Holiday Wreath Art Auction to Benefit Pittsfield Food Pantries

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Office of Cultural Development announces the 11^th annual Holiday Wreath Art Auction on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts from 4-6:30 p.m.

Approximately 50 wreaths will be on display during this ticketed event.  There will be wreaths available for grab and go with a live auction of the featured wreaths at 5:30pm.  All proceeds will benefit the Pittsfield Community Food Pantry.  Since its inception in 2015, the Wreath Art Auction has raised more than $30,000 for the South Community Food Pantry. 

The Wreath Art Auction is a $10 suggested donation ticketed event with refreshments.  The highest bidder during the live auction will receive a special gift.  This year the office once again has partnered with the Springside Greenhouse Group who will be decorating many of the donated wreaths, centerpieces and more.  Prices for grab and go wreaths start at $30. 

This event is part of the Festive Frolic taking place in Pittsfield December 5-6 with the Holiday Tree Lighting; the Berkshire Bazaar hosted by Thistle and Thorn at the Holiday Inn and Suites; a free Children's Paint & Sip at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church; an appearance from Santa Claus in Dunham Mall and more hosted by Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.  The Holiday Shindy takes place Saturday, Dec. 13. 

BCC Trustees Vote to Hire Hara Charlier as Next President

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Catheryn Chacon Ortega, the alumni appointment, liked how Hara Charlier easily connected with students faculty; Melissa Myers, alumni representative, also noted how comfortable Charlier was with various groups. Charlier, right, was called after the vote and accepted pending negotiations and state approval. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It wasn't hard for BCC's Board of Trustees to elect a new president from Minnesota on Monday.

One by one, during a special meeting at Berkshire Community College, board members expressed their conviction that Hara Charlier was the best candidate to lead after Ellen Kennedy retires. They unanimously recommended Charlier as the next president of BCC to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

"We're not trying to hire a replacement for Dr. Kennedy; We are trying to hire our next leader," Chair Julia Bowen said.

Charlier, currently the president of Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minn., was one of four finalists identified by the Presidential Search Committee who visited the campus. She was not on site, but was called after the vote.

Catheryn Chacon Ortega was impressed by how Charlier connected with students and faculty, as well as her passion and breadth of experience.  

"As the appointed alumni, I put myself in the students' shoes when I was thinking about this, and I think I feel very represented by her, like if I come back as a student here, I think she will be a person that will be open doors to me, to my community, to the immigrant community, to everybody," she said.

Danielle Gonzalez feels Charlier has a "very" clear commitment to the community part of community college, and a deep experience of serving underserved populations, "really just with great enthusiasm."

"I think that in addition to having really deep community college leadership experience, she was able to articulate a very thorough understanding of the issues of the college of Berkshire County, of what those opportunities might look like, and how she would connect what her experience has been with how she could drive the school forward," said Julie Hughes, a newer member of the board.