North Berkshire Contra Dance Scheduled for Saturday

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.— The North Berkshire Contra Dance will host its monthly community contra dance on Saturday, May 10, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The event will feature live music by Joy Factor, a Massachusetts-based trio, and dance instruction by Albany caller Peter Stix.

The contra dance will take place in the Community Hall of the First Congregational Church, located at 906 Main St., Williamstown. Instruction will begin at 7:30 p.m. The admission fee is pay-as-you-can, with a suggested range of $12 to $20.

Joy Factor includes Gianna Marzilli Ericson and Rebecca Rose Weiss on fiddles, and Henry Yoshimura on guitar. The trio performs original, Celtic, Quebecois, and Old Time tunes.

Prior to the dance, at 2:30 p.m., NBCD will hold a beginner calling workshop at the Williamstown library, featuring live music.

Further information can be found at www.NorthBerkshireDance.org.

 

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Williamstown Government Presents Communication Plan

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown is working to improve communications with residents.
 
The town manager told the Select Board last week that the town obtained a Community Compact Best Practices grant from the state's Division of Local Services to fund a consultant from the University of Massachusetts at Boston's Collins Center for Public Management to develop a communications strategy.
 
Improved communications is a growing concern for small towns like Williamstown, Town Manager Robert Menicocci told the board.
 
"The world has changed with social media," Menicocci said. "The expectations of what a community communicates to its citizens — the game has been upped.
 
"I think this was a new area for government and many communities are looking at a need to staff up to address communications, where, in the past, maybe a big city would have a communications director. Now that has trickled down to almost all small communities."
 
To that end, the town has completely revamped its website and hired its first communications director — both steps that were included in the November 2025 Collins Center report, "Roadmap for Inclusive and Accessible Municipal Communications in Williamstown, Mass."
 
Brianna Sunryd, a public services manager at the Collins Center, presented her group's findings to the Select Board.
 
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