The 'missing soldier table' as a memorial to POW/MIA at last year's Park of Honor. This year, it will be used at the ceremony for Vietnam veterans in September.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Parks Commission approved a dozen park event requests on Tuesday, ushering in a year of diverse happenings.

Among the approvals is a seemingly new event in the fall: the Mayflower Portuguese Water Dog Trial that will be held on Sept. 16 and 17 at Burbank Park from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We're trying to keep the water dog instinct alive in our breed," said Patrice Lattrell, vice president of the Mayflower Portuguese Water Dog Club.

"They were bred to work on the fishing boat in Portugal so they were, they are, a working dog and these trials test the skills that the dogs would be required to do on working boats."

The trial will have between 30 and 40 dogs and they will be in a fenced-off area throughout the trials when they are not crated.

Lattrell said there are only two of these events held in the Northeast, with the others in Connecticut and in Maine.

The event is expected to attract enthusiasts of the breed from all over New England and as far as Georgia and South Carolina.

Local veterans will present a new, Prisoner of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA) remembrance service. This was one of five veterans' events approved.

It will be held by Charles Persip American Legion Post 68 at the South Street Memorial park on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.

Henry Morris attended a fellow Vietnam veteran's funeral in Albuquerque, N.M., last year and was inspired to hold this ceremony.

"I did not realize what a big ceremony this is," he said. "Albuquerque's veteran park, it's about an eighth of a mile going into the park, they had POW/MIA flags posted all the way into the park. I kept thinking this is really nice. It looks really nice and I was told this is Sept. 15, well it's the third Friday, it was the 16th this year."

He explained that the American Legion has a missing soldier table accompanied by a reading that details a plate that nobody eats from, a glass that nobody drinks from, and several other significant items. This will be done during the service.

The Kiwanis Club of Pittsfield is hosting its 10th annual Park of Honor from Oct. 28 to Nov. 25. In the annual fundraiser, flags are purchased in honor of local veterans to raise money for scholarships that support the children and grandchildren of veterans.

President Curtis Janey reported that the goal is to give between 10 and 20 $500 good citizenship awards to high school seniors throughout the county.

"The reason why we call it the good citizenship award is because they don't get taxes on it," he explained. "So we just want to be able to give them the money to use it for their education, however their parents need to use it, whether it's for books or whatever they need to get themselves, their kids ready for college."

Also approved:

• The Eagles Band concerts in the park at The Common on June 20, July 11, and July 18 and at Springside Park on Aug. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m.
   
• The Striking Out Cancer in the Berkshires fundraiser at Clapp Park on June 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
   
• The Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony at Park Square on March 25 from 10 to 11 a.m.
   
• The Afghanistan/Iraq 9/11 memorial service at the South Street Memorial Park on Sept. 11 from 10 to 11 a.m.
   
• Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day at the South Street Memorial Park on Dec. 7 from 10 to 11 a.m.
   
• The Veterans Day parade and ceremony at the South Street Memorial park on Nov. 11 from 10 to noon.
   
• Springside Park annual cleanups by the Friends of Springside Park and the Springside Park Conservancy on April 22 and Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
   
• The Pittsfield Farmers Market by Roots Rising at The Common on Saturdays from May 13 to Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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