1Berkshire Announces Spring 2026 Technical Assistance Offerings

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire, thanks in part to funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation (PERC), announced its upcoming slate of technical assistance offerings through the Berkshire Economic Recovery Program (BERP).

The Berkshire Economic Recovery Program Technical Assistance series has been able to support more than 250 businesses through targeted training and focused convenings, resulting in business improvements, and quantified by over $3,000,000 in funding collectively accessed by businesses through their participation.

Going into the Spring of 2026, the program is excited to continue with four educational cohorts. These cohorts will each provide between five to seven participating organizations/businesses support through a two-hour kick-off workshop with learning resources and specific actionable guidance, followed by up to two additional hours of one-on-one direct targeted technical assistance by the workshop expert. 1Berkshire, through competitive grant funding secured from the USDA and partnership support from PERC, is able to provide this service at no cost to businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations located in any of the 32 cities and towns of Berkshire County, representing more than $1,000 in  direct value per business in each cohort.

The upcoming cohort kickoff dates are:

• April 23, 9am-11am - Building a Social Media Marketing Strategy, with Francesca Olsen 

• April 27, 4pm-6pm - Turning Retail Visuals into Revenue: Ins and Outs of Visual Merchandising, with Alex LaValley 

• May 7, 4pm-6pm - Exploring Employee Ownership, with Kevin Pink

• May 13, 8:30am-10am - Succession Planning for Small Businesses: Understanding Your Options and Preparing for Transition, with Robin Helfand

Because the BERP Technical Assistance is FREE, each cohort has a capacity of between five to seven participants; space is very limited, and registration is required. For details on these technical assistance offerings and more, visit: https://1berkshire.com/economic-development/businesses/

For more information, or for additional inquiries, please contact the 1Berkshire Economic Development Team at EconomicDev@1berkshire.com.

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, June 13, 2026

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said.