Pittsfield’s 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival Moves Outdoors
Now in its ninth year, Pittsfield’s 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival is heeding the call of the wild and adding 11 outdoor activities to its already impressive lineup. The fest, running this year from February 13-23, has always been eclectic, offering music, art, theater, dance, written and spoken word, film, a host of children’s activities, a fireworks display, and more. The addition of outdoor fun is a natural extension in a county known for its stunning outdoor recreation sites, situated in a state where more than half of residents — 59% — participate in outdoor recreation each year.
Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), Mass Audubon, and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) will be leading most of the outdoor events, which include an educational sunset stroll along the floodplain forest of Fred Garner Park, a nighttime walk to hear owl mating calls at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, an introduction to winter woodland botany in Springside Park, and wildlife tracking in Burbank Park. There will also be opportunities for free or low-cost ice skating, fat-bike racing, tubing and ice fishing, and an introduction to curling where the Berkshire Curling Club will show you how to “throw stones, sweep, and yell” — just like at the Olympics!
“Getting people outside in the dead of winter is one of the main missions of the festival,” says Jen Glockner, director of The City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development, which organizes the festival.
The Office’s headquarters, The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, hosts a 10 Spot art exhibit each year, but will break the mold this 10x10 by featuring only sculptors. Glockner says the exhibit will include an eclectic mix of art by 10 artists, from the well-known sculptor Andrew Devries to up-and-comers who will gain new exposure from this event.
Another new art foray includes the 5x5, a kids-only offshoot of the highly successful 10x10 Real Art Party put on by the Berkshire Art Association. The children’s event precedes the adult art show and raffle at the Berkshire Museum on Thursday, Feb. 20 and proceeds from both help fund field trip awards and fellowships for Berkshire County students.
Returning events include the popular (i.e. these events will sell out, so buy your tickets soon) 10x10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage; Gypsy Layne Cabaret at Hotel on North; and Such Is Our Soul, a movement workshop with choreographer Joanna Haigood that explores the text of W.E.B. Du Bois.
In total, the festival offers 65 events in 20 different venues — from a history of women’s suffrage exhibit at Berkshire Athenaeum to a night of live opera performances at The Whitney Center for the Arts — so check out the full schedule here. Whether it’s indoors or out, you’re bound to find an event that adds a little warmth to your winter.
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