Northern Berkshire Summer Season Ripe With Events

By Jen Thomas
06:03AM / Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Northern Berkshire summer events offer an abundance of entertainment and activities to families. Taste it, draw it, pedal or plod it; it's all happening in the Northern Berkshires![Photo by Jen Thomas]

The official summer start date arrives this week and the Northern Berkshire region is ready to celebrate with a slew of family-friendly community attractions.

"All of our organizations are having huge seasons," said Williamstown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathleen McDonald.

From community movie nights to downtown festivals, the northern Berkshires has a regional "summer vacation" packed with activities and events for all ages.

North Adams

North Adams Office of Tourism Director Rod Bunt said summertime events allow people to take a break from regular routines.

The Northern Berkshire Food Festival is set for Sunday on Main Street in North Adams.[iberkshires.com file photo]

"The purpose is to have people come into the City of North Adams and have a ball," said Bunt. "We want our events to be free or as low-priced as possible."

The city tourism office is sponsoring this Sunday’s 6th annual Northern Berkshire Food Festival and car show, an event that Bunt said typically draws in a huge crowd.

"If we can get a halfway decent day weather-wise, it’ll be a great event," he said.

The food festival boasts entrée samples from 17 area independently-owned restaurants, including Gramercy Bistro, Steeples Restaurant, Café Latino, and Isabella’s Restaurant. Also, the festival is scheduled to include a micro-brewed beer and wine tasting, courtesy of Berkshire Brewing Company, West’s Fine Liquors and Girardi Distributors. Food tickets are 50 cents each and entréée samples cost between $1 and $4.

The event will take place on Main Street, which will be closed down to accommodate large tents and tables for restaurant representatives and visitors. The event begins at 12 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m.

"It’s an opportunity for those who maybe wouldn’t normally check out the food in the area," said Bunt. "And the car show is a nice addition."

The Mustang Car Club of New England is scheduled to stop at the food festival with their caravan of 40+ vintage Cougars and Mustangs as part of a "fun run."

"They just go for a nice long drive with their great cars," said Bunt.

Also planned for the summer in North Adams is the "Concerts on the Lake" series, which offers free concerts at Windsor Lake each Wednesday night in July and August and on July 19, Windsor Lake will also play home to a free performance of "Peace" by the Mettawee River Theatre Company.

The city hosts a July Eagle Street beach party. The event means elimianting vehicles from the historic street for about three hours and opening the roadway to tons of white beach sand and hoardes of people who folic at the "beach."

"It gives people a chance to experience the beach right here in North Adams," said Bunt.

Children are encouraged to enter the sandsculpture competition and enjoy a selection of free beach toys.

The event will take place July 11 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

To cap off summer activities, the Office of Tourism hosts the 12th annual Mayor’’s Downtown Celebration on August 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Eagle Street Beach Party draws an enthusiastic crowd of families.[iberkshires file photo]

The annual event closes Eagle, Main and Holden Streets to traffic and draws thousands of revelers, said Bunt.

"Everybody comes downtown. Everybody," he said.

This year's celebration will host 14 bands, 24 food vendors and over 100 displays, as well as a children’s area.

For more information, visit the Office of Tourism web page at http://northadams.boxcarmedia.com/index.php?nav_id=66.

Adams

Many of the events planned by a town volunteer Events Committee are geared to community and family. Whether an evening movie on the lawn of Town Hall or a concert on the Town Common, all of the summer activities are intended to be fun for all.

"Our events just give Adams residents something to do," said Haley Meczywor, chairwoman of the events committee.

The town's popular "Movies Under the Stars" kicks off on July 6. Movies are shown free of charge on the Town Hall lawn on Friday evenings. The movies begin just after sunset, so the start time is a bit earlier each week. With scheduled films such as "Night at the Museum" and "Happy Feet," the family appeal of the event is likely to continue.

Weekly Thursday night free concerts begin July 12th with Kids Night. Terry a la Berry and Friends will sing some of their hit children’s songs and kids will have the opportunity to tour fire trucks and police cars. The event begins at 6 p.m.

Another big attraction in Adams this summer is the annual Susan B. Anthony Days event, kicking off on July 28 with “Cruz Night” from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. With vintage cars courtesy of the Berkshire County Night CruZers parked along Park Street. Meczywor said the event draws hundreds.

This year, the events committee added another component to the festivities and will show the movie "Grease" at dusk.

On July 29, the wildly popular "Pedal and Plod" running and biking race and the annual downtown Park Street street fair gets underway on July 30.

Williamstown

Family Day at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute offers a multitude of free or low-cost activities.[iberkshires.com file photo]

Along with traditional cultural events at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown offers family fun events along Spring Street and at Williams College.

July 4th festivities this year include a parade and party on Spring Street beginning at 11 a.m., a reading of the Declaration of Independence at 2 p.m. at Williams College, a screening of the film "Yankee Doodle Dandy" at Images Cinema at 2:30 p.m., and fireworks after the SteepleCats game in North Adams.

Every Tuesday beginning July 3, visitors can sit for a caricature of themselves at the Clark at 2 p.m.. Other Clark events include a July 22 free family day titled "Dutch Delights Family Day" where kids can enjoy Van Gogh still-life drawing class, butter churning, farm animal petting zoo, Delftware tile projects, Dutch entertainment, and Dutch cheese tasting. The event begins at 11 a.m.

On July 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the WCMA will host "Bon Voyage! Travel with the Murphys," a family festival which will feature French-inspired foods, an opportunity to make Parisian art and learn the Charleston, as well as an all-day outdoor concert by the Kwajmal Jazz Band who will showcase music from the 1920s to 1940s.

From Aug. 15 -19, a New York state-based Knights of Columbus group will sponsor a tri-state summer family fair at Pownal, Vt.’s Green Mountain Park on Route 7.

For more information on the state fair, contact the Knights of Columbus at (518) 658-3530.

Also see http://www.clarkart.edu/make_a_visit/calendar_of_events.cfm?nav=3 for Clark events and http://www.wcma.org/general_info/events.shtml for WCMA events.


For the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce, visit a http://www.williamstownchamber.com/events.php Internet web site.