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.