PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Long beloved cultural events are returning this year.

The Parks Commission has approved park event requests for Third Thursday, Shakespeare in the Park, and Tanglewood in the City.

For more than 15 years, vendors, performances and activities have popped up downtown on the third Thursday of warmer months. This year, the events will happen on May 18, June 15, July 20, and August 17 from 5 to 8 p.m. again at the Common.

Third Thursday returned last year after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic but was moved to the Common from North Street as a smaller event.

Shiobbean Lemme of the Office of Cultural Development said the new format worked very well.

"We average anywhere from between 40 to 70 vendors and that does not include our food trucks," she reported. "So with our first year out that is really good."

Commissioner Anthony DeMartino asked how the city would handle an influx of vendor requests and what the criteria are for choosing them.

Lemme explained that the inner circle of the park is used to place vendors and that all are required to have something that is participatory.

"So it's not just pamphlet handling, there's something interactive for everybody," she said.

Last year's beer garden will return for the 2023 run of Third Thursday in June, July, and August because of its success. It was pointed out that the beer is drunk in designated areas and bartenders are ServSafe certified.

Since 2006, North Street from Park Square to the intersection of Linden Street and Maplewood Avenue had been closed to traffic on the third week of warmer months for food, vendors, activities, and performances. They had attracted upwards of 5,000 people each month. There were around 100 vendors for this iteration of the events.
 
The in-person season was canceled in 2020 and again for 2021, but some virtual components were incorporated that year.

Shakespeare in the Park, which is held by Pittsfield Shakespeare Inc., will be returning for its eighth season at The Common from Aug. 1 to 31.

"We took 2020 off, of course, from the pandemic then in 2021 we came back with a scaled-down production. We had a smaller set, we were off the pavilion, we were in the Common with social spacing and then last year, we were back to being on the pavilion," board member Christopher Brophy said.

"I feel like we really got our stride. The audiences were back. We got a lot of really good feedback."

The organization does not have directors selected yet to choose the Shakespearean production or exact dates but it will either be the first or the last three weekends of August.

It will run from Thursday through Sunday and people are invited to bring chairs and blankets to watch from the lawn.

"It's certainly become, I think, kind of a well-oiled machine at this point and I'm glad that we're back," DeMartino said.

Park, Open Space and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath emphasized the importance of coordinating with the Police Department to ensure that the performance space is as safe as possible for actors and attendees.

Brophy said it has been a great experience 99.99 percent of the time but it would be wise to have good communication and a plan.

The fifth annual Tanglewood in the City, which is produced by the Mill Town Foundation, will be at the Common on July 29 from 4 to 9:30 p.m.

The free concert broadcast features the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Program manager Andrew Wrba explained that there will be vendors and nonprofit organizations doing tabling at the event. Last year, there were between 400 and 500 attendees.

Longtime volunteer Robert Presutti was recognized during the meeting. He died on April 6 at the age of 88.

Presutti joined the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in 2008 and volunteered through Pittsfield Tree Watch and Pittsfield Community Development. He was also associated with the Herbert Arboretum for many years.

From 2010-2022, Presutti donated a total of 10,362 hours volunteering through RSVP and has the most lifetime hours of any other member during that time.

"Bob was a regular presence of Springside Park. Bob lived right here on Fenn Street but you could generally find Bob up at Springside leading volunteers, pruning trees, giving classes on trees, he was even working with our park maintenance crew on chainsaw safety. He never asked for a dime. This was stuff he really was passionate about and I think the look of Springside and the arboretum up there wouldn't be what it is without Bob's involvement," McGrath said.

"His talent spread across the city and he was working with the public services division and Bob will be missed. He was one of a kind and his passing will leave a big gaping hole in the importance placed on our urban forest and sort of how he conveyed that to the community."

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