Downtown Pittsfield Celebrates Spring Week Features Events for All Ages
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. (DPI) is pleased to present their fourth annual Downtown Celebrates Spring Week, April 18-26, offering free and low-cost programming to individuals and families with children of all ages during the school vacation week.
April 17-25
Pittsfield CityJazz Festival
The 20th Pittsfield CityJazz Festival (April 17-25) also coincides with Downtown Celebrates Spring, which includes a jazz jam, jazz crawl, prodigy concert, and two headline concerts, featuring a veritable profile of women in jazz. Georgia Heers’s tribute to Billie Holiday on April 18 has already sold out. The April 25 capstone concert features two jazz powerhouses: saxophonist, composer, and singer Grace Kelly, and jazz/rock crossover vocalist Veronica Swift, both of whom will appear on the same bill with the University of Connecticut Jazz Ensemble. For a full schedule and ticket information, visit berkshiresjazz.org.
April 18-May 10, 11 am to 4 pm, Daily
Baby Animals Festival | Hancock Shaker Village
Saturday, April 18, 12:30 to 6:30 pm
Berkshire BookCon | Berkshire Athenaeum and Hot Plate Brewing Co.
Berkshire Book Con is a one-day, community-wide celebration of reading and writing, designed to bring adults together around a shared love of books in the Berkshires. The event will feature creative contests, opportunities for readers and writers to connect, and a Community Read featuring the book Rules for Ghosting by local author Shelly Jay Shore. A full schedule of Book Con events can be found at pittsfieldlibrary.org/bookcon.
Sunday, April 19, from 2 to 4 pm
Downtown Celebrates Spring Children’s Tea Party and Paint & Sip
at WANDER Berkshires, 34 Depot Street, Suite 101
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. (DPI) will host a free Downtown Celebrates Spring Children’s Tea Party and Paint & Sip on Sunday, April 19, from 2 to 4 pm at WANDER Berkshires, 34 Depot Street, Suite 101 in Pittsfield.
This free Spring-themed Tea Party and Paint & Sip is best suited for ages 3 to 12, although younger and older children are welcome. There will be free lemonade and cookies for the kids, and there will be coffee and tea for the grown-ups available for purchase. All materials for the Paint & Sip will be provided. Children are welcome to drop in anytime over the course of the event, and all children must be accompanied by an adult.
This program is supported by The Feigenbaum Foundation, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., and WANDER Berkshires.
Tuesday, April 21, 10 to 11 am
Moving and Grooving | Berkshire Athenaeum Auditorium
A joyful movement experience for children and their caregivers! This dance class invites families to move and play together through fun movement games, easy obstacle courses, and imaginative activities.
Tuesday, April 21, 2 to 4 pm
Kids’ Spring Fest in Dunham Mall | Dunham Mall, 100 North Street
Join Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., the Berkshire Museum, and BeatNest for a Spring gathering outside on Dunham Mall at 100 North Street.
The Berkshire Museum will bring objects from their education collection about the living world blossoming in spring such as plants and bugs, and they will bring a craft relating to spring!
Music will be provided by BeatNest’s Spin Club students as they share their DJ skills that they have been working on this session.
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. will host kids’ games and hand out free Officer Winston drawstring backpacks!
Children are welcome to drop in anytime over the course of the event, and all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Tuesday, April 21, 3 to 4:30 pm
Cardboard Party: Build A Spaceship! | Berkshire Athenaeum Auditorium
Use our pile of cardboard and your imagination to design out of this world spaceships! All supplies will be provided. Best for ages 6–12.
Tuesday, April 21, 7 to 10 pm
The Berkshires Music Mixer | WANDER Berkshires, 34 Depot Street, Suite 101
Hosted by Berkshires-born recording artist and music producer Jackson Whalan, the goal of The Berkshires Music Mixer is to bring the entire local music industry together. This is a space to meet and network with new collaborators, converse about the music scene, and play music together. Whether you’re a musician, audio engineer, venue owner, songwriter, or someone who just loves being around music, you are invited. All are welcome. Free entry (RSVP required to reserve your spot – RSVP here> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/music-mixer-tickets-1983561977270)
Timeline
7 to 8 pm – Arrival, networking
8 pm – Music industry panel discussion with special guest speakers, followed by a jam session led by Jackson Whalan & friends
Promo Materials
You are encouraged to bring business cards and other promo materials. There will be a table in the space where you can place them.
Jam Session Details
The house band will kick it off, and we will open up the stage for sit-ins as the night goes on. If you are a musician looking to sit in, speak to Jackson Whalan during the event. Gather near the stage if you are looking to play once the music gets going. There will be some gear backlined (drums, bass, keys, vocal mics, guitar amp, instrument mics, D.I.s). If you are sitting in, the only rule is: listen. Be aware of the other people on the stage. This is not an open mic. The aim is to create amazing music in the moment, together. Whether or not you get a chance to perform, this will be an incredible night filled with connection and opportunity.
About Your Host
Jackson Whalan is a recording artist and music producer, known for his fierce flow, his uplifting and genre-bursting hip-hop, his versatile beat-making skills and production, and his dazzling freestyle rap chops. His 100-plus song catalog bursts through perceived confines of hip-hop, veering into pop, electronic, and jam band territory. Whalan’s oeuvre includes LPs, EPs, singles, and features. His career highlights include performing at The United Nations, rapping with Quest Love on drums and Ray Angry on keys at Producer Mondays in New York City, national tours with Moon Hooch, collaborations with KRS-One, Myka 9, Wax, and other Hip Hop legends, and recent sync placements with the NFL, Netflix, Xfinity, BET, Vice, Reebok, and Meta.
Wednesday, April 22, 1 to 2:30 pm
Tinker Tweens: 3D Printing | Berkshire Athenaeum, Athenaeum Room
Learn how to use TinkerCAD to 3D print a simple keychain. Designed objects must be picked up at a later date. For ages 9–14.
Registration is required. To register, contact the Youth Services Department at (413) 499-9480 or visit the library’s website at pittsfieldlibrary.org.
Wednesday, April 22, 3 to 5 pm
Decorate a pot and Plant a flower Workshop | Peace Train Tees, 2 South Street
Peace Train Tees at 2 South Street will present a free, drop-in Decorate a pot and Plant a flower Workshop on Wednesday, April 22 from 3 to 5 pm.
Thursday, April 23, 10 to 11 am
Out of This World Baby Rave | Berkshire Athenaeum, Auditorium
Inspired by DJ Lenny Pearce’s baby rave albums and Massachusetts space week, we are throwing a space-themed movement and sensory party for your little ones. Together we’ll dance and move to baby techno based on classic children’s songs as well as explore glow sticks, bubbles, and light table toys.
Thursday, April 23, 1 to 3 pm
Glow-In-The-Dark After Party | Berkshire Athenaeum, Auditorium
Celebrate Massachusetts Space Week at the library with a glow-in-the-dark party on the heels of the Out-of-this-World Baby Rave! Featuring slime, snacks, and a movie. Vote on the movie in the Young Adult Department through April 15th. Open to ages 11-18.
Friday, April 24, 10 to 11 am
Take-Apart Tech | Berkshire Athenaeum, Auditorium
Take-Apart Tech is a hands-on exploration where youth get to dig into a piece of technology, see what makes it tick, and take it completely apart! Open to youth ages 9–14.
Friday, April 24, 1 to 3 pm
Wildflower seed bombs and Paper flower Workshop | SOLARIUM Plant Shop, 46 West Street
SOLARIUM Plant Shop at 46 West Street will present a free, drop-in Wildflower seed bombs and Paper flower Workshop on Friday, April 24 from 1 to 3 pm, open to all ages.
Saturday, April 25, 10:30 to 11:30 am
Take it to the Mat! Family Yoga Storytime | Berkshire Athenaeum, Auditorium
Join us for a morning of stories, stretches, and smiles! In this family-friendly yoga storytime event, children and caregivers will flow through gentle yoga poses inspired by the themes from the story read. Leave feeling calm, connected, and ready to read! Participants are encouraged to dress in clothes that allow them to feel comfortable during movement, including sitting, standing, reaching, and laying down.
Saturday, April 25, 12 to 5 pm
Free Ride Day at the Berkshire Carousel with UCP | Berkshire Carousel, 50 Center Street
The Assistive Technology Department of UCP of Western Massachusetts invites our community to celebrate accessibility, inclusion, and innovation at a special Free Ride Day on Saturday, April 25, from 12 to 5 pm, at the beautiful Berkshire Carousel at 50 Center Street in Pittsfield.
Families, friends, and community members are invited to stop by for an afternoon of free carousel rides and fun for all ages while learning more about the powerful role Assistive Technology plays in many people’s lives.
Assistive Technology includes devices, tools, and systems that help individuals with disabilities live more independently and participate fully in everyday life. From simple tools that make daily tasks easier to advanced technology that enhances communication and mobility, Assistive Technology helps people of all abilities live, work, and engage with their communities.
This free community event is an opportunity to celebrate inclusion, while highlighting how Assistive Technology empowers people to live a life without limits. There will be a variety of tools on display as well as demonstrations on how the tools help people.
Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.’s Downtown Celebrates Spring is sponsored in part by The Feigenbaum Foundation.