Be Aware of Runners Near BCC During Thursday Morning Fund-Raiser

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Residents are asked to be aware of traffic delays on outer West Street along the Berkshire Community College campus down to Meadow Ridge on Thanksgiving morning between 9 and 10 a.m. for the 10th annual MountainOne Thankful 5K.
 
The annual event is a fundraiser for the local Berkshire County food pantries.
 
As of Tuesday afternoon, there are close to 700 runners registered for the race. The event will have walkers and runners and more than 100 students participating for free.
 
Attendees are asked to remain on the left side of the road throughout the event to ensure traffic can flow through the event. The organizers ask the community to have patience and be aware of road conditions if they are traveling on outer West Street this Thanksgiving morning. The Pittsfield Police will be on duty to monitor and facilitate safe flow of traffic.
 
The annual event has raised more than $50,000 in the past 10 years for the community with the event and participation fundraising. Participants were charged with creating their own fundraising, which by Tuesday had raised more than $11,000.  
 
Registration for the event is open in person at Berkshire Running Center through Wednesday at 6 p.m. and the morning of the event at Berkshire Community College from 7:30 to 8:30. The race begins at 9 a.m., promptly.
 
The Berkshire Running Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the mission to improve and advance the positive effect the running community has on the neighborhoods in which we live. For more information on the foundation please visit berkshirerun.org or contact the executive director, Shiobbean Lemme at director@berkshirerun.org.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Celebrates Arbor Day at Taconic

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Mayor Peter Marchetti presented the framed original cover art for the day's program. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Generations of Taconic students will pass the tree planted on Arbor Day 2026 as they enter school. 

Pittsfield's decades-long annual celebration was held at a city school for the first time. Different vocational trades at Taconic High School worked together to plant the Amelanchier, or flowering serviceberry, mark it with a plaque, record the ceremony, create artwork for the program's cover, and feed guests. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said the students' participation reflects the spirit of Arbor Day perfectly: learning by doing, serving the community, and helping Pittsfield grow greener for generations to come.

"It's not unknown that trees help shade our homes, help clean our air and water, they support wildlife, and make our neighborhoods and public spaces more beautiful and resilient," he said. 

"And Arbor Day is our chance annually to honor that gift and to remember that when we plant something today, we are investing in the future of our green world."

The holiday was established 154 years ago by J. Sterling Morton and was first observed in Nebraska with the planting of more than a million trees.

CTE environmental science and technology teacher Morgan Lindemayer-Finck detailed the many skilled students who worked on the event: the sign commemorating this Arbor Day was made by the carpentry and advanced manufacturing program, specifically students Ronan MacDonald and Patrick Winn; the multimedia production program recorded the event, and the culinary department provided refreshments. 

The program's cover art was created by students Brigitte Quintana-Tenorio and Austin Sayers. The framed original was presented to Mayor Peter Marchetti. 

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