Mayor Peter Marchetti announces a new monthly event that combines Third Thursday and the Artsweek and brings the community back to North Street.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The First Fridays at Five events will blend arts and entertainment, shopping, and community engagement and planners hope it expands with time.

Mayor Peter Marchetti released details on Friday of the new event that combines the beloved Third Thursdays and the First Fridays Artswalks. It is a collaboration between the city, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., and the Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association with the first occurring on May 3.

"We have so much in store for you," he said during a press conference in council chambers.

Cultural Development Director Jen Glockner placed a few seconds of music from a nine-piece brass band called Soul Magnets that she said will "blow your socks off" at the inaugural event.

Though the region was hit late in the week with a winter storm and earthquake rumblings, she vowed that this won't be the case in a month.

"There will be no snow on the ground a month from today," Glockner said. "We will be outside on a beautiful evening. The sun will have shined all day long on downtown Pittsfield. It will just be getting dusk from 5 to 8 p.m. That band, Soul Magnets, will be playing on the main stage."

The stage will be located in front of Park Square and North Street will be blocked off from the intersection of Fenn Street. The administration hopes to extend the street closures in the future, even closing the entire corridor to traffic as Third Thursday once did.

There will be a maker's market on North Street comprised of local artisan vendors selling handmade items such as clothing, crafts, gifts, and packaged foods.

Dunham Mall will feature a Family Fun Zone with free activities such as kids' paint and sip.

"We are welcoming all of our social service agencies to come and do interactive family fun with us whether it be face painting or crafts," Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Managing Director Rebecca Brien explained.

"We also will have every month some sort of kids' entertainment and in May it's going to be Balloon Ben with balloon art."

The arts walk will also continue for its 13th season with opening receptions throughout the downtown.  New this year, there will be a shuttle provided by the Retired Senior Volunteer Program that brings people from City Hall to the Clock Tower Artist Studios and back from 5 to 7 p.m.

There will also be a Pop-Up Dance Zone in Persip Park with fire dancer Opal Raven Cirque, Art in the Park with Mike Carty at Sottile Park, and live pottery in Palace Park with Jim Horsford.

There will be a community booth of presenting sponsors each month, with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Berkshire County kicking off the first with a NAMIWalks event to spread awareness about mental health.

"We're so lucky to have so many partners and we want to thank all of our sponsors including Mill Town Foundation, MountainOne, Guardian Life Insurance of America, the Pittsfield Cultural Council, (Feigenbaum Foundation,) and The Berkshire Eagle," Brien said.

"This is just a little bit of what's going on."

Marchetti seconded her thanks, adding "without them, this would not be possible."

"As you've heard, there's so much fun in store for us this summer and we want to make sure that everyone takes advantage of the many restaurants that we have in our downtown," he said.

"Dining during First Fridays at Five and throughout the summer."

He reported that many eateries will have live entertainment of their own and that Berkshire Art Center has special events planned for the first Fridays of the month.

Attendees are encouraged to continue their evening all the way down North Street.

"This isn't just an event that's going to take place from Depot Street to Park Square," Marchetti said. "We're encouraging folks to take the entire walk all the way up and down North Street and enjoy everything in between."

Further into the season, the city will celebrate Pride Month in June and regional band Happy Together will play sounds of the 1960s on the main stage. In July, a Berkshire Blues Legends concert will be held with Misty Blues headlining. Other highlights include Jacob's Pillow Dance's Wandering Dance Festival, a Cultural Collaborative Concert with Latinas 413, a 100th birthday for Berkshire United Way, and a cultural food festival similar to the ethnic fair of the past.

"We cannot wait to get started," Marchetti said.

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