Press

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It’s a long way to Accra, the capital of Ghana, from Pittsfield. And Shirley Edgerton and her scholars were feeling every mile of it.

On Sunday, Edgerton and a group of 17 girls from Pittsfield set out for Ghana as part of Rites of Passage and Empowerment‘s annual service learning trip. The scholars, aged 10 to 18 years old, shuffled onto a bus that took them to John F. Kennedy International Airport at 9 a.m. that morning.

The travel itinerary was grueling, to put it lightly. The group was slated to fly 7 hours and 30 minutes from New York City to Amsterdam, where they’d be confronted with another six-hour layover, then another 6 hours and 30 minutes in the air from Amsterdam to Accra.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Chef Ronny Brizan is proud to announce the official grand opening of his new location, BB’s Hot Spot at The Lantern at 455 North Street in Pittsfield, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Nestled in the heart of the Berkshires, BB’s Hot Spot has long been a favorite for its authentic flavors of Brizan’s native Grenada, known as the Island of Spice. You’ll savor the tastes of true cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, saffron, cloves, ginger, and cocoa. The menu features smash burgers, jalapeno cheddar burgers, jerk chicken, craft beer, and an extensive cocktail menu inspired by the Caribbean. Sip on tropical favorites like Sorrel Margaritas, Piña Coladas, and Tropical Rum Punch, expertly crafted to transport you from North Street to the islands.

LEE, Mass — “Since 2007, our BRIDGE mission has been promoting mutual understanding and respect among diverse groups serving as a resource to both local institutions and the community at large. We serve as catalysts for change and integration through collaboration, education, training, dialogue, fellowship and advocacy.”
— Multicultural BRIDGE website

It’s hard to capture all that Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups through Education) is and does. As the needs arise, the programs follow. This responsiveness is how founder and CEO Gwendolyn VanSant has operated since starting the nonprofit organization back in 2007, bringing her skills and passion as a community organizer and renowned thought leader on racial justice, reparations, gender equity, and anti-poverty work to the Berkshire community.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As the group African Francophone of the Berkshires prepared to dance down North Street for the first time in Pittsfield’s annual Fourth of July Parade, one of its members, Brice Atte, declared: “You can’t be a part of Pittsfield and not participate in the parade.”

“This parade is well known around the nation, so we want to be part of it,” Brice said.

African Francophone of the Berkshires was one of 161 community groups that showed their pride on Thursday for Pittsfield, the Berkshires and this year’s parade, which was themed “Red, white, blue and YOU!”

The parade kicked off at 10 a.m., beginning a 1 1/2-mile procession that lasted more than two hours.

ADAMS, Mass. — Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC, the parent company of Adams Community Bank, held its annual meeting on April 10 at Charles H. McCann Technical School in North Adams.

The following individuals were elected corporators of Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC: Justin McKennon, A.J. Enchill, Karen Sinopoli, Tim Burke, Tina Lamarre, Alexandra “Alex” Glover, Lindsay D. DiSantis, Robin Sher, Stella Downie, and Leonard Light.

McKennon, a principal scientist at Electro Magnetic Applications Inc., is an internationally recognized expert in the test and simulation of electromagnetic effects across the aerospace, space, defense, and related industries. He holds master’s and bachelor of science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Georgia’s 5th District kicked off W.E.B. Du Bois Center’s “Reflections on Democracy” series on Juneteenth.

Approximately 200 people gathered at Saint James Place to discuss democracy with Williams, moderated by Michael Blake, the center’s first-ever visiting scholar in democracy.

The event was the first of a four-part series. This first part focused on democracy and leadership. The next session July 11 will focus on democracy and philanthropy with Marvin Carr, director of Walmart’s Center for Racial Equity.

Blake said Williams was the perfect person to have as the first speaker for the series because you cannot talk about democracy without talking about Georgia.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — It’s been a decade-long passion project to elevate the historic contributions of a Black artist by preserving his writing cabin and, eventually, the land around it.

Now, it’s actually happening.

It is the cabin where Harlem Renaissance poet and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson did his writing when he was in the Berkshires. It was where he found peace nestled in a hemlock grove.

Now a $575,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program will support a three-year plan for a historic and meticulous restoration of the interior of the cabin, utilities and all its contents. The cabin sits above the Alford Brook off Alford Road, behind the main house and over a footbridge.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — To Akinyemi Blackshear, the dream of opening a nightclub for dancing in the Berkshires seemed like an impossibly heavy lift.

Now, not so much.

After participating in an intensive leadership program steered by the Blackshires Community Empowerment Foundation, the plan seems less daunting. Blackshear now has “achievable goals.”

He’ll start in September with pop-up dance parties across the county. That way he’ll be able to gauge interest and get feedback, before he begins to set his sights on a physical space.

“In my mind it was this big project,” said Blackshear, a marketing project manager at Theory Wellness in Great Barrington, “and they made it much more reasonable.”

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield’s Juneteenth celebration at Durant Park came at an interesting time for Cristiane Richardson — a day after she voted for the first time ever.

Sunday’s celebration, hosted by the Berkshire County branch of the NAACP, was held in advance of the federal holiday acknowledging the liberation of American slaves on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers announced the freedom of nearly 250,000 slaves in the state of Texas by executive decree over two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Richardson, 19, said that the timing was fitting. When she went to the ballot box on Saturday in Albany, N.Y., where she’s a resident, she was already reflecting on Black history and the significance of her vote.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield’s Quintin Sumpter next fight, this Saturday, will be his biggest yet.

Following up his victory on March 23 at Pandemonium at the Palladium 3, the fighter out of Cherry Street Boxing (7-2, 4 KOs) will face Sonny “The Bronco” Conto (12-0, 9 KOs) in an eight round heavyweight bout this weekend. It will be the main event at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Not far from Conto’s hometown of Philadelphia.

“I’m feeling good, been training for a couple weeks. Been getting a lot of sparring in. I feel great about it,” said Sumpter in a phone call to The Eagle. “I know what I’m going into. I’ve been an underdog in a lot of these big fights. Going into other people’s hometowns. I’m kind of adjusted to it.”

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ludwig Jean-Louis is used to facing challenges.

Jean-Louis purchased Cravins Soft Serve & Frozen Yogurt in May 2022, just over a year after his mother died, as a way of providing for his four siblings and grandparents.

His most recent challenge has been renovating his ice cream spot’s new space at 208 Elm St., which he hopes to open this weekend.

This past year, Jean-Louis had to look for a new location for his ice cream shop because the new owners of the building that housed the previous Cravins location at 119 Elm St. wanted to use the space for a nail salon.

LEE, Mass. — Hundreds of students gathered last week in the Lee Elementary School cafeteria for its first-ever entrepreneur fair. 

Over the last two months, the school’s fifth graders have been introduced to financial literacy and developed their own businesses based on their interests. 

The students kicked off this endeavor toward the end of April, Financial Literacy Month, with the reading of Ty Allan Jackson’s first book, “Danny Dollar,”  which he wrote while living in Pittsfield. The book’s description says it teaches kids “about finance, banking, investing, and entrepreneurship in a fun and relatable way.”

The entrepreneur and author is the founder of the Danny Dollar Entrepreneur Fair, a program that teaches children life and financial literacy skills in collaboration with schools. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ask Thomas Moody what his favorite thing to smoke is. He’ll tell you pork ribs. And his least favorite? That would be brisket, because it takes so long.

Moody wasn’t smoking anything at the Pittsfield Farmers Market on Saturday though. The pit master was dancing in front of the grill, putting the finish on wings, dishing out pulled pork and turning individual ribs to achieve a perfect bark.

This is Upstreet Smoke, a pop-up restaurant, which has also been operating nearly a year as a caterer at venues such as Shakespeare & Company and Barrington Stage Company.

Moody and his partner, Erica Shrader, chose Juneteenth to launch the business, starting with the NAACP Berkshires Juneteenth Celebration, on June 18 2023, at Pittsfield’s Durant Park. Through customers there, they landed catering gigs.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The well-received Once Upon a Table has a reimagined menu, new lunch service on weekends and is fully staffed for the busy summer season.

Owner Avie Maloney acknowledges that staffing has been a challenge for her, just like it has been for other restaurant owners. Maloney was a server at Once Upon a Table who bought the business in April 2022. The cozy eatery is located in The Mews shopping alley off Main Street.

Maloney has staffing confidence now that she has a team led by Anand Singh, her food and beverage director, and Lucas De Silva, a new kitchen manager, to fulfill Singh’s reimagined menu for lunch and dinner.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass — The Du Bois Freedom Center announced the first event in its 2024 Reflections on Democracy salon series. The Center will commemorate Juneteenth by hosting An Evening with Congresswoman Nikema Williams who will be in conversation with the Du Bois Freedom Center’s Visiting Scholar on Democracy, Michael Blake. The June 19th event will start at 6pm at Saint James Place. This event is free, open to the public, and all are welcome at attend. Registration is required via this link.

The Center’s Reflections on Democracy is a series of educational events and public programs that ask featured scholars, elected officials, students, artists, musicians, philanthropists, and the community, to share their hopes for our democracy and reflections via this site in response to the following Du Bois passage:

“…I dream of a world of infinitive and valuable variety; not in the laws of gravity or atomic weights, but in human variety in height and weight, color and skin, hair and nose and lip. But more especially and far above and beyond this, is a realm of true freedom: in thought and dream, fantasy and imagination; in gift, aptitude, and genius—all possible manner of difference, topped with freedom of soul to do and be, and freedom of thought to give to a world and build into it, all wealth of inborn individuality. Each effort to stop this freedom of being is a blow at democracy—that real democracy which is reservoir and opportunity . . . There can be no perfect democracy curtailed by color, race, or poverty. But with all we accomplish all, even Peace.”

– Excerpt from The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part Which Africa Has Played in World History, 1947.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Keb’ Mo’, born Kevin Roosevelt Moore, on Oct. 3, 1951, in South Los Angeles, Calif., is a renowned American blues musician. A singer, guitarist and songwriter, Keb’ Mo’ blends Delta blues with folk and rock elements. The result is a distinctive style that has earned him widespread acclaim and multiple Grammy Awards.

Dalton Delan, host of The Eagle Reels vodcast, discussed the musician’s careerand what Keb’ Mo’ is planning for his upcoming June 15 sold-out gig at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

DALTON DELAN: In addition to your five Grammy Awards, you performed at the White House under President Obama. One of them was with Mick Jagger. Any memories?

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Massachusetts hasn’t had a housing plan in 40 years.

It’s finally getting one. And Berkshire housing advocates and town leaders delivered plenty of input for that plan during a visit by Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus.

Augustus and staff from his office held a well-attended listening session Wednesday at Berkshire Community College. About 100 people attended the session, including all four candidates for the 3rd Berkshire District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Tony Award nominee Jeremy O. Harris has been named the first creative director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Creative Collective, its new group leadership model. His tenure will cover the 2025 season. 

Harris’ appointment was announced Thursday afternoon by Raphael Picciarelli, Williamstown Theatre Festival’s managing director of strategy and transformation. Festival officials announced the intention to move to a shared artistic leadership model in February. 

The new artistic model splits the duties currently held by the artistic director between two managing directors and a rotating creative lead or artistic collective.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Tunnel City Coffee has found its future.

About five months after owner Paul Lovegreen announced that Tunnel City was on the market, three buyers — Jamal Stockton, Janine McCarl and Nilaykumar Patel — are poised to purchase the business.

The listing price was $995,000, and the business, including the lease rights for its three locations, sold for $850,000. The sale is set to be finalized early next week.

“Paul Lovegreen did a phenomenal job starting the business 30 years ago — it’s obvious to us it’s well-run and with little intervention will continue to run well,” Stockton said Thursday. “We want to think about areas where we can be more involved and expand the business.”