October First Fridays Artswalk! Friday, October 2, 5 to 8 pm, and ALL MONTH LONG!
Enjoy indoor and storefront art shows, outdoor sculpture, and Artscape’s Pittsfield Paintboxes during the First Fridays Artswalk on Friday, October 2, 5 to 8 pm, and all month long!
When participating in the October Artswalk, be sure to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet from other individuals and wear your mask.
Pittsfield’s Artscape to unveil the mural “THE SUN WILL RISE” at 443 North Street!
Friday, October 2 at 5 pm
“THE SUN WILL RISE” is a 20’x 16’ mural created by Jesse Tobin McCauley along with Jay Tobin and Stephanie Quetti. The mural is supported with funding from Mill Town and the Pittsfield Cultural Council.
After the unveiling stick around for the October First Fridays Artswalk!
ELEANOR: A Virtual Reading of a New Play By popular demand: Added Performances!
Saturday, October 3 & Sunday, October 4 at 7:30 pm
Eleanor brings to life Eleanor Roosevelt, the most influential First Lady the world has ever seen. From her “Ugly Duckling” upbringing to her unorthodox marriage to Franklin, Eleanor puts her controversial life, loves and passions on the stage. Starring Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris (BSC: The Royal Family of Broadway, Sweeney Todd; Netflix’s Ratched)
The reading was filmed at the Mainstage without an audience, and will be available to stream on October 3 & 4 at 7:30 pm Eastern Time. Please contact the Box Office at 413.236.8888 or BoxOffice@BarringtonStageCo.org to receive more information about viewing the virtual performance. Click here to purchase tickets and view FAQs.
Special FREE Panel Discussion
Go behind the scenes with Barrington Stage Company and the team behind Eleanor, the story of America’s most influential first lady. On Monday, October 5 at 4 pm ET, BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd will moderate a FREE interactive panel discussion via Zoom, featuring Tony Award-winning actress Harriet Harris, BSC Associate Artist and Eleanor playwright Mark St. Germain, and director Henry Stram. The discussion will center on the creation and development of the play, and its journey from the intended live staged reading to the actual virtual reading, filmed in an empty theatre. Participation is limited. Click here to register and reserve your spot.
In this short video, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. presents a reflection on the Pittsfield community’s response to the Coronavirus and our resilience and accomplishments.
Please share this video on your social media platforms!
“Find Joy Through Movement” with us as you increase your strength and flexibility while reducing stress and quieting your mind outdoors or in the privacy and comfort of your own home.
Our private sessions are custom designed to meet your needs and interests and are accessible for all ages, levels and abilities, regardless of how strong or flexible you are or how long you have practiced for.
The Berkshire Museum is currently open Thursdays through Mondays by reservation only. Book your visit today to enjoy the museum’s Aquarium and first floor for just $5 per adult. Museum members, EBT/SNAP cardholders, and children under 18 always visit free.
Sharing Stories: The Importance of Oral Histories and Listening in These Unprecedented Times
Join the Berkshire Museum online on Friday, October 2 at 5:30 pm for a live panel discussion to open an updated, virtual version of the 2019 exhibition Their Stories: Oral Histories from the NAACP.
Judith Monachina will lead a lively and timely conversation about the Housatonic Heritage Oral History Center as featured in the exhibit and the ways oral histories and sharing and listening to each other can help communities meet the unique challenges of today including the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing fight for social justice.
Panelists for the evening will include community activist, educator, and Founder of the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program, Shirley Edgerton, and NAACP Berkshires President, Dennis Powell.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Letter: A Prescription for Survival: Solving Western Mass Physician Crisis
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:
In the shadow of the Berkshires' rolling hills, a quiet calamity unfolds. Rural western Massachusetts — Berkshire, Franklin, and parts of Hampden and Hampshire Counties — teeters on the edge of a health-care abyss. Primary care physicians (PCPs), the bedrock of community wellness, are vanishing. With wait times stretching six to 12 months and ratios dipping to 60-70 doctors per 100,000 residents — half the state's average — this is no mere inconvenience. It's a crisis of equity, economics, and survival, demanding bold, bipartisan action now.
The numbers are stark. Berkshire County, home to 125,000 souls, has lost a third of its PCPs since the 2014 closure of North Adams Regional Hospital. Half the remaining workforce is over 55, poised to retire as an aging population (20-30 percent over 65) battles chronic ills — heart disease, diabetes, depression — at rates outpacing urban Massachusetts. Nationally, rural areas claim just 10 percent of physicians despite housing 20 percent of Americans. Here, that disparity yawns wider, a chasm between Boston's medical bounty and our western neglect.
Why this erosion? The culprits are legion. Rural PCPs earn $220,000 annually — $60,000 less than Boston counterparts — while juggling heavier loads with scant specialist support. Medical students, saddled with $250,000 in debt, shun primary care for lucrative specialties; only 15 percent of residents stick with it five years out. Recruitment falters as young doctors spurn isolation and harsh winters for urban vibrancy. Burnout, seared into 60-75 percent of clinicians post-pandemic, accelerates exits. Add a broadband lag — 15-20 percent of Berkshire households lack reliable internet — and telemedicine, a touted fix, stumbles.
The fallout is visceral. In Pittsfield, a retiree skips blood pressure meds, his last visit a memory from July 2024. In Greenfield, Baystate Franklin's ER chokes on non-emergent cases — hypertension, anxiety — because PCPs are phantoms. Health outcomes sag: rural heart disease deaths soar 15 percent above state norms; suicide rates, untended by a skeletal mental health network (one psychiatrist per 10,000), climb 30 percent since 2010. Economically, small businesses bleed workers to untreated illness; property values stall as healthcare deserts repel newcomers.
Politically, this transcends partisanship, yet it's mired in it. Gov. Maura Healey's administration touts the Physician Pathway Act — signed January 2025 to fast-track international doctors into underserved areas — but rural rollout lags. Republicans decry urban-centric spending, pointing to $425 million diverted to migrant housing amid a $1 billion FY26 deficit. Both sides have merit: progressives prioritize equity, conservatives fiscal prudence. Neither has stanched the bleeding here.
Solutions demand innovation beyond stale debates. First, reimagine incentives. Massachusetts could pioneer a "Rural Residency Bonus" — $75,000 annually for PCPs committing five years west of Worcester—funded by taxing second-home buyers inflating Berkshire housing costs. Pair this with a "Telemedicine Equity Fund," redirecting a sliver of urban hospital profits to rural broadband, ensuring virtual care isn't a privilege of the connected.
Second, flip the training paradigm. UMass Chan Medical School's rural track trains 10-15 students yearly, but most drift eastward. Mandate half serve western counties post-residency, bolstered by a "Community Preceptor Network" where retiring PCPs mentor successors, preserving institutional knowledge. Federally, HRSA grants could triple rural residencies here if Healey lobbies Trump's incoming administration, leveraging his rural voter base.
A state grant has boosted the Berkshire Trail Building revitalization by $400,000, a project that has been in the works for over six years. click for more
On Presidents Day weekend, a storm dumped around 6 inches of snow on Berkshire County. Just before, the city was able to onboard a few more contractors.
click for more
The non-profit Love of T celebrated its ever-growing community and raised funds to continue its mission during its "Dance the Blues Away" gala on Saturday. click for more
Community Health Programs laid off some of its staff, reduced some staff hours, and suspended its mobile health unit in response to a looming deficit. click for more
