There will be a variety of events in the Berkshires this weekend including community days, apple squeeze, live musical performances, and more.
Editors' Picks
Lenox Apple Squeeze
Various venues, Lenox
The annual Apple Squeeze is taking over Lenox streets this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The event features family activities, live music and performances, over 75 artisan crafts vendors, and more.
This year, Antimony Brewing with Mama Lo's BBQ will be hosting a beer garden at the 67 Church St. parking lot.
Writer Tom Piazza will discuss his new historical novel "the Auburn Conference" at Arrowhead.
The novel depicts notable figures including Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, Harriet Beecher Stowe in a fictionalized tiny upstate New York college in 1883.
Tickets cost $10 for Berkshire County Historical Society members, and $15 for non-members. More information here.
Saturday
Whitney's Farm Market & Garden Center
Whitney's Farm, Cheshire
It's pumpkin season! Whitney's Farm brings back its local favorite, Pumpkin Fest, this Saturday,
Sept. 23, until Oct. 29.
Pick pumpkins, ride on a hay wagon, get glitter tattoos, walk through a corn maze, and more every weekend through Halloween.
Open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.
The nonprofit Springside Park Conservancy will be celebrating its 10 years of volunteerism and advocacy with a community gathering.
The event is following the annual fall Cleanup and will include food, and music. More information here.
Oktoberfest
Hot Plate Brewing, Pittsfield
Time: 3 p.m.
There will be a performance by a funk band followed by a watch party for the Penn State and Iowa game at 7:30 p.m. More information here.
Autumnal Equinox Social Ride
Pittsfield High School
Time: 4 p.m.
Celebrate the first day of fall with a 10-mile social ride around the Allendale, Springside, Lakewood, and Parkside neighborhoods of Pittsfield. The ride will start at PHS and finish at Crust Pizza.
Mindfulness facilitator Sandrine Harris will lead a meditation through a mix of outdoor walking, quiet sitting and guided moments for reflection.
Tickets range from $20 to $25. More information here.
Sunday
Charming Disaster
The Foundry, West Stockbridge
Time: 7 p.m.
Brooklyn, N.Y., based goth-folk musical duo Charming Disaster will perform. They write playfully dark songs that tell stories about death, crime, myth, magic, folklore, science, and the occult.
This family friendly event to celebrate National Recovery Month features a Doobie Brothers tribute band, games, bouncy house, food truck and Operation Copsicle.
Free and open to the public.
Multiple Days
Freshgrass Festival 2022
Mass MoCA, North Adams
Time: Friday-Sunday
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art will be hosting its annual Fresh Grass Festival this Friday through Sunday. Thousands are expected to be in the city during the three-day event.
There will be live music throughout the grounds and at Joe's Field including performances by the Dropkick Murphys, Lucas Nelson, Berkshire County's very own CJ Field, and many more.
There will also be plenty of vendors on site selling merchandise, food, and drinks. A three-day adult pass is $184; see more on ticket prices and performance lineup here.
New England's biggest fair runs through the end of the month. The fair features goods from all six New England states, specialty days, crafts, demonstrations, activities, agriculture, horse shows, and more.
Tickets range from $20 and $12 a day to full passes and group admissions. Special performances priced separately.
The North Adams market is open every Saturday and offers produce and baked goods from local retailers including Red Shirt Farm, Fahey Family Farm, Bohemian Nouveaux Bakery, Mon Artistic Pets, and more.
NOTE: This Saturday's market will be on Main Street because of the Fresh Grass Festival.
Powered by Roots Rising, the market is open every Saturday rain or shine.
Each week the market will have fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, along with meat, eggs, cheese, baked goods by local vendors. Participants can shop for flowers, and artisan goods while listening to music and participate in family activities. For more information, visit the website.
Great Barrington Farmers Market
18 Church St.
Time: 9 to 1.
The market is open every Saturday. Every week there will be locally grown food, flowers, and plants along with other local vendors. More information here.
Berkshire Area Farmers Market
Berkshire Mall parking lot, Lanesborough
Time: 8 to 2
The market is open every Saturday and features produce and products from Western Mass farms. More information here.
Lenox Farmers Market
80 Church St., Lenox
Time: 11 to 3.
This market is open every Friday and features fresh produce, breads, artisanal & specialty foods and crafts, and more. The market accepts SNAP. More information here.
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North Adams Regional Receives Critical Access Hospital Designation
Staff Reports
BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz poses in one of the new patient rooms on 2 North.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It took nearly 14 years, a change in requirements and a decade-long coma, but North Adams Regional Hospital has finally been designated as a federally recognized Critical Access Hospital.
"Re-establishing inpatient beds at the new North Adams Regional Hospital is a key component of our organization's strategy to keep health-care services and care close to home, as often as possible," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems in announcing the news. "We are completely committed to providing sustainable, high-quality care to patients in the Northern Berkshire region and are excited to continue advancing the health and wellness of our region through this Critical Access Hospital designation."
BHS, parent of Berkshire Medical Center, purchased the assets of the bankrupt Northern Berkshire Healthcare in 2014 and reopened an emergency satellite facility on the campus along with other medical services.
But reopening the hospital had been out of reach until changes in late 2022 to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regulations for rural "critical access hospitals." The former officials at North Adams Regional were rejected in their attempt at that designation back in 2011, which they saw as way to stabilize finances through higher Medicare reimbursements. But a CAH couldn't be within a 35-mile radius of another hospital and its application was rejected.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal was able to secure a slight change in the regulations regarding the federal government's definition of a connecting highway that made Route 7 a "secondary road" and dropping the distance maximum to 15 miles.
"This designation works to resolve stark inequities in rural and underserved communities as it relates to our nation's health system," said Neal in a statement. "I have long advocated for legislation that addresses health equity, allowing everyone to have a fair and just opportunity to achieve their highest level of health, regardless of who they are or where they live."
North Adams Regional Hospital was reopened on March 28, 2024, 10 years to the day after its closure under previous ownership. In the interim, the facility had served as the North Adams Campus of Berkshire Medical Center, providing numerous outpatient services and provider offices.
Northern Berkshire School Union wrapped up its summer camp last Thursday with what's becoming an annual event: a school community night at Clarksburg School. click for more
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. and the southbound train is currently stopped behind the American Legion on American Legion Drive.
click for more
The area is known for its cultural venues like the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and Jacob's Pillow, but that is just a taste of what the area has to offer. click for more
The city is looking at a forest management plan around Notch Reservoir to preserve its watershed, root out invasive species, promote sustainable growth and bring in some revenue. click for more