and girls 11 years of age and under. This is a "fun run" with age appropriate courses set up inside the field.

Trophies will be awarded to the top finishers in each of the five divisions and ribbons will be given to all participants.

At the Heritage State Park beginning 12:30 p.m. and concluding at 3:30 p.m., families are invited to join in and enjoy a roster of games, giveaways, and family-oriented information.

Admission is free. Entertainment and reasonably priced refreshments will be provided. Sparky the Fire Dog, Slider, the Steeplecats’ mascot, and the oversized, friendly Michelin Man are among the anticipated guests and a Kid's Fire Safety House is expected to be up and running.

Once again, the Heritage Park Tot Train, driven by “Conductor Bob” (Robert Lemaire), will be offering free train rides.

Other attractions include the YMCA Beta Swim Team, which will offer a children’s craft and bake sale, along with free lemonade; ring toss by the ACS Youth Center, giveaways by Berkshire North WIC and a dance recital by Karen’s School of Dance.

The Target store in the Berkshire Mall will provide “Oversized” games. Berkshire Share is brewing up some “Mystery Goop” for fairgoers.

The Berkshire Center for Families and Children will offer pumpkin decorating and across the courtyard, Berkshire Fly Fishers will present a casting demonstration.

Other activities and informational booths include Tastefully Simple, Child Care of the Berkshires, United Cerebral Palsy, the North Adams Historical Society and Museum of History and Science, the First Baptist Church, REACH dental care, the Women’s House of Peace, TANB and representatives from the Berkshire Bike Trail.

At the north end of Heritage Park, the public is invited to join the members of the Northern Berkshire Community Television Corporation as they celebrate the opening of Studio B. There will be an open house along with performances by the Robbins-Zust Family Marionettes. Performances are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m..

The Robbins-Zust Family Marionettes will perform the hand puppet show “Little Red Riding Hood” at 1:00 and “Carnival of the Animals at 3:30. Advance tickets for the 3:30 show are required. More info regarding the shows can be obtained through the Studio at 413 663 9006.

A variety of food selections will be available at a nominal cost from local vendors throughout the afternoon, including, but not limited to, Village Pizza, Robert Cardimino and Lickety-Split. They will offer pizza, hot dogs, chips, fruit smoothies, ice cream, etc.


For more information, contact Rod Bunt at the Mayor’s Office of Tourism, 6 West Main Street, 664-6180, tourism@northadams-ma.gov or Dale Waterman at Heritage State Park, 663-6312. The events are sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Tourism, Western Gateway Heritage State Park and the Northern Berkshire United Way.